Understanding Antisemitism

What is antisemitism?

Antisemitism is a conspiracy theory that shape-shifts, adapting itself to the dominant prejudices of the time. It manifests as prejudice, discrimination, oppression, or violence directed toward Jews as individuals or as a group, because they are Jewish.

The International Holocaust Remebrance Alliance (IHRA) offers this working definition.

How is antisemitism different from other identity-based hatred?

It’s Ancient
Antisemitism is ancient, rooted in Christian religious teachings that go back millennia. We even see evidence of very early antisemitism in the Torah (Hebrew Bible), when Pharoah oppresses and enslaves the Hebrews in ancient Egypt. Over time, antisemitism has morphed into variants that are both blatant and insidious, but equally harmful to Jews.

It’s a Conspiracy Theory
Conspiracy is the cornerstone of antisemitism. It is based on lies and is not accountable to real life facts. The antisemite begins convinced that Jews have engaged in a conspiracy. If something happens in society that I oppose, the Jews must be behind it. Or if society is experiencing a bad turn of events, the Jews must be responsible.

Some concrete examples include:

Punching Up and Punching Down
David Baddiel, author of Jews Don’t Count, writes: Jews are the only objects of racism who are imagined – by the racists – as both low and high status. Jews are stereotyped, by the racists, in all the same ways that other minorities are – as lying, thieving, dirty, vile, stinking – but also as moneyed, privileged, powerful and secretly in control of the world. Jews are somehow both sub-human and humanity’s secret master.”  

It’s Ubiquitous
Antisemitism can be found on all ends of the political spectrum. It can be found among the far-right extremists who peddle age-old tropes of Jewish conspiracies and racial superiority, to the far-left activists who rely on antisemitism to express their political views or cloak their antisemitism in political arguments.

“Antisemitism also transcends traditional ideological boundaries. Simply put, antisemitism is a hatred that can be described as a horseshoe where the far-left and the far-right are closer to one another on the issue of antisemitism than they are to the center. 

Recent studies have shown that a better predictor of antisemitism is not a right or left-wing perspective, but a conspiratorial worldview and a penchant for an authoritarian type of government.  Rather than the right-left dichotomy, a more accurate predictor of antisemitic worldviews is the adherence to conspiratorial worldviews, anti-hierarchical aggression and a preference for authoritarianism.”
Dr. Deborah Lipsdadt, American historian and diplomat

Shape-shifting – taken from Noah Feldman’s essay. Time magazine. The New Antisemitism.

“Antisemitism is a changing set of ideas, with ancient roots. It has reinvented itself multiple times throughout history, each time keeping some of the old tropes around, while simultaneously creating new ones adapted to present circumstances.

In each iteration, antisemitism reflects the ideological preoccupations of the moment. In antisemitic discourse, Jews are always made to exemplify what a given group of people considers to be the worst feature of the social order in which they live.”

Contemporary Examples:

Historic Examples:

Where does antisemitism come from?

Resource: ADL – Antisemitism Uncovered

The term antisemitism was coined in 1879 by German journalist Wilhelm Marr amid rising European nationalism, but hatred of Jews long predates the word.

As a minority, Jews were often accused of disloyalty as far back as ancient times. Ancient Egyptian, Greek and Roman writings portrayed Jews as outcasts, cowards and practitioners of strange customs like dietary laws and circumcision. Romans despised Jews for rejecting emperor worship and early Christian writings depict Jewish law as rigid and outdated. The Gospels blame Jesus’ crucifixion on Jewish leaders, branding Jews as “Christ-killers,” fueling centuries of persecution.

What are the current stats on antisemitism in America?

According to the American Jewish Committee’s State of Antisemitism in America 2024 survey, 33% of U.S. Jews reported being targeted by an antisemitic incident in 2024, ranging from physical attacks and in-person remarks to vandalism and online harassment.

Antisemitism is not just a Jewish issue: 9 in10 U.S. adults surveyed believe it harms society as a whole and that everyone has a responsibility to fight it.

