​

Last time, we talked about the increase in pro-Palestinian campus activism and its excessive coverage in the media. Everyone and their mother is talking about antisemitism on college campuses, including those in the White House and the halls of Congress.

There are some people who genuinely care about what is best for American Jews and others who view this moment as an opportunity. Let’s spend some time talking about the latter group.

Congresswoman Virginia Foxx: A Case Study

Though Jews are overwhelmingly Democratic, it’s the Republicans who claim to care most about us these days.

In late 2023, a couple of months after October 7, the United States House Committee on Education and Workforce held a hearing on campus antisemitism. This hearing led to the resignations of Harvard president Claudine Gay and University of Pennsylvania president Liz Magill. At the helm was committee chairwoman Virginia Foxx, a Republican from North Carolina and a Christian.

At the time, I thought it was bizarre that a Christian Republican was leading the conversation about antisemitism. I wondered why Foxx cared so much about Jews.

I started to get an answer in an April 2024 profile in The New York Times, where she claimed that “Jews are God’s chosen people” and that she “grew up in the Baptist Church believing that.”

Jews are special because it says so in the Bible, and therefore they must be protected. Hm. Okay.

In the same profile, the writer points out that “[Foxx] is against abortion rights and against allowing trans women to compete on women’s teams in college sports.”

There is a contradiction here. Foxx cares so much about Jews because the Bible tells her to, but what about trans Jews or Jews seeking abortions? Foxx’s support for us ends at that point.

It also ends the moment we get involved in pro-Palestinian activism. Foxx’s support for us is limited and disingenuous.

And she is one of the people shaping the national conversation about antisemitism.

Apparently people think the Rapture is real

We’ve established that Foxx, a Christian, cares about Jews because the Bible has told her to. She is not alone in this.

Evangelical Christians think the founding of the State of Israel was biblically ordained, and they support it for this reason. They also believe that Israel must exist, and there must be conflict there, in order for the end times to arrive.

I will admit that I don’t understand the Rapture 100%. I’m probably at 40%, if I’m honest. But, from everything I’ve learned, the Jews do not come out of the Rapture with our faith, culture, and traditions in good shape. We may not even come out alive. It is Christians who benefit, and it is their religion that wins out.

It sounds absurd, but this is what’s motivating some American Christians who zealously support Israel and oppose pro-Palestinian activism, claiming concern about antisemitism. I have no confirmation that this is exactly what Foxx is thinking, but I can verify that at least one prominent person in the Trump administration holds this belief about the end times.

The latest use of antisemitism in politics

The Trump administration is now withholding federal funds from Columbia University because of their failure to protect Jewish students from antisemitism. Other universities are bracing themselves for the same fate.

Truth, Emet in Hebrew, is a Jewish value, and you cannot pursue truth without generating new knowledge, which faculty researchers need funding to do. You also cannot pursue truth without learning.

Restricting the functioning and capabilities of educational institutions runs counter to Jewish values, but it is being done in our name. It is obvious that there are ulterior motives at play.

How big is the threat here?

The threat is huge. People with institutional power, such as the literal President of the United States, are using antisemitism as a political tool.

This is antisemitic. It is dehumanizing that they are using our painful history to aid in achieving their own agenda.

What’s worse is that their smokescreen antisemitism is sometimes working to enable these Republican politicians, whom Jews do not usually support, to broaden their base.

Though both are concerning, antisemitism on the right is far worse than antisemitism on the left because of the institutional power that conservatives hold. It is also a bigger threat because it is cleverly disguised. If people don’t look closely, they can be fooled into thinking that the Trump administration, Virginia Foxx, and even the Heritage Foundation genuinely care about Jews when they really only care about themselves.