The world is witnessing not a rise in antisemitism but the systematic, strategic failure of every mechanism designed to stop it.
This is no longer mere prejudice; It is a sophisticated form of terrorism, ideologically fueled by a global jihadist movement whose stated goal is the subjugation of the Judeo-Christian world. The data is no longer a warning—it is a screaming siren.
The legal frameworks of the West, built on noble ideals, have been weaponized against their own defenders. If this trajectory is not reversed within a decade, Europe will no longer be recognizable, and America’s social fabric will be irreparably shredded.
The numbers that define a crisis
In the United States, the scale is apocalyptic. Following the October 7 attacks, the Anti-Defamation League recorded over 10,000 antisemitic incidents in a single year—a 200% increase. This includes over 150 physical assaults.
In Europe, the reality is equally dire. The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights reports that Jewish communities have experienced an increase in antisemitic incidents of over 400% since October 2023. Eighty percent of European Jews feel antisemitism has grown in their country, and 76% occasionally hide their Jewish identity out of fear.
These are not statistics; they are the metrics of a retreat.
The unifying ideology: Jihadist antisemitism
This surge is not random. At its most virulent core lies a coherent, religiously fanatical ideology: Salafi jihadism. Scholarly analysis confirms that antisemitism is not a peripheral feature but the cornerstone of modern jihadist ideology. From Hamas to global terrorist networks, Jews are painted as the existential enemy, a cosmic foil whose defeat is a theological imperative. This ideology, exported from the Middle East and North Africa—where antisemitic attitudes consistently exceed 70% of the population—is now the primary driver of violence on European streets and a potent accelerant in American discourse.
The West’s fatal flaws: Law and borders
The West is uniquely vulnerable to this imported hate because of two self-inflicted wounds: its sacrosanct legal principles and its porous borders.
- The First Amendment loophole: The United States’ greatest strength—free speech—has become its Achilles’ heel in this fight. US law generally holds that hate speech, including antisemitism, is generally protected under the First Amendment. It is only illegal when it incites “imminent lawless action” or constitutes a “true threat.” This creates a vast legal sanctuary where jihadist rhetoric, cloaked in anti-Zionist or political language, can proliferate, radicalize, and intimidate with near impunity.
- The demographic blind spot: Europe is showing the consequences of unchecked immigration without integration. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has stated plainly that his country has “imported antisemitism with big numbers of migrants” over the past decade. When populations from regions where antisemitism is culturally endemic arrive without confronting those beliefs, the result is the transformation of European cities. The path is clear: Without urgent, rigorous immigration vetting and assimilation, Europe is on a 10-year countdown to mirror Lebanon—a once-vibrant society fractured by imported sectarian hatred.
The internal saboteurs: Replacement theology and its apostles
Yet, the threat is not solely external. A more insidious danger is corrupting the defensive alliance from within. Prominent voices like Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens have mainstreamed the "Great Replacement" conspiracy theory, a racist narrative that often frames Jews as orchestrators of demographic change.
By framing the struggle as one of "white genocide" or civilizational war, they perform a devastating sleight of hand: They redirect the legitimate fear of jihadist antisemitism into a divisive, nativist panic that alienates Jewish allies and fractures the essential Judeo-Christian front.
This distortion is perhaps a greater long-term threat than any jihadist movement. The jihadist offers a clear, external enemy. The replacement theorist, however, poisons the well of solidarity, turning potential allies against each other and blinding the West to the singular, organized nature of the ideological assault it faces.
The path to survival: Clarity, courage, and action
We must move from diagnosis to survival strategy. We commend the Trump administration for its foundational boldness: recognizing Jerusalem, brokering the Abraham Accords, and issuing an executive order requiring federal agencies to consider the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance working definition of antisemitism. This was a vital pivot toward moral clarity.
Now, we need bolder action:
- Legally, we must work to narrow the hate-speech loophole, ensuring that jihadist incitement and calls for violence against Jews meet the stringent but necessary criteria for prosecution.
- Politically, we must implement immigration policies that include rigorous ideological screening, recognizing that the fight against antisemitism is also a fight for the integrity of our borders.
- Culturally, we must unequivocally reject the poison of replacement theory and call for a unified Judeo-Christian stance focused on the real, external threat.
The hour is late. The choice is between the preservation of a world where Jewish life is possible and a descent into a new dark age. The data, the ideology, and the vectors of attack are all clear. All that remains is the will to act.
Bishop Dennis Nthumbi is the Africa director of the Israel Allies Foundation, president of the Golgotha Christian Foundation, and international bishop of the African American Clergy Leaders Association.