On a balmy April evening at the University of South Florida in Tampa, hundreds of students snake through the student center, down the stairs, and out into the quad. Most are young men under 25, many in suits and ties, some wearing baseball caps emblazoned with “America First” — the calling card of the Groypers, followers of antisemitic Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes.
They’ve gathered to hear James Fishback, a longshot candidate for Florida governor who has built his campaign on a single, incendiary topic: Israel. Fishback’s relentless attacks on the Jewish state, laced with antisemitic dog whistles, have won him a devoted conservative following and national headlines. He’s tapping into a potent new vein in American politics: criticizing U.S. support for Israel while sprinkling in old-fashioned Jew-hatred.
Fishback is just one of a growing number of politicians and influencers on both the left and right who are using hostility toward Israel to boost their profiles. As the Gaza conflict rages and tensions with Iran escalate, antisemitic tropes, conspiracy theories, and in-jokes are becoming a currency for gaining followers. The Anti-Defamation League reports that 2025 was the third-highest year on record for antisemitic incidents in the U.S., a trend that has coincided with a surge in violence against Jews worldwide.
“We’ve never seen a moment like this,” says Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the ADL, in an interview for USA TODAY’s documentary series “Extremely Normal.” “Instead of progressing, we’re regressing in how society sees Jewish people.”
On the far-right, Fuentes, 27, leads the charge. After years of railing against Jews, he got a mainstream boost with a fawning interview from former Fox News star Tucker Carlson. His followers now openly question the Holocaust, praise Hitler, and perform Nazi salutes online. On the left, popular streamer Hasan Piker faces accusations of antisemitism for his charged language against Israel and his support for Hamas, a group whose charter calls for Israel’s destruction.
A June poll from Yale University found that younger voters are more likely to agree with statements like “Jews in the U.S. have too much power.” The consequences are deadly: Tel Aviv University’s annual study recorded 20 antisemitic killings in 2025 alone — the highest in over three decades. In New York City, police have logged more than 300 antisemitic attacks each year since 2022.
Defenders like Fishback and Piker insist they’re only criticizing the Israeli government, not Jews as a whole. Fishback, who once described school cafeteria food as “absolute goyslop” — a term popularized on 4Chan to imply Jews are poisoning non-Jews — says he’s just being funny. Piker, who has called orthodox Jews “inbred,” argues his insults are no different from calling a neo-Nazi the same thing.
Greenblatt isn’t buying it. The ADL has compiled a 10-page dossier on Piker and similar files on others. “We bring the receipts,” he says. For Jews worldwide, the message is clear: hate is no longer hiding in the shadows — it’s marching into the mainstream, click by click.
