As antisemitism spikes, how can America tackle the hate?
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Why are antisemitic incidents and online rhetoric spiking in 2026?
Antisemitism is on the rise. Antisemitic rhetoric promoting stereotypes and conspiracy theories against Jews is going viral online. And in the real world, experts say antisemitic violence is at the highest level in 30 years. This is all happening at the same time as more and more young Americans are shifting their views on the relationship between the US and Israel over the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East. Hello and welcome to USA Today's The Excerpt. Today is Friday, July 17th, 2026. My name is Will Carlos and I'm a national correspondent here at USA Today. I cover extremism and emerging issues and I'm the host of Extremely Normal, a series where I examine how extremist movements are gradually becoming mainstream in America.
Our latest episode is out now, and it takes a look at the recent surge of antisemitism amid the ongoing conflicts between Israel and Gaza, Iran and Lebanon. We'll include a link to the full video in the show notes, and we've included a trailer for you at the end of this conversation. To keep this conversation going on this important and complicated topic, I wanted to talk to a couple of experts on the subject of hatred against Jews and the geopolitics of the Middle East. So we sought out two thinkers in this space. First, we have Judge Roy Altman. Altman's a federal judge in southern Florida. Altman, who's Jewish, was appointed by President Donald Trump. He recently published a book titled Israel on Trial, examining the history, the evidence, and the law.
Judge Altman, thanks for joining me.
Thank you for having me.
Young people on both the left and the right are deeply questioning America's financial and military relationship with Israel. What's wrong with that? I mean, isn't that sort of scrutiny healthy for a functioning democracy?
Absolutely. We should always question what our politicians do with our money. The question is whether we get for our money more than we put in. It's important to remember that we give lots and lots of money, billions of dollars to other countries and organizations that we get a lot less from than we get from Israel. So, for example, we give billions of dollars to Turkey, billions of dollars to Egypt, billions of dollars to countries all over Africa and Asia and South America. I don't see any protests on college campuses about the amount of money we give to Egypt, despite the fact that Egypt is a autocracy, despite the fact that Egypt doesn't allow free speech or minority rights and oppresses its Christian minority population that's on the verge of extinction.
I don't see any protests on college campuses about the money that we give to other countries that likewise are tyrannical and don't allow free speech or religious expressions.
Let's talk about antisemitism. I mean, in your career, do you think antisemitism, have you watched it become less of a taboo in this country?
Oh, for sure. I went to Columbia and Yale Law School, okay? By any stretch of the imagination, these are some of the most liberal places in the country. I don't mean that as a pejorative thing. That's just a reality in terms of their faculty, in terms of the student body. And by the way, I always felt home there and I felt very happy there. And at Yale Law School, for example, in three years, and graduated in 2007, never once saw a single person wearing a keffiyeh, okay? And so that tells you that one of the most liberal law schools in the planet, not one student thought it was appropriate to wear a scarf That is a symbol of terrorism and the deaths, the violent deaths of thousands and thousands of innocent Jews.
Now you see all over college campuses, not just the most liberal campuses, not just the most liberal students, although oftentimes the most progressive, wearing keffiyehs as a matter of course.
Do you consider that anti-Semitic?
I don't know that I consider it anti-Semitic, but I do think that if you think to yourself what we hear on campus a lot, which is I want to do things that prevent my fellow classmates from feeling afraid or in pain or offended.
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Chapters
4 chapters
1
Why are antisemitic incidents and online rhetoric spiking in 2026?
0:06–9:09
2
Who are the guests and why were they chosen to discuss antisemitism?
9:09–12:15
3
How should Americans balance criticism of Israel with concern about rising antisemitism?
12:15–19:25
4
What evidence shows antisemitism becoming less taboo and more mainstream on campuses?
19:25–20:26
Speakers
5 identifiedMore from The Excerpt
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