Recently Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the ADL, discussed the troubling rise of antisemitism in America on Dan Senor’s Call Me back podcast. Mr. Greenblatt very correctly asserted that we must stand against antisemitism as we are confronted with it.
One statistic stood out: antisemitic incidents in the United States increased roughly tenfold between 2019 and 2024, rising from under 1,000 incidents annually to well over 9,000.
The gravity of that increase cannot be overstated, and it is no coincidence that the increase in antisemitic attacks coincides with the increase in Muslim immigration
According to Pew Research Center data, more than one million Muslim immigrants entered the United States between 2011 and 2019, with immigration remaining elevated in subsequent years. Many of these immigrants come from societies where hostility toward Jews has long been normalized by state institutions, media, and educational systems.
The Muslim population in the U.S. now exceeds 3.5 million and is growing faster than any other ethnic group, with immigration continuing at elevated levels into the early 2020s.
The Jewish community must be willing to recognize this reality and ask necessary questions about how this immigration came to be, the assumptions that guided past policy positions, and how we move forward constructively.
The community must be willing to speak to politicians and explain the correlation and make them understand that continued immigration from certain countries directly impacts the security of Jewish Americans. These politicians, when confronted with this reality, must decide if they stand with or against Jewish Americans.
For fifty years, antisemitic incidents in the United States remained relatively stable. The sudden and dramatic spike of recent years strongly suggests that something fundamental has changed. Social phenomena rarely increase by an order of magnitude without identifiable causes.
Recognizing this is the responsible thing to do. Acknowledging this reality does not mean condemning entire communities, nor does it negate the very real threats posed by far-right extremists or radicalized elements of the political left. Antisemitism is a multi-source problem. But addressing it effectively requires intellectual honesty about patterns, not silence driven by fear of misinterpretation.
Here is where introspection within the Jewish communal world becomes important. For years, many mainstream Jewish institutions strongly supported expansive immigration policies, often out of deeply held moral convictions rooted in Jewish history. Concerns about importing antisemitic attitudes were frequently dismissed as unfounded or alarmist. In good faith, many believed that the American system would naturally moderate these beliefs. It was believed that Muslim antisemitism in Europe would simply not happen in the U.S, where, judging by past waves of immigrants, newcomers would want to adopt American values and be absorbed into the proverbial "melting pot."
In retrospect, it is clear that many of those assumptions were overly optimistic. In fact the last five years of statistics and especially the last two and a half years have disproved that hypothesis.
Acknowledging this is not an act of self-blame; it is an act of courage and leadership. Doing so strengthens credibility rather than undermining it and signals that the leadership is protecting its constituents.
The question now is not who was right or wrong-but what comes next.
Moving forward, Jewish institutions should advocate for a balanced immigration policy, one that remains humane and welcoming, while also prioritizing security, rigorous vetting, and meaningful integration. Integration must include clear expectations with zero tolerance for antisemitism. Education programs-both within immigrant communities and in broader society-should directly confront antisemitic narratives rather than assuming they will fade on their own.
For the Jewish community, addressing the previous miscalculations will require courage, humility, and a renewed willingness to speak out about the dangers associated with immigration from countries where intolerance is nurtured. Jewish policymakers and communal leaders should support elected officials willing to address antisemitism honestly and comprehensively.
The moment calls not for recrimination-but for recalibration.
Daniel Rosen is the Co-founder of a Non-profit Technology company called Emissary4all which is an app to organize people to impact the narrative and move the needle on social media and beyond . To learn more “follow" at Emissary4all