It is the nature of antisemitism, one of the oldest hatreds in the world, to adapt to the political and cultural trends of the moment. In our post-October 7 world, we have seen antisemitism skyrocket and evolve at an alarming rate in just one year’s time. Hamas’ brutal attack on Israeli civilians and Israel’s self-defense war against Hamas have brought countless antisemites out of the woodwork, giving them fuel for their deeply flawed and prejudiced ideologies. The most notable spike has been on the Islamo-left side of the political spectrum, but Jews are constantly squeezed from all sides, especially when a conflict involving Israel rages in the Middle East.
Adam Milstein, a venture philanthropist and expert on new antisemitism of the 21st century thanks to his many years of advocacy in the Jewish nonprofit world, succinctly broke down the various groups who demonize Jews and how they threaten American values in an article for the Jewish Policy Center. An American of Israeli descent, Milstein co-founded the Adam and Gila Milstein Family Foundation with his wife in 2000. Since then, they have made great strides in their mission to support a robust network of nonprofits that strengthen American values, support the U.S.-Israel alliance and combat hatred and bigotry in all forms.
Despite the tireless work of advocates like Milstein, antisemitism still flourishes in all corners of society. He quotes FBI Director Chris Wray who, at an ADL event in 2022, said that “the Jewish community uniquely ends up on the receiving end of hate-fueled attacks from all sides.” Milstein identifies the far-right, far-left, Black supremacists and radical Muslims as just a few of the myriad groups who espouse Jew hatred. In Milstein’s view, these groups are not just a danger to Jews, but to all Americans: “What they are really after is changing American way of life beyond recognition, according to their distorted and extreme ideologies.”
Even though these groups operate on different ideological wavelengths, they are united in their hatred of Jews. They all traffic in “familiar antisemitic tropes of a nefarious and powerful Jewish or ‘Zionist’ cabal that allegedly seeks to dominate and subjugate individuals, societies, and nations through behind-the-scenes scheming,” according to Milstein.
He first describes the threat from the far-right. Most notably, this group has brought the “Great Replacement” conspiracy theory into the forefront. This theory states that Jews are “responsible for a plot to subjugate if not eliminate the white race through promotion of non-white mass immigration, feminism, transgenderism, and other supposedly devious schemes.” The marchers at the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, VA proudly chanted, “Jews will not replace us” referring to the false allegation that Jews conspire to help immigration and settlement of non-whites into their neighborhoods. The white supremacist who murdered 11 Jews at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue “ also blam[ed] the Jews for mass migration to the U.S.”
Milstein mentions several other cases of violent attacks by white nationalists, both on Jews and non-Jews, in which perpetrators cited the “Great Replacement” theory as motivation. To Milstein, this is a clear illustration that Jew hate never stops with the Jews, but affects all Americans.
Next, Milstein describes the Black nationalist threat. He singles out Louis Farrakhan, the leader of the antisemitic Nation of Islam, as a prime example. Farrakhan and his followers “alleg[e] that the Jewish people were responsible for the trans-Atlantic slave trade and that they conspire to control government, communications media and Hollywood, as well as various black individuals and organizations.” They also deny the Jewish claim to Israel, instead claiming that Black people are the true Jews who were deported from the Land of Israel to Africa. This view has been promoted by such figures as Kanye West and Nick Cannon (Cannon later apologized and renounced his comments). Again, Milstein cites violent incidents perpetrated by Black nationalists who were known to have posted antisemitic content.
The sharpest rise in antisemitism in recent years has come from the far-left. It has been most visible since October 7, but this group’s Jew hate has been evident for decades. Milstein says that they disguise their antisemitism as a “hatred for the homeland of the Jewish people.” This so-called anti-Zionism percolated first in universities and other leftist intellectual and cultural circles before bleeding into the mainstream. Now they use Critical Race Theory (CRT) and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) measures to marginalize Jews in high schools, colleges and in the workplace.
Milstein is also outspoken on the danger of what is dubbed the “red-green alliance,” an alliance between American leftists and radical Muslims. Both groups “see Israel as a symbol of American and Western imperialism, aggressive military rule, and alleged violation of human rights,” thus creating a perfect antisemitic symbiosis despite radically different worldviews. This alliance has championed the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which demonizes Israel and seeks to isolate it on the world stage, for years. American progressives shouting their support for Hamas after the October 7 attack is the clearest example yet of this unholy alliance.
Americans unabashedly supporting terror groups on our streets and college campuses should frighten us all, not just Jews. That’s why Milstein argues that “[d]efining antisemitism as a Jewish problem is a lose-lose proposition.” It is a threat to the very values America is built on and is a “harbinger of rising violent extremism.” All Americans should heed these warnings – because Jew hate never stops with Jews. It is a sign of something more dangerous to come.