“We all feel helpless when hate arrives on our doorstep” | Antisemitism Today | USC Shoah Foundation

In 2017, approximately 150 headstones at the Mount Carmel Jewish Cemetery in Philadelphia were desecrated by an unknown group of people in the middle of the night. In her testimony, Naomi Adler (formerly of Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia) recalls the incident, and the quick action taken to document the damage and restore the vandalized monuments. Naomi’s testimony is part of USC Shoah Foundation’s “Contemporary Antisemitism” testimony collection. This collection addresses modern-day experiences of antisemitism from Belgium, Denmark, France, Hungary, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The interviews feature witnesses of violent events, victims of antisemitism, and people whose beliefs and attitudes related to antisemitism have evolved over time. Antisemitism, the hatred of Jews as a group or a concept, has existed in different forms throughout history. During the Middle Ages, antisemitism was religion-based and centered on inaccurate myths about Jews and Judaism. In th