The Nexus Project Newsletter
This week’s newsletter examines how antisemitic movements build political power by forging alliances between establishment figures and extremist voices from the margins. It also looks at how antisemitism shows up when it targets spaces that should never be touched: synagogues, and interfaith gatherings, and the policies that define what a hate symbol is.
Protesters stood outside a New York synagogue chanting for violence. An imam at a CUNY interfaith event led hundreds out of the room. A reported Coast Guard policy shift suggested swastikas could soon be reclassified as “divisive” rather than hateful.
There is a pattern to these events. They show how boundaries around Jewish safety are tested in moments of political pressure. But they also show something else. In every case, people pushed back. Communities refused to stay silent. Institutions were forced to respond. Action and advocacy work.
Understanding Antisemitism
How Antisemitic Coalitions Form
A recent video analysis breaks down how antisemitism builds political power by merging two kinds of actors. One group comes with status and influence—figures like Charles Lindbergh or Henry Ford who took racial worldviews and pulled them into mainstream discourse. The other group comes from the margins—people like Nick Fuentes who speak openly in the language of resentment and conspiracy.
The interview between Tucker Carlson and Fuentes illustrates how this dynamic is playing out. Carlson expresses anxiety about a changing America. Fuentes speaks from personal grievance and social isolation. Each validates the other.
When elite grievance and fringe rage meet, they create a coalition with real political force. This is what the video frames as the foundation of antisemitic politics. Understanding how these alliances form is essential to understanding the threat they pose.
Antisemitism in the News
Protesters Chant “Death to the IDF” Outside NYC Synagogue
Roughly 200 anti-Zionist protesters gathered outside Park East Synagogue during a Nefesh B’Nefesh immigration event. Chants included “Death to the IDF,” “Globalize the intifada,” and repeated calls to “make them scared.” Protesters shouted slurs at Jewish counter-demonstrators, including “F*cking Jewish pricks,” “rapists,” “racists,” and “pedophiles.”
While the event inside continued, police separated the two sides. In a statement, Mayor-elect Mamdani discouraged the language but also argued the synagogue event was an inappropriate use of sacred space, which drew criticism from Jewish leaders. Nexus posted on social media that “whatever one’s views of the event taking place inside [the protest] was not simply about problematic language or intimidation. Chanting ‘death to the IDF’ may be constitutionally protected speech, but bringing calls for violence to a gathering place for Jews heightens real-world risk to them.”
Imam at CUNY Interfaith Event Blames Jewish Student and Leads Walkout
At City College, an interfaith workshop broke down after an imam denounced the Jewish participant as a “Zionist” responsible for deaths in Gaza. He urged Muslim students to leave the room “out of strength and dignity.”
CCNY announced an investigation and reiterated its zero-tolerance policy for hate.
Coast Guard Reported to Reclassify Swastikas as “Divisive” Rather Than Hateful
A Washington Post report revealed internal Coast Guard documents showing plans to reclassify swastikas, nooses, and Confederate flags from hate symbols to ‘potentially divisive’ imagery. The Coast Guard denied the report after backlash, then released a new policy hours later reaffirming these as hate symbols. Jewish organizations and elected officials condemned the proposed reclassification, noting that even considering such a change signals a normalization of extremist imagery inside government.
Nexus in the News
The Weekhighlights Nexus in an explainer on rising antisemitism
A feature in The Week quoted Kevin Rachlin, the Nexus Project’s Vice President for Government Affairs, in its analysis of the spike in antisemitism in the United States. The article noted that antisemitism has risen across the political spectrum and cited Nexus’s position that criticism of Israel should not be conflated with antisemitism, while also emphasizing that antisemitism has “unequivocally” increased since 2023.
JTAcites Nexus in coverage of the CUNY imam walkout
JTA reported on the imam-led walkout at City College and included Nexus’s public statement condemning the incident. Nexus called the event “a gross display of antisemitism” and stressed that singling out a Jewish participant in an interfaith space crosses a clear line of harassment.
Haaretzquotes Nexus on the Coast Guard controversy
In its reporting on the Coast Guard’s reported interest in downgrading swastikas and nooses to “divisive” symbols, Haaretz featured Nexus’s warning that such a shift reflects the erosion of democratic norms. Nexus emphasized that redefining hate symbols threatens not only Jews but all communities targeted by bigotry.
Support Nexus
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, please reach out to us. We’d love to connect.
We’ll continue offering clear responses, frameworks, and resources as these stories develop.
