Have Jewish liberals finally figured out that their erstwhile leftist allies just aren’t that into them anymore?
That’s the question posed by JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin as he contemplates the mainstreaming of antisemitism among Democrats in 2026. He’s joined in this week’s episode of “Think Twice” by columnist, podcaster and author Karol Markowicz, who points out the danger posed by the spread of these toxic leftist ideologies.
“Bad ideas are contagious,” said Markowicz. That explains why politicians like New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and others are gaining popularity by trying to sell voters on failed and dangerous concepts like socialism, as well as antisemitism. It’s also tragic because liberal Jews adopted social-justice politics as their new religion. But now, this new secular faith wants nothing to do with them unless they are willing to adopt blood libels about Israel committing “genocide” and giving up a major element of Jewish identity just to fit in.
That’s also illustrated by the way Democrats are all-in on supporting someone like Maine congressional candidate Graham Platner, the Nazi-tattooed, women-abusing Israel-basher, to try and win control of the U.S. Senate. Markowicz wants to know why major liberal Jewish organizations, like the Anti-Defamation League, aren’t speaking out about this.
“Where are the Jewish organizations that have stood with Democrats for 100 years to say, ‘No, this is a line that can’t be crossed for us’? They say it happens on the right, too. Well, I can assure you I’m not going to be supporting anybody with a Nazi tattoo,” states Markowicz.
With respect to the drift of some Jews to the anti-Israel camp, Markowicz says this is partly a failure of Jewish organizations and education, but also one of parenting. The adoption of leftist ideological norms has stifled debate, making parents afraid to tell their children what is right. As she points out, somehow liberal families generally don’t tolerate differences of opinion about abortion, but they do about the right of Jews to have their own state.
Markowicz also criticizes liberals who vocalize their unenthusiasm about celebrating America’s 250th birthday next month because many of the commemorations will feature U.S. President Donald Trump. As an immigrant from the former Soviet Union, she says she thanks God every day for being an American—and so should everyone else.
She believes that this is also a matter of parenting. “Do your kids know that they are the luckiest people who have ever lived because they get to live in this country? And if the answer is no, then go home and teach your kids that—because they are,” she says.
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