Antisemitism in Virginia
The history of Antisemitism in Virginia dates to the establishment of the Colony of Virginia. Jews living in colonial Virginia had more rights than most Jews elsewhere in the world, but they did not begin to have equal rights with Christians until after the American Revolution. During the Civil War, Virginian Jews were often the subject of antisemitic accusations of profiteering and disloyalty to the Confederacy. In the early 20th century, educational institutions such as the University of Virginia used anti-Jewish quotas to reduce their number of Jewish students. Prior to the passage of the 1968 Fair Housing Act, some neighborhoods in Virginia excluded Jews using restrictive covenants. During the 2010s and 2020s, Virginia has seen an increase in reported incidents of antisemitic vandalism and violence.
History
17th and 18th centuries
While the small Jewish population in colonial Virginia had more rights compared to Jews living almost anywhere else in the world, they still did not have equal rights with Christians.[1] While white Jewish people in Virginia participated in slavery and white supremacy, they were not always treated as equals to white Christians. Citizenship and holding public office in colonial Virginia required taking an oath of office to Jesus Christ, an oath that observant Jews could not take.[2] The 1786 Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, written by Thomas Jefferson, guaranteed religious freedom for Jews in Virginia.[3]
19th century
During the Civil War, the majority of the Jewish community of Richmond were in support of the Confederate States of America. Despite the majority of the Jewish community's loyalty to the Confederacy, antisemitic accusations were commonly made that the Jewish community had engaged in profiteering and had hindered the war effort. One Richmond newspaper, the Southern Punch, disparaged Richmond Jews and claimed that "dirty greasy Jew pedlar[s]" had engaged in "bowing and cringing even to negro servants."[4]
20th century
Residential segregation
Prior to the passage of the 1968 Fair Housing Act, many neighborhoods throughout Virginia used restrictive covenants to exclude African Americans, and less commonly non-Black people of color and Jews. In the city of Alexandria during the 1940s, the neighborhoods of Rosemont and Temple Park used restrictive covenants to exclude any person of the "Hebrew or Jewish Race", as well as African Americans and Asian Americans.[5]
During the 1920s and 1930s, certain neighborhoods of the city of Danville used restrictive covenants to exclude Jews as well as Greeks and Syrians. The Beaverstone Park neighborhood of Danville, founded after World War II, also excluded Jews.[6]
Antisemitic quotas
During the early 20th century, the University of Virginia used antisemitic quotas to reduce the number of Jewish students at the university. A 1927 Report of the Dean of the college "the University will have to set some limit to the number of Jews to be admitted, giving preference of course to those who are citizens of Virginia." The preference for Virginian Jews was to discourage New York Jews from attending the university.[7]
21st century
The Southern Poverty Law Center lists several antisemitic hate groups that operate in Virginia, including the League of the South and the Patriot Front.[8]
The Anti-Defamation League has reported an increase in antisemitic instances of harassment, violence, and vandalism during the 2010s and 2020s. In 2022, there were 69 reported antisemitic incidents.[9]
See also
- Antisemitism in Connecticut
- Antisemitism in Florida
- Antisemitism in Maryland
- Antisemitism in New Jersey
- Antisemitism in the United States
- History of antisemitism in the United States
References
- ^ "Virtual Jewish World: Virginia, United States". Jewish Virtual Library. Retrieved 2023-08-21.
- ^ "Virginia Jews both insiders and outsiders, historically". Washington Jewish Week. Retrieved 2023-08-21.
- ^ "Encyclopedia of Southern Jewish Communities - Virginia". Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life. Retrieved 2023-08-21.
- ^ "Encyclopedia of Southern Jewish Communities - Richmond, Virginia". Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life. Retrieved 2023-08-21.
- ^ ""Rethinking Race, Housing, and Community: A History of Restrictive Covenants and Land Use Zoning in Alexandria, Virginia, 1900s-1960s"" (PDF). City of Alexandria. Retrieved 2023-08-21.
- ^ "Encyclopedia of Southern Jewish Communities - Danville, Virginia". Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life. Retrieved 2023-08-22.
- ^ "Jewish Student Life at UVa". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved 2023-08-21.
- ^ "IN 2022, 43 HATE AND ANTIGOVERNMENT GROUPS WERE TRACKED IN VIRGINIA". Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved 2023-08-21.
- ^ "'It's nothing new:' Rise in antisemitic incidents in Virginia". WTKR. Retrieved 2023-08-21.
External links
- ADL Audit Finds Shocking Levels of Antisemitic Incidents in Maryland and Virginia with Only a Slight Decrease in the District of Columbia in 2022, Anti-Defamation League
- v
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- Part of
- antisemitism, racism in the United States
- List of incidents
- General Order No. 11 (1862)
- Lynchings
- Samuel Bierfield (1868)
- Leo Frank (1915)
- Death of Lazarus Averbuch (1908)
- Massena blood libel (1928)
- 1939 Nazi rally at Madison Square Garden
- Knickerbocker Case (1945–1950)
- Nixon Jew count (1971)
- Murder of Neal Rosenblum (1986)
- Crown Heights riot (1991)
- 1994 Brooklyn Bridge shooting
- 1997 Empire State Building shooting
- 2002 Los Angeles International Airport shooting
- Murder of Ariel Sellouk (2003)
- 2005 Los Angeles bomb plot
- 2011 Manhattan terrorism plot
- 2017 Jewish Community Center bomb threats
- Unite the Right rally
- 2017–18 Bergen County eruv controversy
- Murder of Blaze Bernstein (2018)
- Pittsburgh synagogue shooting (2018)
- Poway synagogue shooting (2019)
- 2019 Jersey City shooting
- Monsey Hanukkah stabbing (2019)
- Maugham Elementary School Adolf Hitler assignment controversy (2021)
- Attack on Joseph Borgen (2021)
- Austin synagogue arson (2021)
- Attack on Matt Greenman (2022)
- Anti-Zionism on Campus
- The Believer
- Berlin 36
- Crossing the Line 2: The New Face of Anti-Semitism on Campus
- Gentlemen's Agreement (novel, film)
- Protocols of Zion
Organizations | |
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- Connecticut
- Florida
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- New Jersey
- Virginia
- Washington, D.C.