There were a record number of anti-Semitic incidents in the U.S. last year.

That's according to the Anti-Defamation League, which says opposition to Israel's military response in Gaza after Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, is what's helping drive the increase.

It's an issue we discussed with Rabbi Sanford Akselrad of Congregation Ner Tamid.

After almost 40 years leading the largest Reform Jewish Temple in Nevada, he is retiring.

Taking his place will be Rabbi Cantor Jessica Hutchings.

She's Nevada's first female rabbi cantor.

We recently spoke with both rabbis in a two-part interview that we recorded two days before Israel's attack on Iran, which Israel said was necessary in order to prevent Iran from building an atomic weapon.

Thank you both for being here.

-Thank you for having us.

-For our non-Jewish viewers, what is the difference between a rabbi and rabbi cantor?

Who wants this?

-Even for our Jewish viewers.

Okay, go ahead.

My whole sermon was about this last week.

It's I'm an overachiever, really, that's all it is.

No.

[laughter] (Jessica Hutchings) I started as a cantor, or in Hebrew we call it a Hazan, which is the musical visionary for a synagogue for a community, to create a musical, spiritual setting, and also to pastorally care for the community and prepare bar and bat mitzvah students.

A lot of it is overarching to the rabbinic role, which is scholarly, is more text study, things like that.

And at a certain point, I decided to add that as well.

-Before we talk about how big of a deal it is for you to be the first female rabbi cantor in Nevada, I want to ask you why you are retiring, Rabbi Akselrad.

(Rabbi Sanford Akselrad) Well, you know, I love being a rabbi.

I'll always be a rabbi, but I just felt it was time, as I approached my late 60s, saw how the world was changing, the challenges that were there, and I was fortunate and our congregation was fortunate in that I was able to mentor Rabbi Hutchings here.

So I felt, you know, I have a good person to step in my shoes, so everything just kind of came together in a beautiful way.

-When you say "the world was changing," what were you talking about?

-There was a few things.

One was COVID.

A lot of clergy across the board, denominations, retired during COVID.

Very difficult time.

The technological changes, keeping the congregation together, all the question marks, the funerals that occurred, just everything hit us, and we absorbed a lot of that energy.

And probably, it may have been a time during COVID, I would have said, I don't know if I'm up for this challenge, but we rose to it together.

And then we got out of COVID, and then we had to refertilize and reblossom this congregation and make it grow again.

And thankfully, that happened.

But during the time when we were in it, who knew?

And then there was a couple other health challenges, and I have seen too many people who waited too long.

And when they retired, they didn't have time to enjoy life.

And my wife--God bless her, we're married 42 years--there's a picture of me at home, she can look at it, but now she gets to see the real thing.

So I think I owe that to her also, to be there for my spouse.

-And it was during COVID when you realized that you wanted to pursue becoming a rabbi.

Did I read that correctly?

-Yeah.

And interestingly, I was in a virtual conference for the cantorate, and I was sitting in a session and it was one of those, those moments where you can't really explain it, you just know, like, there's something else, there's something deeper, there's something I am supposed to add to my life right now.

And I called him, and I think we took one of those safe COVID outside walks or something, and I said, I think this is maybe something I'm interested in doing.

And he sounded very relieved to hear me say that.

-Right.

I think it was, Thank God you realized that, right, is that what you said?

What did you say?

-I don't remember what I said, but I probably reflected on it and thought that was a great opportunity for her and for the congregation.

There's also a shortage of clergy.

Not as many people are going into the rabbinate or the canterate.

And so I knew that when I did choose to retire, it might be difficult for our congregation to find that perfect match.

So on a lot of levels, it just seemed to all click and make sense.

-Is that something you had to run by other people?

-Oh, yeah.

Yeah.

-Okay.

So what was the reaction to an incoming rabbi being a female?

-Oh, that's never been an issue, because I've had assistants who are female, and I had-- -Assistant rabbis?

-Yeah, assistant rabbis who were female, and I had students.

I used to mentor students from the seminary.

They would come in, and they were female.

So gender I don't think was an issue.

-Rabbi Cantor Hutchings, was it an issue from your perspective?

-Not so much in the Reform movement.

It was more of there is definitely more explaining to do when it comes to looking at the different denominations and how I can be accepted in the community.

