Seventy percent of Jewish adults are "very concerned" about antisemitism around the world, according to a survey conducted by five prominent Jewish organizations in San Diego. Perhaps even more disturbing: That data was collected before the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel and the ensuing Israel-Hamas war.
The San Diego chapter of the Anti-Defamation League has recorded a 400% increase in antisemitic attacks since Oct 7. Twenty-nine of those, according to Fabienne Perlov, regional director of the Anti-Defamation League San Diego, were on local college campuses. She calls those numbers "very, very concerning."
Linda Durr recalls how, as a child, other kids would mock or taunt her because she was Jewish. In fact, she would go out of her way to hide her Jewishness. Once, she said, she even came home wearing crucifix earrings.
"As a child, it was pretty awful, you know, being teased and criticized," Durr said. "I pretended I wasn't, you know? I said, 'No, I would never tell people I was Jewish in high school.' But now I'm proud.”
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As an adult, however, Durr's self-acceptance evolved. She said she is now ashamed that she hid her Jewish identity. The retired school teacher spends time volunteering with Jewish Family Service of San Diego, stacking food pantry shelves and bringing food out to people in need.
Durr's volunteer work highlights another element of the study also" highlights: Jews giving back to their community. It shows that 50% of Jewish San Diegans volunteered in the past year, and 82% made a charitable donation.
"That speaks to the value of Tikkun Olam — or repairing a world — that's so important to our Jewish community," said Carole Yellen, of Jewish Family Service.
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According to the study, there are 134,100 individuals living in 56,200 Jewish households in San Diego
