Antisemitism is neither uniquely from the Right or Left - opinion

May is Jewish American Heritage Month, established in 2006 as a bipartisan attempt to educate Americans on the contributions and achievements of Jewish Americans nationwide. Echoing the need for this designation, this year, the New York City Council passed a resolution recognizing April 29 as End Jew-Hatred Day in an attempt to fight back against the city’s disturbing rise in antisemitism over recent years.

One would not think that a proposal to fight hatred of any group would be controversial, and yet, some members of the New York City Council voted against the resolution.

While the fight against antisemitism and hatred is seemingly an issue that should continue to be bipartisan, both sides of the political aisle, Left and Right alike, still have members and constituents who either won’t stand up to this hatred or in some cases, even exacerbate the phenomenon. However, these same members are often given a pass, because “there are worse antisemites on the other side.”

“There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self,” said Ernest Hemingway. Both sides should apply the meaning of these words to the fight against antisemitism. Not only must we call out antisemitism when we see it in others, but when we see it emanating from our political party, as well. We must also hold accountable current and former leaders on all sides of the political divide who enable, empower, and legitimize antisemites.

Right-wing antisemitism

On the Right, antisemitism usually takes the form of age-old, antisemitic conspiracies. This type of antisemitism has raised its head in cases such as the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, where images of neo-Nazi groups carrying Tiki Torches and screaming “Jews will not replace us” hearkened back to 1940s Germany. The Tree of Life synagogue massacre in Pittsburgh symbolizes seemingly constant threats to Jewish institutions.

THESE EXTREMISTS don’t represent the mainstream Republican Party. But politicians themselves have engaged in actions that need to be called out. For example, Marjorie Taylor Greene theorized that the 2018 wildfires in California were caused by a beam from “space solar generators” linked to “Rothschild, Inc.”

Left-wing antisemitism

While these developments on the Right are worrying, one cannot ignore that there is a surging flow of antisemitism from the Left, as well. This antisemitism is generally disguised as anti-Zionism, the denial of the Jewish right to self-determination in their ancestral homeland.

It is, of course, possible to criticize the policies of the Israeli government without being antisemitic; however, that line is often crossed by people claiming to uphold progressive values, yet go so far as to deny the Jewish people’s right to a state and demonize Israel on a level that somehow attributes horrific injustices the world over onto it.

On the streets of major US cities, Jews are attacked by those who claim to be pro-Palestinian but are in truth antisemites who have learned to hide their hatred to get away with their actions.

This was the case in a series of attacks in 2021 and 2022 when a perpetrator claiming to be pro-Palestinian attacked innocent, openly Jewish bystanders. The assailant even wrote on a WhatsApp group, “Remember, don’t chant out Jews, it’s the Zionists,” as a way to avoid being persecuted for an antisemitic hate crime.

Beyond individuals are so-called progressive movements that continue to promote antisemitic views. A clear example of this is the Mapping Project, which claims to fight against colonialism, displacement and ethnic cleansing – honorable goals that do very little to hide the fact that the project is in essence a how-to guide for protesting against or in the extreme, even attacking Jewish institutions.

When looking at the Democratic Party, one need not look any further than The Squad, a group of Democratic representatives who continuously spout antisemitic tropes that have nothing to do with advancing the Palestinian cause. For example, Squad member Representative Ilhan Omar’s 2019 tweet claiming that support for Israel is “all about the Benjamins” hearkens back to the claim that Jews use money to get their way. This insinuation is only compounded by her multiple claims that American Jews have dual loyalty, an attack that antisemites throughout history have used.

George Washington once said, “...but they shall all sit under their own vines and under their own fig trees, and no one shall make them afraid.” To assure this for all citizens, including Jews, we need to be aware that antisemitism is not a unique right-wing or left-wing phenomenon, but one that both sides must unite to fight against within their parties, as well as externally.

The writer is the project manager at the International Legal Forum, an Israel-based network of over 4,000 lawyers and activists around the world standing up for Israel and combating antisemitism in the international legal arena. He has a BA in Government, Strategy and Diplomacy from the IDC and an MA in International Relations from the Hebrew University.