We’re dismantling antisemitism — together.
While antisemitism targets and harms Jewish people of all racial and ethnic backgrounds directly, it isn’t an issue for Jewish communities to address in isolation. Antisemitism is used to deflect blame for the failures of those in power, to remove fundamental freedoms, and to weaken democracy. It is a core component of white supremacist and white nationalist ideology that is used to directly undermine movements for social, economic, racial, and gender justice.
We cannot dismantle antisemitism without addressing anti-Black racism and all other forms of institutionalized oppression. And the reverse is true as well; we cannot dismantle anti-Black racism, nor any other form of institutionalized oppression, without addressing antisemitism. In this work, we draw on the wisdom of our ancestors Emma Lazarus and Fannie Lou Hamer: Freedom and safety for any of us depends on freedom and safety for all of us.
Scroll down for resources and to see examples of this work in action.
Understanding this moment
What is Smokescreen Antisemitism?
Smokescreen antisemitism is a strategy used by authoritarian and antidemocratic politicians and movements that has now been largely embraced (or at least legitimized) by the mainstream Right in America.
In a smokescreen antisemitism strategy, politicians and political movements use antisemitism to increase racialized fear and division to gain supporters and win elections. This is a key component of their power strategy, but it could lead to being branded an antisemite, which could become a political liability. So they also create confusion by pointing the finger at progressives, people of color, and Muslims for antisemitism while claiming to be the true defenders of Jews. Sometimes these accusations are completely false, and sometimes they are true or based on some truth. But smokescreen antisemitism accusations are always initiated with the intent to obscure the user’s own responsibility for using antisemitism for political gain.
DISMANTLING ANTISEMITISM MESSAGE GUIDE
We know that antisemitism is a problem we can — and must — solve. The language we use will help us get there.
Dismantling Antisemitism is a groundbreaking narrative intervention designed to replace an outdated and insufficient understanding of antisemitism. It provides clear analysis and language that our elected leaders, movement leaders, and Jewish community can use to fight for our collective safety and liberation.
what people are saying
Testimonials on the Dismantling Antisemitism Messaging Guide and Trainings
I found a recent national training on antisemitism by the progressive Jewish organization Bend the Arc very insightful. These resources are not intended to “take a side,” but to help us avoid language that diminishes each other into false categories (for instance, identifying Jews with the actions of Israel’s government, which is antisemitic thinking). There’s really helpful language in here for countering racism in all its forms.
Pastor Michael Crosby
Chair of the Interfaith Alliance, Champaign Urbana
It was very insightful and unlike any other antisemitism training I've been in. For example, I loved that they emphasized that Black and Arab communities are disproportionately accused of and seen as the perpetrators of antisemitism, and they brought up that antisemitism is also sometimes at play from those who support Israel but it's not called out. They went over certain phrases and framing we should avoid and what to say instead, which was also useful. Thank you for forwarding this to me!
Feedback from a training participant
The training gave us language and guidance for our communications when antisemitism happens in our community, which we are already utilizing. The orientation, as described in the training, aligns with JUFJ's approach of how to respond when a coalition partner and/or friend says something that's antisemitic: slow down, consider power dynamics, be curious, and use it as an opportunity to deepen the relationship through honest feedback. We are eager to offer this training again to more staff and leaders.
Jews United for Justice staff
Groups we've trained include
Interested in collaborating?
Get in touch with us here to request a training or additional support.
Antisemitism FAQ
Below are concrete tools you can use to support Jewish safety and resilience and resources to learn more about fighting antisemitism in solidarity.
Antisemitism is designed to isolate Jews from our broader communities , so we know that guns, guards, and gates — especially in the wake of authoritarianism — are not the answer. It is easy to feel overwhelmed and helpless in the face of antisemitism, but there are many steps that we can take to support Jewish safety. By encouraging our friends, neighbors, institutions and elected officials to join us in these actions, we have already begun to dismantle antisemitism.
