“It’s time for ‘progressives’ to start condemning anti-semitism and violent attacks on Jewish people with the same intention and vigor demonstrated in other areas of activism,” said Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN).
Hate crimes targeting Jewish people grew to an all time high in the United States just last year. Earlier this summer, fifteen people were injured in Boulder, Colorado when a man threw Molotov cocktails into a crowd, leaving eight people hospitalized. In May, two Israeli Embassy aides were murdered directly outside of the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C. Back in October, a man was shot while walking to synagogue in Chicago.
FBI reporting shows that while Jewish people make up just 2% of the U.S. population, they are the target of 18% of all hate crimes nationwide. Nearly 70% of all religiously motivated hate crimes in America target the Jewish community. For comparison, this is over three times higher than the rate of hate crimes committed against the Muslim community in the United States.
That bias is not accidental—it’s institutional. A recent Justice Department investigation into UCLA—one of the America’s most well-known and prestigious universities—revealed numerous federal antisemitism findings such as, among other things, a pro-Palestinian encampment allegedly labeled the “Jew Exclusion Zone.” The Trump administration has argued that UCLA has violated civil rights laws and must enact major reforms—or a freeze on federal grant funding.
Rather than condemning the university’s antisemitism, California Governor Gavin Newsom has instead threatened legal action against the White House: “We’ll sue,” Newsom said last week.
“Bring it on, Gavin,” responded Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.
Newsom’s office responded on Twitter/X—not with tact and professionalism, but with a meme. The image macro mocks Leavitt by depicting a North Korean news anchor saying “Glorious Leader is entitled to all the treasures of the realm, especially from the university.”
How quirky and sardonic. Except, in this case, the university doesn’t own its “treasure.” UCLA wants federal tax dollars—and that funding can absolutely be withheld if it is found to be in violation of civil rights laws.
“This administration is well within its legal right to do this, and we want to ensure that our colleagues and our universities are respecting the 1st Amendment rights and the religious liberties of the students on their campuses and UCLA has failed to do that,” said Leavitt. “And I have a whole list of examples that I will forward to Gavin Newsom’s press office, if he hasn’t seen them himself.”
One would think the Governor would at least want to take the DOJ investigation and credible allegations of racial prejudice seriously rather than rejecting them at face value and instructing his staff to try and be silly and relatable on Twitter. While his office makes light of an alarming issue, Jews across America live in fear of a growing hatred which becomes somehow more tolerable and numerous by the day.
A recent Instagram post from the Jewish Telegraphic Agency outlined many of the aforementioned statistics and also featured a statement from the Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt: “The record-high number of anti-Jewish hate crime incidents tracked by the FBI in 2024 is consistent with ADL’s reporting and, more importantly, with the Jewish community’s current lived experience,” he said. “Since the Hamas-led Oct. 7 massacre in Israel, Jewish Americans have not had a moment of respite.”
An overwhelming number of users on the platform responded negatively to the post—not only questioning the integrity of the FBI and the ADL, but also insinuating that the Jewish community deserves these kinds of hostile and violent attacks.
“Rookie numbers let’s pump em up boys,” comments one user.
“Not high enough… We need to be rid of these types,” comments another
“Always the self-pitying perpetual victims… Genocide is a game changer,” comments yet another.
Comments like these—cesspools of open, public hatred—are not difficult to find. These are the types of remarks that become disturbingly commonplace when leaders enable or fail to make any meaningful stance against perpetrators.
Mark Oppenheimer, a professor at Washington University, provides more insight on the sharp rise in incidents of violence towards Jewish Americans: “Most incidents of antisemitism are not incidents of physical violence. However, we shouldn’t be surprised that in a climate where all kinds of hatred and harassment are being normalized, eventually it spills over into deadly violence. It’s horrifying,” he says.
Many progressive Democrats—Newsom included—tread lightly when it comes to condemning open antisemitism because they seemingly fear the blowback they know will come from pro-Palestine activists—a bloc that is both not only staunchly left-of-center, but also quick to mobilize against perceived dissent. They would have you believe they are taking a bold stance on an important social issue, but in reality, they are protecting their political standing and access to capital.
“I’ll say the quiet part out loud; it’s time for ‘progressives’ to start condemning anti-semitism and violent attacks on Jewish people with the same intention and vigor demonstrated in other areas of activism. The slice has been deafening,” wrote Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN) on Twitter/X.
Eric Fingerhut, President and CEO of Jewish Federations of North America, estimates that Jewish institutions across the country now collectively spend $765 million each year on security. That means hiring guards for synagogues, schools, and community centers—costs that many congregations and organizations can barely afford. “Philanthropy alone cannot cover” the expense, Fingerhut insists.
“The FBI data makes clear the urgent need to safeguard and protect the American Jewish community in all sectors of society,” said Fingerhut.
