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UP FIRST

A couple walks their dog past a polling place in Pittsburgh two years ago. A new organization plans to score politicians on how friendly they are to the Jewish community in western Pennsylvania. (Getty Images)

In my running tally of new organizations created to fight antisemitism (57 since 2015 at last count), very few are focused on local communities. But a couple weeks ago I wrote about events in Rochester, New York, where a group called ROC Against Antisemitism has been active, and now the Beacon Coalition is getting off the ground in Pittsburgh.

Part of the organization’s work is run of the mill — raising awareness about antisemitism — but what caught my attention was Beacon’s plan to make political endorsements and donate to local candidates.

Jeremy Kazzaz, a legal consultant, helped start the group last fall after he and several friends noticed that a county official had posted a celebratory poem alongside footage of Palestinians demolishing the security barrier around Gaza on Oct. 7.

And in addition to its local focus, Beacon is also distinct among groups fighting antisemitism because it manages a political action committee. While lots of PACs spend money to support pro-Israel candidates, the Beacon Coalition is the first group I’ve seen that plans to support politicians primarily on the basis of whether or not they’re antisemitic.

Israel factors into scoring

Kazzaz said that Beacon’s understanding of antisemitism, based on the controversial International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition, covers a lot of the same ground. “A lot of folks hold double standards for Israel,” he said.

But in its first few months the group has also been working closely with the Pennsylvania legislature’s Jewish caucus on other issues, including trying to move the date of the primary election, which remains on the first full day of Passover.

They’ve weighed in on five races so far, four statewide and one local Democratic Congressional primary, where they picked pro-Israel challenger Bhavini Patel over incumbent Rep. Summer Lee, a progressive critic of the country. Elsewhere, they knocked Mark Pinsley, a candidate for state auditor, for attending a pro-Palestinian rally “where chants included ‘from the river to the sea,’” although they acknowledged that Pinsley had also “spoken out against Jewish hate.”

A new model?

Kazzaz says that Beacon is more willing to issue scorecards for politicians and directly lobby them than local Jewish federations and community relations councils, who may fear being seen as too partisan.

“There aren’t really organizations at the local level set up to organize and mobilize even at small scale: ‘Call your elected officials and let them know Passover is a real holiday,’” Kazzaz said.

Kazzaz, who moved to Pittsburgh three years ago, thinks that Beacon could be a model for others. Local politics can be an easy place to have an impact because small amounts of money — and relatively few votes — can make a big difference.

The Beacon Coalition is currently run by volunteers, but Kazzaz hopes to hire staff before the general election in November, and to weigh in on everything from county races to school board elections.

“We are getting inundated with calls for help,” Kazzaz said. “The Jewish community has opened its eyes to the fact that you can’t just sit back.”

Hillel addresses fear of antisemitism in new guide

The Hillel building at Harvard. Hillel International is including data on antisemitism and hostility toward Israel in the latest edition of its popular college guide. (Getty Images)

Imagine you’re a Hillel rabbi on a campus that is rapidly developing a reputation for antisemitism. You want to keep Jewish students safe, and you’ve been leveraging your strong relationship with campus administrators to make them listen to the Jewish community. But you’re also worried that people outside the community are getting the wrong idea about your school and how dangerous it is for Jews. If you join in the chorus of alarm over antisemitism you might drive prospective Jewish students away from campus — the opposite of what you want to do. But if you tell people not to worry, you might be accused of denying the severity of the problem.

Over the years, I’ve heard from Hillel staff grappling with this conundrum, so I noted with interest that Hillel International is starting to include data on antisemitism and hostility toward Israel in its annual college guide. The nonprofit will track which campuses have held boycott votes targeting Israel, whether they have mental health support at the local Hillel, and whether the school is under investigation by the Department of Education for possible civil rights violations of Jewish students.

That last item may run directly counter to the wishes of some campus Jewish leaders. Anyone can file a complaint alleging antisemitism and more than 20% of the Education Department’s open investigations were initiated by Zachary Marschall, a right-wing journalist. Just this week Rabbi Gil Steinlauf, the head of Princeton’s Hillel, lamented to the student newspaper that Marschall had not consulted him and that the investigation seemed frivolous. “A majority of Jewish students have reported to me that they do not feel that Princeton is an antisemitic place,” Steinlauf said.

Nevertheless, when high school seniors and their parents look up Steinlauf’s school in his parent organization’s popular guide, the investigation will be listed as a mark against it.

NEWS & VIEWS

Members of Atomwaffen Division, a domestic neo-Nazi group. A former participant is on trial for murdering Blaze Bernstein, a Jewish 19-year-old. (Photo: Southern Poverty Law Center)

⚖️ A question of hate: Prosecutors allege that Samuel Woodward, who was a member of the violent far-right group Attomwaffen Division, was motivated by homophobia and antisemitism when he murdered 19-year-old Blaze Bernstein. But Woodward’s defense says that while the killing was “unlawful,” it wasn’t motivated by bias, the Forward’s Louis Keene reports from the courtroom. (Forward)

🇺🇸 New bill would create federal antisemitism coordinator: A bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced legislation that would create a new task force to address antisemitism overseen by a National Coordinator to Counter Antisemitism, formally enshrine May as Jewish American Heritage Month, and commission an analysis of online antisemitism. (CNN)

🍺 Anti-Zionist bar cleared of discrimination: Utah’s attorney general found “no evidence” that the owner of a Salt Lake City bar who banned “Zionists” from his establishment was guilty of discrimination. “I was never banning Jewish people,” said Michael Valentine, the owner. “Zionism is not a protected class.” (KUTV)

🏛️ Why lawsuits against campus antisemitism could work: Elite universities are facing a flurry of lawsuits accusing them of discrimination against Jewish students. Bloomberg reporter David Voreacos explores reasons why the suits might be successful. (Bloomberg Audio)

🗽 Antisemitic incidents up in New York City: While antisemitic crimes in New York had consistently trended downward since November, they were back up in March, according to the NYPD. The 43 incidents last month were more than double the 17 reported in February. (JTA)

💬 European leader blames Ben-Gvir for antisemitism: Ariel Muzicant, president of the European Jewish Congress, said that inflammatory comments by the far-right Israeli minister Itamar Ben-Gvir are exacerbating tensions on the continent. “Each time that Ben-Gvir makes these statements, you see a spike in antisemitism,” said Muzicant. (Times of Israel)

🌾 OPINION | Kansas City Jewish center murders, 10 years later: Micah Levine, a Kansas City doctor, said that 10 years after an antisemitic shooting at the local Jewish community center many Jews are once again wondering: “Will we always be safe here? When will we know when it’s time to leave? We know all too well that when antisemitism goes unchecked, it metastasizes.” (Kansas City Star)

🚨 OPINION | Growing panic about antisemitism doesn’t reflect reality: Forward columnist Jay Michaelson argues that much of the recent increase in antisemitism is due to the war in Gaza and does not reflect broader peril for American Jews. “The most obvious explanation for the current eruption is not a grand meta-narrative of American or European history, but rage at an ongoing war,” he writes. (Forward)

“Face in the Fight” will return.

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