It is often said that to understand our future, we must examine our past. With that said, there is a potential pitfall in relying too heavily on the past, as it may lead people to false conclusions. The instinct to treat the past as a plug-and-play predictor of the future is strong, especially in moments of uncertainty.
However, our world – particularly in the United States of 2025 – is fundamentally different from the societies that produced the antisemitism of the past, and it is important to recognize the differences. Many Americans encounter diversity as an ordinary part of life. The overwhelming majority of citizens have been educated to accept differences in people.
One of the most significant distinctions lies in the makeup of American society. The United States today is a pluralistic nation, in the best sense of the word. Its population reflects a wide spectrum of ethnic, cultural, and religious identities that coexist in ways unprecedented in earlier eras.
While no society is free of hatred; the current demographic landscape of America stands in stark contrast to other homogeneous societies in which Jews historically lived in European (Christian) and Muslim countries. In these environments, Jewish communities were segregated culturally, economically, and demographically.
Jewish people are not uniquely “different” in a nation filled with people from every corner of the world. In the American melting pot, Jewish communities don’t stand alone or apart; they’re part of the national fabric.
Echo chambers
Certainly, America has bigots and also has echo chambers on social media that embolden people to become keyboard warriors. Still, that’s a far cry from systemic, government-backed, society-wide targeting of Jews. It is not where America is heading. Negative ideas gain traction not because most Americans harbor animosity toward Jews, but because misinformation spreads quickly when wrapped in moral language. Over the course of time, truth does win out over lies; it’s not a question of if, but when.
If you want proof of what America really looks like, visit a gym in Westchester County, NY, at 5:45 in the morning. Every day, a group of guys shows up at Life Time Fitness to play basketball. Black, white, Asian, Hispanic, Indian, Jewish, Muslim, Christian, and Hindu – all on the same court. They’re sweating, competing, and cracking jokes, and then head off in their separate ways. No one cares what ethnicity or religion anyone is.
It’s a tiny example, but it’s also a glimpse into the beauty of America. People connect over the things they share; in this case, it’s a shared camaraderie through sport. Scenes like this play out in gyms, offices, and recreational activities across the country every single day. These stories don’t make front-page news because there is nothing exciting about peace... nothing happened, but they define the real America far more than the loud fringe ever will.
That doesn’t mean Jewish Americans should be naive. Antisemitism today often hides behind new slogans – anti-Zionism, distorted moral equivalences, and online mobs that pretend complex issues are simple. Jewish communities should absolutely continue to advocate for their interests, stay alert, stay vocal, and stay organized. As the Jewish community faces its challenges, it should do so in a balanced manner and avoid fatalism.
America has institutions that protect minority groups and a culture that still values pluralism. In many ways, the United States leads the world in this regard and serves as an example that coexistence is not only possible, but is a source from which the US derives a lot of its strength. This leadership bodes well for all humanity.
Jewish Americans have many reasons to stay confident and reject the narrative that history is on an unstoppable downward slide. There are fundamental differences at play today that disqualify the plug-and-play comparisons to the past.
The writer is a co-founder of a nonprofit technology company called Emissary4all, an app to organize people to impact the narrative and move the needle on social media and beyond. He is a co-host of a podcast, Recalibration. You can reach him at dmr224@yahoo.com.