WASHINGTON, DC – The Nexus Project, a Jewish organization working to combat antisemitism, uphold democracy and protect free speech, has released a major new strategy report featuring expert recommendations and ideas on how to confront antisemitism – and its weaponization – during the second Trump Administration.
The strategy is titled: “Fighting Antisemitism, Protecting Democracy: A Strategy for the Trump Era.” At a time when the Trump Administration is arresting and deporting college students for participating in campus protests against the war in Gaza and withholding funding from major academic institutions, its authors warn that the administration’s authoritarian approach is deeply harmful to Jews and to American democracy.
The strategy makes clear: “We must push back against efforts by the Trump administration to exploit legitimate concerns of antisemitism by pursuing a political and ideological project that weakens American democracy and endangers the safety of American Jews and our fellow vulnerable minorities, including Muslim, Arab, and Palestinian Americans. We can and must chart a better course.”
The strategy also warns that “The president and members of his administration regularly promote antisemitic conspiracies and use, elevate, and normalize antisemitic rhetoric.”
The full strategy report can be viewed here. A PDF can be downloaded here.
To counter these dangerous trends and propose a strategy truly aligned with the needs and values of the Jewish community, Nexus’ strategy features analysis and recommendations from experts including: Jonathan Jacoby, national director of the Nexus Project; Hannah Rosenthal, former U.S. Special Envoy for Monitoring and Combating Antisemitism (2009-2012); David N. Myers, Distinguished Professor and Chair in Jewish History at UCLA; Judith Lichtman, human and civil rights advocate; Eric Ward, executive vice president of Race Forward; and Dov Waxman, Professor of Israel Studies at UCLA.
Among the Nexus strategy report’s key recommendations are:
- Invest in greater safety and security for Jewish institutions.
- Oppose antisemitism from all sources.
- Maintain alliances to protect democracy.
- Prevent antisemitism from being used as a pretext to deport people engaging in free assembly or free speech.
- Resist the weaponization of antisemitism by using tools that distinguish between antisemitic speech and behavior and legitimate criticism.
- Encourage college and university leaders to take concerted action against efforts that diminish the independence of institutions of higher learning, impose restrictions on free speech, and seek to identify and act against those deemed political undesirables.
- Oppose efforts to ban diversity, equity, and inclusion or restrict how racism and antisemitism are taught.
- Oppose legislation that would empower the Trump administration to go after nonprofits.
- Oppose any efforts by the US government and those associated with it to legitimize far-right parties and movements in Europe and around the world.
“While the Trump Administration exploits the rise of antisemitism to target democratic freedoms and political opponents, too many Jewish establishment groups are either backing their efforts or remaining silent,” said Jacoby. “To truly represent the needs and interests of our community, we need strategies that confront antisemitism in all its forms, and build strong coalitions to make that possible. We need to boldly resist these efforts to use our community as a pawn while harming our safety.”
The Nexus Project recently gave testimony before a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on antisemitism. Jacoby and all of the report’s authors are available for interviews to discuss their recommendations, the dangers posed by the Trump Administration’s rhetoric and policies, and how the Jewish community can best defend its interests and values.
