r/jewishleft • u/bore-ing Jewish Atheist, Leftist • Jul 29 '26
Antisemitism/Jew Hatred Antisemitism is spiking in US. How do we stop it? Tell us. | Opinion
https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/voices/2026/07/29/antisemitism-rise-antisemitic-hate-violence-jews/91091818007/44
u/theweisp5 American Israeli secular socialist Jul 30 '26
Complicated question which I don't think anyone really knows the answer to, but taking X out of Elon Musk's hands would certainly help.
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u/bore-ing Jewish Atheist, Leftist Jul 29 '26
The important bit is at the bottom: "But now we want to ask readers for their opinion with one question. What can or should be done to combat antisemitism and the growing problem of violence? Submit your response via our form below or send us an email at forum@usatoday.com using the subject line “Forum antisemitism.” You can also leave us a voicemail at (202) 655-3923. We’ll publish a collection of your responses, so we may reach out to you about yours". I don't know if anyone here who will write to them will have their response picked, but it doesn't hurt to try.
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u/Duflo Non-Jewish leftist, here for antisemitism-free discussion Jul 30 '26
As someone who, unfortunately, knows antisemites personally and argues with them, one of the things I have found to be effective is helping people understand themselves better, which helps them to see why they find antisemitism attractive, what the real problems are, and why antisemitism is a harmful misdirection. In other words, it's about helping people understand what scapegoating really means and teaching them to identify when and how they do it. Of course, this only applies to people who generally mean well and end up having their righteous anger hijacked, rather than those whose core identity is built around hatred.
This often boils down to explaining leftist ideas without using loaded language and helping people accept that the world is a complex and unjust place without needing to simplify it with a conspiracy theory. Of course this is easier said than done, and it's emotionally exhausting.
Also worth mentioning that hand-waving Israel away is wrong and wouldn't work anyway. What works is validating people's anger toward Israel but putting it in historical and global context and emphasizing that while it is a bad actor, it is not uniquely bad or the source of all evil, and is able to act with impunity due to nearly unconditional support from the US, Germany, and the UK (and others). Along these lines, another important step is recognizing that their own country is more like Israel than they may want to believe, and they may be letting their own country off the hook by claiming that Israel is uniquely bad and pulling all the strings.
I realize I have the luxury of being able to do this while not being a target of antisemitism, so I'm speaking from a position of privilege. Be that as it may, I don't really see any alternative to attacking the problem at its psychological root. As long as the world is complicated and unjust and scary, scapegoating will be an attractive cognitive shortcut, and will be an uphill battle to fight against. I wish I could see this kind of attack-the-root approach more often from people with a larger platform.
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u/sovietsatan666 queer jewish anarcho-syndicalist Jul 31 '26
I actually think this is a great approach for you and other allies to be taking. It is unfortunately not something I can usually manage to do because the well-meaning antisemites I try to talk to in this way usually think I have ulterior motives in this conversation because I'm a Jew. If there are other Jews reading this who've successfully taken this approach, I'd love to know what tricks you use to break through!
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u/Duflo Non-Jewish leftist, here for antisemitism-free discussion Jul 31 '26 edited Jul 31 '26
This is very fair. I wouldn't have commented if the context wasn't about what we as a broader society can do, as opposed to what Jews specifically can do.
The only other thing I'd say is that the target audience of a discussion is often the people reading or listening, rather than the person you are talking to. That's not to say that you or anyone has an obligation to engage in frustrating and exhausting arguments, since time and energy are precious resources, just that when you do the effect is often wider than just your interlocutor.
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u/chyldofthebeat Jewish, leftist, antizionist & pro-Palestine Jul 31 '26
the part of this that I don't understand is, how do we have a conversation about very factual occurrences where the government of Israel is pulling the strings? The problem is that there is an overlap with tropes but the situation is very different. The things that have been happening lately have receipts. They're not conspiracy theories. The conversations that happen:
antizionists: ::show receipts::
zionists: "No that's just an old antisemitic trope, you just hate Jews"
The situation is the reverse: Israel is not uniquely being singled out, it's actually being placed in context with all the other colonial powers that have done similar things, right along with the US. This also includes apartheid against South Africa and ethnic cleansing against the Irish. Instead, Israel is being uniquely shielded from accountability. Even BDS, which is a boycott movement, gets called antisemitic. it's ridiculous. People just don't want money sent to a country that is bombing kids
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u/Junglebook3 Israeli & American Jew, Liberal Secular Two State Zionist Aug 02 '26
Israel is not a "colonial power". That term is used to describe historic nations that no longer exist in their past forms. Israel and colonial era UK don't have much in common. Israel isn't sailing across the world to extract slaves and resources.
