Emily Winston runs a successful bagel business, with stores in Berkeley, Palo Alto and Larkspur and widespread retail and wholesale distribution. So the Boichik Bagels owner says she was taken aback on Oct. 26 when a personal threat showed up on Instagram.
“Hey, Boichik, we haven’t heard you make a statement yet, do we need to boycott you?” an anonymous poster wrote, she recalls. “If we don’t hear a statement that you are not a Zionist, we will boycott.”
“I run a Jewish-themed business, so from the get-go I was concerned,” she told J. Those worries about possible antisemitic harassment after opening her first shop in 2019 have only increased since the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks in Israel. “And now it’s happened.”
It’s “disturbing,” she said. “I’m expecting to wake up with bricks thrown through my location. It’s scary.”
At the same time, Winston is also frustrated.
“Everyone is feeling bullied,” she said. “If you’re on the left, you’re getting bullied into being pro-Palestinian. My business is bagels, not international politics.”
Winston may not be a political actor, but she, and Jews everywhere, are increasingly finding themselves called upon to take a stand: Whose side are they on, Israel’s or Gaza’s?
In the context of the Israel-Hamas war, it’s growing harder to find nuance, remain outside the fray or avoid conflict. And that has Jews in the Bay Area feeling a new kind of unease, one that can quickly cross into fear.
A strongly worded anti-Israel resolution passed by the Richmond City Council and a strident statement from the Oakland teachers’ union have rattled those two East Bay communities. Angry pro-Palestinian rallies at UC Berkeley and high school walkouts to protest the war have made Jewish students feel nervous. Hateful graffiti has been seen in San Francisco, Oakland and other cities.
Even an ice cream shop could not avoid getting caught up in the ugly politics. Jewish-owned Smitten Ice Cream in the Mission District had its windows broken and its facade defaced, and owner Robyn Sue Fisher was as perplexed as Boichik’s Winston about why she was targeted.
It’s no wonder, experts say, that more Jews are feeling unsafe.
Tyler Gregory, CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council Bay Area, says his office is receiving about 50 calls a day. “They’re parents with kids in schools, parents and students at universities, people in the workplace — at every level there are people facing antisemitism, discrimination and isolation.”
The fears are borne out by statistics.
A recent survey of 700 American Jews shows a significant increase in those who say the war has impacted their sense of personal security.
The report, published jointly by the World Zionist Organization and the Jewish People Policy Institute, found that 45% to 53% of respondents — 80% of whom have visited Israel at least once — felt less secure during the three weeks after the Hamas attacks, with those numbers increasing as each week went by.
The Anti-Defamation League reported an increase of 383% in antisemitic incidents nationwide between Oct. 7 and Oct. 23. Marc Levine, new director of the San Francisco-based branch of the ADL, says that is the sharpest increase on record, and the numbers are still going up.
“That number correlates to our experience here in Northern California,” Levine, a former state Assemblymember, told J. “Incidents” can include everything from intimidation to vandalism to physical altercations, he said. All have been reported to his office this past month, mostly via ADL’s online portal.
“We have never had this level of incident reporting, not in at least 20 years. My fear is that it is only the beginning of this spike.”
Rafael Brinner, director of security with the Jewish Community Federation and Endowment Fund, says the Israel-Hamas war has “given permission” to people already holding antisemitic beliefs to give voice to those beliefs openly.
“First we had the trauma of Oct. 7,” he said. Then as the public began moving the blame from Hamas to Israel, “we had that trauma erased,” he said. “In that context, even small incidents loom large. Incidents that we wouldn’t take to heart so much now feel like threats. The public square is toxic.”
Both Brinner and Levine note that along with reported incidents, the level of perceived threats is also increasing as more tips and leads are being reported to the authorities. That usually happens after terrorist attacks and Mideast violence, Brinner says. “This is both,” he said.
“The Boichik example is symptomatic,” he said. “People feel free to say these things. It’s [perceived as] acceptable.”
One incident reported to local police came from E.H., a Jewish woman who was walking with her non-Jewish friend in Emeryville on Oct. 30 when a car pulled up alongside and a man rolled down the window. “Free Palestine!” he shouted. “Say it back!”
“I was shaking,” said E.H., who declined to give her name for fear of being targeted. “I was ready to say it, I wanted him to go away. But my friend said, ‘We’re not saying it, you can keep driving.’”
The man kept trailing the pair in his car, shouting “dirty Zionists” and insulting their physical appearance.
E.H. hesitates to call this antisemitic harassment, because, she points out, how could the man know she was Jewish? She suspects that the Israel-Hamas conflict has stirred the waters and given certain people license to channel their hate publicly.
Incidents that we wouldn’t take to heart so much now feel like threats.
“There are people flying off the rails with hatred, and using this as an excuse,” she said.
Still, she admits that she has been “really scared” since Oct. 7. “I’m on social media a lot, and I see things. I’m listening to my favorite podcast, to get away from the war for a bit, and suddenly he’s going on about how terrible Israel is, and there I am again.”
Levine and Brinner emphasize the importance of reporting incidents, including threats, to the police as well as to the ADL.
“The police need to be aware of the level of threats and violence directed at our community,” Brinner said.
Brinner works with local Jewish institutions to maintain their security, and he says there have been “no credible threats” to any of those institutions. But he urges the community to practice “heightened awareness” to keep it that way.
“We are watching the situation closely and using all the tools and partnerships we have to ensure the safety of the community,” he said.
Gregory said the JCRC is following the development of anti-Israel resolutions in local governments and is helping school administrators navigate conflicts, among other things. His office directs individuals who contact JCRC to online resources, including one guide he says has been “very popular” that contains advice for non-Jews on how to support their Jewish friends. Another resource, particularly for those who need trauma counseling, is a hotline maintained by Jewish Family and Children’s Services.
And yes, Gregory notes, he has been having “private conversations” with local Muslim leaders with whom JCRC has built relationships over the years. “We have our differences, of course,” he said, “but we agree the war can’t come here in terms of violence between Jews and Muslims.”
Noting that “emotions are very high,” Gregory urges people to avoid jumping to conclusions. Public figures who don’t come out immediately with pro-Israel statements “aren’t necessarily coming from a hostile place,” he points out. “This is new for all of us. People don’t know what to do. We need to presume good intent unless they show us otherwise.”