U.S. Bishops and American Jewish Committee join together to fight antisemitism

NEW YORK – In an effort to “continue building bridges and combat antisemitism,” the U.S. Bishops’ Conference and American Jewish Committee have published a new version of the latter’s glossary of antisemitic rhetoric that is annotated with the Catholic perspective on each definition.

On Dec. 11, the two organizations announced the release of Translate Hate: The Catholic Edition, which adds annotations from the USCCB Committee on Ecumenical Affairs with the Catholic perspective on the antisemitic terms, phrases, conspiracies, cartoons, themes, and memes, detailed throughout.

The USCCB said the resource “paves the way for deeper and wider cooperation in a shared commitment to eradicating antisemitism at a time when recent events have challenged Catholic-Jewish relations.” Bishop Joseph Bombera of Scranton noted that the rise of antisemitic incidents both globally and in the United States are a reminder that there is more work to be done.

“This project is but one example of the fruits of our collaboration that we hope will have wide-ranging impacts as Catholics and Jews continue building bridges and combat antisemitism together,” Bombera, chairman of the USCCB Committee on Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs said in a statement.

Translate Hate: The Catholic Edition includes about 60 terms, phrases, conspiracies, cartoons, themes, and memes, as well as sections on Catholic resources, defining antisemitism, and how to report hate. It also includes an introductory essay from Bambera, where he highlights the rise of antisemitism and the American bishops’ commitment to stand “shoulder to shoulder with our Jewish brothers and sisters.”

“Observing this alarming trend, the bishops of the committee remain committed to standing shoulder to shoulder with our Jewish brothers and sisters to combat this evil,” Bombera wrote in the introductory note. “In this spirit, we welcome the opportunity to share our particular perspective with our friends at American Jewish Committee (AJC) … It is our hope that our additional comments assist you in understanding Catholic teaching in respect to these curated themes and tropes.”

The committee’s annotations are included at the bottom of each description.

For example, under “F” the glossary first defines the phrase “From the River to Sea,” which it defines as a “phrase that can be used to call for the elimination of the State of Israel and/or ethnic cleansing of Jews living there, to be replaced with Palestinian control over the entire territory from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea.” A second section then details specific instances when the phrase is antisemitic.

Underneath all of that, is a final section labeled “Catholic Commentary,*” where it notes that “The Holy See’s Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews encourages Catholics to understand and respect the deep religious connection Jews feel towards Israel.” The commentary section in this case also highlights that “Vatican and papal policy advocates for a two-state solution” between Israel and Palestine.

Rabbi Noam Marans, the American Jewish Committee director of interreligious affairs, called the Catholics edition of Translate Hate a groundbreaking project that comes at an important time given the rise of antisemitism globally and in the United States.

“USCCB’s allyship and leadership in confronting antisemitism as a threat not only to the Jewish people but also to civilized society more broadly is a key part of the national whole-of-society approach we need to combat anti-Jewish hate,” Marans said in a statement.

On Oct. 6, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) published data that there were more than 10,000 antisemitic incidents in the United States between Oct. 7, 2023 – the date of the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel – and Sept. 24, which is more than a 200-percent increase compared to the incidents reported to the organization over the same period a year before.

Those incidents included over 8,015 instances of verbal or written harassment, over 1,840 instances of vandalism, and more than 150 incidents of physical assault, according to the ADL.

Holly Huffnagle, the American Jewish Committee U.S. director of combating antisemitism, said in a statement that at a time when antisemitism is on the rise, the new Catholic edition of Translate Hate will “help equip Catholics, Jews, and others with the tools needed to recognize antisemitism.”

“The first step in combating antisemitism is being able to understand and identify it. Translate Hate: The Catholic Edition presents this information in a way that can be used at all levels of Catholic and Jewish formal and informal education and empower our partners to stand up to anti-Jewish hate,” Huffnagle said.