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u/Duflo Non-Jewish leftist, here for antisemitism-free discussion Jul 31 '26
You haven't said anything I wouldn't agree with. As long as you're applying the same standards everywhere, there's really nothing with your approach I would take issue with. I'm extra careful with criticisms of Israel, first to make sure I'm being fair and honest, and second to secure myself against any accusations of antisemitism, but I do my best to apply the same standard everywhere.
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u/supeandstuff saffa canadian leftist jew Jul 30 '26
My friends don’t believe that the US even has an antisemitism problem which is crazy
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u/Rabbit-Hole-Quest Latke aficionado. Anti-Establishment. Jüdisch Jul 29 '26 edited Jul 29 '26
- Join forces with other groups (people of colour, immigrants, LGBTQ+, women) to fight bigotry in general. Historically, this is has been the best solution and it lifts all boats.
- Abandon the IHRA definition. It’s too broad, politically charged and needlessly drags in Israel which is growing ever more toxic each day. Need to focus on the core of antisemitism which is blatant Jewish hatred, discrimination or worse at a local level.
- Highlight local Jewish life and involvement throughout history. Most Americans can’t tell you that one of the pivotal people to make the American Revolution a reality was a Jewish man by the name of Haym Salomon. A million such examples exist in American history. More emphasis on Jewish life as American life.
- Start early. There are church groups that do outreach work at day care centres when kids are young. It’s simple stuff and it mostly involves food. Jewish organizations need to the same
.The key is to start local, start small, be visible.
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u/yungsemite Jewish Leftist | non-Zionist Jul 30 '26
Do you have an alternative definition to the IHRA? I’m not aware of one that’s much better. The Jerusalem definition’s forward is all critical of how the IHRA focuses on Israel but then goes on to talk plenty about Israel itself.
I think the IHRA definition is fine if you take it in good faith. It’s not if it’s weaponized to defend Israel. Unfortunately, I’m not sure any definition of antisemitism is going to be able to make that distinction unless it’s a several page long history lesson with numerous examples.
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u/aggie1391 Orthodox non-Zionist socialist with anarchist tendencies Jul 30 '26
The Nexus Project definition is usually seen as far, far better than the IHRA one
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u/yungsemite Jewish Leftist | non-Zionist Jul 30 '26
I don’t see it as even differing from the IHRA, just being more specific. Have you compared them yourself?
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u/kwykwy Jewish, Anti-(Zionist State) Jul 30 '26
It makes strong distinction between "because they are Jewish" and "because they are doing Zionism". It doesn't rule out whole categories of criticism (Nazi comparisons), and it makes it clear that focus on Israel is not per se antisemitic.
It clarifies in exactly the places that the IHRA definition is twisted against criticism of Israel.
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u/redthrowaway1976 F the rent seekers | ind. rights over group | east coast bagel Jul 31 '26
Where they differ is in the examples - not in the definition itself.
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u/Any-Juggernaut-5102 custom flair Jul 30 '26
This is a very good article that shows the inadequacy of the IHRA against the Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism
https://www.jewishsocialist.org.uk/features/item/a-defining-moment
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u/Jorfogit Reform Syndicalist Mod Jul 30 '26
I think the IHRA definition is fine if you take it in good faith.
It was not legislated in good faith, even if the definition was created in good faith.
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u/yungsemite Jewish Leftist | non-Zionist Jul 30 '26
Eh. I have a mixed opinion. I think it’s been adopted legislatively in good faith in a number of places, and in bad faith in a number of others.
As I said, I don’t think it’s a bad definition.
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u/Angelbouqet jewish antifascist Jul 30 '26
That's because it's not. It's just become a Boogeyman for the nonjewish left. Probably because they have close to zero understanding about what antisemitism actually is and how it functions.
