Major League Baseball Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson called out antisemitism in his home state of Philadelphia, comparing it to racism he experienced in the 1960s, in a Saturday post on X\/Twitter.<\/p>\n
Jackson cited Anti-Defamation League (ADL)<\/a> data recording 465 antisemitic incidents in Pennsylvania over the course of 2024, including 189 in Philadelphia and 51 in Montgomery County, where his hometown Wyncote is located.<\/p>\n “The numbers show this is not an abstract concern,” Jackson wrote, adding that it made him “angry and ashamed to see hatred tolerated there.”<\/p>\n Jackson also brought up ADL reports that a majority of Jewish Americans are concerned about antisemitism<\/a> and their personal safety.\u00a0<\/p>\n “Hateful expression harms more than its immediate target,” he wrote. “A research review also found that exposure to hate is associated with worse psychological well-being, more negative stereotypes, and less trust between groups.”<\/p>\n He associated reports of pervasive antisemitism with racism<\/a> in the American South in the 1960s, mentioning separate bathrooms and drinking fountains, and signs stating that black people could be refused service.<\/p>\n “I remember what that hatred looked and felt like,” he concluded. “We cannot accept it in any form, directed at any people.”<\/p>\n