Recent attempts to portray the fight against campus antisemitism as a form of political subterfuge are not only misleading but profoundly dangerous. A recent screed titled Weaponizing Antisemitism 101: A Back-to-School Special by Roy Eidelson, former director of the Solomon Asch Center for Study of Ethnopolitical Conflict at the University of Pennsylvania, epitomizes this misguided narrative. It paints a picture in which legitimate outrage over antisemitic harassment is dismissed as a cynical ploy to stifle free speech. This could not be further from the truth. The reality is that antisemitism is on the rise across U.S. college campuses, and far from being “weaponized,” efforts to address it are crucial to safeguarding the civil rights of Jewish students.
To be clear, criticism of Israel is not inherently antisemitic. What is antisemitic, however, is when that criticism morphs into harassment, intimidation and violence aimed at Jewish students, as has increasingly become the case on campuses nationwide. Groups like Students for Justice in Palestine frequently cross this line. What starts as political protest all too often escalates into coordinated efforts to silence, ostracize and threaten Jewish students merely for their association with Israel or even their Jewish identity.
This is not a theoretical debate; it’s happening in real time. Jewish students are being harassed at campus events, labeled racists and face physical intimidation. Protests turn into mob-like demonstrations where chants like “From the river to the sea” suggest not political reform but the destruction of the State of Israel and its people. Such statements, whether knowingly or not, are calls for ethnic cleansing. To downplay this as mere “criticism” of Israeli policy is to willfully ignore a centuries-old pattern of antisemitic vitriol disguised in the politics of the day.
Efforts to address this surge in campus antisemitism, whether through civil rights laws or initiatives like the Anti-Klan Act from the 1870s and RICO statutes, are aimed at upholding the basic rights of Jewish students. It is appalling to suggest that invoking these legal protections is a form of “weaponization.” What is being protected are students’ rights to attend class, participate in campus life and express their identities without fear of harassment or violence. These are the same rights afforded to every other student group on campus, and Jewish students should not be excluded from these protections.
The claim that there is a deliberate conflation of anti-Israel activism with antisemitism is equally flawed. While it is true that not all criticism of Israel is antisemitic, many of the most vocal and aggressive movements on campuses have gone far beyond mere political discourse. They have blurred the line between critique of Israeli government policies and delegitimization of the Jewish people’s right to self-determination. This is antisemitism, plain and simple.
Moreover, dismissing the rise of antisemitism on the left, particularly among pro-Palestinian activists, is both naive and dangerous. Antisemitism is not confined to one political ideology. It exists on both the far-right and far-left, often manifesting in different forms but rooted in the same deep-seated prejudice. To suggest that antisemitism only flourishes on the political right is to ignore a growing and very real problem on the left. Turning a blind eye to this reality only emboldens those who wish to cause harm, whether they cloak their hatred in white nationalism or radical leftist rhetoric.
The consequences of this escalating hostility toward Jewish students are already being felt. Jewish students report feeling isolated, threatened and unsafe on campuses that are meant to foster open and respectful dialogue. These students are not just victims of “mean words” but of organized campaigns designed to strip them of their sense of belonging in academic spaces. Pretending that this doesn’t exist or is somehow exaggerated serves only to perpetuate the cycle of abuse.
Finally, dismissing the psychological and emotional toll of antisemitism on campuses as “overblown” is an affront to those students who have been on the receiving end of this hatred. The impact of antisemitism is not something that can be measured by a single survey or a few statistics. It is felt in the everyday lives of Jewish students who have to constantly look over their shoulders, who are afraid to wear their kippah or Star of David (Magen David) in public, and who feel increasingly alienated in environments that should be welcoming and inclusive.
This is not about protecting Israel from criticism; it is about ensuring that Jewish students have the same rights and protections as every other student on campus. It is about calling out and condemning antisemitism in all its forms, regardless of whether it comes from the left or the right. And it is about taking action to ensure that this rising tide of hatred does not continue unchecked.
Efforts to combat antisemitism are not “weaponizations” of a historical injustice; they are moral and legal imperatives. To frame them otherwise is to deny the reality of what Jewish students are enduring today. It’s time to stop pretending that this problem is exaggerated or imagined and to recognize that antisemitism, in all its forms, is as real and dangerous today as it has ever been.
