Every death is a tragedy, but with the ever-mounting number of fatalities from the novel coronavirus one particularly tragic loss last week was largely overlooked.
Rabbi Josef Neumann, a 72-year-old father of seven, died of his wounds sustained three months ago in the attack at a Hanukkah party at a synagogue in Monsey, New York. Neumann was the innocent victim of another deadly disease: antisemitism.
In a fitting tribute, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo decided to name recently passed legislation to combat antisemitism after Neumann. The legislation classifies any assault of a group based on its race or religion as a terror attack, so that the punishment will now be a life sentence without the possibility of parole. It also allocates $25 million to vulnerable religious nonprofit organizations and $2 m. to support the state police’s hate crime task force.
The bill was originally called the “No Hate in Our State Act,” but Cuomo renamed it the “Josef Neumann Hate Crimes Domestic Terrorism Act,” saying, “we owe it to Mr. Neumann, his family, and the entire family of New York to get it done now.”
World Jewish Congress President Ronald Lauder, among others, released a statement following the passage of the bill saying, “the new legislation sends a clear message: Attacking someone based on race, religion, or creed is domestic terrorism, nothing less. New York has taken a big step toward safeguarding the Jewish community, and I plan on approaching other governors and state legislators to follow Gov. Cuomo’s lead.”
Elsewhere, it was encouraging to see the newly elected leader of Britain’s Labour Party, Keir Starmer, promise to root out the scourge of antisemitism from the party. Starmer, who was elected on Saturday, acted in stark contrast to his predecessor, Jeremy Corbyn, who cultivated an atmosphere in which classic antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiment flourished, including his declarations of friendship and support for terrorist organizations.
“Antisemitism has been a stain on our party. I have seen the grief that it's brought to so many Jewish communities. On behalf of the Labour Party, I am sorry and I will tear out this poison by its roots and judge success by the return of our Jewish members and those who felt that they could no longer support us,” Starmer said.
Foreign Minister Israel Katz congratulated Starmer on his election and said, “I hope he will keep his promise to fight the antisemitism that has blossomed in the party in recent years and that he will strengthen the UK-Israel friendship, as past Labour leaders have done.”
Indeed, the fight against antisemitism needs the determined action by leaders everywhere. The coronavirus pandemic has led to a resurgence in virulent antisemitism, with the ancient fallback of blaming “the plague” on the Jews.
The hateful comments, caricatures and campaigns have the hallmarks of a modern blood libel. Jewish communities in France, Italy and other countries have noted the worrying surge in antisemitic charges and comparisons in the wake of COVID-19.
Last month, well-known Italian painter Giovanni Gasparro unveiled on Facebook an oil painting depicting “The Martyrdom of St. Simon of Trento for Jewish ritual murder,” JTA reported, which “shows several Jewish men and women, some of them grinning, as they collect blood from the body of an anguished child.
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In France, a caricature has gone viral, showing Agnes Buzyn, the country’s previous health minister – who is Jewish – pouring poison into a well.
While so many countries have instituted a lockdown policy, the hatred is spreading quickly but largely restricted to social media. As soon as the quarantine regulations are eased, these sentiments could easily be channeled into physical attacks against Jews.
Antisemitism is not just a problem for the Jewish community. It is a danger that affects a whole society and entire countries. Antisemitic attacks are, as the New York State legislation noted, more than hate crimes – they are acts of domestic terrorism and cannot be ignored.
While the battle against coronavirus is rightly dominating the news and policy making right now, no country can afford to let the deadly virus of antisemitism spread.