The Anti-Defamation League’s latest audit claims a surge in antisemitic incidents. But the data may say more about methodology than malice. According to Glenn Greenwald on Breaking Points, the ADL logs phrases like 'Free Palestine' and 'from the river to the sea' as hate incidents regardless of context. This shifts the definition from religious bigotry to political dissent.
The stakes are high. These statistics underpin state-level crackdowns. Saagar Enjeti cited a Florida International University student arrested over a joke in a private chat - evidence, he argues, of weaponized definitions. Greenwald contends the real threat to free speech isn’t fringe extremists but laws designed to criminalize Israel criticism under the guise of fighting antisemitism.
"They’re treating political speech as a hate incident just because it’s critical of Israel."
- Glenn Greenwald, Breaking Points
Contrast this with Britain, where antisemitism manifests in physical violence. In the six weeks after the October 7th attacks, incident rates doubled. Golders Green and Manchester saw coordinated assaults. The national terrorism threat level stands at severe. Chief Rabbi Sir Efraim Mirvis calls it a normalization of hatred once rejected across parties and faiths.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer responded with £25 million in security funding and fast-tracked sentencing. But as investigator Shira Avigona notes, antisemitism thrives because it bridges far-left, far-right, and Islamist extremists - a mutability that makes it uniquely dangerous. Legal fixes alone won’t work if civil society fails to reject it.
"Anti-Semitism sits at the center of a Venn diagram shared by otherwise opposed movements."
- Shira Avigona, The Intelligence
The UK faces a crisis of safety. The US debate centers on overreach. One conflates speech with hate to justify suppression. The other grapples with actual violence. The distinction matters - especially when statistics shape policy.
