A Torah scroll. Photo: RabbiSacks.org.

It’s getting harder and harder to keep up with the conspiracy mill. Just when you think you’ve heard the wildest possible accusation against Israel and the Jews, some online influencer manages to take it a step further. 

This past week, in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s tragic killing, the internet rumor machine decided to pin the blame on Israel. The theory goes like this: Kirk had supposedly shifted his stance on Israel, and for that crime, the Mossad took him out.

It sounds insane — because it is insane. Tyler Robinson, Kirk’s murderer, has already been caught, turned in by his own law-abiding and horrified family. His confession, shared in real time with friends over messaging apps, has been made public. 

The motive couldn’t be clearer: Robinson, who came from a right-leaning family, had been radicalized to the far left through a relationship with a transitioning roommate. The murder wasn’t about Israel at all — it was about Charlie Kirk’s opposition to trans individuals.

But what’s truly disturbing isn’t the lunacy of the “Israel-killed-Charlie-Kirk” theory itself — it’s how quickly it spread, and how confidently it’s being repeated. Within hours of his death, the “story” was bouncing around online forums and social media feeds as if it were an established fact. 

Candace Owens, Tucker Carlson, Marjorie Taylor Green, Alex Jones, and now even Roger Stone — people who have no business being rabid antisemites, but somehow are — have all endorsed or amplified the accusation, lashing out at anyone who dares express doubt. It’s trash agitprop, taken to a whole new level.

And Charlie Kirk’s assassination isn’t the only story feeding the American far-right’s anti-Israel, antisemitic mill. More and more, leading voices on the far right have found it convenient to cast Israel as the villain in their fever dreams. 

The “America First” wing of the MAGA coalition — once dismissed as fringe — is now loud, aggressive, and frighteningly influential. Millions of followers hang on their every word and are being conditioned to believe that Israel — which is to say, Jews — is the root of every American problem. It’s utterly bizarre.

What makes it even more bizarre is that Donald Trump — the political figure who mainstreamed this coalition — has been the most supportive president Israel has ever had. The embassy move to Jerusalem, the recognition of the Golan, the Abraham Accords — all happened under Trump in his first term. 

And since returning to office in January, his administration has consistently given Israel the backing it needs, militarily and diplomatically, not least in the many international forums where Israel is relentlessly vilified. 

Yet within the very movement that cheered him to victory, a dark current of raw Jew-hatred has been steadily gaining ground. It’s a toxic fusion of old-fashioned antisemitism with new-age conspiracy culture — a phenomenon that is as irrational as it is dangerous, and one that is now creeping into the mainstream.

And these conspiracies aren’t confined to the latest headlines. Last year, a twelve-hour so-called “documentary” titled Europa: The Last Battle went viral in far-right circles. It is, quite literally, a pro-Nazi propaganda reel, recycling every antisemitic trope imaginable — from “Jews control communism” to “Jews control capitalism” — and repackaging them as hidden truths that “they” don’t want you to know. 

Today, clips from this monstrosity circulate on TikTok and X, and on chat groups, as bite-sized “red pills” for a new generation of extremists who’ve never so much as opened a history book but are utterly convinced that Jews are behind everything sinister and evil in the world.

This is where the so-called “horseshoe effect” becomes painfully apparent. On paper, the far right, the far left, and Islamist extremists should have nothing in common. They clash over economics, religion, culture, and even the very definition of freedom. Yet somehow, they all land in the same place when it comes to Israel and the Jews. 

The far-right calls Jews globalist puppet-masters, the far-left brands Israel a colonial oppressor, and Islamists call for jihad until the Jewish state is wiped off the map. The rhetoric may differ, and the justifications may vary — but the target is always the same. Antisemitism and Israel-bashing are the one point of agreement uniting factions that otherwise despise each other.

Meanwhile, the space for sane politics keeps shrinking. Lucid, thoughtful voices — people who want to talk about policy, strategy, or actual facts (yes, facts, not conspiratorial fantasy) — are drowned out by the noise of inflammatory agitators. It’s no longer reasoned debate, it’s a shouting match where the loudest lie wins. And the only message that cuts across the political spectrum is that Jews are guilty.

It’s frightening to see conspiracy theories, old and new, gain traction so quickly, and to realize that for many, these fantasies have become “truth.” The reach and speed of digital antisemitism is unlike anything we’ve ever faced before. 

And yet, the irony is that none of this is new. Antisemitism has always been obsessive, irrational, and cyclical. Each wave dresses itself up as “modern” — Jews are the antichrist, the infidel rejectors of Mohammed, anarchists, communists, capitalists, Zionists, globalists — but in the end, it’s the same old prejudice reheated for a new generation.

And paradoxically, as devastating as this hatred is, it almost always has a counterintuitive effect — it sharpens Jewish identity. History shows, time and again, that persecution pushes Jews to remember who they are, their covenant, and why their heritage matters. 

We see it even now: since October 7th, Jewish immigration to Israel has risen, and real estate prices in Israel remain buoyant as more and more diaspora Jews purchase homes in the Promised Land. The very pressure meant to break us instead reminds us of where we belong.

