Trigger warning: Apparently, I\u2019m a right-wing dupe. I attended last week\u2019s Diaspora Affairs Ministry conference against antisemitism.<\/p>\n
But I\u2019m an educator, not a boycotter: How can I learn if I shun activists, Left or Right? Would anyone have heard my speech endorsing Zionism as a positive form of liberal-democratic nationalism if I hadn\u2019t participated? And shouldn\u2019t I have attended to salute our students, no matter who else came? I respect those heroes much more than I disrespect anyone else willing to fly to Israel to denounce Jew-hatred.<\/p>\n
This fight must transcend politics \u2013 with liberals fighting left-wing antisemitism and conservatives fighting right-wing antisemitism.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m a bad hypocrite. I demand consistency. If we wouldn\u2019t dare boycott the Democratic Party because its leaders include unapologetic Jew-haters like Ilhan Omar, why boycott Europeans publicly denouncing Jew-hatred in Jerusalem, who nevertheless have despicable allies or shady party pedigrees?<\/p>\n
Critics of Israel\u2019s government mocked the special incompetence required to make an antisemitism conference divisive in 2025. Defenders found the boycott selective, canceling right-wingers, excusing left-wingers.<\/p>\n
Rejecting the recriminations, let\u2019s ask: \u201cWhat can we learn\u201d and \u201chow can we avoid repeating this mistake?\u201dThe fairest criticism I heard was, \u201cThe Diaspora Ministry should respect Diaspora communities. If Jewish leaders in France or England are boycotting bigots, Israel\u2019s government should follow their lead.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s where the boycotters and Israel\u2019s government missed an opportunity. They should have met privately beforehand in Israel to define a few redlines not to cross in fighting Jew-hatred, while articulating blue-and-white lines uniting Left and Right against Jew-hatred.<\/p>\n
Unless serious leaders have such a summit soon, this problem will recur.<\/p>\n
In today\u2019s hyper-partisan age, extremists constantly shun rivals while defending allies, no matter how abhorrent. Democrats tolerate the most rabid, anti-Zionist faction in an American party since William F. Buckley blasted Pat Buchanan\u2019s anti-Jewish, anti-neoconservative, isolationist wing in the Republican Party of the 1990s.<\/p>\n
And, with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Tucker Carlson, Trumpian Republicans tolerate the most rabid, anti-Jewish voices in an American party since Jew-hating racists like Mississippi Senator Theodore Bilbo led the Southern Democrats\u2019 mid-20th-century charge against civil rights.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s complicated \u2013 and ugly. As an American historian, I can challenge anyone, saying, \u201cPick a year, and I\u2019ll name a Jew-hater who was mainstreamed,\u201d and \u201cname a party and I\u2019ll list five, 10, 200 leaders who were racist, homophobic, sexist, and antisemitic.\u201d Beware, therefore, what standards you profess when excommunicating others.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s why, in fighting Jew-hatred, we must build alliances rather than boycotting activists willing to fly to Jerusalem and denounce Jew-haters.<\/p>\n
And that\u2019s why the ministry\u2019s conference highlighted bigger challenges to the unified front that Israel, the Jewish people, and the West need to win this fight.<\/p>\n
Future conferences should slash the number of speakers, expanding opportunities for brainstorming and dialogue. This critique applies to almost every Jewish confab I attend.<\/p>\n
I would also advise speakers to avoid retelling stories of Jew-hatred or describing the post-October 7 hate-burst. Anyone attending knows that. Instead ask: \u201cWhat can we learn from it, what do we do about it, and how do we prevent future outbursts?\u201d Thinking out of the box, describe some best practices. Tell stories of wins, of leaders who defied anti-Zionist antisemites, of non-Jews who stood tall, embraced Jews, and could inspire others.<\/p>\n
Most important, clarify: What are we for, not just what are we against. As I asked the participants in my roundtable: \u201cWhat positive vision or defining idea would have drawn you to Israel, beyond our shared desire to fight against Jew-hatred?\u201d<\/p>\n
I proposed a Zionist response to Jew-hatred because Zionism always preferred tree planting to firefighting. Identity Zionism offers the best long-term strategy for raising a generation of proud, unapologetic, happy Jews, intolerant of intolerance. That\u2019s why I would increase educational and youth budgets exponentially \u2013 at the expense of the overly-flush anti-antisemitism establishment.<\/p>\n
Experts and activists must explore vexing dilemmas \u2013 especially today\u2019s great partisan conundrum. Jews spent decades cementing alliances with leftists, trusting liberalism as the best way to develop Jew-friendly countries where Jews and others thrive. Yet many liberals went illiberal and demonize the Jewish state obsessively. Meanwhile, more and more Jews feel safer and see Israel better supported in some populist right-wing regimes Jews long abhorred \u2013 even as these regimes tolerate individual Jew-haters.<\/p>\n
Liberals should meet separately, asking: \u201cWhat went wrong? How do we deal with the Left\u2019s betrayal, and what strategies might reverse or dilute this increasingly toxic progressive anti-Zionism?\u201d<\/p>\n
Conservatives should ask: \u201cHow do we reconcile pro-Israel populism with its anti-Jewish elements, and when do we feel certain demagogues go too far in Jew-bashing or anti-Jewish dog whistling?\u201d<\/p>\n
Both groups should also meet together, to figure out how to keep the fight against Jew-hatred insulated from toxic partisan politics in this hyper-partisan age.<\/p>\n
It starts by framing the fight universally, as an assault on Western values and liberal democracy, often spearheaded by Islamists, while finding allies who recognize attacks on Israel, Jews, and Zionism as the front lines of a civilizational war.<\/p>\n
After exploring compelling strategic dilemmas, go institutional. Assess successes and failures on various battlefronts: public schools, campuses, social media, the streets, the art world, intellectual life.<\/p>\n
Finally, brainstorm about bypass mechanisms. Follow the Harmonie-Hillcrest strategy, honoring Jewish country clubs that outdid established clubs that barred Jews. The best response to bigotry that\u2019s too ingrained in an institution is transcending it. Build bigger, better institutions that benefit the Jewish people, America, and Western civilization.<\/p>\n