The ADL’s Never is Now Summit 3/4/25 (Tetzaveh 3/8/25)

The ADL’s Never is Now Summit 3/4/25

I attended the “Never Is Now” Summit at the Jacob Javits Center this past Tuesday. The ADL always plans a robust conference on a wide range of topics, with experts addressing each topic. The plenums are star-studded and inspiring. This year, in the wake of Hamas’s global uprising, the threat level felt higher than in years past.

The first session I attended was titled “What We Can Learn from the Fight Against Antisemitism Around the World.” It featured leaders of Jewish communities in England, South Africa, Australia, and Canada. England has seen a rise in workplace discrimination, in Melbourne, a synagogue was burned down, and Canada has seen unprecedented violence against synagogues, Jewish Day Schools, and hospitals. The South African government was the most heinous. On Oct 7, it not only supported Hamas but condemned Israel for genocide. The ANC government, hoping to garner the Muslim vote, even welcomed Hamas into the country for a victory parade. Thankfully, the South African people voted that party out at the next election. While South African Jews felt rejected by their federal government, they were supported by their local officials. My takeaway was that on Long Island, if our primary suffering is our expenditure on armed guards, then it is in line or even minimal compared to what world Jewry is experiencing.

I then attended a session titled “The Not-So-Silent Boycott: Uncovering Modern BDS and its Hidden Impacts.” Whereas in the past, BDS (Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions) was directly aimed at Israel or large Israeli Companies, now, BDS targets individuals. At universities, if a professor on social media shows support for Israel, they will become a pariah. Protestors will disturb their classes, and students will rate them poorly. Sarah Livingston created the Academic Engagement Network to combat such tyranny.

One beauty influencer, Biana Jade, was trolled for being Jewish. At the time, she was not overtly pro-Israel or Jewish, but Bianca was assaulted on all her platforms, and because of this, she lost sponsorships. Deciding to learn why she was being attacked, she made two trips to Israel and indeed became an active Zionist. In an unforeseen twist, her non-Jewish husband was so impressed by the support she received from the Jewish community that he decided to convert to Judaism.

Susan George, working for the DNC of California, was facing rabid anti-Zionism from Jews in her party. She formed Progressive Zionists of California to stand up for Israel. My takeaway from the session is that in the face of personal forms of BDS, Jews are not backing down. We continue to hold firm and learn new ways to address our problems.

I then saw an advanced screening of the movie October 8: The Fight for the Soul of America. October 8 is a documentary film that examines the rise of antisemitism in the United States after Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. The Producer, Wendy Sachs, was motivated to chronicle these events when the UN failed to censure Hamas for the violations against Israeli women during and after the attack. It seems that the UN cares about women’s rights as long as they’re not Jewish or Israeli. The film explores how Hamas has infiltrated American culture and institutions and how anti-Zionism has become a modern form of antisemitism. One of the film’s most disturbing yet inspiring parts is its depiction of USCB Class President Tessa Veksler. Proudly Zionistic, she faced verbal, psychological, and physical violence from student aggressors. They even launched a campaign to oust her from her post. Yet, Tessa would not yield.