JWeekly: To defeat antisemitism, we must embrace partnership and reject polarization

Amy Spitalnick
July 18, 2024
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It’s hard not to feel like we’re facing a constant deluge of antisemitism — from extremists targeting Jews at synagogues and on college campuses to lawmakers justifying xenophobic and racist policies with the “great replacement” theory.

While this type of bigotry is hardly new, what is deeply alarming are the ways in which antisemitic rhetoric and conspiracy theories have become increasingly normalized in our politics and society in recent years.

This extremism is about far more than just words. Too often it directly leads to horrifying violence against Jews and so many others — in Charlottesville, Pittsburgh, Poway, El Paso, Buffalo, Jacksonville and beyond. In the wake of Oct. 7, the deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust, we have seen how it has unleashed an unprecedented wave of antisemitism directly aimed at isolating and marginalizing Jews.

While this bigotry and extremism affect different communities in unique ways, the ultimate impact is even broader and threatens democracy itself. To confront and defeat this common threat, those targeted have no choice but to overcome lines of difference to build broad-based pro-democracy and anti-hate coalitions. Yet the loudest and most polarizing voices are trying to pit us against each other and keep us divided when cross-community solidarity has never been more urgent.

We see this dangerous divisiveness in those who use Israel to isolate Jews from the very coalitions that we need to be a part of to protect our communities and our democracy. We see it in those exploiting legitimate concerns about antisemitism to try to advance extreme and harmful agendas by seeking to end diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives altogether and to defund liberal education institutions. We see it with those painting communities — whether Jewish, Arab, Muslim, Black or otherwise — with broad brushes and dehumanizing entire groups of people based on their identity.

This isn’t surprising. At the end of the day, antisemitism, like all forms of bigotry, is about division and perpetuating zero-sum frameworks that suggest one of us gains only by someone else losing. Antisemitism also uniquely operates as an insidious conspiracy theory, rooted in lies about Jewish control and power, not only pitting communities against one another, but also fundamentally sowing distrust in our institutions and our democracy. This targets not just Jews but many different communities in the form of violence and of discriminatory, dehumanizing policies. Recent research tells us that belief in such conspiracy theories is among the biggest driving motivations for political violence and anti-democratic extremism.

So how do we stop this destructive cycle and protect ourselves and our democracy? The only path forward is to recognize that all of our rights and safety are intertwined, to reject false binaries too often dominating these conversations and to build bridges to achieve common goals.

Last year, I was hired to relaunch an 80-year-old Jewish legacy organization, the Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA), which was founded at the height of the Second World War and the Holocaust. At the core of our work is the recognition that Jewish safety is inextricably linked with the safety of other communities and with protecting and advancing our democratic norms and values. We know that we must work across differences to advance our shared future, especially at moments of deep pain like now.

To confront today’s crisis of antisemitism and extremism, JCPA has launched two new Action Networks that are mobilizing local and national Jewish groups alongside non-Jewish allies and partners to counter bigotry and protect democracy on the federal, state and local levels.

Our Countering Bigotry Action Network will fight antisemitism and intersecting forms of hate and discrimination, as well as stand up for immigrant rights, racial justice, LGBTQ+ rights and safety, women’s and reproductive rights, gun violence prevention, criminal justice reform and more. Our Protecting Democracy Action Network will rally for voting and civil rights, election protection and civic engagement and will counter disinformation, book bans and curriculum challenges.

Right here in California, we’ve seen how the Jewish community can effectively engage in this kind of proactive partnership that makes a real difference in advancing both Jewish safety and an inclusive society more broadly.

Our local partners, including Jewish Community Relations Councils and Jewish Federations, have joined together to both support and improve important new ethnic studies curricula. Working closely with the governor’s office, teachers, district leaders and other diverse partners, they underscored the importance of ethnic studies curricula, ensured the inclusion of lesson plans focused on Jewish Americans and successfully pushed back against fringe efforts to include harmful antisemitic or anti-Israel content. And while there are still some challenges on the local level, the community is much better positioned to advance constructive solutions.

Instead of walking away from the table in the face of a challenging process and debate — or opposing ethnic studies curricula writ large — they instead leaned into their relationships, worked across differences and achieved a constructive outcome both for the Jewish community and other vulnerable communities.

Our safety and our rights are inextricably linked. It’s only in working together across differences that we can truly protect the inclusive, pluralistic democracy that’s necessary for the future of our Jewish community and every community under threat.