Jewish Safety and the Weaponization of Antisemitism

This is a very strange time to be Jewish. There is much talk about a rise in antisemitism, but all around me I see people doing things in the name of protecting Jews—such as dismissing criticism of Israel as antisemitic—that are likely to make us less rather than more safe in this world. The very notion of Jewish safety has been weaponized by people who are objectively enemies of the Jewish people.

Jewish safety matters for Jews, and it should matter for everyone. Jews have often played the role of being canaries in the coalmine of political health. A society that is safe for Jews is more likely to be safe for everyone than one that isn’t. Jews are made safer by working with others for a world that works for everyone. Jewish safety must be grounded in calls for collective liberation.

Conflating Criticism of Israel with Antisemitism Makes Jews Less Safe

Many of the mainstream organizations that purport to speak for Jews work actively to make the case that criticism of Israel is a form of antisemitism and to punish those who work to separate those things. It is difficult to know the extent of antisemitism because this conflation skews the data.

Many mainstream Jewish organizations continue to fight to get institutions to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism. The IHRA definition, in its fine print, defines criticism of Israel as antisemitism. In 2021, when Silicon Valley Hillel tried to get the student government of De Anza College, where I teach, to adopt the IHRA definition of antisemitism, students organized and beat it back. In the process many Jewish people came to speak in favor of us adopting the definition and accused opponents of antisemitism. Through similar struggles throughout the country, the IHRA definition has been adopted widely, and it is now federal policy.

The conflation of criticisms of Israel with antisemitism makes Jews less safe.

The state of Israel is bombing and intentionally targeting civilians in Gaza. Over 60,000 defenseless people have been killed. People are dying of starvation. People are being killed as they line up for food. These actions are clearly violations of international law and the rules of war. Speaking out against these horrific crimes should be expected of all people of conscience. Many of us raised with calls of “never again” feel compelled to speak out in the name of our Jewish values. And yet our voices are often shut down by other Jews. Many mainstream Jewish organizations continue to actively target those who speak out against these atrocities, and they often do so with charges of antisemitism.

The conflation of criticisms of Israel with antisemitism makes Jews less safe. It associates all of us with the acts of a murderous regime. It obscures and confuses the very real and rising antisemitism associated with white supremacy. It leaves us without powerful mainstream voices to act on our behalf.

Friends of Israel Are Not Necessarily Friends of Jews

There are many good reasons why people support the state of Israel. Many Jews are deeply attached to Israel because of real lived family ties. Many feel that Israel was founded to keep Jews safe. And yet many people support Israel because it is a pro-Western outpost in a Middle East that is largely not aligned with Western imperial interests. Those motivations for supporting Israel are often opposed to broad notions of human rights and respect for national sovereignty. and so are not aligned with the kinds of policies that would make the world safer for Jewish people.

Even worse, are those who support Israel out of adherence to a deeply antisemitic theology. Christians United for Israel (CUFI) claims 10 million members and describes itself as “the foremost Christian organization educating and empowering millions of Americans to speak and act with one voice in defense of Israel and the Jewish people.” They say their goal is to “oppose antisemitism and stand with the Jewish people.”

Its leader, John Hagee, argues that Jews must inhabit all of the biblical Holy Land and rebuild the temple in Jerusalem in order to bring about the return of Jesus and the end-of-days apocalypse. At that time, Jews will either convert or be condemned to damnation. In other words: Jews are a means to a Christian end, and not a people to be valued for ourselves. The U.S. Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, is a follower of this antisemitic theology.

In Alameda County in California, local residents have been organizing to get the board of supervisors to pass an ethical investment policy. This policy would outlaw investing in companies that do business with human rights abusers. Politicians’ in-boxes were flooded with letters opposing the divestment, on the basis that a policy that disallowed investment in companies that engaged in human rights abuses, might disallow investments in companies doing business with Israel. It turns out that the flood of email was coming from outside the county, and indeed from outside the state. The main group organizing opposition to the Alameda County divestment was CUFI.

It makes us less safe as Jews when we ally ourselves with antisemitic voices simply because those voices support the state of Israel.

