The Resurrection of Antisemitism
ancient hatreds in modern society
In 2025, segments of the far-left perceive themselves as enlightened, progressive, and morally advanced (if not outright superior). This "enlightened" movement, often branded as a bastion of contemporary social movements, constantly rails against perceived microaggressions, have been known to change their pronouns in their emails, and engages in acts of solidarity with groups that occupy the current national or cultural spotlight. (Remember Ukraine, and BLM? Where are the people in solidarity with those movements now?)
The far left also write essay after essay on systemic inequality, organize demonstrations for a wide variety of perceived marginalized communities, and flood media channels with messaging designed to affirm their self-image as the final resistance against the hatred and oppression of modern society. Their academic institutions, media platforms, and cultural influencers collectively reinforce this narrative, often without critical self-reflection.
Yet there is one major inconsistency that persists in the worldview of the far left. One group, the Jewish community, which has been historically subjected to centuries of persecution, finds itself curiously excluded from the far-left's circle of empathy. Rather than receiving the solidarity extended to other vulnerable groups the far-left deems to be worthy, Jews today are increasingly ignored, marginalized, and even vilified by many who otherwise claim to stand for universal justice. This double standard is not only hypocritical, but it also appears to be intensifying over time.
Don't believe me? Let's go down the list.
Boulder, CO (2024): A firebombing attack on a Jewish community center, clearly a hate crime deliberately targeting Jews.
Indiana (2025): Cody Balmer set fire to the Governor Josh Shapiro’s mansion, and cited his views about the war in Gaza as his motive.
California (2023): Loay Alnaji stands trial for the death of Paul Kessler, a Jewish man, after a pro-Israel rally.
New York City (2022): Anti-Israel activist Saadah Massoud assaulted a Jewish man, later charged with a hate crime.
Washington, D.C. (2025): A suspect who attacked a Jewish museum, killing a Jewish couple, shouted “Free, free Palestine”, and also posted a manifesto explicitly calling for violence against Jews.
And here is a real time tracker of reported anti-semitic acts if it isn't abundantly clear that anti-semitism is on the rise:
Contrary to popular belief, antisemitism did not disappear alongside the Third Reich. Instead, it has returned to life as a Frankenstein-like zombie - it is now adapted to the digital age with viral YouTube videos and catchy protest slogans. While the mediums have evolved, the underlying hatred remains disturbingly familiar.
Let’s be crystal fucking clear: this isn’t just a Jewish problem. The rise of antisemitism is the canary in the coal mine for our so-called "civilized societies." When societies get lazy, decayed, and morally confused (as it did in the Weimar Republic), Jew-hatred always bubbles up to the surface.
I like to think of antisemitism as a fire. A fire without anything to consume (fuel, dry wood, etc.) is just that, a fire that will burn out if isolated. Throughout history, the Jewish population has been persecuted many times, and the fuel that has fed the fire of antisemitism has changed throughout the course of history. Antisemitism originally spread through word of mouth at first, perhaps an antisemitic myth (blood-libels), or a religious edict led to the persecution of isolated Jewish communities. Then the fuel grew more potent with the invention of the printing press. Then it grew even more potent with the spread of antisemitic pseudoscience through mass-media (such as the radio).
Now, the digital age threatens to throw jet fuel on the antisemitic fire that is raging across the West and the Middle East. Social media has made spreading antisemitism effortless, profitable, and socially acceptable. Outrage fuels platforms like X, TikTok, and Instagram. And what stokes outrage better than old-school conspiracies about Jews controlling the banks, the media, or global politics? Every time there’s a war in Gaza, or a financial crisis, or a pandemic, your feed gets flooded with the same bullshit your great-grandfather might have heard in 1930s Berlin — only now it’s wrapped in snarky memes, 15-second videos, and long-winded “explainers” from blue-check grifters.
