Document Type

Article

Publication Date

Spring 2025

Abstract

In May 2023, the Biden Administration issued the first-ever U.S. National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism [hereinafter National Strategy] with a goal of hindering further normalization of antisemitism by increasing public awareness of antisemitism and highlighting positive Jewish contributions to America. Recent events, however-particularly the social and political upheaval over protests of the war in Gaza-have led to public contestation over Israel, increased instances of antisemitism, and the partisan politicization of Jewish issues. Now, the Trump Administration explicitly purports to fight antisemitism by widespread attacks on universities over antisemitism on campus. Does this mean that the National Strategy has become anachronistic, ineffective, or even unnecessary? This Article argues that rather than scrapping the antisemitism awareness goal of the National Strategy, the current moment instead strongly reinforces the need to focus effectively on antisemitism awareness. It calls on the Trump Administration to recognize the complexity and conspiracist character of antisemitism and to commit to the broad anti-antisemitism goals of the National Strategy. Investing in effective antisemitism awareness initiatives is critical not only because of the threat of increasing antisemitism for American Jews, but also because antisemitism, as a central element of white nationalism, ultimately threatens American diversity and society as a whole.

To be sure, even if increasing awareness of antisemitism and its harms is needed, what kind of antisemitism awareness initiatives are likely to be effective today? Is the National Strategy's still the right approach? While its refrained take on Holocaust education in school is on the right track, the Article argues that operationalizing the National Strategy's approach requires a much more intensive focus on affective, emotion-focused initiatives in Holocaust education. The Article also suggests that the National Strategy's call to anti-antisemitism in culture and media must confront both the structural factors in the arts and news coverage that tend to stereotype and reinforce antisemitic tropes, as well as the complex history of antisemitism in American media and the arts. Ultimately, and in keeping with the National Strategy's own recommendations, the Article argues that further and continuing empirical research on antisemitism is needed to help ground and continuously evaluate the effectiveness of such anti-antisemitism initiatives going forward.

Comments

3rd Annual Law vs. Antisemitism Conference (Miami, Florida, February 2024)

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