On Sunday, I attended a training by the Diaspora Alliance about the worrying rise of instrumentalized antisemitism.

The Diaspora Alliance describes instrumentalized antisemitism as the use by political actors of Jewish peoples’ legitimate fears in an antisemitic environment. The idea is, these actors will manipulate those fears to compel organized action ultimately aimed at shoring up their own power. In effect, Jews face being used as cover for the oppression of other peoples. This ultimately serves the political actor, while confusing and fracturing grassroots-level movements, and making it harder to fight genuine antisemitism.

The group cited as examples Project 2025 and Project Esther — two projects that purport to offer solutions to combat antisemitism, but that were developed by the notably not-Jewish Heritage Foundation. The training highlighted a helpful image that shows how authoritarian regimes secure their grip on power, as well as an overview of this intrumentalized form of antisemitism:

This is what the current instrumentalized antisemitism we are living through is doing — not combating antisemitism, but the reverse — according to the training on extreme right-wing strategy and tactics for fascism. This theory is unfortunately given heft by another study I read recently in an unpublished manuscript, in which social psychologist Stanley Milgram made a strong case that up to two thirds of a population will obey a malevolent authority even when obedience violates their own conscience. These are ordinary people (sadists were actually purposely excluded) who are ready to do the bidding of an authoritarian figure even if they are uncomfortable with what is being asked.

Image provided to JURIST by Diaspora Alliance.

Paired with the lessons above, these implications below seem to me to be a helpful way to put much of what is happening into perspective.

Those who talk about the people and/or the courts being the bulwarks of democracy are just gaslighting us and passing the buck to hide their own compliance and willingness to go along with fascism instead of standing against it. They sit above the people on the pyramid. The people are being divided so they can be conquered.

Columbia University and Paul Weiss law firm appear to be learning that you can’t compromise with fascism. Those criticizing both of them are distracting us from asking what they themselves are doing to combat fascism. You’d probably find they are quietly compliant. The fascist touts everything as a win even when it is not. You fight fascism.

The so-called “combating antisemitism” is about keeping Jews and Christian Israel supporters in line with the fascist and intimidating administration opponents by branding them as antisemites. Once opponents are neutralized, the administration’s antisemitism will emerge and Jewish collaborators will see they were played — but too late.

Taking the ADL data on antisemitic incidents and subtracting the cases where they decide that criticism of the conduct of Israel as a state is considered being antisemitic, the largest number of antisemitic incidents are coming from the extreme right — not the left.

Anti-DEI is about keeping white people (and white men in particular) in line and intimidating opponents. Once opponents are intimidated, poor and middle-class whites will see they were played by the plutocrats again but it will be too late.

Naming a cabinet of mediocrity is about keeping the mediocre compliant by making them think that if they are loyal to the fascist they too can get ahead. This reduces opposition. When there is no opposition, the mediocre will be thrown under the bus if they are not sufficiently loyal as determined by the fascist’s whims.

Going after transgender and LGBTQ+ folks more broadly is about keeping straight people and women in particular compliant and splitting opposition movements. Once those movements are destroyed, the poor and middle-class will be betrayed by the plutocrats and opposition will be too late.

Going after foreigners is about keeping citizens compliant with the fascist. Once foreigners are gone, the poor and middle-class citizens will be thrown under the bus by the plutocrats.

Going after the research is about keeping the universities and research entities compliant with the fascist, so that opposition does not coalesce and/or is suppressed. Once there is no opposition or it is neutralized, fascist leadership will be put in to replace current leadership and/or destroy the institutions.

Going after social security is about keeping social security taxpayers compliant and creating opposition to paying earned benefits to the old and disabled. Also to get the lists like IBM helped Hitler do in 1933 to structure retaliation and grab the SSA trust fund for the rich. Once SSA is emptied to the plutocrats, it will be too late to do anything. Same for Medicare and Medicaid; the goal seems to be to let the non-wealthy old and disabled wither away and die.

Opening investigations of sources of opposition is about keeping in line those tempted to oppose the fascist. Compromising with fascists leads only to more centralizing of power and replacement of the compliant with the loyal.

Going after allies is about making other allies compliant with the fascist’s wishes. Once allies that are attacked become compliant, the fascist will go after other allies but by then it will be too late.

Going after lower court judges who decide against is about working the judges above and for future cases so they are compliant and interpret law favorably to the fascist rather than in conformity with rule of law. Once they are compliant, then anything goes in the repression as the plutocrats feather their nests with the assets of government and society.

Going after the arts is about intimidating creativity and culture to make it conform. Once controlled and “degenerate” art is eliminated, the arts and culture space will be appropriated by the fascist for its profit and it will be too late. Loyal artists who are mediocre will be elevated nonetheless.

Going after government workers is to make the rule of law difficult to implement and strike the fear of unemployment in all working people so that they are compliant. Once the government is destroyed and the rule of law upended, free rein for plutocratic dominance will emerge to the detriment of the poor and middle-class who are merely compliant and not sufficiently loyal as determined by the fascist’s whims.

Going after foreign aid is about keeping the populace compliant and characterizing foreigners as freeloaders. It is also about making vulnerable the entities and businesses here that benefit from that budget. Once the foreign aid is eliminated, the plutocrats can dominate or make disappear the compliant entities here and take the anti-foreigner animus to exploit it against the foreigners at home.

And on and on. You see the drill and why it is important to fight back now.

But what do I know?