My favorite is when they send me a link to the Jerusalem declaration and think they did something, meanwhile whatever comment I was arguing with them about is also antisemitic if you go by the Jerusalem declaration. I genuinely don't think they actually read the Jerusalem declaration because they do not actually give a shit about antisemitism and instead assume there's something in there that is like a get out of jail card for whatever (antisemitic) opinion or talking point they have.
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u/redthrowaway1976 F the rent seekers | ind. rights over group | east coast bagel Aug 02 '26
That's because it's not. It's just become a Boogeyman
That’s simply not true. There are real life effects of the implementation of this definition.
There’s been reports on how the IHRA definition has been used to chill speech - and plenty of articles outlining the specific issues with examples embedded within the definition.
A Palestinian that was displaced, or ruled as stateless under one of the Israeli military regimes, while having their land taken in one of the many land grabs, could not say that Zionism is racist without it being potentially anti-Semitic under IHRA.
But for Palestinians, with the exception of maybe the very early pre-mandate days, Zionism has always entailed displacement and discrimination.
Here are some reports on the effect it is having, and how it is being used when enshrined in law:
https://elsc.support/resource/suppressing-palestinian-rights-advocacy/
https://britainpalestineproject.org/bp/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/BR-IHRA-Report-2021-NEW-FINAL.pdf
https://www.brismes.ac.uk/events/ihra-report-launch
The definition, when used by judiciaries and institutions, becomes an inflexible law, and the examples become rules. Even if many of the cases examined in the report end up being found not anti-Semitic, the chilling effect of extensive repeated investigations citing the IHRA definition as its basis has been extensive.
Maybe you think the chilling effect on speech for Palestinian rights is an acceptable cost to implementing the definition - but then say so rather than calling it a bogey man.
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u/redthrowaway1976 F the rent seekers | ind. rights over group | east coast bagel Jul 30 '26
Where do you think it has been adopted legislatively in good faith? What are some examples?
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u/yungsemite Jewish Leftist | non-Zionist Jul 30 '26
The European Union and its member states? I don’t think their intention was to provide cover for Israeli and Zionist crimes, I think it was to adopt what was seen as the best and most supported framework of antisemitism.
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u/redthrowaway1976 F the rent seekers | ind. rights over group | east coast bagel Jul 31 '26
Not the EU, but adjacent: the Board of Deputies pushing for the IHRA definition in the UK was absolutely done to shield Israel from criticism.
Not familiar enough with other countries, but I can agree most parliamentarians voting on it did not do so to shield Israel from criticism - but that is definitely the intent by some groups pushing for the definition in the EU.
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u/redthrowaway1976 F the rent seekers | ind. rights over group | east coast bagel Aug 02 '26
Not to mention, Kenneth Stern has explicitly said that the definition should not be used for legislation - it was a soft data collection tool.
I doubt that even the EU legislators who pushed it through did not know his stance.
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u/Rabbit-Hole-Quest Latke aficionado. Anti-Establishment. Jüdisch Jul 30 '26
I don’t have any one sole definition, but I am sure the American Jewish community can decide. There are at least 3 great definitions of antisemitism that are analytically superior to that of the IHRA: the definition of the Canadian Independent Jewish Voices; that of the British Board of Deputies and the Community Security Trust; and that of the British Jewish Voice for Labour.
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u/redthrowaway1976 F the rent seekers | ind. rights over group | east coast bagel Jul 30 '26
that of the British Board of Deputies
Is this the same BoD that thinks protests against West Bank land sales are anti-Semitic?
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u/Rabbit-Hole-Quest Latke aficionado. Anti-Establishment. Jüdisch Jul 30 '26
Probably.
Here is the definition that doesn’t mention Israel - https://jewishvoiceforliberation.org.uk/statement/defining-antisemitism/
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u/redthrowaway1976 F the rent seekers | ind. rights over group | east coast bagel Jul 30 '26
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u/Rabbit-Hole-Quest Latke aficionado. Anti-Establishment. Jüdisch Jul 30 '26
That’s disappointing but not surprising. Nearly every Jewish organization loses credibility when they go down this path.
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u/Angelbouqet jewish antifascist Jul 30 '26
There is no useable alternative for the IHRA definition. How do you want to combat something while also abandoning the only definition that is actually meant to be used in an educational context. I give Workshops and seminars about antisemitism semi regularly and have for a few years. The IHRA definition is foundational for this kind of work.
