Dehumanization is portable. Once a group is cast as outside the human community, violence against them stops looking like violence and starts looking like justice. That logic ran in three directions this week. A student group called the murder of an 82-year-old Jewish woman a sane and rational act. The White House told Americans that part of the population is a hidden alien invasion to be hunted down. And a Jewish member of Congress was branded a foreign agent for objecting to a Nazi tattoo.
Antisemitism is not always the first thing this kind of rhetoric is built for. It is almost always where it ends up. Tracking it as it moves through other targets is how you see it coming
On June 1, 2025, Mohamed Sabry Soliman threw Molotov cocktails at a Run for Their Lives march in Boulder that was calling for the release of Israeli hostages. He burned 29 people. Karen Diamond, 82, died of her injuries. Soliman said he planned it for a year and wanted to kill “all Zionist people.” He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to more than 2,000 years.
On the one-year anniversary, Boulder Students for Justice in Palestine posted a statement honoring him. It called the murder “the only sane response available to a rational human being,” demanded his release, and described the attack as “chickens coming home to roost.” It has since been deleted.
A woman riding the C train in Manhattan through Canal Street on Sunday was attacked after her assailant made antisemitic remarks. “She lunged at me. She choked me twice. She kicked me. She ripped my hair out,” the victim told CBS News New York. “This wouldn’t have happened if I wasn’t Jewish.” Police arrested 23-year-old Diana Smith and charged her with a hate crime and aggravated harassment.
Two bystanders briefly stepped in. The rest watched. The victim said she was beaten to the ground while a train car of people did nothing. The attack fits a documented trend. The NYPD recorded 41 antisemitic hate crimes in the city in May, 60 percent of all hate crimes that month, even as major crime hit record lows.
The White House launched a website, Aliens.gov, that frames immigrants as a literal alien invasion. “They walk among us,” it reads, over an X-Files aesthetic, a live map of ICE arrests, and a tip line urging Americans to report “suspicious aliens.”
The idea that an outside population has secretly infiltrated the country, hidden among ordinary people, and must be hunted down is the core architecture of the Great Replacement conspiracy. That theory has always centered around Jews. It animated the Tree of Life shooter and the Charlottesville marchers who chanted “Jews will not replace us.” The target today is immigrants. The logic does not stay put.
Hasan Piker, one of the largest political streamers online, posted “straight up israel first democrats” over a clip of Rep. Jake Auchincloss. Auchincloss, who is Jewish, was criticizing Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner for a tattoo resembling a Nazi SS Totenkopf skull, calling it disqualifying. Israel was not mentioned once.
“Israel first” is an accusation of dual loyalty, one of the oldest antisemitic tropes, the claim that Jews secretly serve a foreign power over their own country. Aiming it at a Jewish congressman who was objecting to a Nazi symbol collapses the distinction between Jews and the Israeli government. A Jewish official does not become a foreign agent because he is Jewish. That is the trope, stated plainly.
The viral fights get the attention. Antisemitism also shows up where nothing trends.
New York, NY: An NYU music student, Alexander Stepnowsky, 23, was arrested and charged with hate crime burglary after allegedly raising a flag over a campus building during commencement last month. The flag mimicked NYU’s banner, with the university’s torch inside a Star of David flanked by two swastikas. Police identified him through surveillance footage and his student ID.
Miami Beach, FL: Two German tourists were arrested after drawing a swastika and writing “Adolf was here” on a Pride bench in Lummus Park. City cameras tracked the men to their hotel, where both confessed.
Join The Nexus Project for a timely panel discussion with esteemed guests commemorating the 250th anniversary of American independence on Wednesday, June 17th at 7:30 p.m. ET. As our democracy faces increasing challenges and powerful forces work to undo long-fought battles for civil rights, Nexus, which is dedicated to fighting antisemitism, is doubling down on its role as a pro-democracy organization. This event will gather leading voices to discuss what the next 250 years of American democracy could look like when we protect and strengthen our shared values.
Panelists include:
Fatima Goss Graves, CEO of the National Women’s Law Center
Idit Klein, Founding President and CEO of Keshet
Justin Florence, Co-Founder and Legal Director of Protect Democracy
Adama Bah, Founder and Executive Director of Afrikana
This is what we do: track real antisemitism, call out when it’s weaponized, and make clear the difference. If you’d like to support this work, you can donate here. We’d love to connect.
We’ll continue offering clear responses, frameworks, and resources as these stories develop.
The news Nexus tracks is usually grim, and this issue has its share. But it isn't all dark.
The word “antisemitism” is being stretched so thin it’s starting to tear. Actual Jew-hatred is finding its way into congressional primaries and left-wing coalition politics.
