Since the October 7th attacks on Israel by the terror group Hamas, Jews around the globe have been bombarded with chants and slogans from so-called “pro-Palestinian” protesters that bleed from ignorant anti-Zionism into outright antisemitism. Such slogans as “go back to Poland” and you are “Al-Qasam’s next targets” (in reference to a group of pro-Israel demonstrators) are easy to identify as antisemitism or calls for violence.
But other slogans, such as “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” are a bit more covert, especially to those who aren’t familiar with their origins. Most people don’t know that the meaning of “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” is an unabashed call for ethnic cleansing and the erasure of Israel and its Jewish citizens. However, when shouted by those claiming to be social justice activists, the phrase becomes cloaked in a righteous guise of freedom and justice. That’s why accusations of antisemitism are so often met with defiance and denial. This is the vicious cycle the global Jewish community is experiencing, and nowhere is it more pernicious than here in the U.S.
Adam Milstein, an American of Israeli descent and a Jewish “venture philanthropist” with deep ties in the Los Angeles and U.S. Jewish community, unpacks this issue in a recent Jerusalem Post article. Milstein is uniquely qualified to assess the state of overt and covert antisemitism in America. Not only is he a co-founder of the Israeli American Council (IAC), which builds bridges between Israeli-Americans and the diverse Jewish communities here in the U.S., he and his wife are the co-founders of the Adam and Gila Milstein Family Foundation, a Jewish non-profit based in Los Angeles. The Milstein Family Foundation supports a wide range of causes that strengthen American values, support the U.S.-Israel alliance, and combat hatred and bigotry in all forms, most notably antisemitism.
Milstein says that “it’s almost impossible to find a ‘pro-Palestinian’ rally that isn’t drenched in antisemitic rhetoric, anti-Jewish venom, or stereotypical tropes.” Despite this, and despite accusations of antisemitism from reputable Jewish organizations like the ADL, “protestors and activists are consistently referred to and perceive themselves as human rights activists.” In the media, from mainstream papers like The New York Times to viral videos on TikTok, these protestors are uncritically legitimized as social justice advocates.
Much of the problem stems from academia, Milstein argues. “Tens of thousands of college students across the country have been brainwashed by radical, Marxist doctrines that view America and Israel as the world’s greatest evils,” proliferated by what he calls the “Islamo-leftist alliance.” Professors at the top universities have proudly displayed their pro-Hamas sensibilities, with one overtly stating, “Yes, I’m with Hamas.”
Anti-Zionism is perhaps the most widely used disguise for antisemitism among those on the left, and it has become increasingly more overt in pro-Palestinian protests since October 7th. Milstein presents the example of the protestors who tried to shut down the New York City memorial dedicated to the victims of the Nova Music Festival massacre. They waved Hezbollah and Hamas flags and called for an “intifada.” The direct translation of this Arabic word is “shaking off,” which fits with the far left’s worldview of shaking off and rising up against what they see as oppressors. But the word carries a heavy cultural weight that even the most naïve protestors can’t possibly ignore. “It refers to the terrorist uprisings in Israel in the past 40 years that injured and killed thousands of innocent civilians,” Milstein says. It’s well-known as a “call for violence against all Jews worldwide.”
Though this so-called anti-Zionist rhetoric is consistently promoted as pro-Palestinian, the “media’s whitewashing of the protestors’ calls for violence does not advance the cause of peace,” argues Milstein. So often this rhetoric comes at the expense of Jewish pain, with activists taking advantage of “Jewish historical trauma” to promote their own cause. This is perfectly encapsulated in the charge of genocide, both by the International Court of Justice against Israel, and by activists on social media against anyone who supports Israel.
Milstein shares one of many egregious examples, a TikTok video in which a group of “[a]ntisemitic activists use the memory of the Holocaust for the purpose of painting its victim, the Jewish people, as the ‘new’ oppressor in the form of Israel,” calling it genocidal. He makes clear that this tactic of “appropriating Jewish history” comes straight from “the playbook of terrorist organizations like Hamas and Hezbollah.”
Despite this, even prominent politicians employ these dangerous tactics, such as Minnesota congresswoman and member of the far left “Squad” Ilhan Omar. When her daughter, a student at Columbia, was arrested along with other students for the illegal encampment, she stated, “We should not have to tolerate antisemitism or bigotry for all Jewish students, whether they’re pro-genocide or anti-genocide.” Milstein reports that the ADL called her out for this “blood libel.” Republican congressman Don Bacon even drafted a measure to censure her over the remarks.
Similar examples of covert and overt antisemitism are present at every level of American society. To obfuscate accusations of antisemitism, protestors on college campuses and in our streets always “choose their words strategically.” Because “[w]hy say ‘destroy Israel and kill all the Jews there’ when you can chant ‘from the River to the Sea’ and hide behind ‘pro-Palestinian’ activism”? Milstein sees clearly what the end goal of these protests are: “to isolate and eradicate the Jewish State, as well as the Jewish people worldwide.” That’s why it’s vital to listen to voices like his in order to understand the complicated, and often not so complicated, web of antisemitism that the Islamo-leftist alliance has been weaving for years, which has now come to a head post-October 7th.