TAMPA, Fla. — Students lined up in their hundreds, walked across the mezzanine of the student center and down the stairs and out into the hot Florida spring of the quadrilateral. Many wear suits and ties. Most are men. Almost all of them are under 25 years old. Some of the baseball caps sporting the distinctive “America First” logo identify them as “groypers,” or supporters of anti-Semitic Holocaust-denying internet troll Nick Fuentes.
On a mild mid-April evening, a crowd gathers at the University of South Florida in Tampa to meet and hear from James Fishbach, a leading candidate for Florida governor who has made a name for himself by constantly talking about one nation: Israel.
Mr. Fishback’s constant attacks on Israel, including his use of anti-Semitic dog whistles, attracted legions of conservative fans and garnered national headlines and columns. He appears to have tapped a rich new vein in American politics. It criticizes the financial and political relationship between the United States and Israel, while also sprinkling it with old-fashioned anti-Semitism.
And Mr. Fishback is just one of many politicians and political influencers who harbor hostility toward Israel as a way to expand their influence and gain attention. Across the country, agitators on the left and the right are increasingly turning to anti-Semitic metaphors, conspiracy theories and inside jokes to win over new supporters.
This is happening against the backdrop of the ongoing conflict in Gaza and the unpopular war between the US, Israel and Iran. As a result, support for anti-Semitism by mainstream politicians and commentators has coincided with a surge in violence against Jews around the world and a rise in anti-Semitic sentiment on social media and other public forums.
Republican candidate James Fishbach defended using anti-Semitic term ‘xgoyslop’
Republican Florida gubernatorial candidate James Fishback says his use of the anti-Semitic term “goythrop” was meant to be funny.
The Anti-Defamation League, which monitors anti-Semitic hate speech and violence, found that 2025 was the third-highest year on record for anti-Semitic incidents in the United States since the ADL began tracking incidents.
“We’ve never seen a moment like this before,” ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt told USA TODAY in the latest episode of “Extremely Normal,” a documentary series that examines the mainstreaming of once-fringe beliefs and movements. “The way our society views Jews seems to be moving backwards rather than progressing, and that is wrong.”
left and right ammunition
As Israel’s military action in Gaza provokes a backlash from both conservatives and progressives, influential figures and politicians from both sides have swooped in.
In addition to Mr. Fishbach, other politicians have used criticism of Israel to advance their campaigns. Maureen Galindo, a sex therapist and unsuccessful candidate for the Texas House of Representatives, drew the ire of Democrats by promoting anti-Semitic tropes, but still received significant financial support and support from voters.
Influencers, who are hugely popular online, are also increasingly adopting anti-Semitic tropes such as Holocaust denial.
The person at the forefront of normalizing anti-Semitic hatred is Nick Fuentes, a 27-year-old provocateur who has spent years railing against Jews. Mr. Fuentes briefly rose to mainstream prominence last year, culminating in a flattering interview with former Republican kingmaker and broadcaster Tucker Carlson.
Following Fuentes’ lead, other far-right influencers have questioned the Holocaust, filming videos praising Adolf Hitler, giving Nazi salutes, and singing anti-Semitic songs.
On the left, popular streamer Hasan Piker has also been accused of anti-Semitism for using disparaging language against the Israeli government and Jewish soldiers and settlers, and for unabashedly supporting the terrorist organization Hamas, whose founding charter called for the destruction of Israel.
These words seem to be attracting attention. A poll conducted by Yale University in June found that young voters are most likely to agree with anti-Semitic sentiments such as “American Jews are too strong.”
This public embrace of anti-Semitism by the world’s most popular influencers is horrifying to Jews around the world who have watched anger against the Israeli government melt into a century of anti-Semitic hatred and boil over into aggression and violence.
An annual study by Tel Aviv University found that 20 people have died in anti-Semitic attacks in three countries, the highest number in more than 30 years. The report also noted that non-fatal anti-Semitic attacks remain at historically high levels across the United States. For example, the New York City Police Department has reported more than 300 anti-Semitic attacks in each of the past three years. In 2022, 59 similar incidents occurred.
“In 2025 alone, 20 Jews were murdered. All of them were related to what was happening in the Middle East and a kind of toxin that was openly anti-Zionism, used language about Palestine and Gaza, and thought it was normal to kill Jews. “Not Israeli IDF soldiers, and I hate to make this clear, but Jews who go to museums, walk in parks, light menorahs, and attend synagogue services,” Greenblatt said. “That’s not normal. It’s not normal. So I don’t want to say whether A or B is better or worse, but that’s the trend right now.”
It’s okay to criticize Israel. It’s wrong to scapegoat Jews.
Politicians and influencers on the right and left with an eye on Israel often defend their harsh words and actions by claiming that they are simply criticizing Israel’s current government, but not all Israelis, and certainly not all Jews.
For example, Fishback, whose speeches are peppered with disparaging remarks about Israel, told USA TODAY’s Extreme Normal that he opposes any religion-based hatred, including against Jews.
In a lengthy interview on “Extremely Normal” at USA TODAY’s New York headquarters, Piker similarly defended his words, arguing that while he has nothing against Jews as a whole, he should be allowed to criticize the Israeli government and military without being accused of anti-Semitism.
“I don’t think it’s that important anymore. I think anti-Semitism is no longer considered a big deal at all, at least in the eyes of many people,” Piker said. “I think this bigotry has exploded, and a big reason for that is that anti-Semitism has been cynically deployed and weaponized against any criticism of Israel, which has been accelerated over the last three years by institutions like the ADL.”
ADL slams streamer Hasan Piker over meaning of Zionism
Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, criticized commentator Hasan Pikar for his controversial definition of Zionism.
Young people made the same argument at the pro-Palestinian protests and at Mr. Fishbach’s Tampa speech.
“It feels like you’re not allowed to criticize them at all, and any criticism is immediately shut down as anti-Semitism,” said AJ Geraci, who was in line to meet Mr. Fishbach in Tampa. “There’s a big difference between criticizing Jews and openly hating Jews, and that’s anti-Semitism.”
Greenblatt and others said there is nothing wrong with criticizing the Israeli government’s actions and that doing so is healthy for democracy. But that’s not what the Pikers and Fishbacks of the world do, he said.
The ADL maintains about 10 pages of documents about Piker and similar documents about other influencers the group says are spreading anti-Semitic hatred.
“I’ll bring the receipt,” Greenblatt said.
For some unapologetic anti-Semites like Fuentes, there is ample evidence of blatant anti-Jewish hatred. For others, suspicions of anti-Semitism are more subtle.
For example, when Fischbach spoke to a group off campus last year, he described the food served in the school’s cafeteria as “an absolute goythrop.” “Goythrop” is an anti-Semitic term popularized on the message board 4Chan. This is used to suggest that Jews are imposing unhealthy and non-nutritious food (“slop”) on non-Jews (“goys”).
When asked about his use of the term, Fishback defended it, saying he thought it was harmless and funny.
“I’m going to do something interesting and punchy,” he said. “I wish we could spend less time talking about word choice.”
USA TODAY also asked Piker about his particular choice of words to describe Jews on the air. In addition to calling one listener a “bloodthirsty, violent pig-dog” (a term long associated with anti-Semitism), he frequently refers to Orthodox Jews as “inbred.”
“When I call a colonizer or something ‘inbred,’ it’s no different than calling a neo-Nazi inbred,” he said. “Is that nice? No, kind? Absolutely not. It’s vulgar, certainly I understand that. But I’m not saying all Jews are inbred or anything like that.”
