GOP Antisemitism is Surging

Last night, CNN aired an hour-long special report, “Rising Hate: Antisemitism In America.” Host Dana Bash covered the troubling rise of antisemitic bigotry and conspiracy theories, particularly among the far-right movements Republican leaders are normalizing. The report found that the failure of political leaders to condemn antisemitism or attempts to gain the support of antisemites directly impacts spikes in antisemitic rhetoric.

Right-wing extremism and antisemitism are part and parcel of today’s Republican Party. A recent report from the ADL found that 119 right-wing extremist candidates ran in the Republican primaries this year. About 25% of the candidates won their race, many by over 10% of the vote. Republican candidate for governor in Pennsylvania Doug Mastriano and GOP senate candidate in Arizona Blake Masters both have ties to the neo-Nazi website Gab, where the Tree of Life shooter posted antisemitic conspiracies before murdering 11 Jews in Pittsburgh. Republican Governor Ron DeSantis (FL), who has repeatedly failed to condemn neo-Nazis openly marching in his state, campaigned with Mastriano over the weekend. Kari Lake, the Republican candidate for governor in Arizona, gave a full-throated endorsement to a candidate who said that “the Jews” are evidence that “evil exists,” “Jews will go to hell,” and “I ain’t owned by the Jews.” 

The plethora of Republican candidates who endorse and embolden hatred of Jews shows, as we demonstrated in JDCA PAC’s latest ad, that today’s Republican Party cannot be separated from white nationalism, antisemitism, and extremists taking away our freedoms. Electing Democrats is how we stop them, and it is up to us to ensure Democrats win in November.

Thank you for your support of our work.

Sincerely,

Samuel J. Crystal,
JDCA Spokesperson