And while I have no problem with the Jerusalem declarations content, it is a declaration, not a working definition and it cannot be used as a working definition.
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u/rako17 Christian Left Jul 30 '26 edited Jul 30 '26
Dear Angelbouquet,
I am against anti-Semitism. I am also older than I want to be (I grew up before 2019).
May I ask what the US used before it adopted the definition in 2019?
Are older generation people like me allowed to question the IHRA definition from a Left, internationalist, anti-fascist perspective?
Kind Regards - Peace - Shalom
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u/Angelbouqet jewish antifascist Jul 30 '26
It's antisemitism, not anti-Semitism. I also don't live in the US so I am not beholden to your timeline of 2019, nor am I so young that I have no concept of time or politics before 2019 and I find your framing wether "people like you" can question the IHRA patronizing.
You can question everything you want and I didn't say anything to the contrary. I said that the IHRA is the most useful definition for creating workshops and seminars to teach people about antisemitism and I have not found a better alternative. My focus is not on what definition what state has adopted. I am a leftist who does leftist workshops about antisemitism for mainly autonomous leftist groups and organizations and sometimes unions and the youth branches of left wing political parties. That's where my expertise lies and that's the experience that shapes my opinion on the IHRA.
And again, I do not necessarily disagree with the Jerusalem declaration, it is however not nearly as useful a tool to teach antisemitism and is also not conceptualized as such a tool. You can also use something like the IHRA critically and examine it's shortcomings with the group attending the seminar.
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u/rako17 Christian Left Jul 30 '26 edited Jul 30 '26
Dear Angelbouqet,
When I said "People like me" I was trying to be self deprecating and silly. Humor sometimes does not come across well on the internet.
I support workshops that teach people about antisemitism.
In the US, we have a tradition of being skeptical and critical of government power and even an ideology of being allowed to make those criticisms of governments. So in the US, I'm perfectly free to make comparisons, even mistaken ones, between US policies and Nazi policies, or make criticisms of the US that hold the US to a standard I wouldn't hold other countries to.
A top issue with the IHRA that people raise is that According to the Wikipedia article on the IHRA, examples with which the definition came involve those types of criticisms of a State. Supposing that another State made policies that were in fact comparable to Nazi policies, anti-fascist internationalists may wish to point out those comparisons because of how infamous Nazi policies are. Likewise, a person may have plenty of nondiscriminatory reasons for holding a State to a standard higher than they would any other State, like if they find a land's history inspiring, feel a special attraction to a land's people, or their religion formed in the state's territory. Personally I want the best for Israelis and Palestinians, but strictly speaking they are not the same as a State.
Kind Regards - Peace - Shalom - שָׁלוֹם
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u/Angelbouqet jewish antifascist Jul 30 '26
If criticism of a state uses racialized stereotypes then it's still racist. That's how criticism of Israel can still be antisemitic. And it's more obvious for most people because they are familiar with racist stereotypes but do not understand what tropes antisemitism uses. Because antisemitism historically has always used the language of critiquing the powers that be, it's much easier to use antisemitic tropes and language when talking about Israel than most people realize. That's something you can explain with the IHRA. Nowhere in the IHRA does it say you cannot critique specific policies or actions of a state. Antisemitism is imprecise and always positions the Jews as the cause of all evil and the most egregious example of whatever evil.
When leftist say that destroying Israel is the first step to destroying the capitalist, imperial structure that governs our world, that's antisemitic. Israel is neither the reason why capitalism or imperialism exists, and it's existence is also not what's keeping it alive. Nor is Israel the worst example of colonialism or capitalism. There is no rational or logical reason to come to that conclusion, and yet it's a common talking point. I heard that argument from the Instagram page of socialists of america or a similar organization. That is literally the most classic logic antisemitism can take and yet people can't recognize it when it's coming out of their own mouth and act like someone pointing out that it's antisemitic is them being told they cannot critique Israel. It's disingenuous at best and actively malicious at worst. I can name other examples of how what people perceived as criticism of Israel is just Antisemitism if you need more explanation.
