This week, antisemitism appeared in two familiar forms.
In Minneapolis, it showed up as a conspiracy theory, with protests against federal violence linked to George Soros by American political leaders. In Miami, it showed up even more overtly, with far-right influencers singing “Heil Hitler” and flashing Nazi salutes in public.
Politicians and pundits seemingly constantly invoke Jewish safety. But too often, it’s invoked selectively, cynically, or to justify actions that ultimately make all communities less safe.
Nexus exists to clearly draw the line between what protects Jewish safety and what furthers ideological or political ends.
Alex Pretti should be alive today. The 37-year-old ICU nurse was shot and killed by federal agents on Saturday while filming an immigration enforcement operation with his phone. He was the second person killed by federal agents in Minneapolis this month, following Renée Good on January 7.
This is our fight as Jewish Americans, too. Jewish safety requires a healthy democracy. Minnesota’s Jewish community has been clear: Rabbi Tamar Magill-Grimm of Beth Jacob Congregation announced her synagogue would take part in a statewide day of fasting and moral action calling for an end to ICE’s operations.
The Trump administration is reportedly looking to connect Renée Good to George Soros. In a new piece for the Forward, journalist and Nexus fellow Emily Tamkin explains why.
The move follows the playbook used by Hungary’s Viktor Orbán, who turned Soros into a scapegoat to justify crackdowns on immigration and civil society. The idea that Soros is a shadowy puppet-master controlling protests, immigration, and elections has fueled everything from Fox News segments to mass shooter manifestos. Now it’s being used to try to discredit protests against federal violence in Minneapolis.
The potent mixture of antisemitic conspiracy theories and anti-immigrant sentiment has long been used to persuade people to accept authoritarianism. As Tamkin writes: “We don’t need to wonder what’s happening here. We know.”
Days before the Miami nightclub incident, comedian Theo Von hosted Dave Smith on his podcast. They called Fuentes “brilliant,” “hilarious,” and “f*cking brave.” Smith promoted the Great Replacement theory. Von said “some of those N-word clips go hard.” Earlier this month, Shane Gillis appeared on Joe Rogan’s podcast and called Fuentes “funny as f*ck.” This, of course, comes after Tucker Carlson’s two-hour interview with Fuentes, which treated him as a legitimate voice.
The fact that Smith is Jewish doesn’t change the pattern: one of America’s most vocal antisemites is being laundered through the podcast world, one “he’s just funny” at a time. This is how antisemitism gets normalized.
Videos circulated showing Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes, Andrew Tate, and other far-right influencers singing along to Kanye West’s “Heil Hitler” at a Miami Beach nightclub. Some were filmed throwing up Nazi salutes. Miami Beach’s Jewish mayor, Steven Meiner, called the footage “disgusting.” The nightclub has apologized and fired multiple employees.
Ambassador Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun, the State Department’s Special Envoy for Combating Antisemitism, posted that “mass migration is a huge driver of antisemitism” and that it “threatens the safety of Jews and all communities.”
American Jews should not have to choose between their safety and their values. The safety of American Jews is inherently tied to the health and safety of our democracy, a democracy built from the ground up by immigrants.
Faculty groups at the University of Pennsylvania have condemned the Trump administration’s efforts to obtain personal information about Jewish professors, staff, and students, calling it government abuse with “ominous historical overtones.” As Professor Steven Weitzman put it: “The Nazi campaign against Jews depended on institutions like universities handing over information about their Jewish members to the authorities.”
Once again, we do not believe that turning over lists of Jews is ever helpful in the fight against antisemitism.
The Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported on the Fuentes nightclub incident, quoting Nexus: “Let’s be clear: Any instance of glorifying Hitler and the Nazis is cause for grave concern and should be immediately condemned. That the men who took part in this Hitler praising seem to have the sympathies and ear of the President of the United States should be doubly cause for concern.”
After NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani revoked executive orders issued by his predecessor, Jewish Insider reported on the mayor’s approach to antisemitism, quoting Nexus National Director Jonathan Jacoby: “Mamdani and all public officials should be judged by the actions they take to protect Jewish communities, not by their adherence to any one controversial definition of antisemitism.”
Join Kevin Rachlin of the Nexus Project and Amy Spitalnick of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs for a conversation on the Shofar Report and why strengthening democratic institutions is the most effective way to confront antisemitism.
Wednesday, February 25 | 12:00 PM ET | Online via Zoom
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.
Antisemitism is not a feeling, and fighting it is not a vibe. It is concrete work. It looks like enforcing a content policy you wrote.
Six months ago, the FBI cut ties with the ADL and Southern Poverty Law Center. This week, the Justice Department indicted the SPLC.
