Is Anti-Semitism Underreported In the North Shore?

“Get used to it. You’re Jewish.”

That’s what Dave was told by a classmate who repeatedly pushed him to the ground in a gym class basketball game his sophomore year at Whitefish Bay High School.

Dave – not the student’s real name – said he felt that same surge of emotions return the following year during study hall, when he overheard another boy bragging about throwing coins at people’s feet. If they picked up the coins, the boy would ask them if they were Jewish, feeding the stereotype of Jewish people being cheap.

Although he didn't witness the boy's actions, Dave said he felt a mix of anger and embarrassment in hearing the story and seeing other students laugh along with it.

"Unfortunately, anti-Semitism is still a serious problem."

“I was pretty upset by it. I didn’t expect that at the high school," he said. "Basically, I felt isolated in the school, because everyone was laughing at the Jewish people. My first reaction was embarrassment, but then I got mad at myself for being embarrassed because I shouldn't have been."

12 reported incidents last year

Anti-Semitism probably doesn't seem that prevalent in the well-educated North Shore, but for some local kids, growing up Jewish is harder than you would think.

Twelve anti-Semitic incidents were reported last year in an anti-Semitic audit conducted by the Jewish Community Relations Council of theMilwaukee Jewish Federation.

Rick Monroe, superintendent of the Nicolet School District, said the school has not had any reported incidents of anti-Semitic harassment in the past three years. If there have been incidents where students felt victims of anti-Semitic behavior, they did not report those incidents to school administration, he said.

Most of the incidents were verbal and written expressions of anti-Semitism and one was a case of vandalism of public property:

• An angry man shouting “sieg heil” as he entered a political office in the North Shore.
• A Valentine card with the image of Adolf Hitler and reference to “Mein Kampf.”
• A University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee student leader dressed as Hitler at a party who posed for a variety of photos, including one in which he pointed into an open oven.
• Vandalism of a tree on the Oak Leaf trail with a Nazi slogan and a dollar sign.
• Hateful emails or printed literature, distributed in communities throughout the greater Milwaukee area, including Oak Creek, South Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Shorewood and Whitefish Bay. 

Is problem even bigger?

The council, first founded in 1938 as a response to anti-Semitism, conducts an audit of anti-Semitism every year. Director Elana Kahn-Oren believes anti-Semitic incidents are underreported, based on information that comes into her office. 

"Though incidents are low, and commonly in the realm of expression, we know they are underreported for a number of reasons," Kahn-Oren said. "First, people tell us so. We hear long after the incidents and expressions, when it’s too late to include them in the audit and certainly too late to mitigate.

"Secondly, we know from FBI statistics that in hate crimes motivated by religious bias, it is most often directed against Jews," she added. "Unfortunately, anti-Semitism is still a serious problem."

A 2011 study commissioned by Milwaukee Jewish Federation estimates 19 percent of residents in the North Shore area – including Mequon, Thiensville and Cedarburg – identify themselves as Jewish. The North Shore has the largest Jewish community in the metro area, as it is home to 44 percent of Milwaukee-area Jews.

The study found that 20 percent of Milwaukee-area Jews say they have at least once felt uncomfortable revealing their Jewish identity.

With more than 13,000 Jews living in the North Shore, not everyone is targeted by anti-Semitism. Some local Jewish residents, like Kelly Arnold, have never seen or heard any anti-Semitic behavior during her 10 years in Whitefish Bay.

"We hang our lit-up Star of David in front of our house every December and have never had an "incident," Arnold said on the Whitefish Bay Patch Facebook page. 

Jewish culture in schools

Although "Dave" said he experienced anti-Semitism, he believes the Whitefish Bay School District does a good job of handling complaints and has taken a pro-active approach to being more inclusive. The high school has a student diversity group, a Leadership for Social Justice Class – and recently – held a schoolwide diversity seminar.

"I think there’s more of an effort to put an end to prejudice on a broader scale - not just ending anti-Semitism, but ending prejudice against all types of students," Dave said.

Mary Gavigan, superintendent of the Whitefish Bay School District, said the school district takes these matters seriously.

"The district is committed to all students experiencing a caring, inclusive environment," she said. "Significant professional development has occurred for all staff in this area in recent years, and complaints are taken seriously."

At Shorewood High School, the students formed a Jewish Culture Club this year, consisting of about 15 to 20 student members that discuss Jewish culture and other world cultures. Additionally, Principal Matthew Joynt said the school has not had any reported incidents of anti-Semitism.

The Jewish Community Relations Council can help students identify and respond to anti-Semitism by using its "Guidelines for Identifying and Reporting Anti-Semitic Incidents."