A new initiative by Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston is leading an effort to join forces with other groups to battle antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiment.
Longtime Swampscott resident Melissa Garlick, Associate Vice President, leads CJP’s Center for Combating Antisemitism, which she describes as a “central hub” to respond to the rise in antisemitism.
“CCA was created to combat antisemitism and hatred as one united front, harnessing the power of our allies – both within and beyond the Jewish community – to build a more pluralistic society,” she said.
Since it was launched in March 2024, the center has mobilized a rally of 1,500 people to support Jewish college students and awarded $1.7 million in grants to support educational initiatives at area hospitals, corporations, university campuses, and community organizations, according to Garlick. The center was also the driving force behind a rally to support Jewish college students last May that brought together more than 1,500 people at Temple Israel in Boston.
“Antisemitism is at an all-time high, making it a challenge for Jewish community members to feel welcome in civic spaces, let alone safe,” Garlick said. In the past year, the center helped support training on Jewish identity and contemporary antisemitism for more than 1,000 faculty and administrators on college campuses in the region, she noted.
Peggy Shukur, vice president of the Anti-Defamation League’s Eastern Division, praised the creation of the center, which has partnered with the ADL on a number of programs. “We are delighted to have a more formal focus on antisemitism from CJP because it makes everybody’s work in fighting antisemitism better,” she said.
One of the major initiatives supported by the center is the creation of employee resource groups at more than 30 area businesses and hospitals, where professionals and medical staff meet to address antisemitism and Jewish culture. CCA provides the organizations with the resources and guidance to “help advance safe and inclusive work environments by empowering Jewish employees,” Garlick said.
Dr. Jacqueline Hart, director of the Heal Ukraine Group in the Vaccine and Immunotherapy Therapy Center at Massachusetts General Brigham, is working closely with the CCA and hospital officials in dealing with antisemitism through its Jewish resource group. The resource group, which has grown to 400 members, offers confidential listening sessions every other week for Jewish employees, according to Hart.
“They talk about what’s on their minds, what they are seeing, and how they can support each other,” she said. If there are specific acts of antisemitism, they are reported to the hospital’s leadership.
Shukur called the hospital’s initiative “one of the most positive things I was able to participate in in the past year, as it was focused on the diversity and richness of the American Jewish experience. One of the best ways to counter antisemitism is to really show who the Jewish people are. The American Jewish experience is not well understood by many. Sharing [our story] can undo some of the antisemitic tropes that people seem to cling to.”
Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital has also established a Jewish employee resource group.
Another major center initiative has been supporting what it calls “community mobilization,” piloting and expanding grassroots strategies to engage communities in the fight against antisemitism.
One such program is Lexington United Against Antisemitism. Formed in 2023, the program is committed to enhancing the sense of well-being and safety of the town’s Jewish community. The CCA granted the group $25,000 to expand its programming, help pay for a web developer, and provide administrative support. More than 200 people have participated in the group’s events.
“We are broadening the sense of solidarity within the Jewish community and among those who are not Jewish,” said group member Fran Jacobs of Temple Emunah. “We’re expanding our capacity across Lexington to actively stand up to antisemitic speech and actions.”
The volunteer organization is composed of Jewish and Christian groups and individuals and has put together dozens of movie screenings, panel discussions, lectures, and other community events, according to Jacobs and Stephen Van Evera of Pilgrim United Church of Christ.
After an antisemitic incident at Lexington High School, the group cosponsored a screening of a documentary on the murders at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh and a panel discussion with students and faculty.
“LUAA grew out of a committee at Temple Emunah studying antisemitism, but we decided that we weren’t going to solve the problem by ourselves,” Jacobs said. “We really needed to try and make this an interfaith effort by engaging with people who are not Jewish.”
