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Thenormalization of antisemitism is the shift ofanti-Jewish hate from fringe to mainstream.[1] Various scholars have examined the persistence and evolving manifestations of the normalization of antisemitism.
In "Normalization of antisemitism, 1880–1900: the case of aJesuit community in Rome", David Dahl analyzed the dynamics withinLa Civiltà Cattolica that led to its gradual acceptance of antisemitism in the late 19th century.[2]
In "The 'Jewish Question', Hungarian sociology and the normalisation of antisemitism", Kati Voros described the transformation of antisemitic rhetoric into “what was seen as legitimate social analysis and political critique” withinsociological theory inHungary between 1900 and 1920.[3]
InAlternative für Deutschland: The AfD: Germany's New Nazis or another Populist Party? (Liverpool University Press, 2020),Thomas Klikauer wrote that "bothAfD andFPÖ work towards the normalisation of Antisemitism, thereby mainstreaming fascism".[4]
In 2019, Miriam Elman andAsaf Romirowsky attributed "a significant growth in the normalization of antisemitism" to the impact of theBDS movement.[5]
In 2024, Lili Levi called the deployment of antisemitism as a political tool a sign of the normalization ofantisemitism in the US, noting thatDemocrats andRepublicans accuse each other of complicity in antisemitism.[6] Erica Cervini noted that the normalization of antisemitism had led to increasingattacks on Jewish individuals and businesses, and to students feeling unsafe onuniversity campuses inAustralia.[7]
In 2017, the European Jewish Congress described "a distinct normalisation of antisemitism, racism and xenophobia" in Poland following a University of Warsaw study of attitudes toward antisemitic hate speech.[8]
In 2018, theEU Agency for Fundamental Rights conducted its second survey onantisemitism in theEuropean Union, finding that 79% of respondents had not reported even the most serious incident of antisemitism that they had experienced since 2013 to the police.[9] The report states that perpetrators span the breadth of political and class spectrums, which shows how normalized antisemitism is in European society.[9]
In 2025, the right-wing pro-Israel advocacy groupStandWithUs presented its campus antisemitism report to the House of Lords.Conservative member of the House of Lords,Howard Leigh, said the report confirmed the terrible state that the UK is in.[10]
A 2016New York Historical Society exhibit,Antisemitism: 1919-1939, addressed how anti-Jewish hatred "can permeate a national discourse and become ‘normal’ for ordinary people”. In addition to newspaper clippings, excerpts from Hitler's speeches, a printing of theNuremberg laws, and park bench signs forbidding Jews, the exhibit focused on children's toys and books which desensitized German children towardantisemitic tropes from an early age.[11]
In 2022,PBS featured an episode called "The Normalization of Antisemitism" as part of itsExploring Hate initiative produced byMetrofocus. Interviewees includedAtlantic reporterYair Rosenberg, historianPamela Nadell, andRace Forward executive VPEric K. Ward. Host Jenna Flanagan introduced the topic with the assertion by "Jewish leaders and allies" that "celebrities, politicians, and media personalities" were increasingly welcoming antisemites onto their platforms and amplifying antisemitic rhetoric. Flanagan calledYe's praise of Hitler,Donald Trump's dinner withNick Fuentes,Kyrie Irving's promotion of a filmdenying the Holocaust, andDave Chapelle's elevation ofantisemitic tropes onSNL "the tip of the iceberg". Ward commented thatantisemitism "is not a form of religious bigotry. It’s a form of racialized bigotry."[1]
The May 2023USBiden-HarrisNational Strategy to Counter Antisemitism,[12] a 60-page document issued by theWhite House,[13][14] called its third pillar “Reverse the Normalization of Antisemitism and Counter Antisemitic Discrimination: Whole-of-Society Calls to Action”.[15] Strategic goal 3.1 called for "meaningful accountability for antisemitic conduct" in order to “roll back the normalization of antisemitism”.[15][16] TheAmerican Bar Association endorsed those goals in a 2024 statement.[15]
