I just talked to one of the handful of friends I have left from my former community and found out that a specific former mutual friend, one who particularly prides herself on being a feminist, is straight up denying the hamas rapes, demanding "forensic evidence" and claiming it's all "Israeli propaganda."
I just have no more words left. I knew it was bad and I left behind what little social media I had in the first days after October 7th because I saw enough to know that I wasn't going to be able to be in this community anymore, I saw enough to know that I wasn't going to be hanging out with this crowd ever again. But I didn't stay long enough to watch every particular individual do and say the monstrous things that it turns out so many of them have been doing and saying.
I just left. And for a lot of them, I deliberately didn't look. I deliberately didn't look too closely at anything this woman was doing, for example--I thought it would hurt too much if it was bad. I thought it was better to just consider this part of my life over, to remember these people as they were to me before. I didn't want to know. I was leaving anyway.
Piecemeal, I saw some egregious things from some of my former friends. Glorifying self immolation...calling for the genocide of Jews...Holocaust inversion...claiming the hostages deserved it...denying that Jews are indigenous to anyplace on this earth...people who have utilized our words and symbols for their own liberation movements, wholesale denying the humanity of the people who made those words and symbols in the first place.
Every new piece of news I learn about who is dehumanizing us and with what rationale is just profoundly dispiriting.
No matter how many ways these people should be able to relate and make a human connection, they refuse to. Everything in their supposed values should enable them to hold the truth of what is happening to us. But it doesn't.
They're willing to treat Jews, especially Israeli Jews, in a way they would never accept for anyone else, in a way they would strenuously resist for anyone else--in fact, they strenuously resist much less serious things for anyone and everyone else! and that just breaks me. It means they never had the values that I thought we shared. It's all been a lie.
I froze things in time for some months, to some degree, accepting it was bad enough to be over, but not wanting to know the details. But with every new detail it's undeniable: there is no moral compass there. That world should have been a home for me and for years, I felt it was, but this hate was there the whole time. I never understood the conditions of my "belonging."
I can never forgive them. Not least because they'll never stop feeling righteous about their evil.
three different stories from different people in different countries, but reflecting a disturbing and undeniable trend.
number one:
In her explosive book 'Les Nouveaux Antisemites,' journalist Nora Bussigny reveals pervasive hatred of Jews and Israel on the radical left a
If antisemitism has long plagued France, dating back to the Middle Ages, itโs now metastasizing in new, alarming ways, according to a recently published book by French journalist Nora Bussigny.
Titled โLes Nouveaux Antisรฉmitesโ (โThe New Antisemitesโ), it exposes virulent Jew-hatred endemic to many far-left organizations in France, infiltrated by Bussigny as part of a lengthy undercover investigation. Using a false identity, Bussigny uncovered pervasive antisemitism and anti-Zionism, now a common denominator among diverse groups that often disagree on other matters.
โI saw with my own eyes to what degree Islamists, far-left so-called โprogressiveโ militants and feminist, LGBT and ecological activists are closely linked in their shared hatred of Jews and Israel,โ Bussigny told The Times of Israel during a recent interview on Zoom.
โItโs ironic because historically, the extreme left was fragmented. Many radical groups never got along despite dreaming of a convergence of their struggles. Before October 7, [2023,] I was convinced they could only unify around a common hatred of the police and what it symbolizes for them. But Iโve now seen how their hate for Jews, or rather Zionists, to use their term, is more effective in bringing them together in common cause.โ
The Hamas-led invasion on October 7, 2023, saw some 1,200 people in southern Israel slaughtered by thousands of marauding terrorists, and 251 abducted as hostages to the Gaza Strip. The massacre touched off the two-year war against Hamas in Gaza and an unprecedented spike in global antisemitism.
โLes Nouveaux Antisรฉmitesโ โ whose subtitle translates in English as โAn Investigation by an Infiltrator within the Ranks of the Far Leftโ โ opens with a dedication to Rรฉgine Skorka-Jacubert, a Holocaust survivor and member of the French Resistance.
โWhile writing the book, I was invited to the Mรฉmorial de la Shoah in Paris,โ said Bussigny, 30, speaking in French. โAs part of its education program, they have a terminal which scans your face and attributes to you someone deported to a Nazi concentration camp. Youโre then asked to commit yourself to help preserve the personโs memory and keep their story alive. I told myself Iโd dedicate my book to Rรฉgine.โ
In the bookโs introduction, Busssigny explains her incognito endeavor, for which she risked her personal safety.
โDuring an entire year, I participated, with full discretion, in demonstrations, meetings, online discussions,โ she writes. โI investigated university campuses. I applauded next to hysterical crowds glorifying terrorism. I took part in feminist protests and dialogued in municipal facilities with members of an organization [Samidoun] outlawed in many countries for its close, proven links to terrorism. I chanted against โgenocideโ and for โPalestinian resistanceโ โ obviously armed โresistanceโ โ during demonstrations supposedly defending the rights of women and LGBT people, with no mention of homosexuals being tortured or murdered in the name of Sharia law in the Gaza Strip, governed by Hamas.โ
At the outset, Bussigny faced a learning curve.
