--- title: Why Anti-Semitism Is Thriving in the Age of Donald Trump description: Jonathan Weissman discusses his book "(((Semitism))): Being Jewish in America in the Age of Trump" and how hate speech spreads today canonical: https://time.com/5225360/jonathan-weisman-anti-semitism-twitter-harassment/ author: Joey Lautrup article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-04-06T17:10:51.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-12T09:05:22.968Z article:section: Ideas og:title: Why Anti-Semitism Is Thriving in the Era of President Trump og:description: And how bigotry spreads from one group to another og:url: https://time.com/5225360/jonathan-weisman-anti-semitism-twitter-harassment/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt98e055f0aafb66f3/69892d0397cdff0c116b4e16/alt-right-donald-trump-nazi-anti-semitism.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2405 og:image:height: 1353 og:image:alt: alt-right-donald-trump-nazi-anti-semitism og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Why Anti-Semitism Is Thriving in the Era of President Trump twitter:description: And how bigotry spreads from one group to another twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt98e055f0aafb66f3/69892d0397cdff0c116b4e16/alt-right-donald-trump-nazi-anti-semitism.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 video:duration: 03:07 video:published: 2018-04-06 section: politics topics: anti-Semitism, online harassment, White Nationalist Movement, alt-right, bigotry, 2016 presidential campaign, white genocide conspiracy, coordinated attacks genre: personal essay, interview tones: somber, reflective, urgent, personal emotions: fear (medium), anger (medium), sadness (medium), solidarity (high) sentiment: negative audience: general news readers, Jewish Americans, people concerned about extremism, political observers people: Jonathan Weisman, Donald Trump organizations: New York Times, Google, Twitter products: Coincidence Indicator content_suitability: hate [00:52-02:27]; violence [01:07-01:19]; politics [00:16-03:07] transcript_source: publisher captions transcript_reviewed: not applicable ---  # Why Anti-Semitism Is Thriving in the Era of President Trump > Sponsored content. 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It explains how TIME's journalism is made, from the first pitch through the editorial decisions behind a finished story or cover. #### How can I read about how TIME chooses its covers? Inside TIME is the newsletter where TIME's Editor-in-Chief explains cover selection and the editorial reasoning behind major stories. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who is the editor of TIME? Sam Jacobs is TIME's Editor-in-Chief. He writes Inside TIME, a twice-weekly newsletter about the newsroom's reporting and editorial decisions. #### Is Inside TIME free? Yes. Inside TIME is a free newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-inside-2026q3/newsletters?i=49e1665e-1929-4050-b36b-022dd5fa8a06&cr=time-nl-inside-2026q3-v1) ## Video: American Anti-Semitism Lives on in the President Trump Era [Watch (HLS stream): American Anti-Semitism Lives on in the President Trump Era](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/t4jVyttu.m3u8) (3:07)  _Published 2018-04-06. Jonathan Weisman, an editor at the New York Times, thought America had largely moved past anti-semitism, confining it to a more prejudiced history. During the 2016 presidential campaign, he learned that he was very mistaken._ Description, summary, key points, chapters, key quotes, questions and transcript, where present, were produced automatically from the video or its captions and were not reviewed. ## Summary Jonathan Weisman, an editor at the New York Times, describes growing up Jewish in the South and believing anti-Semitism was a thing of the past. He recounts being targeted by a swarm of online attacks during the 2016 campaign after posting an op-ed on Twitter, including images depicting him in gas chambers. He argues that this hatred reflects a broader White Nationalist movement that targets many groups, and that bigotry against one group eventually threatens all. ## Key points - Weisman says he grew up in Atlanta and believed base anti-Semitism was a thing of the past. (00:00) - During the 2016 campaign, Weisman posted an op-ed on Twitter about how fascism comes to America. (00:16) - After the post, his name appeared in parentheses, which he later learned marked him for coordinated attacks. (00:32) - Weisman says the attackers used a tool called the Coincidence Indicator to locate the three parentheses for swarming attacks. (00:52) - The attacks included images of Weisman in gas chambers and kneeling to be executed by a Nazi. (01:07) - Weisman describes what he calls the White Nationalist Movement, which he says believes in a white genocide carried out by a Jewish puppet master. (01:43) - Weisman says hatred unleashed on Muslims, immigrants and Latinos is part of the same bigotry he experienced. (02:27) - Weisman concludes that when bigotry hits one group, it will hit every group. (02:53) ## Chapters - [00:00 to 00:16] Weisman's belief about anti-Semitism. Weisman recalls growing up Jewish in the South and thinking anti-Semitism had largely disappeared. - [00:16 to 00:52] Op-ed and the parentheses. Weisman describes posting an op-ed on Twitter and the strange parentheses that followed his name. - [00:52 to 01:43] Coordinated online attacks. Weisman explains the swarming attacks, including the Coincidence Indicator and the hateful images aimed at him. - [01:43 to 02:27] White nationalism and the puppet master myth. Weisman describes the White Nationalist Movement and the belief in a Jewish puppet master behind white genocide. - [02:27 to 03:07] Bigotry against all groups. Weisman argues that hatred against immigrants, Muslims and Latinos threatens every group, and calls for solidarity. ## Key quotes - [00:00] Jonathan Weisman: "I really kinda thought that this really base anti- Semitism was a thing of the past." - [00:52] Jonathan Weisman: "There were images of me in gas