As antisemitism surges worldwide and international criticism of Israel intensifies, mostly the result of the fallout from its war with Hamas in Gaza following the terrorist invasion of Oct. 7, 2023, Israeli scholar Yisrael Ne’eman has warned that it’s not only Jews who should be concerned.
Ne’eman, a historian who taught for more than three decades at the University of Haifa and the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, also in Haifa, argues that an alliance between the far left and radical Islamist movements—what he calls the “Red-Green Axis”—poses a grave threat to democracy and free speech and that Western countries are in danger of losing their core freedoms.
“Those who want democracy should understand that they’re next,” Ne’eman said in a recent interview with JNS. “Violence against Jews is just the first step in the annihilation of democracy, free speech, open debate and the right to a democratic lifestyle.”
He is the founder of the Ne’eman Academy, which offers university-level courses focused on the Middle East, Arab nationalism, antisemitism and jihad. Its website calls it a space dedicated to fact-based education on topics like jihad, antisemitism and global extremism.
The initiative, which he launched in 2024 along with his wife, Susan, aims to provide in-depth education rather than short, superficial online content.
“After Oct. 7, we asked ourselves: what are we going to do? I realized people need to really understand the issues and connect the dots—before it’s too late,” he said.
The following interview has been edited for brevity and clarity; below are the main excerpts.
Q: Why is there a proliferation of antisemitism and hatred of Israel since Oct. 7? Should the opposite not have happened?
A: After World War II, it was considered incorrect to be outwardly antisemitic. A hatred for Jews was still there, but it was somewhat submerged, even into the 1990s and during the Oslo process.
Antisemitism doesn’t stand alone. Wherever there has been antisemitism or persecution of Jews and expulsions and more, there has always been a greater agenda. And the greater agenda is the destruction of Western civilization, democracy, meritocracy and so on.
What we have here is this fascist, neo-Nazi “Red-Green Axis.” They’re playing off The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. When you read what they write and then look at Protocols, you realize it comes from that forgery. Hitler used it in Mein Kampf.
Why did everybody celebrate Oct. 7? Because antisemites love seeing dead Jews. There’s also what I call the envy-jealousy factor. After 3,000 years, they think: You guys have begged to be different; it’s been pressed upon you that you should assimilate, that you should give up this nonsense about Israel and the moral ethical code, and on and on. But you’re still here, and you’re flourishing, and you’re thriving.
And it comes down to the demonization definition. How could this happen? If you’re against us and we’re good, you must be the antichrist or the anti-Muhammad, the anti-Quran, the anti-whatever, because apparently, you have these special powers.
They don’t want to say it outright, but there’s enormous resentment. How did you survive all these persecutions, including the Holocaust?
We hear it today: “Hitler was right, and you should be destroyed.”
And that’s where antisemitism starts getting vicious and deadly. Those who want democracy should understand that they’re next.
Because of their commitment to freedom of speech and religion, Western governments have trouble distinguishing between legitimate opinion and incitement to violence. They err on the side of being open and liberal—and that creates space for jihadist movements to grow.
Q: Is New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani truly a Socialist, or is his platform a way of furthering a more sinister (i.e., jihadist) agenda?
A: You got it. Mamdani is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. It’s the idea of legitimacy, that he’s a Socialist, on the left wing of the Democratic Party, in favor of poor people, and that the middle class has what to give. Therefore, much of his support comes from the white middle class and many Jews in New York City, and he’s under the radar as a Bolshevik. That’s my take on it. He’s going to play the game.
He’s also backtracking on certain issues, saying, for example, “No, I don’t want to defund the police.” But he has not said outright that he’s against a global intifada because intifada means an uprising or shaking off. It’s the exact same thing when you read the extreme left-wing Communist literature. They have other words for it.
They talk about liberation and the oppressed. The same thing when you read Islamic literature. For example, there was the open letter addressed by Hezbollah to the downtrodden in Lebanon and all over the world in 1985, when they were solidifying power and the Iranians were fighting the Iraqis.
Another example is Venezuela: Hugo Chavez and now Nicolás Maduro; they’re following the same direction of integrating Jihadism with hardline Marxism.
Q: Does the Charlie Kirk assassination fit into this discussion?
A: Less important are the exact motives of the assassin; more significant are those who openly support the murder, thereby advocating more slaughter. The Red-Green Axis advocates are celebrating, just as they did on Oct 7. This political axis is the largest, most powerful group campaigning against democracy, free speech, open debate and the right to a democratic lifestyle. Antisemitism—often with an anti-Zionist facade)—and violence toward Jews is only the first step in annihilating democracy.
Q: Would you comment on U.S. President Donald Trump’s statement that Qatar is a “great ally”?
A: Trump believes Qatar is a “great ally” due to the ability to pull off trillion-dollar deals. But this is not the first time – and yes, we are speaking of worshipping the Golden Calf. Let’s recall that in May 2017, Trump’s visit to the Gulf had two purposes: first to deal with US investments, but more importantly, to halt a planned overthrow of the Qatari Islamist regime by Saudi Arabia, the Emirates and Egypt, who felt threatened by the continued jihadi threats.
Trump “made peace,” and the Qatari regime continued its civil, academic and educational jihad globally, especially in the United States. The Qataris have funded viciously anti-Israel and antisemitic teaching materials (for grades K-12), and then these same students go to colleges infected by the Red-Green Axis. All this has been pointed out by the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism & Policy.
Qatari money speaks loudly, yet Trump believes he can battle antisemitism while cuddling up to Qatar. There is precedent for pro-jihad policies and how they blow up in one’s face. Trump is playing an extremely dangerous game with Qatar, which funds anti-Israel demonstrations and violence against Jews and American democracy.
But Israel cannot complain. The Netanyahu government began facilitating Qatari funding for Hamas in 2018 to strengthen these Palestinian jihadis and weaken the Palestinian Authority, ensuring there was no one Palestinian leadership. Netanyahu was in bed with the Qataris and even hired, through the Likud, the PR man Jonathan Urich and others to enhance the Qatari image after Oct. 7. Only now is Netanyahu declaring Qatar the enemy. If Netanyahu found Qatar to be “kosher,” so can the rest of the world, including the Americans.
I see all this as the great betrayal of Western democratic values and the Jewish People. One must never cut a deal with jihadis. At best, one can make an exchange, such as our hostages for some of their terrorist prisoners.
Always remember: Jihadis are the enemy and can never be bought off.
