Kansas City has experienced several high-profile incidents of antisemitism this year, including at several schools and the Overland Park farmers market.
But antisemitism is far more prevalent than most non-Jewish Americans are aware of, according to Gavriela Geller, executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Bureau and the American Jewish Committee.
"The environment that is already present in our country is affecting the lived experiences of American Jews on a day-to-day basis in terms of the fear, the anxiety that we are experiencing," Geller told KCUR's Up To Date.
A 2022 survey by the JCRB/AJC found that 81% of Jewish students in the Kansas City area experience or witness antisemitism in their schools.
Geller said education is the most effective tool to combat antisemitism.
"We have to rely on our leaders and our friends and our allies and our neighbors to stand up for us when we're not in the room," she said.
- Gavriela Geller, executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Bureau (JCRB) and the American Jewish Committee (AJC), Kansas City
