COLUMBIA, S.C. — On Oct. 9, rapper, Kanye West, took to Twitter in a series of tweets saying "Death con 3 on Jewish people". The statement was deleted by Twitter and West's account was suspended.
The tweets sparked a slew of conversations across the country, including here in the Midlands.
Ana Sazonov, the Executive Director of the Columbia Jewish Federation says, the past couple of weeks have been tough for her and the rest of the local Jewish community.
"We cannot stop because if we stop then that means they've won and as we say, never again," Sazonov stated.
Sazonov, says there has been a rise in hate against Jewish people in the last year, and the community here in the Midlands simply has to band together and face it head-on.
"Unfortunately antisemitism has been with us for centuries," she explained. "This is not new. Now it's gotten more vocalized so now people are more aware of a problem that we've been suffering for years."
The Anti-Defamation League, which tracks antisemitic behavior nationwide, found more than 2,000 incidents last year. That averages out to more than seven anti-semitic incidents per day. In 2022, there have been more than 1,400 incidents.
Aaron Dicker came to Friday's Shabbat dinner with the Columbia Jewish Federation and says, antisemitism is nothing new to him.
"I grew up in an area of a city with about half a million people but less than 500 Jewish families," Dicker recalled. "These things bring attention to the issue but the individuals that are experiencing this every day are experiencing and re-experiencing that trauma over and over again."
We also checked in with one of the local synagogues at Chabad of South Carolina, Rabbi Levi Marrus says the temple has security measures in place to make their place of worship safe.
"We of course have security and I know in other synagogues they do the same, but we can't let fear dictate our lives," the Rabbi said.
The Second Gentleman, Doug Emhoff also shared his thoughts on recent events saying, "The Jewish community is facing an epidemic of hate... No person of any faith should have to fear violence because of what they believe."