Jewish Peoplehood and Israel

What Does Jewish Peoplehood mean?

A helpful way to think of the Jewish People is as an extended family. Despite dispersion across the globe, Jews remain connected to one another through shared history, culture, religion, and ties to Israel.

Membership in the Jewish People comes through birth or conversion and religious observance is not required—many Jews identify culturally rather than religiously. Judaism is the religion of the Jewish people. Because of this, being Jewish does not fit neatly into Western categories like ethnicity, race or religion; it spans multiple dimensions of identity.

Check out these videos:
Michael Twitty film on Vimeo (1 minute, 50 seconds)
Antisemitism in Our Midst on Vimeo (1 minute, 10 seconds)

What is the Jewish Diaspora?

The Jewish People originated in the Land of Israel, now the modern State of Israel. Jews lived there for centuries under self-rule, until successive expulsions, most notably the Romans in 70 CE. While some Jews remained, most dispersed across the Middle East, North Africa, Europe, and later the Americas—forming the Jewish Diaspora.

Today world Jewry numbers about 15.7 million—just 0.2% of the global population—with over 80% living in Israel or the United States. Jews comprise about 2% of the American population.

Are Jews white?

Jews live around the world and reflect racial, ethnic, socioeconomic and political diversity. They are not exclusively white or European Ashkenazi. There are Black Jews from Ethiopia, brown Jews from India and Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews from North Africa, the Middle East, Turkey and Iran—as well as Jews by choice of every race and ethnicity. While most American Jews are Ashkenazi, over half of Israeli Jews are Sephardi or Mizrahi.

Portraying Israel or Jews as “white oppressors” ignores this diversity and distorts history, including the reality of antisemitism. Jews were not considered white in the late 19th and early 20th centuries—and neo-Nazis and white supremacists still do not consider them white today. Learn more.

Do American Jews feel a connection to Israel today?

Despite global dispersion, connection to Israel remains a key factor to Jewish identity. Today, 81% of American Jews say caring about Israel is central to their identity.

What are the origins of the American Jewish community?

The American Jewish community began in 1654 when 23 Jewish refugees from Recife, Brazil, fleeing persecution, arrived in New Amsterdam (now New York). These first Jewish families were primarily Sephardic, tracing their roots to Spain from before the Spanish Inquisition. They founded the oldest Jewish congregation in America, Shearith Israel The Spanish Portuguese Synagogue, which still exists today.

From that small group, and with subsequent larger waves of migration, the community has grown to over six million, about 2% of the U.S. population.

Antisemitism and Israel

Is it antisemitic to criticize Israel?

Criticism of the Israeli government or its policies, whether by its citizens or the global communities, is not antisemitic. Peaceful opposition is a cornerstone of Israeli democracy, as shown by the mass protests in 2023.

However, criticism becomes antisemitism when it includes calls to eliminate the Jewish state, invokes antisemitic tropes about Jewish power or greed, depicts Jews derogatorily, uses “Zionist” or “Zionism” as euphemisms for Jews or involves harassment or attacks on Jews or Jewish institutions. Learn more.

What is anti-Zionism?

Anti-Zionism is opposition to Jews having a Jewish state in their ancestral homeland and denies the Jewish people’s right to self-determination.

When is anti-Zionism considered antisemitic?

Criticism of Israel is not antisemitism. However, when anti-Zionism denies the Jewish people’s right to self-determination or calls for the elimination of the Jewish state, that is antisemitism. The belief that Jews alone lack this right, or that their historic and religious connection to Israel is illegitimate, is inherently antisemitic.

Antisemitism in the Community

What are the primary indicators for a safe Jewish college environment?

Look at the wholistic picture of Jewish life at a school rather than labeling campuses “good or “bad” for Jewish students.

Some things to look for include:

Learn more: How to Pick a College During a Surge of Antisemitism on Campus – Hillel International