This is precisely the message embedded in Parshat Nitzavim (Deut. 30:1-3): “And it shall be, when all these curses come upon you… then God will restore your fortunes and take you back in love. He will bring you together again from among all the peoples where your God has scattered you.” 

The medieval commentator Ramban, himself no stranger to the irrational hatred of Jews, famously explains that this is not a conditional promise, but a prophecy of how Jewish history will unfold. There will be exile and persecution, which will involve suffering and arbitrary harassment. But that will inevitably be followed by return — first to God, and then to the Land. 

The pattern is clear: first, suffering → then, realization → then, return → and finally: redemption.

Seen through this lens, the curses of hatred and persecution, as absurd and cruel as they are, paradoxically serve as reminders of Jewish identity and destiny. 

Antisemites, whether on the right or the left, think they are undermining the Jews. They might even believe that they have the wind in their sails, and that the destruction of Israel and elimination of Jews is within reach — but in reality, they are unwittingly fulfilling the covenant, driving Jews back to their roots, to their people, and to their land.

And that is the great irony of our moment. The digital swamps may churn out new lies every day, and millions may swallow them whole, convinced that Jews lurk behind every evil. But their obsession only proves the point recorded in the Torah. Our covenant endures, the pattern repeats, and the Jewish people remain. 

Every wave of hatred that imagines it will finish us off instead becomes the backdrop for renewal — of faith, of peoplehood, and of attachment to our land. That is why Israel stands, why Jewish life flourishes, and why, no matter how loud the agitators shout, redemption is always on the horizon.

The author is a rabbi in Beverly Hills, California. 

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas holds a leadership meeting in Ramallah, in the West Bank, April 23, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mohammed Torokman

On Wednesday, the Palestinian Authority (PA) announced a new system of payments, which was supposed to be based on welfare needs and not as a reward to terrorists:

The Palestinian National Economic Empowerment Institution (PNEEI) announces the payment of financial allowances within the Social Protection and Care Program, starting from Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025, through authorized payment centers.

However, Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) has confirmed that payments were made via the PA post offices, as in the past, indicating that the post offices are the aforementioned “authorized payment centers.”

The PA’s post office ATMs are exclusively for paying terror salaries and allowances, as stated in an official announcement last year by the PLO:

Our people, families of the Martyrs and injured in the West Bank … on the subject of the payment of allowances for the families of Martyrs and injured … We call on the recipients of the funds to withdraw the large amounts that have accumulated for them at the post office, including the current allowance …

As we have emphasized before, the post office is not a regular bank like other banks and cannot hold funds, but is only a means of transferring allowances, and the funds cannot be held for a long period in the accounts of the recipients …

We wish mercy for the souls of the martyrs, recovery for the wounded, and freedom for the prisoners. [emphasis added]

[PLO Martyrs’ Families and Injured Care Establishment, Feb, 2024]

The PNEEI announcement above, stating that payments were made “through authorized payment centers,” was possibly its attempt to hide that the payments were made through the post offices, which are exclusively used for paying terrorists.

PMW has confirmed that families of prisoners and “Martyrs” have received payments through post offices as in the past.

Earlier this week, an online news site reported that it had received information from the Palestinian Authority indicating that the PA had stopped rewarding imprisoned terrorists and terrorist Martyrs’ families as in the past, but had moved them to a new welfare-based system, according to The Times of Israel.

The article also claimed that the “Welfare payments, which are now distributed by the extra-governmental PNEEI, have not yet been issued.” These payments, according to the article, would have been the payments to imprisoned terrorists and “Martyrs’” families.

However, the claim that PNEEI payments were not made this month openly contradicts PNEEI’s own announcement on its website that payments were made on Thursday. As stated, PMW has confirmed terror payments were made last Thursday at the post offices.

There were additional inaccuracies as well in the article, including a prominent mistake, defining PNEEI as “extra-governmental.”

Below are pictures and bios of all the PNEEI board members as they appear on its website. As can be seen, 10 of the 11 board members are employed in senior PA government positions, including one minister and six undersecretaries. Only one is an academic. Moreover, PNEEI answers to Mahmoud Abbas.​

With senior government officers as board members, the article’s defining PNEEI as “extra-governmental” is another clear example of publishing PA claims without doing the minimal investigation to verify them.

Especially on a politically sensitive topic, such as the PA’s terror rewards, one would expect more careful journalism before publishing the PA’s claim to have reformed.

The author is the Founder and Director of Palestinian Media Watch, where a version of this article first appeared.

Hannah Einbinder accepting her Emmy award and denouncing Israel. Photo: screenshot.

At this year’s Emmy Awards, actress Hannah Einbinder ended her remarks with the chant of the season: “Free Palestine.” Then, in a follow-up interview, she added: “As a Jew, I feel I need to separate Jews from the State of Israel.” 

