CHARLOTTE, N.C. — An alarming increase in antisemitic incidents mostly in area schools has prompted some Jewish community leaders to working to help stop antisemitism in Charlotte.
Their initiative, which started a couple of years ago, is called Outshine Hate and is ramping up its efforts in light of the Israel-Hamas war.
Tair Giudice came to the U.S. in 2006 from Israel, where she was born and raised. After meeting her husband and starting a family in America, she decided to stay in the States. She does go back to Israel often. But she said her recent trip with a group of 10 people from the Jewish Federation of Greater Charlotte was very different than her previous trips.
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“We wanted to go and bear witness, see firsthand what happened in Israel on Oct. 7, [2023] and the aftermath," Giudice explained.
While there, the group met with several people directly impacted by the war, including one of the organizers of the concert where so many people died.
“She told us her story of how she, with others, attempted to escape and were ambushed on the way out, shooting at [the] car [in] front of people and behind her, “ the CEO of the Greater Charlotte Jewish Federation Sue Worrell shared.
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The women say the trip was important because of what’s now happening back in America.
“Sadly, since Oct. 7, the rates of antisemitism have escalated exponentially," Worrell said.
According to the Anti-Defamation League, antisemitism is up 370% nationally, and, according to the Jewish Federation of Greater Charlotte, it’s doubled in Charlotte in the last year.
A lot of the reports involve vandalism with swastikas being painted on public spaces and school buildings, but most of the reports are about verbal attacks involving young people.
“The majority of antisemitic incidents that are getting reported to us are in K-12 schools, so we’ll see peer-to-peer bullying with antisemitic tones,” Giudice said.
That’s why the federation is pushing hard on its Outshine Hate initiative.
“It launched in April 2022," Giudice said. "Back then, the Charlotte community was experiencing an alarming rise in antisemitism. It saddens me to say that rise has been dwarfed since the amount of antisemitism we’ve been experiencing in the aftermath of Oct. 7."
The organization hopes education and awareness can help change things. Outshine Hate aims to work with young people and educators to explore the ways racial and ethnic stereotypes develop, and how those stereotypes can empower violence and normalize the expression of hatred.
"We've seen, since October, that anti-Israel sentiment quickly trickles into antisemitism, and the lines get blurred, where Jews are attacked here for being Jews or being blamed for a conflict happening across the ocean," Worrell said.
Worrell said in the Charlotte area, there are about 15,000 to 20,000 Jewish people.
“We work with you, we go to school with you, we are In your neighborhoods, and just be sensitive to all that we're going through," Worrell advised. "It’s really about the humanity of it and extending kindness to Jews here locally goes a long way.”
For more information on the Outshine Hate initiative and see resources of how to create space for questions and conversations around antisemitism, visit the Jewish Federation of Greater Charlotte website..
Contact Michelle Boudin at mboudin@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.
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