In the Reform movement, we have a very progressive, open door to all kinds of diversity.

That hasn't been such the issue.

It's more of the community at large and being accepted and respected as he has been with this title.

-You told me off camera you've noticed some things that perhaps Rabbi Akselrad has not as you've transitioned into this role.

What would those be?

-Simple things that you wouldn't think about.

When I, for example, will park in a clergy spot at a hospital, and people will look at me like, She's not clergy.

She doesn't look like clergy; she doesn't have a beard; and kind of that look.

And so I actually had name tags made.

I've never worn one before, but I had name tags made with my title so I can put it on when I go into a hospital so nobody questions that I'm a rabbi.

And there might be other settings where that I'll have to wear it just to show like, Yes, I am a 40-year-old woman and also a rabbi and a canter, and so I am clergy in this situation.

And you may not think that clergy looks like me, but they do.

So, yeah.

-What was it that your son said when you told him you were going to study to become a rabbi?

-He got very upset, and he started crying.

And he said, I don't want you to have a beard.

And I thought, I failed him, he thinks that all rabbis have beards.

But then I realized his rabbi has a beard, the rabbis in the school that we were renting to had beards, and he saw mommy was a cantor, and his rabbi has a beard and is a he.

-But for the record, I've only had this beard 25 years.

[laughter] My wife happens to like a beard.

So there you go.

-Historically, though, a female rabbi is a big deal, right?

-Oh, yeah.

-But you don't think it's a big deal?

-It's-- becoming a rabbi, in and of itself, is a big deal.

But I think, I think that she will be a trailblazer on many different levels, besides gender.

-Tell me why.

-Because she is a person who is able to see things that should be but aren't and try to make them better.

And I think also that she is a person who also is aware of her gender but also at her heart is a person who just wants to be the best Rabbi she can be.

And you know, so it's not through colored through that lens.

It's colored through the lens of a tradition that's a couple thousand years old.

And in that way, she'll reach out and help people, regardless of gender, age-- -Sexuality.

- --and sexuality, absolutely.

-And I attribute those qualities to Rabbi Akselrad being my childhood rabbi and teaching me that this is how you love people, this is how you do Judaism.

And there's a quality in Reform Judaism that's held very high, which is tikkun olam, which means to repair or to heal the world.

And this is, this is very important to me.

So when I see injustice, I want to make it right.

I want people to know that they have a place here in the Jewish community.

-When you bring that up, repairing and healing the world, it is a difficult time when you think of Israeli-Palestinian relations and how that applies to that situation.

Let's go back to October 7, 2023.

What changed in your line of work for both of you?

I'll start with you, Rabbi Akselrad.

-That was another challenge, right, that says, oh, my God, do I want to retire?

Do I not?

It's something that we have not seen in our lifetime in our career.

Israel has fought so many different wars, but this was a war that has been considered existential, that Israel got caught in a very difficult situation.

They lost a lot of people, it's a very small country, and they were also going through a political upheaval in terms of how they wanted the democracy of the country to go to.

So add that layer, and going into war, the taking of the hostages, it just affected Israel incredibly.

Who knew, though, that the response of the world, which initially probably for maybe one or two days was supportive of Israel, would then change immediately to be not only anti-Zionist, but to be anti-Semitic.

And therefore, since that time, our congregation has had to spend a fortune on security.

And it's not just our congregation, it's throughout the country and probably throughout the world.

That's, to me, intolerable and just a sad state of affairs that, as I retire, we now find the Jewish community under siege in that regard.

-I was wondering whether it had anything to do with your decision to retire.

-Not necessarily in that regard.

There's a little bit of guilt that maybe I should stay on just to keep being that voice.

My intent is really to go to Israel and volunteer there, so that will be a way that I continue that passage, that support of Israel.

I've been to Israel probably 30 times, so I have a deep love for Israel.

You can read about all the issues about the war and what's happening with the Palestinians, what's happening with Israel, and my heart for both people really goes out.

The amount of destruction, the amount of death, it's heartbreaking, and I hope that there'll be a path to peace.

-Rabbi Cantor Hutchings, you told me off camera that this is an unprecedented time for you.

What has the result been?

What have you felt?

-There's multiple angles here.

There's the one side of things where we've seen people so proud to show up again.