โAt first, I went too quickly,โ said Bussigny, whose mother is from Morocco, her father from France. โParticipating in demonstrations, I made mistakes. For example, Iโd say โIsrael,โ which militants never say except for insults. They usually say โthe Zionist entity,โ or if writing, they call it โIsrahell.โ They also never say the IDF, but rather โthe genocidal army.โ There were terms I had to learn to have the โrightโ vocabulary.โ
Bussigny also needed her best performance skills.
โInitially, some of the people looked at me with mistrust,โ she added. โI had to really concentrate on how I spoke and acted when I was among them. They watch you to see if youโre chanting, if youโre happy to be there, if youโre filming. Theyโre suspicious. I made sure to look cheerful and excited to chant with everyone the glory of Hamas and Operation Al-Aqsa Flood [the terror groupโs name for the October 7 atrocities]. I was so careful to play the part that it became almost schizophrenic for me.โ
In the book, Bussigny shows how radical anti-Israel groups, including Urgence Palestine, Palestine Vaincra and Samidoun (designated a terrorist organization by several countries), receive political support in France, sometimes public funding and access to municipal facilities where they hold meetings and workshops seeking to radicalize young people.
Making โLes Nouveaux Antisรฉmitesโ more noteworthy is that its author is not only not Jewish, but half Arab-Muslim, adding to the enmity she faces.
โSince the book came out [in late September], Iโve been the target of death threats, horrible insults and an enormous amount of hate, especially on social media,โ said Bussigny, who requires special police protection when appearing at public events. โPart of this hostility is because Iโm Franco-Moroccan, and some people treat me as a traitor to the Palestinian cause and an accomplice of Zionists. Those attacking me denounce me as complicit in โgenocide,โ and some also make baseless accusations that Iโm receiving money from Israel.โ
The malice doesnโt stop there.
โMany bookstores in France have boycotted my book,โ she added. โSome have even told customers who tried to order it that they donโt want to order this type of book.โ
Despite this animus, much to the consolation of Bussigny, โLes Nouveaux Antisรฉmitesโ has been widely acclaimed in the media, is on bestseller lists in France and received the 2025 Prix Edgar Faure award for best political book of the year.
โFor all the negativity, thereโs been lots of positive feedback,โ said Bussigny, who writes regularly for French publications Le Point, Marianne and Franc-Tireur. โGiven how well the book is selling, obviously, many non-Jews are reading it, which is important. Iโve received lots of support.โ
Not surprisingly, some of that support has come from Franceโs Jewish community, the second largest outside Israel.
โIโm quite touched by the response from French Jews,โ said Bussigny, who recently spoke at a Paris event hosted by CRIF, the representative body of Jewish institutions in France, which also featured Israelโs Ambassador to France, Joshua Zarka. โIโve received so much gratitude. Many say my book has helped them see whatโs behind much of the current antisemitism. Theyโre worried and grateful to better understand everything thatโs at stake for them.โ
โTheyโre happy Iโm not Jewish,โ said Bussigny, noting that part of the reaction surprised her.
โAt first, I didnโt understand this. I was a bit embarrassed to be invited to speak about antisemitism because Iโm not Jewish and I donโt experience antisemitism,โ she said. โIโd ask them, isnโt it better to give the floor to someone whoโs directly affected by it? And theyโd say to me, โNo, on the contrary.โโ
Mixing with militants
For the book, Bussigny interviewed more than 100 people, Jewish and non-Jewish, from hardcore militants to university students and professors to elected officials. She also visited the Free University of Brussels and Columbia University in New York.
This is her fourth book and follows โLes Nouveaux Inquisiteurs,โ published two years ago, just before October 7, for which she also went undercover, to investigate the [far left] movement.
โBefore working on โLes Nouveaux Antisรฉmites,โ I didnโt know many Jews,โ said Bussigny, whoโs hoping to visit Israel for the first time in the coming months for an event centered on her book. โI think if it wasnโt for my parents, I couldโve become antisemitic. I grew up in a Paris suburb where I didnโt meet any Jews and didnโt even realize what antisemitism was. When I was a teenager, I wanted to go to a performance of [antisemitic French comedian] Dieudonnรฉ. But my parents said, โNo, thatโs going too far.โ They alerted me and explained to me what antisemitism is.โ
Citing many individuals by name in the book for their extreme antisemitism and anti-Zionism and their affiliation with nefarious groups, Bussigny devotes an entire chapter to one person in particular, Rima Hassan, a Palestinian, Syrian-born senior member of the left-wing antisemitic La France Insoumise party.
โRima Hassan has the potential of becoming Franceโs [Zohran] Mamdani,โ said Bussigny, referring to New York Cityโs anti-Israel mayor. โSheโs succeeded in radicalizing much of [left-wing political party] La France Insoumise. As sheโs the most-followed political figure in France on social media, along with Jordan Bardella [of the far-right Rassemblement National], she has tremendous influence. Hassan is obsessed with Jews and is the most dangerous politician connected to antisemitism and Islamism. Today in La France Insoumise, sheโs more prominently featured by [party leader] Jean-Luc Mรฉlanchon, who understands her ultra-radical discourse appeals to the young generation.โ
This could have electoral consequences.
