Safety through Solidarity: A Radical Guide to Fighting Antisemitism

Antisemitism has also seeped into mainstream politics. President-elect Donald Trump even said before the election that if he lost, "the Jewish people" would have a lot to do with his loss.

Following Hamas' October 7 attack on Israel, many protests over the war in Gaza have also been labeled antisemitic. Following the start of the war, more than 10,000 incidents of antisemitism have been documented in the United States, according to data published by the Anti-Defamation League.

The rising of antisemitism in America, which for decades had become all but alien to Jewish public life, has inspired a wave of articles and books examining its resurgence.

Many adhere to traditional perspectives, viewing antisemitism as an eternal phenomenon. Others – particularly in response to the growing U.S. Palestinian solidarity movement, especially after October 7 – focus on antisemitism on the left, often conflating it with criticism of Israel.

The book cover for Shane Burley and Ben Lorber's "Safety Through Solidarity: A Radical Guide to Fighting Antisemitism."Credit: Design by Sofia Demopolos/Melville House

Now, with Trump set to return to the White House, the discourse around antisemitism and how to fight it is bound to become even more polarized and weaponized.

In "Safety through Solidarity: A Radical Guide to Fighting Antisemitism," published by Penguin Random House in June, activist journalists Shane Burley and Ben Lorber provide a fresh perspective on the rise of antisemitism in the United States, exploring its roots through a leftist lens. They explore why antisemitism has been intensifying again over the past decade in America and present strategies and tactics for dealing with it.

"I reached out to Shane in 2020 during Trump's [first] presidency, when both of us were reporting on the rise of the far right," says Lorber, a senior research analyst at Political Research Associates – a nonprofit focusing on antisemitism and white nationalism.

"At that time, we saw clearly how antisemitism was mobilizing the MAGA movement. Leaders like Trump and [GOP Rep.] Marjorie Taylor Greene were monopolizing the conversation, using accusations of antisemitism to attack groups like the Women's March and the Democrats, while simultaneously spreading their own George Soros and globalist conspiracy theories."

Lorber describes the book as "aimed at progressives and a broader liberal-left audience," to help guide those who "often struggle with how to discuss antisemitism, how to lead on it and how to frame it alongside other progressive demands." Their goal, he says, was "to put the conversation back on the terrain of justice movements and offer a social justice understanding of how to fight it."

Burley, a journalist and author based in Portland, Oregon, adds that they "wanted do something different from what existing organizations fighting antisemitism offer.

"While many organizations are well-resourced and have a presence in academia, their writings often lack depth and don't effectively place antisemitism within the larger frameworks of inequality, social movements, or even capitalism and its modern forms."

He sees their work as "an effort to re-anchor antisemitism in these contexts, recognizing it as a serious social force that appears in various spaces." He emphasizes the importance of reviving the left-wing legacy of addressing antisemitism, which, he says, has been "fragmented and largely handed off to centrist or right-wing organizations."

"I reviewed the 2023 ADL antisemitism data and, while some incidents seemed mislabeled, the threats – around 1,000 against synagogues and Jewish organizations – are very real. Addressing antisemitism means tackling deeper societal inequalities," Burley says.

"We need partnerships between communities facing similar threats, like synagogues, mosques and historically Black churches to build a movement that addresses these underlying issues and truly changes the world. If we don't get to the root causes, we're just putting a Band-Aid on the problem."

From Europe to Madison Square Garden

In their book, Burley and Lorber trace the roots of American antisemitism to Christian Europe, where Jews were marginalized and scapegoated for broader social problems, often targeted rather than the nobility during peasant uprisings.

They argue that as society secularized, so did antisemitism: It intersected with the alienation and inequality caused by capitalism and urbanization, and evolved into modern conspiracy theories that now serve as a unifying ideology for the far right.

What role does antisemitism play on the American right today?

Burley: "Antisemitic conspiracy theories are becoming increasingly explicit in far-right rhetoric. Like Elon Musk openly amplifying claims about Jewish 'dialectical hatred against whites.' That language, which once coded antisemitic ideas in terms like 'globalists' or 'cultural Marxists,' is now more direct."

Lorber: "The right needs an image of a conspiratorial 'puppeteer' causing societal dislocations. They cast Jews in this role, embodying an enemy supposedly orchestrating demographic and cultural shifts."

