Politicians, Jewish and Muslim communities, mark October 7 anniversary with messages against antisemitism and bigotry

What questions do you have about the 2024 elections? What major issues do you want candidates to address? Let us know.

One year after a Hamas-led attack on Israel killed more than 1,200 men, women and children, including 46 Americans, the conflict in the Middle East remains a flashpoint in the 2024 election cycle.

That may be as evident in the race for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania as anywhere else, where both candidates tweeted about their support for Israel and blasted “antisemitism.”

“A year later, the horror and tragedy of the that day still reverberates around the region and the world,” Democratic incumbent Bob Casey posted on X. “I will continue to stand with Israel and support its right to defend itself including its efforts to dismantle Hamas and Hezbollah and to combat Iran’s aggression in the region.”

His challenger, Republican nominee David McCormick, expressed similar sentiments but also took the opportunity to include thinly-veiled criticism against his opponent and Democratic leadership.

“As Israel fights an existential war against Hamas and its terror backers, we must show strength, stand with our ally and provide them with the support they need to finish the job,” McCormick wrote in a longer post that mentioned his trip to Israel earlier this year. “Weak foreign policy that constricts Israel’s ability to respond and emboldens Iran and its proxies is not the answer.”

Both also referred to “rising antisemtism” in the state and around the country.

Antisemitism

Pennsylvania holds a distinction when it comes to antisemitic attacks, being home to the site of the deadliest anti-Jewish terrorist attack in the history of the U.S. – the 2018 shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, where 11 were shot dead.

The anniversary of that occasion is approaching. October 27th marks six years.

According to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), that incident was a harbinger of a rapid increase in antisemitic attacks over the last decade.

“We’ve gone from less than a thousand incidents 10 years ago recorded nationally to the 2023 audit recording just shy of 9,000 incidents,” ADL Philadelphia’s regional director Andrew Goretsky told WHYY News. “We’ve seen enormous amounts of bomb threats to Jewish institutions and Jewish organizations, whether it’s synagogues and [Jewish Community Centers].”

Goretsky added that Pennsylvania has seen similar increases, but the trend was particularly pronounced after the October 7 attack. The Keystone State is now sixth in the nation for such recorded antisemitic events.

Yehuda Sichel, owner of Huda, a gourmet sandwich shop, said he felt like a victim of antisemitic harassment when his store was targeted by protesters last year along with other Jewish-owned businesses such as Goldie’s and Zahav. Activists accused him and other Jewish business owners of being complicit in Israel’s occupation of Palestine.

Sichel had organized a fundraising event after last October 7 to contribute to the Israeli town of Sderot where, he said, the $3,000 collected went to rebuild a playground.

After the protest received national attention, the protests of Huda stopped.

“I think they realized that they should not be targeting small Jewish businesses,” Sichel said at an anniversary commemoration event organized by the Trump campaign. “Thank God for that.”

Anti-Islamic Sentiments

While the ADL and Jewish residents of Pennsylvania note the rise in antisemitism, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) recorded more than 8,000 Islamaphobic incidents in 2023, the “highest number of complaints” in its 30-year history. That was after a decline in 2022.

The report, titled “Fatal: The Resurgence of Anti-Muslim Hate” included 217 incidents in the Keystone state. While those didn’t start on October 7th, the report says that half were committed after the Hamas-led attack on Israel. The report includes employment bias and other forms of discrimination, as well as deadly incidents.

“I think that is also adding to the overall Islamophobia, anti-Palestinian, anti-Arab racism,” CAIR-Philadelphia Executive Director Ahmet Selim Tekelioglu told WHYY News.