Antisemitism Education Must Be Rooted in Jewish Identity and Psychological Insight
Antisemitism is rising. That’s no longer a debate it’s a fact. But while more schools, institutions, and organizations are responding with educational programs, awareness events, and even formal certifications, a critical question remains: Are we teaching the full picture?
At first glance, these initiatives may seem like progress. But when we look closer, many of them fall into the same trap teaching antisemitism as a historical or political issue, while ignoring the deeper layers of Jewish identity, values, and lived experience. We wouldn’t dream of addressing racism without including Black voices or Asian hate without cultural nuance. So why is it still considered acceptable to teach about antisemitism without a psychologically attuned understanding of what it means to be Jewish?
As a trauma therapist who specializes in identity, indoctrination, and resilience, I can tell you this: you can’t fight hate with half-truths. And you certainly can’t address the trauma of antisemitism without understanding the soul of the people it targets.
Jewish Identity Is Not Just a Religion—It’s a Peoplehood
Jewishness is complex. It’s not just a religion or an ethnicity—it’s a peoplehood with a shared history, language, culture, and collective memory. Yet in many educational spaces, Jews are flattened into one-dimensional stereotypes: “privileged,” “white-passing,” “oppressors,” or “perpetual outsiders.” This erasure—intentional or not—fuels the very antisemitism these programs claim to address.
When curricula reduce antisemitism to a timeline of persecution or political conflict, they leave out the spiritual, emotional, and cultural dimensions of Jewish life. They ignore the values of chesed (kindness), tzedek (justice), and tikkun olam (repairing the world)—values that have sustained Jewish communities for centuries and are often weaponized or distorted in antisemitic tropes.
We Must Understand Why People Lean Into Antisemitism
It's not enough to say antisemitism is wrong. We have to ask why it spreads—and why, in times of social upheaval, people turn to Jews as scapegoats.
Hate offers certainty. It gives people something clear to blame for their pain. In today’s world of disinformation and identity confusion, antisemitism functions as a shortcut—offering people a false sense of moral clarity and group belonging. But these narratives don’t arise in a vacuum. They feed off psychological dynamics like projection, groupthink, and unresolved trauma. Unless we understand the pull of radicalization—and teach how to counter it—we’re not equipping people to resist it.
That’s why at Kesher Shalom, we emphasize psychological frameworks in our trainings. We explore how propaganda works, how identity destabilization opens people up to hate, and how to build resilience through education rooted in empathy and critical thinking. This is not optional—it’s essential.
Culturally Competent Doesn’t Mean Politically Sanitized
There’s a growing push in DEI and mental health spaces to include Jewish voices. But too often, these efforts are performative or sanitized, avoiding discussions about Zionism, erasing religious observance, or failing to name antisemitism when it appears. Jewish experiences are deemed “too complicated,” “too political,” or “too privileged” to fully engage.
This is not inclusion, it’s gaslighting.
True cultural competence means sitting with complexity. It means understanding that Jewish trauma includes ancestral memory, theological displacement, and persistent identity confusion in spaces that never quite know where to place us. It means recognizing that antisemitism doesn’t follow a linear script—it's paradoxical, shape-shifting, and designed to confuse both its targets and its bystanders.
The Cost of Incomplete Education
When we fail to provide a full picture of Jewish identity, we leave learners vulnerable to distorted narratives. We unintentionally reinforce the very tropes we claim to dismantle. And worse—we betray the trust of Jewish students, clients, and community members who are counting on us to create spaces of genuine safety.
We cannot fight antisemitism with bullet points alone. We need stories, context, and depth. We need to teach why it happens, not just what it is. We need to move beyond checkbox education and into courageous conversation.
A Call to Educators, Institutions, and Allies
If you're developing an antisemitism curriculum—ask yourself:
Have Jewish voices been part of its creation?
Does it reflect the diversity within the Jewish people?
Does it integrate psychological insight into how hate spreads and what stops it?
Does it include both historical and current examples of antisemitism—from the Holocaust to hashtag campaigns?
If not, it’s time to expand your lens.
And if you’re not sure where to begin, reach out. At Kesher Shalom Projects, we’re helping therapists, educators, organizations, and professionals build emotionally intelligent, culturally grounded education around Jewish identity, trauma, and antisemitism.
Because education isn’t just about information—it’s about transformation. And that starts with telling the full truth.