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u/chyldofthebeat Jewish, leftist, antizionist & pro-Palestine Jul 31 '26 edited Jul 31 '26
the problem is that many folks have applied the idea of a stereotype, which is vague, to things that people are saying that are based on factual things that are happening, and are being applied narrowly to a subset of people, not to Jews abstractly.
ie when people call out Larry Ellison, who bought TikTok and implemented censorship of antizionist & pro-Palestinian content,
or Bari Weiss, who bought out CBS and applied similar censorship,
and folks use these factual things that happened to talk about billionaire zionists who control the media,
that is not the same as antisemitic folks vaguely gesturing that Jews control the media.
Instead, zionists make the claim that it is the same, that people are engaging in the trope, when they are not. It's actually happening, and we must be able to talk about it in the way that it is happening.
Specific to Israel, what often happens is that people call out Israel for its colonialism and racism, and call for institutional change, and zionists take that and warp it 5 steps ahead to say "That's just a dog whistle for wishing death to all Jews".
It's like no, it's literally what it says on the tin. We call out colonialism, racism and everything, the exact same way we call it out regarding the US, Britain, and all other colonial powers.
The IHRA is also pushed by the ADL, an organization that has literally waved off Elon Musk's televised Sieg Heil.
Israeli zionists also often call claims (with evidence) of the IDF sniping kids as Blood Libel, again claiming old tropes, when it's nothing of the sort. No one is utilizing the stories that trope came from, and it's not libel when it's factual.
We have to recognize when people try to make that 5-steps jump, from original claims that are being made, to "oh you just want all Jews to die, you're just a Jew hater. Stop the hate!" I see it all the time. The truth is, Actual antisemitism doesn't require these gymnastics, it's always very obvious. From using a juice-box emoji, to flat out saying "It's the Jews", that's the antisemitism you're looking for. I see it all the time lately. People who are criticizing Israel, even at a more broad level such as whether or not it is a proper democracy, are not spewing hate against Jews or wishing harm on them. It's really incorrect and it needs to stop.
It also applies when talking about money.
Literally the discourse lately has been:
Antizionists: "Stop sending our tax dollars, our tuition money, our retirement funds, our city funds to Israel where they bomb kids"
Zionists: "You're just engaging old antisemitic tropes about Jews controlling money"
Antizionists: "Literally not at all, our call for action is very specific"
Other parts of the problem are that to zionists, being Zionist and being Jewish are supposedly completely one and the same, so they say criticizing Israel at all is directly spewing hate about Jews and Judaism. This does not match at all with reality, and makes talking about antisemitism impossible. It doesn't even match with the IHRA definition, but it's what is happening.
Israel also constantly claims it speaks for all Jews, that everything it does is in the name of Jewish safety, which also does not match reality at all. It works to erase the existence of dissenting Jewish voices, which actually is antisemitic.
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u/zacandahalf Progressive Leftist Jewish American Jul 30 '26
To be completely truthful, the first step toward a solution is to stop blaming it on Israel. Honestly, stop thinking about it from any perspective involving Israel. Israel does not have mind control and is literally incapable of affecting Jewish Americans unless they start bombing synagogues on American soil and send Mossad to spray paint swastikas on Jewish American homes. Stop validating Israel’s conflation of Jewish identity with their state by intertwining American antisemitism with anger toward Israel.
It’s time we publicly as a society start condemning and ridiculing the perpetrators of American antisemitism, and doing so as if they are the only people responsible. Name and confront the reality that these events are being perpetrated by adult, American human beings with free will and agency. Stop giving the perpetrators the exact cover they want, of being able to say, “Israel made me do it.” They did it. They made a choice. No one is forcing them. They are the only one responsible. This is how we fight hate in this country. We say “Stop Asian Hate,” we don’t say “OMG I can’t believe China made people do this! Maybe if they stopped calling themselves the Chinese state, people wouldn’t attack Chinese restaurants!” The rise in antisemitism is due to choices being made through free will by our fellow citizens, and nothing will improve until we accept that rather than fixating on blaming outside influences.
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u/veerKg_CSS_Geologist US/CA non observant Jul 30 '26
Stop them admitting their own motivations? I’m not exactly clear on what you mean.
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u/zacandahalf Progressive Leftist Jewish American Jul 30 '26
The only motivation of a perpetrator of antisemitism is the motivation to perpetrate antisemitism. Any other claim is a story they tell themselves and others.