โI worry about whatโs happening with Gen Z, those born after 1995, many of whom will be voting for the first time next year in the municipal elections, and then in 2027 in the presidential elections,โ Bussigny said. โWe could have several Mamdanis in France. Heโs called the TikTok mayor for a reason. He was elected in large part thanks to Gen Z voters, and he used his anti-Zionism as a motor for his campaign. What does this mean for our upcoming elections?โ
In media interviews and at conferences, Bussigny is outspoken in condemning antisemitism and its danger to French society. Sheโs met with government ministers and parliamentarians about her investigation and its sobering implications. In late October, she testified at length before the National Assemblyโs commission of inquiry into Islamist movements in France supporting terrorism and promoting Islamist ideology, and their strategy of building relationships with national and local politicians.
Forgoing the option to speak behind closed doors, she told the commission of troubling developments and individuals whose names and actions she identified as threatening the future of France due to their anti-democratic agenda. She stressed that in her work, she distinguishes between support expressed for Palestinian civilians versus for armed groups and the glorification of terrorism.
โWhile undercover, I identified classic antisemitic stereotypes, reformulated by simply substituting the term โZionistโ for โJew,โโ she told the hearing. โThis rhetoric was flagrantly apparent during training by the Urgence Palestine organization in which I participated. The speakers spoke of a supposed โZionist conspiracyโ in France in which โZionistsโ control the media and have infiltrated the government. These accusations are nothing but a faithful reworking of traditional antisemitic tropes, already observed historically on the extreme right.โ
Push to fight antisemitism before all is lost
Bussigny recently joined a group of prominent French Jews and non-Jews in signing a public letter denouncing rampant antisemitism and calling on the French government to make the fight against Jew-hate and racism a major national cause in 2026 and to create a special judiciary office for the prosecution of antisemitism.
Bussignyโs book isnโt just a report of her investigation, as reflected ominously in the introductionโs final sentence โ โMy concern continues to grow regarding the future marked by the persecution of Jews.โ Equally sobering, she titles the bookโs last chapter: โThis Isnโt a Conclusion But a Cry of Despair in the Face of Whatโs Happening,โ which ends with: โI complete this book by simply saying to you that now that youโve read what Iโve written, you can no longer say you didnโt know.โ
When asked if her perspective has changed since completing the book last spring, Bussigny didnโt hesitate.
โNo,โ she replied. โEven if I have a bit of hope, itโs so little next to the despair I have. My heart is heavy. Iโm very, very afraid for France. I think in the long run, this might be a lost cause, but Iโm among those who are going to fight until the end.โ
number two (with the requisite disclaimer that I donโt trust anything coming from this administration, however I will also not discount the serious concerns and fears of the UK Jewish community):
Trump lawyer Robert Garson told the Telegraph he discussed refuge for those leaving UK over antisemitism
number three - anecdotal, but officially reported on many times previously:
(and another disclaimer, yes, I wish the author of the following tweet had quoted someone else, even if the quote is accurate)
Coming home from Ireland, I am worried about my continuity as an American Jew, more than ever before. We must ensure that what happened in I
this does not include what we know very well has also been happening in Italy:
Itโs difficult to unlove Italy, but will the national surge in antisemitism make it necessary?
It usually takes the reaction of a non-Jewish Italian for me to realize how bad the anti-Israeli sentiment is here, but this desecration of
Spain:
A tradition of enmity towards Jews and Judaism goes back centuries.
and the Netherlands:
A total of 421 antisemitic incidents were registered in 2024, an 11% increase compared to 2023.ย
Antisemitic chants and smoke bombs accompanied protests near Amsterdamโs Concertgebouw on Sunday as Jewish audiences attended Hanukkah conce
to name a select few. (none of these are articles are anywhere close to comprehensive in regards to all the incidents that are happening). there is real worry for the future of Jewish life across Europe.
For centuries much of European culture has been built on antisemitism. Until quite recently Jews were literally being hunted for sport across Europe. The United States was the first country in the world to grant Jews equal rights. Long before the Nazis, the treatment of Jews as second class citizens at best and often as slaves ,the regular and systematic stripping of Jewish property, and the rape, torture and murder of Jewish people for entertainment or to let off steam was a regular part of European society.
By 1924 (when the United States introduced immigration laws to prevent more Jewish immigrants from coming) one third of European Jews had already fled to the United States, even though the journey was incredibly difficult and dangerous. That's how bad things were. And more would have come if that 1924 law hadn't gone into effect.
98% of the Jews who were murdered during the Holocaust were not in Germany, but rather in territories that the Nazis conquered. The Nazis were only able to find and round up these Jews because their friends and neighbors turned them in - and often even actively participated in the killing.
Most European countries have not acknowledged this history at all and have made 0 effort to eradicate antisemitism from their societies. And this is the result. Their culture is steeped in antisemitism that they never sought to change.
While the spark that ignited this is probably a sophisticated propaganda campaign being run by Russia and Iran (probably with China and Qatar adding fuel to the fire as well) it could not have caught on so well and been so effective if these societies were not already deeply antisemitic without any education to counter these attitudes.
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