Four Antisemites Who Insist they Aren't

Greta Thunberg being offered a sandwhich by an IDF 'kidnapper' (JTA)

It is getting easier to be an antisemite these days and get away with it. That’s because all one has to do is claim that their opposition to Israel has nothing to do with antisemitism. Some may even delude themselves into believing that. There are four such individuals in the public arena today. They all claim to be fully supportive of the Jewish people, even while saying and doing things that clearly indicate otherwise. Some are more blatant than others, but at the end of the day, they are all antisemites at their core.

The most obvious example is Represntative Rashida Tlaib, who has called for the dismantling of the Jewish state. While she doesn’t state it so explicitly, her open support for the BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) movement is telling. If BDS were successful - if every nation boycotted, divested from, and sanctioned Israel - it would lead to the destruction of the only Jewish state in the world. That alone should be a red flag.

Tlaib also repeatedly uses the slogan ‘Free Palestine from the river to the sea,’ a phrase widely understood to call for the elimination of Israel. And yet she insists she is not antisemitic. What about the majority of the world’s Jewish population that lives in Israel and would be displaced if Palestine replaced it? Does she not consider that antisemitic?

And yet she declares:

“I stand firmly against antisemitism. And I stand firmly in support of a Free Palestine.”

Another example is Marjorie Taylor Greene, who also sees herself as free of antisemitism. Yet both she and Tlaib were the only two members of Congress to vote present (instead of yes) on a bipartisan resolution condemning antisemitism. The bill came in response to attacks on Jewish targets in Boulder, Colorado, and Washington, D.C.

Taylor Greene’s justification? She tweeted:

“Congress never votes on hate crimes committed against white people, Christians, men, the homeless, or countless others... Americans from every background are being murdered - even in the womb - and Congress stays silent. We don’t vote on endless resolutions defending them.”

Well, maybe if Jews didn’t receive an outsized share of hate crimes, they wouldn’t need such resolutions. Greene’s antisemitism may be more subtle than Tlaib’s, but her comments reveal the mindset of an old-fashioned, far-right Christian antisemite -  of the pre-Holocaust variety. She can say all day long that antisemitic crimes are wrong, but that doesn’t make her any less antisemitic.

Next is Zohran Mamdani, a 33-year-old Democratic Socialist running for mayor of New York City. He isn’t leading in the polls but has nonetheless gained significant traction. His anti-Israel views are well-documented, particularly through his support for BDS, which could bar him from visiting Israel under existing Israeli law.

The Times of Israel recently reported:

“Mamdani has previously called for boycotting Israel but has been evasive on the campaign trail when asked whether he would seek to have the city join the boycott. During a forum on Sunday, he explained his past support for BDS but did not clearly answer a direct question about whether he would continue to support the boycott if elected mayor.”

And yet he, too, denies being antisemitic, echoing the same argument as Tlaib: that opposing Israel is not the same as hating Jews. He claims that …

visiting Israel is not necessary to represent the roughly 1 million Jews among his potential constituents. His positions have drawn strong criticism from parts of the Jewish community.

Rghtfully so.

That Mamdani also has support from some progressive Jews is a sad commentary on how deeply progressive ideology has permeated parts of the Jewish left. These individuals might be called ‘useful idiots’ - unwitting enablers of Israel’s mortal enemies. But I digress.

The worst offender may be none other than Greta Thunberg, the environmental activist idolized by the global left. She gained international fame at 15 for her climate change activism, eventually addressing the UN and earning spots on Forbes' list of the world’s most powerful people and was Time magazine’s Person of the Year in 2019. She became an icon and, unfortunately, was treated as a credible voice on issues well beyond her expertise.

Her anti-Israel stance - especially her over the top support for Gaza over Israel - has granted undue legitimacy to radical views. One might forgive a young woman who suffers from mental illness and is on the autism spectrum, but antisemitism is not a symptom of Asperger’s or clinical depression. It is more likely the product of ignorance and perhaps indoctrination at home.

Her latest stunt was an attempt with a few colleagues to deliver food boxes to Gaza by boat. She pre-recorded a video message implying that if that video was seen, she had likely been kidnapped. Suggesting a moral equivalence between Israel and Hamas in terms of hostage-taking. Of course, she was not kidnapped at all. Her boat was intercepted by Israeli authorities, and she was sent back to Sweden immediately.

Her brand of antisemitism is especially dangerous because of her iconic status as an ‘environmentalist warrior’. She has been put on a pedestal by the global left, by media giants like Time and Forbes, and by (mistakenly) respected institutions like the United Nations. So when she paints Israel as the villain, a lot of people take her seriously. And yet, she would surely insist that she doesn’t have an antisemitic bone in her body.

These four individuals come from vastly different sectors of influence. But they have one thing in common: they are all influential people who, whether knowingly or not, promote antisemitic ideas. That is why we must remain vigilant, support those who truly stand with the Jewish people, and call out antisemitism wherever it hides—especially when it comes disguised as political or social activism. After all, Israel is home to the majority of the world’s Jews today, and attacking Israel often means attacking all of us.