'Be proud to be Jewish': New billboard goes up as local antisemitism rises

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- As the conflict between Israel and Hamas continues, our local Jewish community says antisemitic incidents are on the rise.

"I feel we're all a little bit on edge," Executive Director of Friendship Circle of Wisconsin Rabbi Levi Stein said.

Since the tension overseas erupted into conflict, Rabbi Stein has prayed for those impacted.

"It's so tragic what's going on, and we're just hoping and praying for peace, and we don't want anyone else to get hurt," he said.

He says it has been a trying time as he watches the fighting from afar with friends and family in Israel, calling what he sees on the news terrifying. It has also hit close to home because the local Jewish community has seen an increase in antisemitism.

"There's been a significant increase in general negativity and hate toward Jewish people, and that's happening on all levels, on campus, in high schools, just almost my peers, my friends even. It may not be a violent attack, but the general view on the Jewish people now is challenging," Stein said.

"It's affecting our community at Synagogue. It's affecting my kids at school."

To fully track the number and kinds of threats made against the Jewish community in Wisconsin, the Milwaukee Jewish Federation has a website where people can confidentially fill out reports of incidents, just one community-focused campaign to fight antisemitism.

Another effort is a recently erected billboard that reads "Be proud to be Jewish," put up in Milwaukee by Lubavitch of Wisconsin.

"The billboard is just telling people that we're proud to be a Jew. Don't hide it, don't shy away from it. We're proud of who we are, we have nothing to be ashamed of, and we're going to continue literally announcing that on the billboard," Stein said. "We are going to follow our beliefs, and because someone is going to say something that is misguided is not going to cause us to be ashamed or be afraid."

The Milwaukee Jewish Federation encouraged people not to share images of antisemitic incidents on social media but to take a picture and upload it with an incident report form. To fill out one of the forms, click here.