Last week marked the two-year anniversary of the October 7^th attacks, the worst slaughter of Jews since the Holocaust. Yet, despite the horror of those attacks, there are many in America who choose to revel in the same hatred that sparked them. For Christians who claim to be a bulwark against moral and spiritual degradation in America, is particularly incumbent to stand athwart the return of such demonic ideology. 

Only 80 years removed from a world that declared “never again,” the ancient antisemitic hatred seems to be resurgent as evidenced by a nearly fourfold increase in incidents and attacks in the past two years, and by escalating rhetoric from voices on the left and the right targeting our Jewish neighbors. But perhaps most concerning is the degree to which this rhetoric seems to be tolerated among those who should speak out or stand up to it. Americans once stormed beaches to defeat antisemitism; now many won’t even risk verbal confrontation.

On the left, we have seen incidents of campus-based antisemitism with varying levels of overtness amid protests against the Israeli government. While it’s true that many of the campus protestors were demonstrating specifically against Netanyahu or the IDF’s conduct in Gaza, there have been myriad examples of Jewish students being accosted while trying to attend classes, harassment of Jews for practicing their religion and wearing symbols of their faith, and yelling that Jews should “go back to Poland” – a bigoted statement on its face that also glosses over the horrible reason why there are so few Jews in Poland today compared to a century ago. The fact that these hateful voices are tolerated if not welcomed in the protests is an indictment of those who have stood side-by-side bigots and said nothing. Those who dismiss concerns over these examples likewise dismiss the concrete examples of where it can lead – from burning Jews in Colorado to the cold-blooded shooting of Jews in Washington, DC. 

On the right, podcasters, influencers, and grifters have taken to overtly or tacitly trafficking in antisemitic tropes and conspiracy theories in a depraved race-to-the-bottom competition for attention. It’s no secret that so many of Tucker Carlson’s recent podcast guests have arrived at the same conclusion regarding who is to blame for the world’s ills, regardless of the topic at hand. Candace Owens has taken things further, suggesting that a shadowy Jewish conspiracy was behind Charlie Kirk’s murder despite very clear evidence to the contrary. Even Matt Gaetz, a former congressman who nearly became the nation’s chief law enforcement officer, now spends his days making allegations of nefarious Jewish influence on social media and in podcast appearances. These conspiracy mongers hide behind mealy-mouthed cover as “just asking questions” or give overt antisemites and Holocaust revisionists a platform without ever asking a single challenging question.  

While audience chasing hate-mongers may be beyond redemption, they continue to thrive in part because others in the conservative movement give them cover. Tucker Carlson was welcomed to and gave the keynote speech at Turning Point USA. Rather than saying nothing at all, Megyn Kelly makes repeated statements that she will not condemn Owens and Carlson’s rhetoric, apparently as an act of defiance against those who believe she should. But just as one should not cede decision-making authority solely to peer-pressure, there is no virtue in subordinating the responsibility not to associate with antisemites to stubbornness. Kelly seems to think that her active silence is an act of righteousness, but it is not; it is far closer to cowardice. 

The mainstreaming of this vile hatred has downstream effects, with young “leaders” in the conservative movement believing these abhorrent views and statements are acceptable to be sent to a group chat with dozens of other people, as recently reported in POLITICO. If influencers with national profiles are spreading antisemitism from the top and Republican youth organizers are spreading such vile at the grassroots level, with neither being confronted, what chance does righteousness have?

Minorities can become victims when the majority no longer view their protection and equal treatment as a critical feature of a functioning society. But more than most minorities, Jews have endured centuries of being scapegoated by the majority for any and all problems that plague society, with America in 2025 sadly being no exception. Therefore, the fight against antisemitism is not and cannot be a cause that Jews are left to fight without allies; it is a requirement for Christians to stand with them.

The First Amendment protects all speech, even hateful and bigoted speech. But it also includes the lesser discussed right of free association. The role of a citizen does not just come with privileges to be enjoyed, but also responsibilities to be shouldered. Each of us chooses those with whom we associate, and whether the ways others exercise their free speech should or shouldn’t disqualify them from our association. Anyone has the right to call me ugly, but I also have the right to not associate with them because of it. While this may seem obvious, it has somehow escaped numerous Americans when it comes to stoking acrimony towards a religious minority. 

When hateful rhetoric turns to threats and violence, the state has a responsibility to act. But confronting the hatred itself falls on us, the citizens. When we endorse or patronize the spreaders, when we choose to tolerate or shrug it off, or when we grow numb to Americans being targeted because of their faith, we allow the infection of antisemitism to fester. We should not expect our Jewish neighbors to have to face this evil alone, and its growth is the fault of everyone who does. For Christians who wish to see a society defined by healthy religious pluralism where all of us, including Jews, are free to practice their faith, the recent rise in antisemitism should be highly alarming.