(JEWISH GROUP) My 7-Year-Old Was The Target Of An Antisemitic Joke. Here's What I Told Him. [View all]

“Dad, do I have short arms?”

The question came from my 7-year-old son during one of our morning drives to school. As a divorced father with limited time with my twins, these car conversations were usually a highlight of my week. But not this one.

“All Jews have short arms,” he continued. “That’s why they can’t reach their wallets.”

I slowed down the car, my heart pounding as I processed what I’d just heard. These were the same antisemitic “jokes” I had faced decades earlier.

What might seem like casual jokes can have harmful effects on children’s development. “Children exposed to discrimination can experience emotional challenges that affect their self-esteem and ability to form healthy relationships,” Reena B. Patel, a parenting expert and licensed educational board-certified behavior analyst, told HuffPost. “These encounters can trigger a domino effect, impacting everything from academic performance to social relationships and even physical health.”

more...