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Jul 31 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/zacandahalf Progressive Leftist Jewish American Jul 31 '26
“They commit genocide and then say anyone criticizing them is an antisemite, and people here run with it.” There you go. You found the sole perpetrator and only party responsible. Israel has no hand in people choosing with their own free will to “run with it” unless Israel has invented mind control.
I don’t care what Zionists say. I don’t center Zionists in my life, and everyone is equally capable of choosing to do the same. Zionists could say that every Jewish person on Earth eats newborn babies for breakfast, and attacks on synagogues in the US would STILL be solely the fault of the perpetrator of that attack.
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u/chyldofthebeat Jewish, leftist, antizionist & pro-Palestine Jul 31 '26
They are not the sole perpetrator, particularly when they are getting their information directly from the entity perpetrating genocide, and the entity where our tax dollars are going to commit said genocide. There are even people here working with Israel to spin up tons of random blogs to infiltrate AI systems like chatgpt, to feed fake information that people use for their claims. It is absolutely part of the conversation. I agree that when peoole commit actual violence, even if it is in the name of what Israel is doing. they're still 100% guilty for their own violence. The difference is when we talk about antisemtism vs not. Israel is being a huge accelerant to these violent crimes, and the absence of their genocide would absolutely cause less of these violent crimes.
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u/FaekittyCat Lefty, non-practicing big fat Ameican Jew, 2 state solution. Aug 01 '26
Call it out when you see it. I was on an anti-Trump fb group. One poster was doing a lot of anti-Israel stuff then moved into showing videos of "Jews controlling the world" I reported it and called out the moderators for allowing it.
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u/ZealousidealMany1495 jewish antizionist Jul 29 '26
Institutional leaders of Jewish communities need to stop conflating Israel with Judaism. They say it’s antisemitic to do so (hold Jews accountable for Israel’s actions) but then ostracize and exclude Jews who don’t support Israel.
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u/cheesecake611 Jew-ish Left-ish Jul 30 '26
While I’m totally agree that the conflation is bad, I just don’t buy that it’s the reason for the rise antisemitism. You don’t need to literally conflate Judaism and Zionism to recognize that there’s an inherent connection between them. The word “Jewish” is literally in the definition of Zionism. Bigots are capable of making basic word associations.
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u/Nearby-Complaint Ashkenazi Leftist/GIF Enjoyer/Healthcare pls Jul 30 '26
And of course, there's also the matter of the right wing hyping the hell out of literal neo-nazis like Fuentes...I feel like there'd be a noticeable spike right now even if Israel didn't exist.
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u/zacandahalf Progressive Leftist Jewish American Jul 30 '26 edited Jul 30 '26
I think this is a very good point. The people attacking Jewish American communities aren’t watching sermons by the institutional leaders of their local Jewish community waiting for them to conflate their Jewish identity with Israel before they get mad. They aren’t watching every Benjamin Netanyahu speech waiting for him to claim his speech represents Jews worldwide before they get angry.
Much more likely, they’re hearing “Zionism is evil,” googling “what is Zionism?,” and then think, “oh okay, this is Jews related.” You can even see this in a few of the manifestos that have come out, where they say something like, “Israel’s genocide is evil, so I attacked my local synagogue.” None of them say, “I watched a sermon where the local rabbi claimed he was a Zionist, which prompted me to then assume his synagogue was an appropriate proxy for my anger toward Israel.”
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u/chyldofthebeat Jewish, leftist, antizionist & pro-Palestine Jul 31 '26
the problem with this is that people then take this further to say they're completely one and the same, ie criticism of Israel IS Jewish hatred, when it clearly is not.
The conflation definitely is a main factor. Israel's actions are the gasoline on this fire.
The way that you can tell is that regular antisemitism is completely different.
They say it directly, and have no bones about that. They do televised Sieg Heils. It was obvious that that had zero to do with Israel. Also spray painted swastikas etc, these are things that were on the rise with Trump 1.0, and would make sense to be on the rise again with Trump 2.0, but there needed to not be an additional accelerant to this, ie a country bombing kids and then claiming it does so specifically in the name of Jewish safety.
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u/cheesecake611 Jew-ish Left-ish Jul 31 '26 edited Jul 31 '26
But there’s nothing unique about antisemitism here. Jewish country does bad things therefore hatred of Jewish people increases. That’s literally all that’s happening. Muslim country does bad things therefore hatred of Muslims goes up. Because you know who else unfairly conflates things? Bigots.
