Had my first experience with antisemitism today

I suppose the title maybe isn’t 100% true. No one acted on me personally, and I did see antisemitism prior to converting. I’m surprised though it took two years post-conversion to experience it the way I did. I don’t spend a lot of time on social media and definitely don’t go looking for trouble, so that’s probably why.

I was on Facebook and saw a post from a reputable news organization about the mourning of those lost on October 7th. It had nothing to do with the war itself, just the lives lost during the attack. I should’ve known better than to look, but I looked at the comments. Hidden among some pretty standard pro-Israel/pro-Palestine comments was one that ended with “go back to your camps juden”. My heart broke. My partner tried to reassure me that it was probably a bot, but I’m dubious.

I just wasn’t sure what to do with my sadness, so I thought I’d come here. I hope everyone is doing okay today and staying safe.

Edit – I thought this would go without saying, but since I’ve had multiple comments about it: No, I don’t use social media often. After being exposed to anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric, misogyny, self-harm and pro-ana content, political vitriol, and so on for my entire adolescence and early adulthood, I drastically reduced my participation online for the sake of my health a few years ago. It did wonders, my life is much more focused and grounded now. I highly recommend it to those considering.

That doesn’t mean, however, that I’m ignorant to online antisemitism. After all, I’m a member in this very subreddit where it’s frequently talked about. I’m more than aware of what hateful things are spread around on various social media platforms I don’t use. This post wasn’t meant to be some big revelation that it’s happening like I had no idea. It was meant to state simply that I’d avoided it successfully until today, to express that it was upsetting, and to relate to and reflect with others.