In a moment of global grief and fury, clarity is rare, but necessary. As the Israeli government’s assault on Gaza intensifies, many around the world have rightfully called out the war crimes, the blockade, and the mass civilian casualties. They’ve marched in support of Palestinian liberation, demanded a ceasefire, and challenged U.S. complicity. These protests are morally justified, and they’re working to shift public consciousness.
But alongside this principled resistance, we’re also witnessing a rise in antisemitic rhetoric and violence. Jewish Americans are being harassed, attacked, and even murdered, not for the policies of the Israeli government, but simply for being Jewish. That is not justice or solidarity. It’s hate masquerading as resistance.
And it has no place in any movement rooted in liberation.
Two Truths Must Coexist
The Israeli government’s actions—indiscriminate bombings, forced displacement, collective punishment—violate international law and human decency. The world has every right to condemn these actions. Palestinians have every right to resist them. And global civil society has every right to divest, boycott, and protest against an apartheid regime.
But none of this justifies the targeting of Jewish synagogues, students, or families in New York, Los Angeles, or anywhere else. When Jewish Americans are assaulted in the streets or have their homes vandalized, that is an act of terror rather than resistance.
Just days ago, a man launched a violent attack during a peaceful rally in Boulder, Colorado, using Molotov cocktails and a blowtorch to injure 15 people, including an 88-year-old Holocaust survivor. Authorities say the attacker shouted pro-Palestinian slogans while targeting Jewish attendees. In Washington, D.C., two staff members of the Israeli Embassy were fatally shot outside the Lillian & Albert Small Capital Jewish Museum. The suspect reportedly yelled “Free, free Palestine” as he was taken into custody. These are not isolated incidents—they reflect a dangerous escalation of violence against Jewish people in the U.S., fueled by rage that is being misdirected toward innocent civilians.
To oppose genocide in Gaza while ignoring antisemitism at home is to lose the very moral foundation upon which solidarity must stand.
Antisemitism Didn’t Begin in Gaza
It’s worth reminding ourselves that antisemitism did not begin with Israel. It is one of the world’s oldest hatreds. Centuries before the founding of the modern Israeli state, Jewish people were scapegoated, exiled, segregated, and killed—targeted by Christian empires, fascist regimes, and white supremacist movements.
The Holocaust was the brutal culmination of centuries of this hatred. Six million Jews were murdered across Europe. They were gassed in camps, shot in forests, buried in mass graves simply because they were Jewish.
That legacy still echoes today; and it’s why every instance of antisemitism, regardless of how small or seemingly isolated, must be taken seriously, especially when it’s happening in our own city.
In New Orleans, the Symbols Are Back
In recent months, New Orleans has witnessed its own disturbing rise in Nazi imagery and antisemitic signaling. A viral video from the French Quarter showed a group of young white people mocking Jewish traditions—one of them clearly giving a Nazi salute. Another incident at Ohm Lounge showed a rapper performing in a shirt emblazoned with a swastika, later brushed off by some as fashion or ignorance.
To be clear though, ignorance is not harmless, and symbols matter. The swastika isn’t just an edgy provocation as some, including the rapper Kanye West, are branding it as. It’s a weapon of historical terror. It represents genocide, racial supremacy, and the systemic extermination of Jews, Roma, disabled people, and queer people. To wear it in a nightclub is to desecrate memory, and to embolden the same hatred that killed millions.
And when these acts are minimized or excused, it creates space for more dangerous expressions of that same ideology to take hold.
Although the venue’s initial apology wasn’t ideal, we do commend the owner of Ohm Lounge for ultimately pledging to educate the public about antisemitism and taking steps to ensure that such hateful symbols never appear in his bar again. That kind of response matters; and it should be the baseline, not the exception.
Even in Israel, Netanyahu Faces Widespread Disapproval
It’s important to recognize that criticism of Netanyahu’s policies is not limited to international observers; many within Israel share these concerns. A 2025 poll by the Israel Democracy Institute found that 73% of Israelis believe Netanyahu should resign over his handling of the conflict, and 87% believe he should take personal responsibility for the failures of October 7. Only 4% of Jewish Israelis say they view Netanyahu as a reliable source of information about the war.
These aren’t fringe opinions. They are the mainstream, and they expose the moral and strategic failure of equating global Jewish identity with one deeply unpopular political figure. Jewish people, inside and outside Israel, are not a monolith. Many are calling for peace, accountability, and an end to the violence. To attack them as if they speak for the Israeli military is morally bankrupt and factually wrong.
Antisemitism Is Real And It’s Being Weaponized
Too often, we see bad-faith actors in power use the specter of antisemitism to shut down criticism of Israel. This tactic is manipulative and dishonest, and undermines real efforts to confront actual antisemitism. Supporting Palestinian rights is not antisemitic; and neither is demanding an end to apartheid or holding the Israeli state accountable.
But targeting Jews because of their faith or ethnicity is.
We must not confuse legitimate political critique with hate; and we must not allow either form of antisemitism to thrive in our movements.
Liberation Means All of Us
To build a world where Palestinians are free, we cannot recreate cycles of dehumanization. That includes refusing to stereotype Jewish people as a monolith. It includes listening to the many Jews—Israeli and American—who oppose Netanyahu, oppose the occupation, and demand justice for Gaza. It includes protecting Jewish communities from violence, just as we would protect Muslim, Arab, and Black communities.
If your vision of freedom involves burning synagogues, then it is not liberation you seek. It’s supremacy, and it looks no different than the systems we claim to fight.
From New Orleans to Gaza, We Can Hold the Line
A city built on by the oppressed, and a place where culture and resistance are woven into daily life, New Orleans knows something about solidarity. Here, Jewish and Arab communities live side by side, raise children together, and mourn the dead from afar. We know that pain doesn’t have to turn into blame. Outrage can live alongside compassion.
We don’t have to choose between condemning genocide and standing against antisemitism. We must do both.
We can be brave enough to say that what the Israeli government is doing is wrong. What Hamas did on October 7 was also wrong. And targeting Jewish Americans for acts they had no part in is not resistance. It is, however, a betrayal of everything solidarity is supposed to mean.
Thank you for a well reasoned and insightful article.