Project Esther and the Weaponization of Charges of Antisemitism for Right-Wing Politics

In 2024, the Heritage Foundation, which gave us Project 2025, launched Project Esther. It calls for a systematic campaign against protest in favor of Palestinian rights and opposition to the ongoing massacre in Gaza. It attempts to link criticism of Israel with support for terrorism.

Project Esther is part of the right-wing assault on freedom of speech and the right to protest. While masquerading as a pro-Jewish project, Project Esther actually has very little Jewish support. The project makes opportunistic use of the concept of Jewish safety for a deeply right- wing political project.

Having Jews persecuted for peaceful protest is not “good for the Jews.”

Sometimes it is difficult to understand what interests the current chaotic administration is serving. Its electoral strength comes from appealing to a sense of grievance among people struggling to make it in a difficult economy. The big money that helped the administration get elected comes from two sectors of the business class: the fossil fuel industry and the technology industry. Unlike the rest of business, those two sectors were not well served by the dominant neoliberal consensus. And so, they have appealed to people’s grievances to win popular support for unpopular policies. Those economic interests are served by shutting down protest and free speech.

Efforts to shut down the right to resist, and to shut down free speech on campus, in order to bolster an authoritarian government that acts in the interests of the fossil fuel and tech oligarchies, are not good for our democratic institutions and they are not good for Jewish people. We should not let them do those things in our names.

Jewish Safety Requires Protecting Jewish People of All Points of View

It is hard to say that you are working for Jewish safety when you are asking that Jewish students who speak out against the genocide in Gaza be thrown out of school. It is hard to say you are working for Jewish safety when you engage in policies that harm Jewish faculty and staff.

As one of very few Jewish faculty at my college, I was recently under a formal investigation for antisemitism. The accusation was part of a round of condemnation that began when my office invited a Jewish speaker to campus to speak about October 7 and the attack on Gaza. The event was critical of both Hamas and of the Israeli government.

Having Jews persecuted for peaceful protest is not “good for the Jews.” As with people from any group, Jewish people should be safe to express our opinions. Fighting for our rights to be safe—no matter what our opinions—needs to be part of the agenda for Jewish safety.

The Fight Against Antisemitism Needs to Stay Connected to Other Fights for Liberation

In California, mainstream Jewish organizations are pushing a bill through the legislature, AB715, which purports to make Jews safe by appointing a commission on antisemitism. The bill also would make it easier to punish teachers who teach things that are pro-Palestinian or critical of Israel. It would open pathways for the IHRA definition of antisemitism to be used, and so could help to conflate criticism of Israel with antisemitism.

Many of those opposing the bill, including Jewish Voice for Peace, have argued that putting antisemitism out as a separate and privileged form of oppression makes Jews less safe. There is, of course, antisemitism in California schools, just as there is anti-Black racism. The state of California and its schools have many policies in place that can be used to challenge discrimination. Those policies can already be used to fight antisemitism. More can, and should, be done to fight all forms of oppression experienced by California’s schoolchildren. But separating antisemitism from other forms of oppression, and giving it a privileged place, undermines the solidarity Jews have with other fights for liberation. That solidarity is crucial for increasing Jewish safety.

Jewish Safety Should Be Centered on Solidarity and Calls for Collective Liberation

Given that mainstream Jewish organizations continue to vehemently insist on conflating criticism of Israel with antisemitism; given that Israel’s most powerful supporters in the U.S. right now are active antisemites; given the alignment of the state of Israel with right-wing forces that want to shut down rights to protest and free speech, including those of Jews; it is hard to see how supporting the government of Israel will make us safe.

Calls for the liberation of all people are deep in Jewish culture and theology. We thrive in societies that are pluralist and tolerant. We are often the consciences of society. We often feel it in our bones when danger is coming before others are even aware that the winds of destruction are starting to blow. It is a part of our cultural DNA to speak out and fight for justice. Many of us are willing to take risks to fight those evils because we know that when we all stand up, pogroms are less likely to happen.

Making the world safe for Jews is something that is good for everyone. We need to stay in alignment with those deeper values of justice and a world that works for all. We need to insist that we increase Jewish safety when we work for collective liberation.