Understanding the Post-Oct. 7 Surge in Antisemitism

Those of us engaged in work to counter antisemitism have been asked frequently during the past 19 months why antisemitism surged in an unprecedented way since October 7.

The answer that I offer is that only one thing has dramatically changed on October 7 that can be seen as the main causative factor: a new sense of vulnerability of Israel and their supporters around the world.

Anti-Israel sentiment has been a part of life since Israel’s founding and never truly disappeared. What had occurred over Israel’s 77-year history was a sense that as much as many disliked the Jewish state and sought to delegitimize it in a variety of ways—including terrorism, boycotts, U.N. resolutions like “Zionism is Racism” – Israel had become too strong and too established an entity to do anything serious about one’s dislike of the Jewish state. 

That changed in a dramatic way on October 7. Suddenly, Israel appeared in the eyes of many as a paper tiger. The vaunted Israeli military and intelligence forces had failed to protect the Israeli people. For the first time in years, calls for Israel’s destruction were seen as not mere aspirational rhetoric, but potentially a real possibility. And with it was a new sense of vulnerability of Israel’s main supporters, Zionists in America and around the world.

It is this sense of vulnerability which transformed the long-held hostility against the Jewish state into hostile action against Jewish communities. After all, one would have assumed that the massacre of Israelis, the worst event in the post-Holocaust history of the Jewish people, plus the holding of scores of hostages, would have generated sympathy for the victims rather than fiery resentment. The counterintuitive response seems to be a direct result of already existing hostility now provided with new opportunity.  

In light of this factor, the question arises: Whether, during these 19 months of war, Israel has regained its credibility as being strong and invulnerable, which has been a vital stabilizing factor for the Jewish state? And, if so, what impact has that had on the resurgence of antisemitism?

On the one hand, the fact that the hostage situation remains unresolved and Hamas continues to dominate in Gaza, suggests that perceived Israeli weakness remains a central theme of the current environment. On the other hand, Israel’s remarkable military accomplishments during the conflict have made a powerful statement to its adversaries, regional powers and anyone else who saw October 7th as fundamentally changing the power balance in the region.

In particular, the amazing pager operation against Hezbollah operatives in Lebanon, together with the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and the overwhelming air superiority over Iran following missile barrages from the Islamic Republic, served to restore an appreciation of Israel’s intelligence and military capabilities.  

Unfortunately, it is not possible simply to put the genie back in the bottle once it has been set loose. The demonization of Israel and its Jewish supporters have, particularly during the past 19 months, been inculcated in many students, professors and administrators, as well as others in society. While the accusation of genocide against Israel has special resonance, it is critical not to forget that the very day after the massacre of Israelis, demonstrations around the world focused on support for Hamas’s atrocities, with protestors chanting themes justifying the atrocities and calling for Israel’s erasure with antisemitic slogans like “From the River to the Sea” — all before Israel engaged in any significant military response in Gaza.  

There is certainly plenty of space for criticism of Israeli military activities during this conflict, but from the outset the anti-Zionism and antisemitism that have surged are far more about delegitimizing the Jewish state and its supporters – Jewish and non-Jewish alike – than any legitimate concerns about human rights violations.

Since the underlying hostility existed for many years, kept at bay by that perception of Israeli strength, this new perception of vulnerability, even if it was short-lived, set in motion a mode of behavior that will be hard to reverse. Of course, it will require Israel to make the right decisions regarding its security concerns.  

But it will need a new concerted effort, both to expose the hate underlying the hostility to Israel’s very existence and the fundamental immorality of denying the Jewish right to self-determination of the Jewish people in their historic homeland. And denying Jews in America, on college campuses and elsewhere, their right for safety and full participation in American society is not acceptable under the claims of freedom of speech.

To begin to try to put the genie of antisemitism back in the bottle, it is important to educate people that the protests and violence against Israel and Jewish Americans should not be labeled as merely pro-Palestinian, but rather an attempt to delegitimize the state of Israel and its supporters. This is evident in the many manifestations of the denigration of the Jewish state beginning on October 8, in the rationalization or even support of the Hamas massacre on October 7, and the nearly total absence at the protests of any talk about a two-state solution or empathy for the hostages. 

Still, one must recognize that the antisemitism that exploded after October 7 is deep-seated, a combination of long hostility in certain circles, an expansion of that hostility with the emergence of the movement dividing the world into oppressors and oppressed – with Israel clearly identified as oppressor. And, finally, the catalyst for conversion of this hostility into antisemitic behavior, October 7, because of the new perception of Israeli and Jewish vulnerability.

Returning to a more stable situation will take time and a lot of hard work by many.