TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Members of Tucson's Jewish community gathered at University of Arizona Hillel Thursday night for a forum with former and current Arizona state lawmakers on how they can fight antisemitism.
The night's forum began with a mourner's prayer to honor the four dead hostages returned to Israel earlier that day.
Local Jewish activist Adam Fox helped set up the vent, which was a partnership with the #endjewhatred movement.
““We need to take ownership," he said. "One way to do that is to bring in [lawmakers] and show the country that there is support out there, so this has Republican and Democratic support for Jewish students to combat antisemitism on campus.”
Fox said he was inspired to become an activist and set up events like this by the rise in antisemitism he saw as a Hillel campus director after the Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel.
The Anti Defamation League, or ADL, said in the first three months after the attack, antisemitic assaults rose by 360%. 500 of those assaults were on college campuses.
The members on the panel included the three Mexican-Jewish Democratic Hernandez siblings: Daniel, Alma and Consuelo; Republican Justin Wilmeth and a video message from Republican Juan Ciscomani.
All shared their commitment to Arizona's Jewish community and to fighting antisemitism at the Statehouse, sharing their roles on legislation like the Arizona Holocaust Education Bill from 2022, which adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance;s definition of antisemitism.
Organizer Adam Fox said the forum wasn't a competition on which party is better or more passionate on Jewish issues.
“The question is what can we all do together," he said. "Politics means nothing when it comes to supporting Jewish life and making sure Jewish Arizonans can wake up and go to school and go to their jobs. They can openly and proudly be Jewish.”
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Alex Dowd is a multimedia journalist at KGUN 9, where her work combines her two favorite hobbies: talking to new people and learning about the community around her. Her goal is to eventually meet every single person in Tucson. Share your story ideas with Alex via email, alex.dowd@kgun9.com, or connecting on Instagram or X.
