Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM) Advisory Board Chair Natan Sharansky recently visited New York City, where he met with a diverse array of cultural, political, and religious leaders to discuss collaboration in the collective effort against all manifestations of rising Jew-hatred and other forms of contemporary bigotry, discrimination, and prejudice.
Among the distinguished figures with whom Sharansky sat down with were Fr. Ryan Muldoon, Parochial Vicar of St. Patrick’s Parish in Yorktown Heights; Wai Wah Chin, President of Chinese American Citizens Alliance Greater New York; and lawyer and author Sandy Frankel.
It was a pleasure meeting with Fr. Ryan Muldoon, Parochial Vicar of St. Patrick’s Parish in Yorktown Heights & member of the @NY_Arch, to discuss Catholic-Jewish relations and the importance of standing together against #antisemitism and all forms of hatred. pic.twitter.com/HHF7C0se6W
— Combat Antisemitism Movement (@CombatASemitism) May 24, 2023
Sharansky also met several dozen local leaders from the Catholic, Muslim, Hindu, Asian, and Black communities at a gathering hosted by the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) of New York. This event was coordinated by JCRC-NY Chief Operating Officer Noam Gilboord and Rabbi Bob Kaplan, Founding Director of JCRC-NY’s Center for Community Leadership.
The open discussion centered on the role of non-Jewish allies in the fight against antisemitism, as well as best practices for intercommunal cooperation.
Furthermore, Sharansky participated as a keynote speaker at the “New York Symposium Against Antisemitism” hosted by CAM.
In his remarks, Sharansky said, “The most important beachhead in the struggle for the future of the Jewish people are on our campuses. And today of course, antisemitism has gotten so big, there is a rise on the left, the right, in the Islamist community, and elsewhere.”
“Antisemitism for thousands of years was always uniting our people, religious or non-religious,” he added. “Whether in Paris or Kiev, it didn’t matter. It came from all different directions, but the Jewish people were always united in their response.”
“Today, it’s not the case,” Sharansky noted. “Some rabbis in their synagogues are afraid to speak about this phenomenon, because it has become very political, on the left and the right. One says, ‘The real antisemitism is on the left.’ The other says, ‘The real antisemitism is on the right.’ Or the real antisemites are Antifa, or the Proud Boys.”
With such partisanship, “there are zero results, because it has become political,” Sharansky said. “People on the left have to fight antisemitism on the left, and people on the right have to fight antisemitism on the right.”
It was an honor to participate in the “New York Symposium Against Antisemitism” today in Manhattan hosted by the @CombatAsemitism Movement.
We must continue to work together to develop new and innovative strategies to fight the world’s oldest hatred. pic.twitter.com/Y7LWzkc7Q3
— Natan Sharansky (@natan_sharansky) May 24, 2023
