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.
…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 – to 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.
The press release from AJC notes:
Translate Hate: The Catholic Edition featuresCatholic commentary on various entries of AJC’s renowned Translate Hate glossary of antisemitic terms, themes, and memes. It comes as Catholic and Jewish communities prepare to mark six decades of trust-building and mutual learning beginning when the Catholic Church reached out to the Jewish people and the world with Nostra Aetate, the historic Second Vatican Council document disseminated on October 28, 1965, which dramatically and publicly decried antisemitism and transformed the Church’s approach to the Jewish people for the better.
