Recycled right-wing rhetorics of post-October 7 left-wing antisemitism

The year since October 7, 2023 has brought not only increases in antisemitic violence and rhetoric but also intense feelings of isolation for American and British Jews. As protest against Israel’s military response has grown, progressive academics and left-wing activists have increasingly relied upon and reproduced right-wing antisemitic tropes, stereotypes, and discourses, creating a troubling convergence of antisemitic rhetoric that has already endangered Jewish people. Drawing upon rhetorical content analysis employing conceptual frameworks of antisemitism, the authors explore how the often covert usage of antisemitic tropes and stereotypes by the progressive left mirrors the overt usage of the same among right-wing antisemites. While progressive activists’ motivations may be different from those of their white supremacist counterparts, their rhetoric, as well as their methods of protest and intimidation, follow similar patterns and reinforce similar narratives that are detrimental to Jews and, more broadly, to all who proclaim to be social justice advocates.