Examples include the baseless claim in 2020 that George Soros was mobilizing Antifa during the George Floyd protests, and groups such as Moms for Liberty who are employing similar rhetoric, alleging that "'cultural Marxists' are brainwashing children into gender ideology" in schools – sentiments that have been echoed by popular right-wing pundits such as Tucker Carlson.

Burley says today's far-right radicalization is also driven by destabilizing issues like "accelerating climate change, global trade issues and rising income inequality" – factors that make antisemitic narratives especially appealing. "These dynamics have fueled Trump's rise and the spread of conspiracy theories," he says, adding that concepts like the Great Replacement connect far-right movements in the United States and Europe.

Zionism and anti-Zionism

Though initially conceived in 2020, Burley and Lorber's book was published in mid-2024 against the backdrop of intense turmoil over the war in Gaza. Across America, streets and campuses erupted with protests, with many being accused of trading in antisemitic tropes.

While acknowledging that some rhetoric does go beyond the pale, Lorber believes it's important for the Jewish community to separate discomfort from actual danger.

"At a pro-Palestine rally, you might hear chants that make you uncomfortable because they challenge deeply held beliefs. The question is whether this discomfort translates into real danger or if it's simply a reaction to having our preconceived notions challenged – like critiques of Israel's policies or its ongoing genocide in Gaza," he says.

"A lot of what gets labeled as antisemitism is simply deflecting criticism of Israel's policies or Zionism itself," adds Burley.

The discourse centers around Zionism and anti-Zionism. Some critics argue that the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's definition of antisemitism, endorsed by the ADL and adopted by U.S. Congress, is misleading, as it includes examples that potentially conflate legitimate criticism of Israel – such as opposition to its policies toward Palestinians – with antisemitism, which in turn can lead antisemitism to be mislabeled.

"Zionism and anti-Zionism are fluid categories that can carry very different meanings, even within the American-Jewish community," Burley says. "Ben often brings up this poll that asked American Jews whether they identify as Zionists and then asked them to define what that means. Interestingly, their definitions were quite diverse. Some even aligned with what I'd consider anti-Zionism or non-Zionism. The term 'Zionism' can be very confusing because it holds different meanings for different people."

I reviewed the 2023 ADL antisemitism data and, while some incidents seemed mislabeled, the threats – around 1,000 against synagogues and Jewish organizations – are very real.Shane Burley

Burley points to how the MAGA movement appeals to certain Jewish groups by blurring the definition of antisemitism to align with a right-wing vision of Jewish security.

"We spoke with a Hasidic individual to understand why people from his community stood alongside others at the January 6 riots, despite seeing 'Camp Auschwitz' shirts in the crowd. His insight was that many in his community don't truly understand antisemitism. For them, antisemitism means anything they perceive as a direct material threat or something they've been told to fear," Burley says.

"Often, antisemitism is seen as merely any ideology that threatens Jews, leading to assumptions about what Jewish flourishing looks like," he adds. "A strong, militarized Israel, countering Palestinian resistance, is viewed as a safeguard against antisemitism. Therefore, MAGA alignment with a Zionist-right vision of Jewish safety – emphasizing a powerful Israel – appeals to some communities, especially Orthodox, despite not addressing antisemitism directly."

Lorber reflects on this as a troubling form of political calculation – one that, historically, has never benefited Jewish communities. "Jewish communities aren't safer when Christian nationalists or authoritarians take power, especially when they limit civil rights," he says. "Betting that the right's agenda will align with Jewish interests is a pipe dream."

Yet some Israeli leaders, like Benjamin Netanyahu, may view this alignment as beneficial, Lorber suggests. "When Christian nationalists rise to power in the U.S., it doesn't necessarily threaten Netanyahu," he says. "He might even say, 'Let them have their Christian country; you [Jews] already have one – come home to Israel.'"

Burley and Lorber are critical of the Jewish establishment for relying on groups like the ADL, which recently hesitated to call out antisemitic dog whistles at a Trump rally targeting immigrants and invoking "globalists" and Jewish figures like Larry Fink. Burley also points to the Jewish establishment's reluctance to criticize the Israeli government or the far right, instead settling for a "pro-Israel-Zionist" stance that doesn't reflect evolving views within American Jewry.