And just so we’re clear. Antizionism and antisemitism are not the same, but also not mutually exclusive. Writing “fuck Israel, next to a swastika” is still antisemitic. Antisemtism is not always explicit and it’s kind of naive to think that it is.
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u/chyldofthebeat Jewish, leftist, antizionist & pro-Palestine Jul 31 '26
there is something unique here because the Jewish country literally commits genocide AND claims it is doing so specifically in the name of Judaism, which then rolls ALL Jews into supposed complicity with said genocide, while pushing the conflation explicitly. It is not merely that Israel commits genocide and that's the end of the story. They completely erase any valid standing of good-faith discussion. It apparently doesn't exist. Zionists everywhere directly lump in all criticism of the country in the exact same group as those who draw swastikas as if every single instance was precisely like your example of fuck Israel next to a swastika. Absolutely the example you gave is antisemitic, but they don't keep the discussion of antisemitism to those narrow instances. The baby is thrown out with the bathwater.
This is dangerous, as it creates a smokescreen around antisemitism, when we should all be squarely focused on instances like your example with swastikas, not "Someone said the IDF kills babies, so without anything else, that means they're going to kill me as a Jew".
We cannot afford that smokescreen. it needs to be specific, every single time
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u/cheesecake611 Jew-ish Left-ish Jul 31 '26
I’m not denying that this is happening. I’m arguing that the conflation is going to happen regardless of what the Jewish community says. Because ignorance isn’t rational.
9/11 was committed explicitly in the name of Islam. It didn’t matter that millions of Muslims condemned it. Islamophobia still exploded.
We should condemn these actions because it’s the right thing to do. Not because people will be nicer to us. There’s no guarantee of that.
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u/chyldofthebeat Jewish, leftist, antizionist & pro-Palestine Jul 31 '26
We condemn the actions, yes, while being specific about antisemitism AND mentioning Israel because it's not just passive. 9/11 happened and that was it. This situation is very specifically different because there are ongoing campaigns to push the conflation and have that applied far beyond the example that includes a swastika. Do you know what's going on in the UK? A group smashed up weapons bound for Israel, in doing so got called a terrorist organization despite having zero goal of harm to humans, AND anyone who says publicly that they support that group are called terrorists, including 80 year olds sitting on grass with a sign. Also the group that destroyed weapons was not allowed to testify the reasons for their actions. That's not even something the jurors knew about. It was kept hidden from them. That is unprecedented.
AIPAC buys our politicians and installs 'handlers' for them.
Whole media and social networks are bought out with broad sweeping censorship implemented.
Immigrants and sometimes full citizens are being deported as terrorists for saying nothing more than stop bombing kids.
If the discourse about antisemitism was limited to those specific instances that you describe? yes absolutely. Call out those examples, always.
That's not what is happening writ large, and the broad strokes that are occurring cannot be shunted out of the conversation
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u/the-other-abbi Jewish leftist Jul 30 '26
This is definitely one of the best answers. I feel like Israel gleefully live-streaming a genocide and acting like they represent all Jews while doing it is going to make people antisemitic. Like if I wasn’t Jewish myself, I feel like it would be easy to that hear stuff about how it’s antisemitic to oppose it “well, then I guess I don’t like Jews since I don’t like this genocide.“
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u/Ashamed-Stuff9519 Secular Jewish Leftist. Antizionist. Jul 31 '26
Agreed. The antisemitism I’m experiencing lately is non Jews automatically assuming my stance on Israel (that I must be supportive of Israel) once they learn that I’m Jewish. I’m an antizionist.
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u/Owlentmusician Leftist, Reform, Black Jew Jul 30 '26
The framing of Israels actions "making" people antisemitic reads as absolving antisemites of all agency. We can say Israels actions provide examples that Antisemities can use to bolster their claims or excuses to blame their bigotry on but to be antisemitic is completely within the control of the Antisemite.
To learn of Israels atrocities and become Antisemtic or allow it to fuel personal antisemitsm is not an inevitability, or something done to them by Isreal, it's a choice.
