It’s time to put antisemites in their place.

This is not only a Jewish issue. It’s a test of whether Western civilization actually believes the things it claims to believe, like equality, fairness, reason, and universal human rights.

“Anti-Zionism” is not a political critique; it’s a political weapon. (photo: Unsplash)

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It starts with a comment that sounds harmless enough.

“It’s an interesting time to be Jewish,” someone said to me recently, with a half-smile that was meant to sound sympathetic, maybe even thoughtful. As if being Jewish were a curiosity, a sociology experiment, an abstract condition rather than an identity under siege.

Would anyone ever say, “It’s an interesting time to be Asian” or “It’s an interesting time to be Muslim”? Of course not. Those phrases would be recognized instantly as tone-deaf, as revealing a detachment from the pain of real people. But when it comes to Jews, much of the world shrugs. That shrug, that indulgence of the double standard, is the oxygen antisemitism breathes.

It’s not only that antisemitism is tolerated. It’s that it’s excused, disguised as political discourse, moral concern, or even compassion for others. It’s that those who perpetuate it still get to call themselves progressive, humanitarian, or enlightened. And that inversion, where hate is rebranded as virtue, is perhaps the most dangerous form antisemitism has ever taken.

For too long, Jews have lived under a moral presumption of guilt. We are asked to explain ourselves, to justify our existence, to apologize for our self-defense. We are told we must constantly prove that we are the “good kind” of Jew: critical enough of Israel, quiet enough about our fear, apologetic enough about our history. We are judged not by our actions, but by our willingness to disavow other Jews. We are held collectively responsible for the decisions of a democratic government, yet denied the collective identity that government was built to protect.

The world has flipped the presumption of innocence on its head. Jews are guilty until proven innocent. And so here’s a proposal: If that’s the new moral standard, then perhaps everyone else should be labeled Nazis until they prove otherwise.

That’s not vengeance or moral reversal; it’s a mirror and a moral reflection. Because if suspicion is the new normal, if entire peoples are to be held collectively responsible for the acts of others who share their identity, then antisemites should get a taste of their own absurd logic.

But, of course, this isn’t how civilized societies are supposed to work. We used to understand that prejudice meant judging individuals by group association. Yet when it comes to Jews, that principle is suspended. Suddenly, collective blame becomes sophisticated analysis. Bigotry becomes political expression. Hatred becomes fashionable.

Modern antisemitism doesn’t always announce itself with a swastika. It doesn’t always chant, “Jews will not replace us.” It hides behind the polished vocabulary of social justice and human rights. It hides in the academic seminar, the legacy media news headline, the NGO report, the campus rally. It comes dressed in empathy, but only selective empathy. The kind that draws borders around who gets to be a victim, and the kind that excludes Jews from that category.

We see it in headlines that treat Jewish suffering as context, but Palestinian suffering as catastrophe. We see it in universities that send mass emails denouncing “Islamophobia” within hours, but take weeks — if they say anything at all — to condemn antisemitic attacks. We see it in institutions that treat antisemitism as a PR problem rather than a moral one.

This is not new. Every era dresses antisemitism in the language of its time. The medieval church called it theology. The Enlightenment called it reason. The 20th century called it racial science. The 21st century calls it “anti-Zionism.” But the core is the same: Accuse Jews of excess power, collective guilt, and hidden influence; deny their suffering or reinterpret it as deserved; then punish them for surviving.

Today, people who would never utter a racial slur will proudly declare, “I’m not anti-Jewish, I’m just anti-Zionist.” It sounds clever, sophisticated, nuanced. But try reversing it: “I’m not anti-Arab, I’m just anti-Palestinian.” “I’m not anti-Black, I’m just anti-Nigerian.” “I’m not anti-White, I’m just anti-Irish.” Would anyone accept that distinction for a second? Absolutely not, because most reasonable people instinctively understand that it’s just prejudice with better branding.

“Anti-Zionism” is not a political critique; it’s a political weapon. It’s the denial of Jewish nationhood, the assertion that every people deserves a homeland except the Jews. And if history has taught us anything, it’s that the denial of Jewish sovereignty always precedes the denial of Jewish safety.

