How Would You React If Confronted With Anti-Semitism?
Hidden cameras capture anti-Jewish comments hitting a nerve with bystanders.
Nov. 5, 2010— -- At a popular bakery in Bloomfield, N. J., people lining up for delicious treats were faced with quite a shock when a young Jewish couple walked in and spoke with a man behind the counter.
The couple asked the clerk if they could post a flyer for a job fair at their temple. Bystanders were stunned when the clerk not only refused the couple's request, but then continued to rant on how Jews were responsible for our failing economy.
"You Jews are all alike," he taunted. "You want to control the banks so you can get people's money."
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) conducted an audit on the number of anti-Semitic incidents in the U.S. in 2009. According to their findings, a total of 1,211 incidents of vandalism, harassment and physical assaults against Jewish individuals, property and community institutions occurred that year, in the U.S. alone.
What the customers at this bakery don't know is that the clerk and the young Jewish couple are actors, the bakery is rigged with hidden cameras and "What Would You Do?" is exploring how people react when confronted with anti-Jewish stereotypes.
Click here to watch the latest episode of "What Would You Do?"
"This is what I think of the Jews coming in to the neighborhood to steal all the jobs," lamented the clerk as he ripped up the flyer.
Customers, who have asked not to be named, appeared incredulous, but most did nothing until one Jewish man broke his silence and calmly tried to tone down the clerk.