The line was neither original nor courageous. It was predictable — almost compulsory. In today’s “progressive” Hollywood and academic culture, denouncing Israel has become the price of admission. The applause is automatic. The acceptance guaranteed. And the irony is staggering: in the name of “peace,” a Jew is expected to separate themselves from Jewish freedom and sovereignty.

This moment is revealing. For much of the activist left, and parts of the conspiratorial right, “pro-peace” no longer means anti-war. It does not mean demanding Hamas release hostages, Hezbollah dismantle its missile arsenals, or Iran stop exporting terror across the Middle East. It does not mean compromise, coexistence, or recognition. “Pro-peace” has been hollowed out into a single, shallow position: being anti-Israel.

Selective Outrage

The first irony is the selective outrage. No one at the Emmys shouted “Free Tibet,” “Free Uyghurs,” or “Free Western Sahara.” No actor declared, “As a Muslim, I feel I need to separate Muslims from the regime in Iran.” Only Jews are asked, expected, and rewarded for separating themselves from their people’s homeland.

Even more telling is the near-total silence about wars with far higher death tolls — often fought with US weapons and by US allies. Wars in Yemen, Sudan, Myanmar, or even Afghanistan draw only passing notice. Israel alone animates the passions of celebrities, academics, and activists. That obsession reveals less about Israel than about the standards and expectations uniquely placed on Jews.

The Burden on Jews

Einbinder’s statement was not a private musing, but a public performance of loyalty to her cultural milieu. In the arts and academia, Jewish voices increasingly feel pressured to add disclaimers: I am Jewish, but I reject Israel. It is the modern equivalent of conversion — not to Christianity, as in Spain during the Inquisition, but to anti-Zionism, which has become the entry-fee to polite progressive company.

This is not solidarity with Palestinians. It is self-disarmament. It is a way of saying: “I denounce my people’s national project; therefore, I should be safe among you.”

A Hollow Definition of “Peace”

This ritual underscores how “peace” has been redefined. If peace were the real goal, activists would call on Hamas to stop using civilians as human shields, or on Palestinian leaders to stop rejecting every peace proposal since 1947. They would demand an end to the indoctrination that teaches Palestinian children that Jews have no right to exist in any part of the historical land of Israel, or that Jews are a unique evil in the world. Both the Palestinian Authority and Hamas promote these deeply antisemitic themes (and many others) in their “educational programs.”

Instead, slogans like “Free Palestine” are unmoored from reality. They are not calls for compromise or coexistence. They are applause lines, serving one purpose: to demonize Israel’s very existence.

The Echo of History

This is not new. For centuries, Jews were told that belonging required abandoning their peoplehood. In Spain and Portugal, it meant baptism. In Enlightenment Europe, assimilation. In Soviet Russia, it meant the abandonment of religion and Zionism. In today’s Hollywood, campus, and art worlds, it means denouncing Israel.

That this demand now comes from self-styled progressives is a bitter irony. The rhetoric of liberation has become a mechanism of exclusion. Once again, Jews are told their safety and acceptability require severing themselves from their people and homeland. 

What It Means for Israelis

For Israeli Jews, this cultural pressure is not just insulting, it is — first and foremost — irrelevant. Almost all Israelis understand that their enemies — Hamas, Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad, Iran — are not negotiating partners, but movements explicitly committed to Jewish eradication. Israelis understand, in their bones, that no amount of celebrity posturing will soften that intent.

And so Israelis will not accede to the demands of Western elites who find Jewish sovereignty distasteful. They will not return to the role of perpetual victim simply because it is easier for Hannah Einbinder and her peers to mourn powerless Jews than to confront the reality of Jews defending themselves. Israelis will always endure global disapproval before they accept extinction.

Reclaiming Peace

This leaves us with a challenge. If “pro-peace” is to mean anything, it must be reclaimed. It must mean rejecting ideologies of annihilation, not accommodating them. It must mean supporting coexistence, not rewarding rejectionism. It must mean defending Jewish self-determination as legitimate, while also insisting on dignity and hope for Palestinians.

That is hard work. It is not fashionable. It cannot be captured in a faddish red-carpet slogan. But it is the only way that peace will ever move from mindless chant to reality.

Einbinder’s comment was not simply about her personal politics. It reflected a culture that demands Jews disavow their nation and their peoplehood to be accepted, which are just old patterns of exclusion dressed in new language.

Israelis, meanwhile, live with the reality that their enemies want them dead. They will not die for the comfort of privileged actors in Hollywood. They will not trade sovereignty for applause. They will defend their families, freedoms, and democracy — even if that means being maligned abroad.

True peace will never come from silencing Jews or separating them from Israel. It will come only when the world stops demanding Israelis disavow their survival, and starts demanding that those who have sought their destruction for nearly a century abandon their war. Israelis are here to stay — no matter how much more comfortable our departure from existence would make the Hannah Einbinders of the world.

Micha Danzig is a current attorney, former IDF soldier & NYPD police officer. He currently writes for numerous publications on matters related to Israel, antisemitism & Jewish identity & is the immediate past President of StandWithUs in San Diego and a national board member of Herut.