In 2022 the United States witnessed a 36% increase in Antisemitic incidents, including demonstrations, flyers, and violent occurrences such as the Colleyville synagogue hostage situation. On June 8, 2023, the Boniuk Institute partnered with the Menil Collection to present “Antisemitism in the Archive: Documenting Prejudice in Texas Jewish History,” featuring Rice University Program in Jewish Studies' then associate director, Joshua Furman. This event, held at the Menil’s Drawing Institute, was presented on the occasion of the exhibit Si Lewen: The Parade, also co-sponsored by the Boniuk Institute. The exhibit speaks to the cycles of war, community deprivation, devastating destruction, death, and heartbreak brought on by hate and religious violence.
Furman reflected on historical antisemitism in Houston, using archival sources to illustrate patterns within the greater history of antisemitism in the United States. He detailed major moments of antisemitism in the Greater Houston area, including the prominence of the Ku Klux Klan in the early 1900s and the lynching of Leo Frank, as well as a larger pattern of Jewish exclusion from elite neighborhoods, communities, and educational institutions. He also discussed communities and groups that worked together to combat antisemitism or thrived despite it, such as an interfaith Jewish-Catholic alliance that worked to dismantle Klan power, and a longstanding Jewish congregation in Wharton, Texas, that remained a vibrant community for many decades. He concluded his remarks with a return to present-day antisemitism, outlining steps that we can take toward dismantling and preventing it, including acknowledging and calling out hatred and intolerance, nurturing allies and coalitions, preserving history, and promoting dialogue and awareness through institutions like the Menil Collection and Rice University’s Boniuk Institute.