Historically, Americans have been less susceptible than Europeans to antisemitism. But since October 7, 2023, American Jews have found themselves squarely in the crosshairs of the political left and the political right. Assigned a symbolic role by both fringes, American Jews are caught in the cross fire as progressive internationalists and extreme isolationists battle each other for control of the traditional middle of the country.
On the left, antisemitism takes the form of anti-Zionism. Its emblem is the “tentifadas” on elite campuses. Universities that style themselves champions of diversity now host chants for Israel’s eradication. Encampments celebrating Hamas set the moral tone. When mobs target Jewish students, administrators avert their eyes and invoke “free speech.” Yet the same administrators spring into action when non-Jewish groups suffer even a “microaggression.” The very institutions charged with cultivating civic responsibility have become engines of intimidation. Jewish students are harassed, excluded from clubs, and pressured to renounce Israel for acceptance into the “community.”
On the right, the emblem is Tucker Carlson. He has updated the Protocols of the Elders of Zion for the 21st century. With his platform he promotes a view of modern history in which “the Elders” manipulate every major turning point. He elevated the podcaster Darryl Cooper to “the best and most honest popular historian in the United States.” Cooper trivializes the Holocaust as a bureaucratic mishap and depicts Winston Churchill not as a defender of liberty but as the agent of rich Jews. Churchill—not Hitler—becomes the villain, dragging America into war. World War II ceases to be a triumph of good over evil; it becomes the first in a series of misguided American interventions abroad—engineered, ultimately, by Jews.
