This week, Nexus took a major step forward in our mission to confront antisemitism and the forces that weaponize it. We launched the Nexus Center for Antisemitism Research (NCAR), a new initiative dedicated to improving the quality of research, data, and analysis on antisemitism.
The need is urgent. Antisemitism is rising. At the same time, the term itself is being stretched and weaponized. Too many studies go unchallenged. Too many claims circulate without evidence. And too many institutions are making decisions based on data that doesn’t hold up.
NCAR exists to change that by raising the bar: producing original research, scrutinizing widely shared claims, and making sure the conversation about antisemitism is grounded in evidence, not ideology or politics.
The Nexus Center for Antisemitism Research will produce and elevate rigorous research on antisemitism to better understand the harms Jews face and strengthen society’s ability to respond.
That means examining major studies to clarify what the evidence actually shows; highlighting strong scholarship that deepens understanding; designing new research where fresh data is needed; and in-depth reports on the questions facing Jewish communities, campuses, and public institutions.
NCAR will not replicate incident tracking or real-time extremism monitoring. Its focus is the layer beneath: the research and analysis that shape how institutions, policymakers, and the public understand antisemitism. That layer is where the most consequential failures are happening and where sloppy data and shifting definitions are used to promote policies that don’t protect anyone. Learn more about NCAR here.
NCAR will be directed by Aryeh Tuchman, who spent nearly two decades at the Anti-Defamation League’s Center on Extremism, where he became one of the field’s most respected practitioners. He brings deep expertise on antisemitic conspiracy theories, Holocaust denial, and extremism across the ideological spectrum. Read his full bio and more about the team in our press release.
The center’s scholarship arm will be led by Eric Alterman, historian, best-selling author, and CUNY Distinguished Professor of English and Journalism at Brooklyn College.
The Jewish Telegraphic Agency covered the launch, reporting on Aryeh’s background and the center’s focus on strengthening antisemitism research through better data and methods. Read the full JTA story here.
We have said from the beginning: antisemitism advances when it’s ignored, and it advances when it’s weaponized. Fighting it requires knowing the difference. To do that, we need research people can trust.
Right now, too much of the public conversation about antisemitism runs on competing claims, cherry-picked data, and definitions that shift depending on who’s talking.
NCAR is built to address that gap. Independent research. Transparent methods. Findings that hold up whether or not they’re politically convenient.
As Aryeh put it: “I have a commitment from Nexus that if the research contradicts its assumptions, it’s the research that wins.”
That’s the standard. That’s what this moment demands.
This work matters. And it needs your support.
Rigorous research takes time, expertise, and resources. If you believe the conversation about antisemitism should be grounded in evidence rather than ideology, consider supporting our work. Your contribution will help Nexus produce the kind of research that holds up to scrutiny and protects Jewish communities while upholding democracy.
