The Rise of Antisemitism in America
If we are not careful, the United States may become a haven for anti-semites who look to spew hatred of division among us.
In the United States alone, we have seen a steady increase in the hatred and hostility shown towards Jews in the United States since the Hamas invasion of our allies in Israel on October 7th. From college institutions to social media forums, the disparaging behavior shown by supporters of the targeting of Jews has not been withheld.
All the way to the halls of Congress in the House of Representatives, fringe members of the Democratic Party seem to have an issue condemning these reprehensible acts head-on by avoiding questions from the media altogether. Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (D), accompanied by an already wretched anti-semitic history, has engaged in some of the worst of this dangerous rhetoric. Most Americans are reasonably outraged that an elected official would share messages to further agitate hate toward those of the Jewish faith. This prompted Congressman Rich McCormick (R) to introduce a resolution that would censure her for these remarks. It was successful, with 22 of Tlaib’s Democratic colleagues, including notable moderate Jared Golden of Maine, voting in favor of the adoption of the resolution.
Predictably, she attempted to defend herself by stating that "speaking up to save lives, no matter faith or ethnicity, should not be controversial." This is a direct contradiction to her divisive post “From the River to the Sea," a rallying cry to those who support Palestinian efforts to take down Israelis. As deserved, she was called out by those from every angle for her role in fanning the flames of hate.
We have seen examples as well on the alt-right. Some of those who had initially proclaimed their support for Israel only to then turn away when the United States agreed to assist in the efforts to defeat the ferocious evil of Hamas.
The farce is that the supporters of this attack blame Israelis for a “mass genocide of Palestinians," calling for them to "ceasefire,” while Israel is a nation that has the absolute right to defend itself from terrorists invading their land while innocent civilians are continuing to grasp onto hope during this reprehensible raid on their way of life. Those who cheer on these terrorist acts the most stem from their anti-zionist background in bigotry towards the peace desired by Israelis and those who stand united with them throughout. These Ivy League institutions seem to have a similar theme to one another when it comes to responding to the atrocity happening in Israel: “Don’t anger the anti-semitic fragment of our student body."
Instead of attacking the hatred against Jews directly, they instead attempt to downplay and broadly push the claim, essentially stating, “We condemn all acts of hatred against anyone at our institution,” rather than focus on the obvious targeting of Jews happening on their campuses. And this, all while the Israelis are under a full-throttle ambush by a terrorist organization that has shown a complete disregard for the human life of innocent private citizens who are now met with the task of defending their homeland from an unprovoked attack.
The president of UPenn has now resigned due to the relentless backlash for her cowardly “It would depend on the context” comment in Congressional testimony in early December. This in itself illustrates the underlying issues that are now under the scope of attention during these times.
The trending hashtag “Free Palestine” from those on the leftist extremes of American politics has circulated and been used to intimidate those who support our Israeli friends. People have been seen vigorously ripping down signs with images and names of hostages who have been taken in by Hamas. The Americans who have stood forth and called out this malpractice are heroes in showing their unwavering support in opposition to the brutality happening in the Middle East.
A viral clip of a New York man in an expletive-filled confrontation with a pro-Hamas vandal shows the overwhelming remaining support that Israel still has in the United States, with everyday Americans standing for freedom both at home and overseas. But despite this, there is still work to be done in addressing the remnants of hate that have seemed to be fueled by this conflict, inspiring those who have shown resentment behind the curtain and now revealing who they really are in the public light.
It is up to those of us who support the freedom of Israelis to respond accordingly to the wrongful prejudice against them. Jews who are victims of hate-related tirades due to their beliefs are owed the respect that any American should have. According to a Reuters report from late October, incidents involving antisemitic-motivated assaults and domestic threats had risen by approximately 400% since the October 7th attack by Hamas.
This is a clear indicator that the Hamas-Israel struggle has an influence on a worldwide scale of anti-Jewish contempt that has seemed only to become stronger since the strike on Israeli freedom was first underway. Finding ways to combat it can come in various forms. But most important is that anti-semitism, and those who would acquiesce to allowing anti-semitic activity to become a normal occurrence, must be met with clear opposition and continually confronted by those who value a nation where freedom of religion is a basic principle rooted in the founding of our country.
Conor Quinn is a sophomore at the University of North Georgia in Gainesville, where he studies Communications and Journalism. He has previously contributed to National Review. @RepublicanConor
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