Though antisemitism may be considered the world’s oldest hate, it has taken on a dangerous new form in the United States in recent years. Prominent members of both political parties have — in distinct ways — taken actions that are inimical to the Jewish community and may be fairly characterized as antisemitic.
As a result, American Jews are increasingly at risk in their communities, including in cities, on college campuses and in synagogues. New York City — which has the highest Jewish population of all cities in the United States — recorded a 125 percent increase in antisemitic hate crimes this November compared to November 2021, and a 53 percent increase in hate crimes against Jews compared to this time last year.
While modern-day antisemitism manifests differently on the political left versus the political right, both forms put the Jewish community at risk. Antisemitism on the far-right is grounded in a dangerous embrace of nationalist and neo-Nazi viewpoints, while on the far-left, it is driven by — and arguably disguised as — anti-Zionism and a myopic focus on slandering the State of Israel.
Unfortunately, some high-ranking members in both parties have been quick to criticize antisemitism across the aisle, yet have allowed antisemitic rot to fester in their own ranks.
Former President Donald Trump, who is still arguably the ostensible leader of the Republican Party, was lauded as a pro-Israel president, and many of the actions he took with regard to Israeli policy were admittedly respectable. However, he politicized support for the Jewish state, which ultimately did more harm than good for American Jews.
On Friday, Trump criticized Jewish leaders in a post on his social media network, Truth Social: “How quickly Jewish Leaders forgot that I was the best, by far, President for Israel. They should be ashamed of themselves. This lack of loyalty to their greatest friends and allies is why large numbers in Congress, and so many others, have stopped giving support to Israel.”
The former president also has a lengthy track record of condoning antisemitism when it presents as political nationalism. Worse, many rank-and-file Republicans and party leaders neglected to forcefully denounce Trump’s embrace of the far-right out, likely out of fear of political backlash.
In 2017, Trump said there were “very fine people” on both sides of a rally in Charlottesville, Va., that included Neo-Nazis, yet most of his Republican colleagues stayed quiet. Most recently, he hosted notorious Holocaust deniers Nick Fuentes and Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, for dinner at his Mar-a-Lago residence, just days after announcing that he would again seek the presidency in 2024.
In October, Ye proclaimed that he wanted to go “death con 3 on Jews” and blamed Jews for controlling the media. Days later, a white supremacist group gave Nazi salutes under a large banner in Los Angeles that said, “Kanye is right about the Jews.”
Some high-ranking Republicans did denounce Trump following the dinner with Fuentes and West. However, it is almost in vain, as the far-right Trump wing of the Republican Party has amassed so much power and influence that they could effectively hold the reins in the new GOP-controlled Congress, and these hateful views could have an even more prominent place in our political discourse.
For their part, Democrats on the far-left and in the progressive wing have long couched their antisemitism as “anti-Zionism” or “social justice” — a dangerous obfuscation that has ultimately contributed to a rise in antisemitism on college campuses.
A majority (55 percent) of Jewish students reported being a victim of antisemitism on campus, and an equal percentage feel a need to hide their support for Israel on campus, according to the 2022 StopAntisemitism U.S. Campus Report.
Further, prominent progressives such as Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) have frequently promoted tropes that many people consider to be antisemitic, including accusing Israel of hypnotizing the world and equating the Israeli military with the Taliban.
Yet, Democratic leaders continue to elevate Omar and Tlaib to positions of power in Congress, and worse, the Democratic Party has in many ways moved away from supporting Israel — the only Jewish state, the only true democracy in the Middle East and the United States’ closest ally in the region.
We must end the harmful normalization of anti-Jewish hate speech in our political discourse.
Republicans cannot turn a blind eye when Donald Trump refers to Jews who vote for Democrats as “disloyal Jews,” and Democrats cannot stand idly by when progressive leaders of the Women’s March say that pro-Israel women are not welcome.
Positively, earlier this week, a bipartisan group of representatives in Congress implored the Biden administration in a letter to develop a national strategy for combatting rising antisemitism, though it remains to be seen whether this effort will affect any meaningful change.
To be clear, there is no way to rid the country — or the world — of antisemitism. The hatred of Jews has always been present in the United States, in one form or another.
However, our political leaders can, and must, make a concerted effort to denounce antisemitism wherever it presents itself — whether in their own parties or on the other side — and make it clear that anyone in a position of power who espouses these vile views will be held accountable.
Douglas E. Schoen is a political consultant who served as an adviser to President Clinton and to the 2020 presidential campaign of Michael Bloomberg. His new book is “The End of Democracy? Russia and China on the Rise and America in Retreat.”