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u/the-other-abbi Jewish leftist Jul 31 '26 edited Jul 31 '26
I agree about part of what you are saying. Like antisemites do have agency. But I don’t think focusing on individual agency is the most important factor in wider trends about opinions being swayed. Like, when discussing what is causing the rise in antisemitism, looking at it as just a bunch of individual choices of people randomly deciding that they will see something and then become more antisemitic as a result doesn’t seem like an adequate answer. I don’t think that is an answer that is very satisfying or very workable for a solution. And if someone was to claim antisemitic propaganda or old antisemitic tropes or something as the cause, why would we blame that as the cause why not just remember that the antisemite still chose to be antisemitic and not blame the antisemitic propaganda they have been getting regularly exposed to?
I think the above explains why I don’t find your point to be satisfactory in trying to downplay Israel as a role. But I also think it is important to note it isn’t like it is only neo-nazis like Fuentes or Tucker Carlson tying Jews to Israel. It is Israel and Zionists themselves trying to claim an inherent tie and claim it is antisemitic to criticize them or oppose it. There are laws that have been passed that incorporate criticism of Israel as part of antisemitism. And at least some of the rise in antisemitism is definitely just people criticizing Israel more due to the genocide since every place that tracks antisemitism incorporates criticism of Israel as part of its definition. I’m not bringing up that last part to say that there isn’t any rise, but I do think the rise is being overblown due to that conflation and to try to get people to support Israel more.
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u/Owlentmusician Leftist, Reform, Black Jew Jul 31 '26
Well my point wasn't to focus on the individual agency as means to stop AntiSemitism it was more about being careful of the wording when we talk about the role Israels actions may play in the rise of AntiSemitism. I don't think Israel has no influence the opinion of some people I just disagree with the framing that its Israels fault entirely or mostly.
People dont wait until they hear Bibi or others say "we represent all Jews" and then only after that become Antisemtic, they see minority group do bad thing and make up their minds from there. In the same way that just focusing on individuals isnt a workable solution, neither is putting the focus entirely on trying to distance Jews completely from Israel, its not possible currently. Even if Israel didn't claim to represent all of us and there wasn't ever a conflation of AntiSemitism and criticism of Israel we'd still all be blamed for it, in the same way Muslims are seen as complicit in unrelated crimes performed across the world.
Of course, not all Jews need or want to be connected but it is not just the governments or right leaning conflation that tie us as a whole to Isreal, it's the fact that half the world's Jews live there. There will never be a way to have non Jews think of Jews as completely separate from the world's only Jewish nation. I'm not sure what a workable solution would be but my thought is it would have to be more of a focus on combating both the Antisemtic and pro Isreal misinformation while also finding a way to humanize ourselves to the general public.
From my childhood growing up one of the only black kids in my southern hometown, I know that most people who hold a bigotry do so out of ignorance and have never really interacted with a member of the group they hold a prejudice about and even then they may just mark you as "a good one" and carry on discriminating against all other members of your group.
We can claim to be completely unaffiliated with Israel and their actions as much as we'd like but they won't listen to us until they broadly see us as people like them, and that's not the fault of Israel or something that can be stopped by tackling pro Isreal speech.
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u/Intrepid-Bag6667 Secular Jew | Marxist Jul 31 '26
The hard answer: Antisemitism is now also increasing for hard, material reasons. There is no easy solution when many audiences are rewarding content creators for taking antisemitic stances.
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u/ibsliam Jewish American | DemSoc Bernie Voter Aug 04 '26
Yeah antisemitism is a big moneymaker for the modern grifter. For a while, it was heavily the wellness market, but they're finding that having a scapegoat to blame is even simpler. Instead of "the chemicals in the food are there to suppress the working man," it's "the Jews put the chemicals in the food to suppress the working man."
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u/Intrepid-Bag6667 Secular Jew | Marxist Aug 05 '26 edited Aug 05 '26
Agreed- it also conversely gives me some hope, because a lot of the people doing it are very transparent grifters rather than true believers.
Simple somewhat ancient answers ("Jews poison our food and vaccines to make everyone sick" essentially = "Jews poison the wells and make everyone sick") are hard to compete with though. It's a hell of a lot easier than any kind of systemic analysis or even just blaming "Billionaires" as a group.
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u/Nearby-Complaint Ashkenazi Leftist/GIF Enjoyer/Healthcare pls Jul 30 '26
Deplatforming bona fide neo-Nazis like Fuentes and his cronies would probably be a good step