With Friends Like These...

We must understand the dangerous dynamics at play in the Trump administration’s campaign against antisemitism

Graphic by Dave Bowers

Dear Friends,

While the antisemitic biases emanating from the far Left are, in my opinion, dangerous and very real, the Trump administration’s assault on our nation’s leading academic institutions under the banner of battling antisemitism is deeply problematic and frightening. As Rabbi Sharon Brous expressed it in her recent sermon, “I Am Not Your Pawn”:

“We, the Jews, are being used to advance a political agenda that will cause grave harm to the social fabric, and to the institutions that are best suited to protect Jews and all minorities. We are being used. Our pain, our trauma, is being exploited to eviscerate the dream of a multiracial democracy, while advancing the goal of a white Christian nation.”

For those familiar with the antisemitic playbook, it comes as no surprise that intolerant and bigoted rulers are championing the seemingly just and righteous cause of protecting Jews from discrimination, but in fact are using this issue to advance an anti-democratic agenda. This strategy of punishing institutions for not protecting Jews, while arresting and disappearing foreign students who have publicly protested against Israel, places the purported wellbeing of the Jewish community in opposition to the wellbeing of other minority groups, creating a “favorite” group to be more protected than others. Under the guise of protecting us, this administration is ripping support away from institutions and undermining legal precedents intended to support all minorities, and in fact all Americans, to flourish equally. To the degree that we Jews appear to be favored by a despotic regime, we Jews are centered as targets of rage and frustration from others who are watching their own safety being dramatically eroded.

These are the venerable tactics of antisemitism: “the Jews” are set up as the reason for the erosion of other groups’ rights. “The Jews” once again become the scapegoat, the target of blame, for the disenfranchised. We find ourselves forced into the arms of the ruling power for our safety and protection. In the guise of protecting us, the governing powers isolate us from our fellow citizens. But history teaches that this safety is ephemeral; it will last only as long as we Jews are useful to their goals.

We have seen this movie before, and it never ends well. While there are no easy answers, I urge us all to do our best to keep a grasp on these slippery dynamics so that we are better equipped to resist them.

To that end, I want to share with you two excellent essays that appeared in the press this past week:

• Trump Is Selling Jews a Dangerous Lie by Michael Roth (New York Times, April 7, 2025)

Michael Roth is president of Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. As it happens, Roth and I are both Wesleyan alumni, and I have made Roth’s acquaintance at various reunions in recent years. I have been very impressed by his steady and principled leadership at Wesleyan, especially through the crisis of the pandemic and then the anti-Israel campus protests last year. Now Roth is gaining a deserved national platform as he refuses to be silenced by the Trump administration’s attacks against academic institutions. I am grateful for his voice.

• Pro-Palestinian protests enriched Jewish life on my campus. Trump’s actions will do the opposite by Paul Nahme, Professor of Judaic Studies at Brown University (The Forward, April 10, 2025)

While that may be a provocative title, Nahme writes thoughtfully and persuasively. The subtitle reads: “As a Judaic studies professor, I used the upheaval as an occasion to educate — which is what universities are supposed to do.”

Once again wishing a sweet, inspiring and liberating Passover to all who celebrate, and wishing all of us continued courage, resilience and resolve,

Rabbi Jonathan Kligler