In December 2023, following theOctober 7 attacks,RepresentativesJerrold Nadler,Daniel Goldman, andJamie Raskin introduced a resolution calling for implementation of the National Strategy. Commenting on the resolution,Congressman Goldman decried “the normalization of antisemitism on ourcollege campuses, onsocial media, and in our communities”.[17]NCJW CEO Sheila Katz told US officials includingSecretary of EducationCardona that she was witnessing a 'normalization of antisemitism', and they agreed with data showing that antisemitic incidents had reached unprecedented levels,[18] as in Canada[19] and other countries.[20]
In 2022, Israeli political activistHen Mazzig decried the paucity of knowledge about the Holocaust among younger Americans. Mazzig called for more deterrence of antisemitic crimes, calling them “a ‘canary in the coal mine’ indicating that tolerance and democracy itself are in severe distress”.[21]
Raheli Baratz of theWorld Zionist Organization authored a report on behalf of the WZO and theJewish Agency for Israel showing that global antisemitic incidents were 340% higher in 2024 than in 2022. The report detailed the increasing use of the term "Zionism" and its derivatives as a euphemism in antisemitic expressions. Baratz commented, "This is not a coincidence — it is a deliberate change in language aimed at making antisemitism socially acceptable".[22]
Jonathan Greenblatt wrote that theADL's surveys noted an increase in the percentage of Americans who harbored "extensive antisemitic views" from 9% in 2014, to 20% in 2022, to 24% in 2024, adding "antisemitism can no longer be considered a fringe belief".[23] The ADL explained that the increase was due partly to their new methodology,[24] which was disputed by some current and former staff disagreeing with the ADL's methodology, e.g.definition of antisemitism being used.[25]
In 2025,Deborah Lipstadt, the US Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism, said inBrussels: "We are at an inflection point. Antisemitism is becoming increasingly normalized...[antisemitic comments] are freely heard on streets of some of our leading Western democracies in many countries, including this country."[26]David Hirsh claimed that in British politics, antisemitism was considered "outside of the boundaries of democratic discourse" from World War II untilJeremy Corbyn's leadership of theLabour Party.[27]
In 2019, theWorld Council of Churches and the International Jewish Committee for Interreligious Consultations met in Paris for a conference on “The Normalisation of hatred: Challenges for Jews and Christians today”. The Reverend Peter Prove described “a new normalization of hatred, in which antisemitism, among many other old prejudices and discriminatory attitudes, is demonstrably on the rise today”.[28]
In a 2022 commentary forWGBH called "Why the normalization of antisemitism is not just a crisis for Jews", ReverendIrene Monroe cited the 2017 "Unite the Right" rally and theColleyville synagogue hostage crisis as examples of risingantisemitism in the United States.[29]
In 2022,Northwestern University history professorPeter Hayes said he was "very concerned" about the normalization of antisemitism, noting the increased "public discussion of things that used to be beneath contempt".[30]
In 2024, New York City MayorEric Adams said that hatred was increasing toward various minority groups, adding "What troubles me the most is that we have normalized antisemitism".[31] He called out "our major media" for minimizing occurrences of antisemitism at collegecampus protests.[31] CongressmanRitchie Torres called out a video game maker for "normalizing the most monstrous forms of antisemitic violence and terror—like beheadings, suicide bombings, and thewar crimes of October 7th".[32] SenatorJohn Fetterman noted that "It's crazy now that[Zionism] becomes a slur in certain circles," adding that "it's been turned into like, 'you Zionist,' or whatever, it's crazy."[33]
In 2025, whenJoe Rogan hosted proponents of antisemitic conspiracy theories on his podcast, academics and political commentators categorized this as a normalization or mainstreaming of antisemitism.[34][35]Susan Benesch, founder of theDangerous Speech Project, noted that antisemites "mix criticism of Israel and antisemitism".[34] Aaron Pomerantz wrote that normalizing extremism under the guise of "just asking questions" preceded podcasting, arguing the approach was used byGeorge Lincoln Rockwell, founder of theAmerican Nazi Party.[36]Ye's 2025 antisemitic song was noted to "normalize Nazi language".[37]
Critics contend that changes in the definition of antisemitism, particularly the inclusion of some criticism of Israel, account for part of the increase and normalization of antisemitism supported by surveys.[38][39][40][25][41]