Like maybe they've been unaffiliated from their community, but what happened made them want to have community again to say like, I felt vulnerable and lonely in that moment on October 7, and I needed to show that I was a Jewish person and find my Jewish community.

So that has been a blessing for a lot of people.

I mean, one that I wish wouldn't have been the reason, but if we have to find something good out of it, we've seen that all over the country.

But the amount of outward anti-Semitism that has come from it and the realization that we are truly othered in ways that as a younger person I did not see--and perhaps I had rose colored glasses on--but I never felt so othered and also, other than a negative way, I guess, that because of who I am, being Jewish, than I have in these last 614 or -15 days.

It's unbelievable that this is where we are, that this is how it has to-- how it is at this moment, that there is so much uncertainty and so much misinformation that is guiding this hatred.

And it's heartbreaking.

There's no other way to say it.

All we can say is we're here for our community, and this is not a time to be shy about who you are.

This is a time to find your community and to stand tall.

-Where do you start when talking about misinformation?

What's most important for people to know?

-I think that Israel has been made out to be this really bad-- like Israel, bad; Zionism, bad.

And yes, as Rabbi Akselrad said, We-- -And will you explain what Zionism is-- -Sure.

Do you want-- - --for our non-Jewish viewers.

-Zionism has been made out to be something that is what is happening in Gaza is a result of Zionism.

That's not the case.

Zionism is that there is a right for the Jewish people to have a homeland and to have the State of Israel as the Jewish state.

It's supposed to be a place where all people can be, can have their history, can be safe, that there is peace.

What has happened and what is happening in Gaza, as Rabbi Akselrad said, is heartbreaking, because the destruction-- like I don't think most people want to see what's happening there.

I think most people want the end result to be peace, that we can live amongst our brothers and sisters, our cousins, our whoever is in the State of Israel and finds that that is their homeland.

But that's not what ends up coming across.

It's like this Israel, monstrous, and attached to Israel is all Jewish people in the world.

And it's not the case.

It's like, it's more of a political situation that's happening within Israel.

There's still 55 hostages that they've said, Return them, return them, return them.

And we still, we sit here and we wait, and we have no resolution to that.

And people have said, Well, there's only-- there was 200-whatever hostages, and look how many people are dying in Gaza.

They're not equate.

Like, they're not to be equated.

Like, there's-- this is unfortunately what happens in war, and it's terrible.

We don't like war.

And there are hostages that are Israeli that need to be returned to their homeland.

And there are, there are thousands of people who gather every week to say, Bring them home.

And it's so complicated, and I wish people would take a step back and say, I'm going to really try to understand this, because it's not as simple as bad guy/good guy.

-There are international students whose visas have reportedly been revoked because they participated in pro-Palestinian protests.

Where do you stand on that?

Is that anti-Semitism?

-When we cross the line is not in protest, per se.

It's when they say Israel should not exist.

That then becomes anti-Semitism.

You can say, I hate the Government of Israel.

Israel is committing terrible atrocities.

But as soon as you say Israel's committed genocide, as soon as you say that Israel should not exist, that the Zionists control the world, whatever these anti-Semitic tropes, now you've crossed the line.

And that's what's been going on in college campuses and around the world, and they are spreading these types of lies.

But everyone can say, We should get out of Afghanistan.

We should get out of Iraq.

We should get out of Vietnam.

This has been going on as long as America has been.

There have been people who are upset about our wars, let alone wars in foreign countries.

So people can express their opinion, but they cannot deny Israel's right to exist.

That's where they cross the line.

-What anti-Semitism have you experienced personally?

-We had threats come in.

We had a written, mailed threat about that we should not exist, basically.

That came in through the mail with someone's return address on it, so they wanted us to know who they were.

That was like a week and a half ago.

Things like that, that people are outwardly-- we'll get on our live stream.

We live stream our services, and once in a while, I'll have to go in and delete comments on the YouTube or Facebook, because there'll be bots or trolls that come in and say things about how they feel about the Jewish people, and I want to keep it a peaceful space for our people to have communal prayer.

And so, yeah, these are things I never saw before.

Not in Las Vegas, not in Los Angeles.

Like, they happen, of course, but at this level where it's like, okay, what are we waking up to today?

Never before.

-We'll hear more from Rabbi Cantor Hutchings and Rabbi Akselrad about Congregation Ner Tamid's impact on the community next week.