Protect…
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- Your community/synagogue by building safety protocols so you are prepared. Check out community safety campaign where you can find resources about how to build an effective safety plan for your synagogue or community and where community safety plans and non carceral approaches to safety have been successful.
Support…
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- Your own mental and emotional health because when we are afraid, we act without thinking
- Spend some time learning about internalized trauma, and talking to close trusted friends about how to make sense of your fear.
- Regulate your nervous system using tools rooted in Jewish tradition by checking out KIRVA’s sourcesheet on fear or joining one of their cohorts
- Read chapters 7 and 8 of the community safety guide to find stories of organizations that are resisting Olam Hazeh (the world as it is) and building Olam Haba (the world to come
Track…
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Staying educated and based in data may make you feel more safe
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Learn more about the groups on the far right who are fueling antisemitism by checking out the Southern Poverty Law Center’s tracker
Talk...
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About antisemitism like we believe we can end it by checking out Bend the Arc’s Dismantling Antisemitism Message Guide
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To your friends, neighbors, and broader community about what antisemitism is and isn’t so you can build resilience together. Here’s a facilitation toolkit.
Advocate…
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For policies that address antisemitism directly:
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Set up a meeting with your representatives to ask them to support the Antisemitism Response and Prevention Act using this one-pager
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Fight the codification of the IHRA definition of antisemitism, a policy that would make Jews and all of us less safe. Watch our webinar with the Southern Poverty Law Center and Professors of the Holocaust to learn more
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For policies that create the broader conditions where everyone can thrive no matter our race, religion, ethnicity, ability, sexual orientation, or gender identity—which creates the conditions in our democracy to end antisemitism.
Protest…
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Safely by enacting protocols so you and your community can show up and stay safe
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Learn how to build a democracy pod so you can go to protests with group of people with a shared set of nonviolent principles
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Check out our protest safety checklist.
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Join…
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The larger movement to fight authoritarianism because we are safe when there is democracy
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Support local BIPOC led organizations that are fighting for Black liberation
Learn…
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Read a short explainer about what antisemitism is: What is Antisemitism? Diaspora Alliance
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Examine “Unraveling Antisemitism,” a visual representation made by Jews for Racial and Economic Justice that shows the way we twist ourselves into knots when we try to understand antisemitism. It comes with a discussion guide and a resource that goes more in depth about antisemitism and its impact on Jews in this current moment.
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Watch a video about the history of antisemitism and how it connects to our current political moment.
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For a deep dive into examples, tropes, and misconceptions, check out the Southern Poverty Law Center’s explainer about antisemitism
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How the Heritage Foundation’s Project Esther became a blueprint for the Trump administration use antisemitism as a smokescreen for their authoritarian agenda, check out Truah’s resource; and then learn more about how we can fight Project Esther in the Nexus Project’s answer to this Trump administration blueprint.
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Read an op-ed written by Bend the Arc CEO Jamie Beran about How smokescreen antisemitism fuels authoritarianism
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Learn about how fighting antisemitism means fighting all forms of oppression by reading this article by Political Research Associates
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To understand antisemitism as part of the machinery of division and fear: Pages 13-16 of the Dismantling Antisemitism Guide
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Read Safety Through Solidarity: A Radical Guide to Fighting Antisemitism by Ben Lorber and Shane Burley for a deep dive about how to build true safety through solidarity, for Jews and all people or watch them talk about it
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Read Skin in the Game: How Antisemitism Animates White Nationalism by Eric K. Ward
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Listen to Lifting the Curtain podcast from Diaspora Alliance and Public Research Associates
Donate
Power our fight for real Jewish safety
For over 10 years, Bend the Arc has been a leader in the fight to dismantle antisemitism — training partners and elected officials, calling out those who use and benefit from the machinery of antisemitism, and shaping the narrative. We still have work to do. Now more than ever, we need your help to continue this fight.
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