Leo Ferguson, Movement Building Organizer at Jews For Racial & Economic Justice (JFREJ) appeared on WNYC’s On The Media, in a segment called “Combatting Antisemitism,” and was followed by a segment featuring JFREJ member Eli Valley. On The Media is distributed nationally by NPR, on May 3rd, 2019.

Combatting Antisemitism
Another week, another horrific act of domestic terrorism, this time in Poway, California, where a shooter opened fire in a synagogue this past Saturday. Citing the Christchurch massacre in Marchand the Tree of Life shooting in Pittsburgh last fall, the alleged killer articulated his hate for Jews and Muslims in a familiar screed featuring far-right memes and white supremacist iconography.

After the attack in Pittsburgh, On The Media host Bob Garfield spoke with Jews for Racial and Economic Justice organizer Leo Ferguson about how to understand the roots of antisemitism and the way it has functioned throughout history in order to help make sense of the threat it poses today. This week, Bob again speaks with Ferguson, who argues that we need to call out and root out antisemitism where we see it — but that the work of combating antisemitism also includes building cross-cultural coalitions that fight against white supremacy and for economic justice.

Listen to the interview:

Combatting Antisemitism is a segment from On the Media’s May 3rd, 2019 program, A High State of Agitation.

Leo previously appeared on On the Media’s November 2nd, 2018 program, The Others.