This quote from a recent article by Ayaan Hirsi Ali in the Free Press is another potent way of thinking about modern-day antisemitism: the “Free Palestine” movement "is a smoke screen. What we’re dealing with is not a grassroots plea for peace, for statehood. It’s Islamism soaked in Maoism, weaponized for the social media era, and sharpened to a point by ideological warriors who’ve read more Foucault than Quran."
Big Tech pretends to care. They’ll ban you in five seconds for saying something clumsy about gender, but they’ll let antisemitic bile spread like wildfire because it drives engagement. The far-left accuses the right for weaponizing outrage on social media. I don't know what else to call that other than hypocritical.
But I don't just want to shit on the left. The far-right also has an antisemitism problem, it's just dressed differently.
On the right, it’s the good old classic: Jews as globalists, banksters, puppet masters. Charlottesville wasn’t an accident. QAnon wasn’t an accident. The “Great Replacement” conspiracy wasn’t an accident. Winston Churchill was actually the bad guy in World War II. It’s the same old paranoia dressed up for MAGA rallies and Telegram chats.
So why have I spent the entirety of this article focusing on far-left antisemitism? Because we all see the game that they're playing. The far-left hides their antisemitism behind the fig leaf of “anti-Zionism.” Criticism on the left of Netanyahu is fair. I myself have some criticisms about Netanyahu. But when “criticism of Israel” turns into Molotov cocktails thrown at a group of Jews, or mobs hounding Jewish students on U.S. campuses, we’re not talking about foreign policy anymore. We’re talking about plain, ugly antisemitism. And let’s not kid ourselves, it’s the far-left champagne socialists and “decolonize everything” radicals who are the ones cheering the loudest.
Israel has become the modern excuse for ancient hatreds. Yes, Israel’s government does things worth criticizing (as does every government, by the way). But somehow, only one country’s sins justify attacking Jews who’ve never set foot in the Middle East. Tell me how often Russian-Americans have been attacked for the crimes of the Russian government (which I would venture to say are vastly worse than any crime that Israel has committed)? Perhaps a few Russians have been attacked, but unlike anti-semitism, Russophobia is not a pervading sentiment on the left because they do not perceive Russians to be oppressors in the way that they perceive Jews to be oppressors.
Pandemics? The Jews made the virus. Financial crash? Jewish bankers. Refugee crisis? The Jews. Climate change? Probably the Jews too. We laugh at this, but it’s spreading. The internet, alternative media, podcasts — they’ve all become echo chambers where these ancient tropes get dressed up as “research” or “critical thinking.” It’s lazy and it’s pathetic, but it works. People looking for scapegoats always end up in the same place.
Our institutions, the ones that are supposed to be defending liberal democracy, are too cowardly to do anything. Universities will crack down on a kid who says the wrong joke, but they’ll invite speakers who call for the destruction of Israel and the “liberation” of Palestine from the river to the sea — with zero pushback. Governments issue useless condemnations and move on. Cultural elites? They stay quiet because confronting antisemitism when it comes from the “wrong” side of the identity politics map is just too uncomfortable.
I’m not Jewish. I'm an Argentine/Cuban-American, descended from Catholic Spaniards and Protestant Germans. I don’t have a dog in this fight in the personal sense. But I know enough history to see what this means. When antisemitism surges, it means your society is sick. It means the center cannot hold. It means the rule of law, reason, and morality are losing ground to mobs, conspiracy theorists, and hatemongers.
Ignore it, excuse it, or sugarcoat it, and don’t be surprised when the same forces come for you next.
This article is part of the Deep Dive section, where we unpack the geopolitics and domestic politics behind the headlines.
About the Author: Marco Rodriguez is a political analyst and writer focusing on U.S. foreign policy, security, and global power dynamics. His work blends deep historical insight with sharp contemporary analysis. He is the creator of this Substack, where he explores the intersection of diplomacy, conflict, and leadership in the 21st century.
Cody Balmer set fire to the Pennsylvania governor's mansion.