Instead, ADL and others have gone out of their way to characterize anti-Zionism as antisemitism, he says. "Anti-Zionism on the Jewish left isn't the same as the theological anti-Zionism you might find in groups like Satmar," Burley says. "While I respect theological stances, what we're discussing here is more about envisioning a universal democracy for everyone in the region. It's not about disenfranchising Jewish communities or erasing Hebrew; it's about asking: What would it look like to transform this region into a holy land for all its people, ensuring everyone's human, civil, national and religious rights?

"Also, this isn't the first time younger generations have challenged their parents, saying, 'The things you cherish, I find offensive,'" Burley continues. While anti-Zionist critiques are radical and reshape one's worldview, he believes these critiques are often misunderstood.

"Bad faith assumptions – like thinking liberal Zionists secretly support far-right ideologies or that anti-Zionists don't care about Israeli Jews – are unhelpful. People bringing these critiques often seek a peaceful solution for everyone," he says. "Given the current genocide in Gaza, a radical critique makes sense to many people," he adds.

One aspect for many on the American left is the growing disconnect between the international left and the Israeli left after October 7. Some view this as an opportunity to build coalitions against reactionary forces, both antisemitic and Jewish messianic, while others criticize the Israeli left for not being as radical as its international counterparts.

For non-Jews, it's essential to understand that fighting antisemitism is a shared struggle. We won't achieve immigrant justice without addressing right-wing narratives like the conspiracy that George Soros is behind immigration. Ben Lorber

This division has deepened tensions, raising questions about solidarity and shared goals within the broader left-wing movement.

"One frustrating aspect over the past year is that parts of the American anti-Zionist left seem uninterested in coalition-building with most of the Israeli left," Lorber says. "Often, the loudest voices on social media aren't those doing the real work on the ground. These are the parts that groups like the ADL tend to hyper-focus on and exaggerate. It was discouraging to see some BDS activists reject working with groups like Standing Together, which I think is a counterproductive stance.

"We need to reject a zero-sum approach to Israel-Palestine. Groups like Standing Together are building meaningful coalitions on the ground, with support from American progressives, Palestinian and Muslim-American groups. It's vital for activists to engage with both Palestinian civil society and Israeli Jews who reject the radical right's status quo, even amid political differences," he adds.

Despite activities of groups like Standing Together and Israeli activists calling for a cease-fire and seeking recognition from the international left, Burley is not optimistic.

"While I think people should look for opportunities to collaborate, the Israeli government's actions have become so extreme that it's hard to see what a partnership would look like. Building relationships is essential in organizing, but without existing ties, it's difficult to initiate them," he says.

"The reality now is that the Israeli left has shrunk so profoundly that it's dwarfed by the Israeli radical right, making it hard for people to envision a meaningful partnership with material differences have become more pronounced, with language and financial barriers more entrenched than before."

How to fight antisemitism

"Safety through Solidarity: A Radical Guide to Fighting Antisemitism" not only examines how antisemitism operates and manifests across society, but also explores strategies to combat it. Burley and Lorber propose answers in building coalitions with other affected communities, emphasizing solidarity as a powerful tool in addressing the roots of antisemitism.

"What we're doing right now isn't working," Burley says. "Current approaches, like Holocaust education and policing, aren't effectively addressing antisemitism.

"I think focusing on common issues and finding power with large groups is essential. Organizing through tenant unions, housing or workplace unions can also address antisemitism, because antisemitic forces don't only target Jews – they overlap with other issues, providing immediate partners," he adds.

"Combating antisemitism is a shared responsibility, not just a Jewish issue," Lorber says. "For non-Jews, it's essential to understand that fighting antisemitism is a shared struggle. We won't achieve immigrant justice without addressing right-wing narratives like the conspiracy that George Soros is behind immigration. Similarly, we can't advance Black Lives Matter if future uprisings are dismissed by right-wing leaders claiming that 'globalists' are behind the movement."

Lorber notes that while non-Jewish allies standing in solidarity with the Jewish community is heartening, it is equally crucial they see how fighting antisemitism benefits them too – "just as I, as a white person, understand that ending racism benefits me, and that fighting sexism builds a better world for everyone."

"That's why community partnerships are essential, because these communities face similar threats," adds Burley, insisting that antisemitism is not an immovable force but a symptom of societal inequality. "If we don't address the root causes, we're not going to get anywhere."

Etan Nechin