June 16, 2026
The U.S. and Iran have reached a deal to end nearly four months of war, with a formal signing set for June 19 in Switzerland. The agreement calls for an end to fighting on all fronts, including between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon and for the Strait of Hormuz to reopen.
Answers to the hardest questions remain unknown – including Iran’s nuclear program. Israel is not a party to the deal, and its government and opposition parties consider the reported terms deeply disappointing. Americans and Israelis remain uncertain about what any final agreement will mean.
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To a growing number, every Jew represents Israel – making Jews everywhere a convenient target for Israel’s actions. Other nationalities, ethnicities and religions are not held responsible for the actions of foreign governments – not Iranian Americans, Russian Americans or Chinese Americans – only Jews.
On a New York City subway recently, a 23-year-old Jewish nurse was choked by a stranger screaming: “Jews are eating kids!” – likely a reference to false propaganda about Gaza. The nurse had no part in any war and was attacked for only one reason: she is a Jew.
Knicks Star and Music Icon Punished for Relationships with Jews
When the New York Knicks recently won the NBA championship, a conspiracy theory quickly spread online that the title had been rigged – because the team’s star is married to a Jewish woman. A beautiful love story about high school sweethearts Jalen Brunson and physical therapist Dr. Ali Marks Brunson became twisted into an example of ‘hidden’ Jewish power.
Pop star Taylor Swift was not spared either. Anti-Israel activists turned on her for attending a Knicks game with two sisters from the American rock band Haim. Their crime? Their dad was a drummer in an Israeli army band during his mandatory service.
Hotels of Hate: Jews Not Welcome Here
This hostility greets Jews – even at hotel desks – around the world. In California, a hotel employee recently confronted a Hebrew-speaking couple as they checked in, demanding to know: “Are you a baby killer? Are you a Zionist?” He later went online to brag that he had “stared into the soul of the devil” and to urge others to “GIVE THEM HELL.” Two weeks later, British hotel chain Travelodge apologized after a clerk refused to look at a visibly Jewish guest and taunted him and his friend with “Free Palestine” messages in their hotel rooms.
In Germany, a hotel recently turned Israeli guests away with a single line: “There are no Jews allowed” – barring the Israelis as Jews. Israeli Consul General Talya Lador asked, “Are we back in the 1930s?” Booking.com promptly removed the hotel from its platform. In the former Asian Soviet nation of Kyrgyzstan, no clerk was needed at all – an engraved metal sign at the entrance bars “JEWS AND ANIMALS.”
An Old Hatred with New Excuses
None of this started recently. The hatred is age old and deep – and it has always worked the same way. Signs banning “Blacks, Jews and dogs” hung across hotels, stores and country clubs across America only a few decades ago. For centuries, Jews have been cast as the disloyal outsider and blamed for plagues, financial turmoil and even wars.
Myths about Jews run from the medieval Christian blood libel to the forged Russian Protocols of the Elders of Zion propaganda that still resonates across much of the Muslim world today. The lie that all Jews secretly control world events is a well-worn antisemitic conspiracy theory. Holding every Jew responsible for Israel’s alleged actions is textbook antisemitism.
The faces and their excuses may change over time, but the same hatred always follows. These accusations often lead to all Jews being accused of supporting wars and killing babies – and they can turn deadly. The Boulder firebombing, the Capital Jewish museum shooting and the explosive synagogue car ramming attack were all tragedies within the last year.
Activists Cheer Terrorist Who Murdered Jewish Grandmother
The attacks are not random. They are the work of an organized hate movement to isolate Jews, boycott them, ban them and drive them out of everyday life.
Mohamed Soliman threw firebombs into a peaceful walk for Israeli hostages about a year ago, burning more than a dozen people and killing 82-year-old Karen Diamond. On the recent anniversary of the attack, the banned Univ. of Colorado Students for Justice in Palestine chapter (SJP) in Boulder publicly honored the terrorist.
The activists wrote: “We stand in solidarity with Mohamed. We condemn the life sentence imposed by Colorado courts. We honor a man who sacrificed his comfort, willingly expending his own liberty in attaining his objective.” A convicted murderer became a hero and most of Colorado’s politicians failed to condemn this statement.
SJP is part of the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Movement that regularly pressures businesses to drop Jewish partners, pushes schools to shun Jewish students and treats every Jew as a target. The BDS mob also targets everyone associated with Israel. SJP led a walkout of more than 100 students from a Stanford graduation ceremony because Google CEO Sundar Pichai was the commencement speaker – Google does business in Israel.
Politicians and Prosecutors Respond to Surging Hate
Jewish Americans are not facing this alone – and the pushback is bipartisan. In the U.S. Senate, Democrat Jacky Rosen and Republican James Lankford introduced the Jewish American Security Act, which would strengthen civil rights protections on campus, expand security funding for synagogues and other nonprofits and require social media companies to confront antisemitism. In the U.S. House, Republican Elise Stefanik and Democrat Laura Gillen introduced a bill to force universities to investigate antisemitism complaints or lose their federal funding.
The courts are moving, too. The Justice Dept. expanded its civil rights case against Harvard and is pursuing action against UCLA, and federal prosecutors indicted eight Univ. of Michigan activists for threatening Jewish students and institutions. Diana Smith, the woman on the NYC subway who choked and ripped hair out from a Jewish woman’s head, was arrested and faces hate crime charges.
Jews and Their Allies Refuse to Back Down
The answer to these attacks is defiance – not fear. Recently, 50,000 Americans marched through New York City for Israel Day, and a record-breaking 60,000 turned out in Toronto – a city less than half the population of NYC – for its annual pro-Israel walk.
American Muslim & Multifaith Women’s Empowerment Council founder Anila Ali led the first-ever Muslim delegation in Manhattan. She marched proudly and declared that “Zionism is in the Quran” – despite threats by a city councilwoman who condemned her to hell. Tens of thousands openly stood together against a hate movement that wants Jews to disappear from public life.
Blaming Jews for world events is not a debate to win, but a danger to confront.
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This content is developed by The Focus Project in partnership with MERCAZ USA. The Focus Project distributes weekly news and talking points on timely issues concerning Israel and the Jewish people, including antisemitism, anti-Zionism and the delegitimization of Israel. It represents a consensus view across a spectrum of major American Jewish organizations. MERCAZ USA recognizes and respects the diversity of views on these issues among its readers and the community at large.
