Antisemitism in America: Why We Must Speak Up
By: Dr. Susan Michael, ICEJ USA President
Since October 7, antisemitism in America has surged at an alarming rate. But two recent incidents in just over a week—the murder of two young Israeli embassy staffers in Washington, DC, and a violent, calculated attack on pro-Israel demonstrators in Boulder, Colorado—represent an even more disturbing escalation of hate on US soil that highlights the urgent need for action.
The Antisemitism Surge in America
The recent spike in antisemitism in America ignited when Hamas terrorists attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, resulting in the deaths of 1,200 Israelis, including children and elderly Holocaust Survivors, and the kidnapping of 250 individuals. According to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), there were over 10,000 antisemitic incidents reported in the year following the outbreak of the war—a 200 percent increase from the previous year.
This included a wave of antisemitism that infiltrated mainstream culture—like Kanye West’s release of a single and music video titled “Heil Hitler,” a Pulitzer Prize awarded to a Hamas hostage denier for commentary on the Israel-Hamas war, and widespread media coverage of a factually incorrect statement made by a United Nations spokesperson, who falsely claimed that 14,000 Gazan babies would die in 48 hours. Social media users even justified the murders of Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim in Washington, DC.
The Jewish people are living in fear for their lives as terrorists are emboldened by the mainstream culture’s normalization of toxic rhetoric against Israel and the Jewish people. One Jewish man on a television news bite said that Jews feel like they are being hunted.
Another glaring example of antisemitic bias is the early mainstream media reports on the morning of June 1, 2025, that indicated that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) were responsible for killing more than 30 civilians outside an aid distribution center in Gaza. Those reports were based solely on information provided by the Hamas-led Health Ministry and were quickly reported without contention or context even after Israel denied the reports. This is not the first time that the terrorist organization has used propaganda and the mainstream media to further its agenda and distort the reality of the war.
Political Antisemitism
What we are witnessing is not just religious or racial antisemitism—it is a dangerous form of political antisemitism aimed at the Jewish collective, targeting the very existence of Israel as a Jewish state. This is not about policy disagreements; it’s about hatred. The violent extremists terrorizing our streets are not seeking debate—they are seeking blood.
The radical left-wing antisemitic move-ment, masked as anti-Israelism, is in fact promoting outright antisemitism. The willingness of those in this movement to harm any Jew they encounter demonstrates that they are using politics as an excuse to attack and kill Jews—period.
It’s Time to Act
Now is the time to raise our voices and stand boldly with the State of Israel and the Jewish people. We must urgently turn our attention to the next generation of American Christians—young people inundated daily with antisemitic narratives on social media and university campuses. To reach them, we need innovative, relevant education that speaks their language and meets them where they are.
We must also spotlight media accountability and launch focused educational efforts that defend truth and protect Jewish communities. We must demand that the mainstream and legacy media prioritize integrity and moral clarity over being the first to report breaking news or further the agenda that Israel and the Jewish people are the aggressors when it’s obvious that they are the victims of heinous violence again and again.
Silence in the face of this vile and growing hostility toward God’s people is not an option.
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