chambers." - [01:43] Jonathan Weisman: "In, what I call, the White Nationalist Movement, but they like to call the Altright." - [02:53] Jonathan Weisman: "we're all in this together, and I would like to see American Jews realize" - [02:53] Jonathan Weisman: "when bigotry hits one group, it's going to hit every group." ## Questions this video answers - What did Jonathan Weisman believe about anti-Semitism before 2016? [00:00] - What triggered the online attacks against Weisman? [00:16] - What kinds of images were used in the attacks against Weisman? [01:07] - What does the White Nationalist Movement believe about white genocide, according to Weisman? [01:43] - Why does Weisman say all groups should be concerned about bigotry? [02:53] ## Content suitability - hate [00:52-02:27]: Describes coordinated online harassment and antisemitic and white supremacist imagery, including depictions of gas chambers and execution. - violence [01:07-01:19]: Mentions images depicting an execution and gas chambers directed at the speaker. - politics [00:16-03:07]: Discusses the 2016 presidential campaign and extremist political movements.  by [Joey Lautrup](https://time.com/author/joey-lautrup/)  ## Joey Lautrup Apr 6, 2018 5:10 PM UTC Jonathan Weisman, an editor at the New York Times, thought America had largely moved past anti-semitism, confining it to a more prejudiced history. During the 2016 presidential campaign, he learned that he was very mistaken.  by [Joey Lautrup](https://time.com/author/joey-lautrup/)  ## Joey Lautrup Apr 6, 2018 5:10 PM UTC Jonathan Weisman, an editor at the New York _Times_, thought America had largely moved past [anti-semitism](http://time.com/4672402/donald-trump-anti-semitism-netanyahu/), confining it to a more [prejudiced history](http://time.com/5220830/france-anti-semitism-mireille-knoll/). During the 2016 presidential campaign, he learned that he was very mistaken. After he shared a popular op-ed titled [“How Fascism Comes to America”](https://www.washingtonpost.com/) on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/jonathanweisman/status/733100724884639744?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref%5Furl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tabletmag.com%2Fscroll%2F203210%2Ftrump-supporters-hurl-anti-semitic-twitter-attacks-against-new-york-times-editor&tfw%5Fsite=tabletmag), Weisman soon became a favorite subject of harassment, receiving a surge of bigoted and threatening messages directed at him. During that time, Jewish journalists received thousands of anti-Semitic messages on Twitter. Out of more than 800 journalists sought out, Weisman was the fifth-most targeted, according to a report from the [Anti-Defamation League’s Task Force on Harassment and Journalism](https://www.adl.org/sites/default/files/documents/assets/pdf/press-center/CR%5F4862%5FJournalism-Task-Force%5Fv2.pdf). Weisman uses his and others’ experiences dealing with such attacks to examine the rise of hate toward Jewish people in America in his latest book _\[tempo-ecommerce src=”_[_http://www.amazon.com/Semitism-Being-Jewish-America-Trump/dp/1250169933″_](http://www.amazon.com/Semitism-Being-Jewish-America-Trump/dp/1250169933″)_; title=”(((Semitism))): Being Jewish in America in the Age of Trump” context=”body”\]_. Watch TIME’s interview with him in the video above. ## Transcript [00:00] I honestly, I grew up in the south in Atlanta, Jewish. I [00:05] really kinda thought that this really base anti- Semitism [00:10] was a thing of the past. [ MUSIC ] [00:16] During the campaign of 2016, I was an editor [00:21] doing a lot of political work. And I had put out on [00:24] Twitter just an article that was op- ed and it was how [00:28] fascism comes to America. And I just took a quote, put [00:32] it out on Twitter, got a mention back saying Ho [00:36] Weissman and my name was just my name and had 3 [00:40] parenthesis around it, I didn't know what in the world [00:43] that meant and what it turned out having your name in [00:47] 3 parenthesis allowed this army [00:52] of alt- right, neo- nazis and white supremacists to go [00:55] after you because they actually had. Unbeknownst to [00:58] even Google, they had a piece of software called the [01:01] Coincidence Indicator that could actually search out [01:05] these three parentheses for like these swarming [01:07] attacks. There were images of me in [01:12] gas chambers. There was an image of me, Kneeling [01:15] down to be executed by a Nazi. Donald Trump [01:19] pressing the button on a gas chamber with me behind. [01:23] There were those famous gates of Auschwitz instead [01:28] of saying, Work makes you free, it said Machen [01:31] Amerika Great Again. After all of this, I really strongly. [01:34] They're looking into what is going on here. What is [01:38] happening in our society that the guard rails are off [01:41] and hate seems to be flourishing. In, what I call, the [01:43] White Nationalist Movement, but they like to call the [01:46] Altright. I don't think they know a lot of Jew, but they [01:50] have this sense of what they call white genocide. That [01:52] the white people of America are being Being [01:52] supplanted by African- Americans, by [01:53] Latino- Americans, by immigrants, Muslims. You [02:01] will not replace us! But [02:06] they think that all those people are inferior to them. [02:09] How could white genocide be pulled off by people who [02:14] are actually genetically inferior? Well, there must be [02:16] some kind of puppet master. And that's where they [02:19] latch onto the Jew. I think [02:27] what we see in killings of Muslims or they [02:31] the harassment, the hatred unleashed [02:36] on immigrants And Latinos. They're [02:40] coming for the [ UNKNOWN ], [02:45] and I just, I feel very strongly that, what, anti- Semitism [02:46] probably isn't the worst of the bigotry out there, but [02:50] we're all in this together, and I would like to see [02:53] American Jews realize Is that now [02:58] when bigotry hits one group, it's going to hit every [03:00] group. 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