We see concrete examples of the problem in public life. A resurfaced clip from 2023 shows New York City mayoral candidate (and flaming antisemite) Zohran Mamdani telling a socialist conference, “We have to make clear that when the boot of the NYPD is on your neck, it’s been laced by the IDF.” So don’t be surprised when New York’s Jews vote for Mamdani’s opponent and show him that the only “Jewish boot” he’ll feel is the force of civic resolve pressing back against Mamdani’s baseless hate.

Putting antisemites in their place doesn’t mean censorship; it means consequence. It means social, professional, and moral accountability. It means making antisemitism as unacceptable as racism, sexism, or homophobia. It means enforcing institutional rules evenly: hate speech policies that apply to everyone, antisemitism training that’s not optional, universities that protect Jewish students as fiercely as others. It means public figures losing platforms when they spread dehumanizing lies. It means companies, brands, and media outlets no longer giving a microphone to people who justify terror while pretending to mourn it.

Free speech is not freedom from consequence. When people can be canceled for misusing a pronoun, but praised for calling mass murder “resistance,” something in a group’s moral compass is catastrophically broken.

This is not only a Jewish issue; it’s a test of whether Western civilization actually believes the things it claims to believe, like equality, fairness, reason, and universal human rights. If those principles don’t apply to Jews, then they aren’t principles at all.

If you are not Jewish and you believe in fairness, this is your test. This is where your values either mean something or they don’t. Language is the first battlefield. Every casual phrase that reduces Jewish life to an “interesting problem” desensitizes people to real danger — without respect, precision, and awareness that words build climates. Once that climate turns hostile, violence always follows. Always.

Jews should not have to prove our innocence. We should not have to apologize for surviving. We should not have to endure the indignity of being told that our grief is political. We should not have to ask permission to exist in peace.

If people are going to accuse us of “controlling the world,” then let us take that accusation and turn it into unapologetic civic power. Build more Jewish institutions, invest in more Jewish media, run more Jewish organizations, support more Jewish candidates, and open more doors for one another. Use Jewish connections to advance projects that benefit our communities; ask for favors the way any community uses networks to get ahead; leverage capital to fund Jewish schools, hospitals, cultural institutions, and independent journalism that tells the truth.

Do it proudly. There is dignity in networking. Let our power be public and constructive. If civic engagement and generosity are the price of being called “powerful,” pay it openly and use that power to protect what matters.

And if people are going to accuse us of “dual loyalty,” then let us embrace that charge and make it a statement of pride. Be the Zionists they warn people about. Love Israel openly, hold dual citizenship as a badge of identity, give to Israeli organizations, invest in Israeli startups, support Israeli cultural life.

Flaunt the two passports not as a confession but as testimony. Loyalty to family, faith, and human flourishing does not negate patriotism at home; it enriches it. Let our transnational commitments be visible and honorable, the way any diaspora invests in both its country of residence and its country of origin.

It’s time for Jews to stop debating whether we “deserve” empathy. It’s time to stop indulging those who mistake moral relativism for moral courage. It’s time to stop pretending antisemitism is just another opinion. If society insists on testing Jewish innocence again and again, then we will test society’s decency — and to unequivocally shame it when it fails.

This is not vengeance; it’s parity. It’s the right to live without suspicion, without apology, without the endless demand to justify our identity. It’s the right to defend ourselves without being accused of aggression. It’s the right to name our enemies without being told we’re overreacting.

“Never Again” cannot mean “unless it’s inconvenient.” It must mean exactly what it says. It must mean that Jews will not stand idly by while the world debates whether our lives have value. It must mean that every person who traffics in antisemitic tropes — no matter how well-dressed or well-credentialed — will be called what they are: a Jew-hating bigot.

We will not be the perpetual case study for other people’s self-righteous performances. We will not let our safety be a subject of “interesting times.” We will not apologize for existing, thriving, or defending ourselves.

The double standards end here. The excuses end here. The political correctness ends here. The era of polite antisemitism ends here.

It’s time to put antisemites in their place — not beneath anyone, but outside the boundaries of civilized discourse until they earn their way back through truth, decency, and repentance. Because if history has taught the world anything about the Jews, it should have taught this: When we say enough, we mean it.

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