J-Weekly: Young adults facing antisemitism at work are getting new tools to fight back
Grappling with an unprecedented swell of antisemitism in the Bay Area, young Jewish professionals are mobilizing grassroots resources to fight newfound discrimination in the spaces that many Gen Z and millennial Jews inhabit most: at work and on social media.
Like other millennial Jews who have ended friendships with people who excused, celebrated or denied Hamas’ attack on Oct. 7, Allison turned to the Jewish community for relief.
Allison, who didn’t want to use her last name due to concerns over her employment, is a therapist in her 20s who works for an East Bay public school district. At work, she hides her Magen David pendant and avoids using any Hebrew with Israeli students. Allison is afraid that if colleagues discover that she is Jewish, it could spur the sort of hate she’s experienced on social media.
“I grew up in the Bay and always felt comfortable as a Jew, but I don’t feel safe anymore. And it’s pointless talking to anyone who uses Instagram or TikTok a lot because people my age are brainwashed by antisemitic propaganda on social media,” she said.