Combatting Antisemitism and All forms of Religious Bias and Discrimination

US National Strategy & Our Pledge (link)

NEW White House Toolkit to combat religious bias and discrimination: A strong community is a significant defense against hate. It takes all of us working together to build united communities where everyone feels safe and valued. Anyone can start by getting to know their neighbors—including their neighbors of different faiths.

Simply knowing people of other backgrounds and beliefs can increase understanding and mutual respect. For example, the Pew Research Center found that people who personally know a Muslim are more likely to have positive feelings towards Muslims. Additionally, the American Jewish Committee’s State of Antisemitism in America report found that 73% of people who know someone who is Jewish say antisemitism is a problem in the U.S. today, compared with 59% who do not know anyone who is Jewish.

Included in the suggestions of the White House toolkit is the following proactive step anyone in businesses can take to build relationships across faiths.

• – Make connections at work. Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) are groups of employees who come together in their workplaces around shared interests. Faith-related ERGs may present opportunities to get to know people of other religious backgrounds and beliefs. Considering joining or establishing an ERG at your workplace.

Resource: The Religious Freedom & Business Foundation offers best practices for developing and operating faith- and belief-oriented ERGs

The need: A new study finds that extensive antisemitism has nearly doubled in the United States between 2019 and 2022. In 2022, 20% of American held extensively antisemitic views, up from 11% in 2019. The nationally representative survey by ADL measured the level of antisemitism by the number of negative anti-Jewish tropes people surveyed agreed with. Nearly half of the anti-Jewish tropes people agreed with were associated with business (see chart here), which makes business a key sector of society that must engage in combating these prejudices.

In response, the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation has pledged to work with ADL and AJC to provide resources to all companies to help them combat antisemitism and all forms of religious bias and discrimination. This page provides such resources and will be updated regularly as additional resources come on line.

If your company wants to get involved, contact us!

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EEOC Resources

• — What to Do if You Face Antisemitism at Work Fact Sheet
• — Religious Garb and Grooming Fact Sheet
• — Best Practices for Eradicating Religious Discrimination in the Workplace
• — Questions and Answers: Religious Discrimination in the Workplace

ADL Resources

ADL has a series of tools for businesses to use, some drawing upon the research and work of the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation. For example, citing our Corporate Religious Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (REDI) Index, ADL suggests that forming Jewish employee resource groups (ERGs) as a way to both raise awareness of this problem as well as provide support structures for Jewish people and their allies in workplaces.