Berkshire County — In response to a rise in antisemitic incidents in the area, the Jewish Federation of the Berkshires has started its “Hate has no home here” campaign.
Based out of Pittsfield, the organization is partnering with local cultural organizations, businesses, and chambers, providing free “Hate has no home here” posters and graphics designed by Aurelien de St Andre from Great Barrington business Bon Dimanche.
According to Jewish Federation of the Berkshires Executive Director Dara Kaufman, several local chambers of commerce and organizations have signed up to partner in the campaign: Berkshire District Attorney’s Office, Changemakers for Good, Berkshires Standing Together Alliance, Southern Berkshires Chamber of Commerce, Lenox Chamber of Commerce, Downtown Pittsfield Inc., Stockbridge Chamber of Commerce, and Lee Chamber of Commerce. Kaufman said that the posters can be displayed in offices, businesses, and schools and the graphics can be added to social media pages.
While nationwide data of antisemitic incidents for 2024 was not available at press time, according to the Anti-Defamation League, 8,873 antisemitic incidents were reported in 2023, a substantial increase from 3,698 such incidents in 2022. “I think that, over the last number of years, we have started to see an uptick in antisemitism, including antisemetic incidents in our community,” Kaufman told The Berkshire Edge. “I went to the organization’s board and told them we needed more support, and that we need to think about how we can handle these antisemetic incidents differently. These incidents are all happening much more often, and we need to think differently about how we approach it.”
Kaufman said that the organization started a Confronting Antisemitism Committee that includes Amy Blumkin as its chair. Blumkin is the chief growth officer of the National Council of Jewish Women. “We looked at this festering of hate in the community,” Blumkin said. “This hate just doesn’t fit into this sense of community in the Berkshires. We felt that the committee’s responsibility is to lift the community and to make the work of the Federation a strong and central place that supports our Jewish residents. We also know that hate never travels alone. We’re in a community where if you stand up for one, you stand up for all. We’re all about being respectful of each other.”
Kaufman said that since the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel, antisemitic incidents have increased throughout the country, including Berkshire County. “I have received emails with hostile comments,” Kaufman said. “We had bomb threats at three of our organizations. We were seeing incidents in social media in regards to the Berkshire Communists, along with reports from within the schools about individuals who were targeted with hostile stickers just because they were Jewish.”
Kaufman said that she received reports of antisemitic graffiti on buildings owned by Jewish people. She also mentioned last year’s protest against Fuel Coffee Shop in Great Barrington as one of the many antisemitic incidents in the area. “This [antisemitic incident] was visible and it targeted individuals in the community,” Kaufman said. “It overstepped a line. We need to find a way to put out messages about what is happening to us, but we also realize that hate has no boundaries.”
Kaufman said that the “hate has no home here” campaign is a way to fight back against hate and antisemitism. “By putting that statement that ‘hate has no home here’ out there, by using those words whether you are a business or an office, you are making a statement to everyone,” Kaufman said. “There is an expectation from that statement to everyone who works there, or who walks through the door, what the expectation is of how you treat people in the place, how we feel about one another, and how we feel about our community. As a Jewish person, I may interpret the message ‘hate has no home here’ around antisemitism and things I experienced. But someone who might be in the LGBTQ+ community might interpret it differently, and someone who is an immigrant might interpret it differently.”
Kaufman added that “‘hate has no home here’ is a broad and encompassing message.” “We are amplifying the message that we won’t want hate here,” Kaufman said. “If we don’t speak out, if we can’t get those words out fast enough into as many places as possible, then we’re basically being silent, and that emboldens those who want to hate, and then they feel that they can hate freely without consequence.”
For more information about the campaign, along with educational resources on antisemitism, visit the federation’s website.
