Antisemitism and Anti-Muslim Hate Are Surging. Here's How to Curb the Worst American Tradition.

Tensions in the Middle East have often fueled violence at home, but social media is making it far easier given outrage-rewarding algorithms and the free rein of conspiracy theories, misinformation, and disinformation campaigns online. Hamas’s 2021 attack on Israel prompted an eye-popping expression of online support for its violence. Variations of “Hitler was right” appeared in tweets more than seventeen-thousand times. Far-right extremist movements have typically monopolized the effort to target Jews, but increasingly, left-wing Americans have grown more comfortable targeting Jews, expressing antisemitism and hatred, and organizing around it. Reactions from some left-wing circles today have ranged from an inability to condemn the violence visited on Israel to outright statements of support, a stark reality that has forced the traditionally-liberal American Jewish community into soul searching.

The conflict, and its reflection in the United States, could still worsen. Should the fighting broaden to include belligerents from Lebanon, the West Bank, Iran, and even the United States, the range of possible targets for harassment and hate crimes in the homeland will only widen. Americans hail from every nation on earth. There is no limit to the dark possibilities.

Is this hate unstoppable? Are there countermeasures?

First, political leaders need to do more to dial down the temperature, speak with nuance, and promote pluralistic solutions. Speaking up right away to set the tone and expectations is essential. In some cases, politicians can offer help through policy prescriptions, building coalitions and partnerships, and finding resources to help local efforts. Business leaders can drive change by promoting clear expectations for their workforce and modeling what America represents.

Grassroots solutions are vital to medium- and long-term success. Community nongovernmental organizations are already working to reduce stereotypes, build awareness of the other, and find common ground, yet they do not have the financial means to scale and deepen their work. The United States is rich in innovation, ideas, and financial assets. Yet we do not put this to work to ease tensions. A big bet philanthropic injection into coalitions that fight hate and antisemitism, promote new ideas, and produce new cultural norms could transform how Americans think about and act toward the other and learn how to disagree well.

Perhaps most importantly, this is a long-term endeavor that requires encouraging new behaviors and norms for millennials, Gen Z, and Gen Alpha—each of which need to be engaged in building a more welcoming America that revives values of small “l” liberalism, pluralism, understanding, and  democracy. The most salient interventions at the individual level—the ones that deliver profound, comprehensive, systemic change—are those that shape the way youth form their identities. Part of this societal change includes cultural influencers and the values they promote. And part of this has to do with social media use. It is time for the United States to learn from the EU’s stricter approach toward tech companies.

The United States cannot expect to solve this longstanding issue quickly or cheaply. Any effort to build a healthier democracy must involve all generations and all backgrounds. It is not naïve to expect more from each other: the necessary ideals have already been set forth in sacred global texts and America’s founding documents, and have been articulated through the historic struggles of the civil rights movement. As a nation of citizens from every part of the world, Americans need to fight the “us versus them” urges that emerge all too often, even in well-meaning people. There is far more that unites us—a desire for peace, protection, and prosperity—than divides us. We must invest in us.

Farah Pandith is Adjunct Senior Fellow at CFR. Jacob Ware is Research Fellow at CFR. This article is published courtesy of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR).This post was written for the Council on Foreign Relations’ Renewing America initiative—an effort established on the premise that for the United States to succeed, it must fortify the political, economic, and societal foundations fundamental to its national security and international influence.