Oregon — On the night of November 9–10, 1938, Nazi Germany erupted in state-organized violence against its Jewish citizens. Synagogues burned, shops were smashed, and streets glittered with broken glass in what became known as Kristallnacht. More than 1,400 synagogues were burned, Jewish-owned stores and homes were smashed and looted, and sacred scrolls were desecrated. Roughly 26,000 Jewish men were arrested and sent to concentration camps, and at least 90 people were murdered. The Nazi regime then imposed a collective “atonement” fine of one billion Reichsmarks on the Jewish community and made Jews themselves pay for the damage.
Eighty-seven years later, Jewish communities around the world are again warning that antisemitic hatred is rising.
According to the Anti-Defamation League’s 2024 Audit of Antisemitic Incidents, the United States recorded 9,354 incidents in 2024, the highest number since tracking began in 1979, and a 140 percent increase over 2023. Nearly 60 percent of incidents were tied to hostility surrounding the Israel–Hamas war.
“Tyrants will go as far as you will allow them to go. They are always testing the waters. ‘Can I go further? Can I push stronger?’” said U.S. Special Envoy Deborah Lipstadt, reflecting on the lessons of Holocaust history.
Across Europe, the threat of antisemitic violence continues to surface in stark form. In Manchester, England, a synagogue was attacked on the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, when an assailant armed with a knife and a handgun attempted to force entry into the building. The incident was labelled by local authorities as an act of “indiscriminate violence” and has been cited by Jewish-community leaders as evidence that even highly symbolic and solemn places are vulnerable in today’s climate.
Oregon Confronts Its Own Issues with Antisemitism
The global wave of antisemitism has been increasingly visible in Oregon, not only through vandalism and campus incidents but through local political debates and municipal resolutions that reflect and shape the atmosphere of Jewish community safety and inter-communal tension.
In Portland, the Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education was defaced in August 2025 with blue swastikas painted across its front doors and a photo mural. Executive Director Rebekah Sobel told OPB, “Anger, frustration, sadness. This hasn’t happened at this location for the museum ever before.” The Portland Police Bureau opened a hate-crime investigation into the attack, which followed a series of regional bias-crime reports that summer.
On Oregon campuses, Jewish students describe an atmosphere of growing fear and isolation. At the University of Oregon in Eugene, students who travelled to Israel held a candle-light vigil in February. Student leader Rachel Lennard said: “Tonight is about remembering human lives and affirming our shared hope for peace and healing,” and a fellow student added: “It makes you realise that even though two years have passed since October 7, it is still October 7 for Israel.” A separate NBC 16 report in November 2024 found that 60 percent of Jewish students surveyed in at UO had experienced antisemitism, while 80 percent said the university had not adequately protected them.
According to a May 2024 report by Willamette Week, a Jewish student at Reed College in Portland was struck in the face with a rock just one day after a Star of David chalked on campus was defaced with antisemitic graffiti.The college confirmed that campus security and Portland Police were investigating both incidents as potential hate crimes. Jewish community leaders called the assault “deeply troubling” and said it reflected a growing pattern of harassment targeting visibly Jewish students across Oregon campuses.
In Portland, the Portland State University was placed under federal civil-rights investigation in February 2025 over alleged “widespread antisemitic harassment” on campus. Federal officials said “too many universities have tolerated antisemitic harassment … driving Jewish life and religious expression underground.” PSU’s response stated the institution “is dedicated to upholding a safe, inclusive and respectful community for all members.”
In Salem in May 2024, debate over a proposed resolution from the city’s Human Rights Commission (HRC) revealed sharp divisions after the draft accused Israel of “enacting genocide against the Palestinian people.” Several councilors objected to the language, warning it would deepen community tension, while only Councilor Julie Gonzalez supported the genocide claim. The council ultimately rejected the HRC’s proposal and instead adopted a narrower resolution co-written by Councilors Virginia Stapleton and Linda Nishioka calling for a cease-fire, the release of hostages, and humanitarian aid to Gaza, while condemning antisemitism, Islamophobia, and all forms of hate. The measure passed 5–4 after Mayor Chris Hoy cast the deciding vote.
In Corvallis, the Corvallis City Council rejected a proposed divestment resolution aligned with the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement on October 21, 2025, voting 6-3 against it. The resolution would have prohibited City investment in Israeli companies or companies that deal with Israel. Critics of the proposal pointed to concerns that it singled out the only Jewish state for divestment, using what are described in the article as “antisemitic stand-in tropes for Jewish supremacy theories and blood libels in the language of the proposal.”
For Oregon’s Jewish community, these events, from museum vandalism to campus investigations, show that antisemitism is not distant history but a present challenge.
Remembering Kristallnacht and the Responsibility of the Present
The shattered glass of 1938 has long since been swept away, but its echo is unmistakable. Eighty-seven years later, the same fears that once haunted Jewish communities in Europe now surface in headlines from Portland, Manchester, and campuses across the United States. What begins as vandalism or political rhetoric can quickly evolve into intimidation and violence if left unchecked.
In Oregon, the growing unease among Jewish students, the defacement of a Holocaust museum, and the sharp rhetoric of city debates are reminders that prejudice still tests the limits of tolerance. As US Senator Chuck Grassley stated in an opening statement for a hearing on Stemming the Tide of Antisemitism “We can’t confront injustice without taking sides. We can’t be neutral in the face of hatred. Antisemitism is, and remains, an ongoing poison. And unless we reckon with that, we’ll never have the moral clarity to address other forms of injustice as they crop up.”
Commemorating Kristallnacht is not only about mourning the past but recognizing the warning it still carries. The vigilance that once defined the postwar promise of “never again” must now be renewed in schools, public offices, and civic life.
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