A little About Enough Is Enough
Growing up in the Syrian community, we are left unexposed to antisemitism until it manifests close to home. Once exposed, many of the community’s young adults do not know the proper facts and are not equipped with the proper skills to combat the misinformation and hate thrown their way. It wasn't until he reached college that Enough is Enough founder Michael Harary realized the importance of education in fighting against antisemitism. Together with Ronnie Kassin, he reached out to other young community leaders, ranging from ages 18-21, who are passionate about Israel and Judaism. Together they formed what is now known as Enough is Enough. Our committee could no longer stand on the sidelines and watch how our people were being dangerously targeted. Instead we decided to rise to the occasion and gather the resources to combat antisemitism in all environments. Enough is Enough is an organization that is dedicated to combating antisemitism through raising awareness, educating young adults, and uplifting Jewish identity. Our goal is to educate and give confidence to college students on why they MUST respond and HOW to properly respond to antisemitism. This will be done by preparing high school students to stand up to antisemitism, while also providing the necessary resources to parents to support their children in the fight. Enough is Enough aims to show the importance of representing yourself as a Jew in the larger world, and to educate the youth on how to respond to antisemitism and Anti-Israel rhetoric. They will challenge young minds to be open to new knowledge and education. This past summer Enough is Enough ran four inspiring and impactful events that drew over five hundred young adults in attendance. They collaborated with AIPAC and The SCC to conduct "Stoop Talk", a moderated discussion with Julian Coakley led by founder, Michael Harary. Coakley illustrated his journey growing up in a Christian community in the Bahamas that
eventually led him to becoming a valued member at AIPAC and a major advocate for Israel. He stressed the importance of coexisting and the impact of having individual conversation to combat hate. After Stoop Talk, the Enough is Enough team put together a fundraising tennis match with our very own, David Mizrahi. Being a D1 player, Mizrahi played an intense game while over 200 community members attended. At the event he spoke about his experiences and challenges of being away from home. In his speech he stated, “We have to realize that when we step into the real world people are watching us because they know we are Jewish, and we all have a responsibility everyday to be aware that we are not only representing ourselves, we are representing an entire nation.” His actions mattered and this made him more aware of his lack of knowledge and his need for education to defend himself. On August 5th, Enough is Enough held an exclusive interactive discussion for active youth community leaders. In this discussion the young adults reflected upon the current situation in America. They discussed specifically how the community can better prepare their students to be leaders as they enter adulthood. The young leaders also discussed the future, possible solutions, as well as issues that they are all facing today in schools and college campuses. This discussion was able to showcase the inner thoughts of our young community activists and allowed the participants to motivate each other to do more. Our most recent event occurred on August 10th in partnership with Stand With Us. Together, we set up a variety of different workshops alongside StandWithUs professionals. Both students and parents were able to join a session where information about Antisemitism today was provided alongside specific tactics on how to respond to and deal with hate. Being a StandWithUs affiliate, we were able to utilize StandWithUs’s professionals and bring their expertise into our community. Today, Enough is Enough is an SCA Affiliate, a Stand With Us Affiliate, and has partnered with AIPAC.
Despite the progress made this summer, our job is not nearly done. There is still a major lack of education regarding antisemitism, but there is much that can still be done, and Enough is Enough plans to do it. As said by StandWithUs professional Avi Posnick, “Antisemitism is a virus and Enough is Enough is creating the vaccine.” A major part of getting a Jewish education is learning about Antisemitism and Israel today. Enough is Enough plans on bringing interactive skill building and educational workshops to high school students across our community. From there we hope to expand into college campuses and beyond. Additionally, the organization is currently running a book club for young adults, to discuss “Why The Jews? The Reason for Antisemitism,” written by Dennis Prager. Many of our young community advocates will be participants of the book club, in an attempt to learn more about Israel and Anti Semitism in order to be prepared to disprove any misinformation floating around campuses. Thanks to our wonderful community that stands strong with Israel and supports organizations such as ours, we are able to make a difference.. We are all eager to put in the work and do our part in combating one of the longest standing forms of hate the world has ever seen. We are Jews. We are proud. We deserve respect and equality. Enough is Enough.