VIDEO TRANSCRIPT: CNY Jewish community reacts to recent antisemitic attacks
Joshua Gingrich: In light of the recent Boulder, Colorado attack, I spoke to the leader of the Jewish Federation of Central New York to get the community’s thoughts.
Gingrich: Last week, a man in Boulder, Colorado injured 15 people who were protesting the hostages taken during the Hamas-led attacks in 2023. Nearly seventeen hundred miles away in Syracuse, Jewish Federation of Central New York President and CEO Maek Segel’s first thought was preventing it from happening in CNY.
Mark Segel: We’re always concerned about copycats, we’re always concerned that someone’s going to try to do the same. So, when we heard about that, we immediately let the different Jewish organizations, synagogues, agencies and communities all know that we anticipate, we see an actual threat out there.
Gingrich: It’s the latest antisemitic attack in the United States. In addition to the Boulder attack, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro’s mansion was set on fire and two Israeli embassy workers in Washington. D.C. were murdered in the last two months. Segel pointed to social media being a key reason in the attacks.
Segel: If you go on TikTok, Instagram and Facebook, you just see Jew hate across. And the people that have the ability to affect this aren’t stepping up to their responsibility and doing what needs to be done.
Gingrich: One thing that has been done is President Trump’s travel ban. The President banned entry from 12 countries, which he said was necessary for national security following the Boulder attack. Howevr, Segel doesn’t think the ban represents the American way.
Segel: I don’t think that’s what our country was built on. I think that if we’re going to ban people from traveling into our country, we need to be very, very careful about how we do it, that we do it in a fair way and we do it in a humane way.
Gingrich: Despite the rampant hate that Segel says has been going on thosands of years, he finds hope in unity.
Segel: We’re a strong community — we work together. We’re stronger at our worst. You throw what you will at the Jewish people, they’re going to survive, and they’re going to thrive.
Gingrich: The Boulder attacker has been charged with a hate crime and over one hundred state criminal charges. The House of Representatives has condemned the Boulder attack.
SYRACUSE, NY (NCC News) — Jewish Federation of Central New York CEO Mark Segel typically gets notified of antisemitic events before the public does. Then, he and other local Jewish leaders decide if it’s major enough to inform the community.
On June 1, 15 people in Boulder, Colorado were attacked while protesting the hostages taken by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023. Upon finding out, Segel said that this incident was a serious one.
“When we heard about [Boulder], we immediately let the different Jewish organizations, synagogues, agencies and communities all know that we anticipate, we see an actual threat out there,” he said.
The Boulder attack was yet another antisemitic event in the last few months. On April 13 – the first night of the Jewish holiday Passover – part of the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion was set on fire in an alleged arson. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro is Jewish.
On May 21, two Israeli Embassy workers in Washington, D.C. were murdered. The pair was killed while leaving a reception hosted by the American Jewish Committee.
Segel, who said he fears “copycat” incidents after every attack, said that social media plays a big part in these events.
“If you go on TikTok, Instagram and Facebook, you just see Jew hate across,” he said.
In response to the Boulder attack, President Donald Trump banned travel from 12 countries, primarily in Africa and the Middle East. Segel said the ban isn’t representative of America’s core principles.
“I don’t think that’s what our country was built on,” he said. “I think that if we’re going to ban people from traveling into our country, we need to be very, very careful about how we do it, that we do it in a fair way and … in a humane way.”
Despite the recent attacks, Segel still has hope. He said that Jews are very resilient, and they get stronger as a group.
“You throw what you will at the Jewish people, they’re going to survive and they’re going to thrive,” he said.