Being Jewish with Jonah Platt

What happens when one of the world’s leading Holocaust scholars says today’s antisemitism feels frighteningly familiar?In this vital episode Holocaust historian and former U.S. Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism Deborah Lipstadt discusses the dangerous surge and normalization of antisemitism worldwide, citing the incidents in London and the October 8, 2023 Sydney Opera House rally. Lipstadt argues antisemitism now operates as a “horseshoe” uniting extremes at the far right and left. She uses the analogy of an upside-down pyramid  to illustrate the threat to Jews, democracy, and international security (including “utilitarian antisemitism” on PRC platforms). She compares today to the 1930s while noting key differences. She critiques university groupthink and campus failures at UCLA and Columbia to protect Jewish students. She describes her envoy work shifting from Abraham Accords, including global guidelines signed by 44 entities and a symposium with major tech platforms. She calls for unequivocal leadership, depoliticized action, education, and everyday speaking up. She emphasizes that there must be Jewish joy alongside fighting hate.Topics include:Lipstadt’s legal battle against Holocaust denier David Irving and the film adaptation starring Rachel Weisz. Lipstadt warns about rising antisemitic violence in London, including incidents in Golders Green and the Finchley Reform Synagogue. The episode examines antisemitic protests outside the Sydney Opera House following October 7, 2023. The discussion references the spread of antisemitic content on social media platforms including Google, Meta, Microsoft, TikTok, and X. Lipstadt describes international diplomacy surrounding the Abraham Accords and outreach to Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates. Lipstadt praises cooperation from officials in Austria, Germany, and France in combating antisemitism. The Paris Peace Forum and comments by former French Prime Minister Manuel Valls following the Charlie Hebdo shooting and the Hyper Cacher kosher supermarket siege. Lipstadt discusses online hate campaigns targeting Jewish institutions including the 92nd Street Y and AIPAC. The murder of Mahsa Amini in Iran and global protests over women’s rights. Lipstadt and Platt discuss authors and commentators including Dara Horn, Douglas Murray, Bret Stephens, Candace Owens, and Tucker Carlson. Lipstadt reflects on Jewish education through organizations like BBYO, USY, and institutions including Emory University and Brandeis University. Surprising Global Allies in France and AustriaMentioned in the episode:Deborah LipstadtBrandeis UniversityEmory UniversityThe Tam Institute for Jewish StudiesDenying the Holocaust: The Growing Assault on Truth and MemoryDenial (2016 film)Rachel Weisz InstagramPresident Joe BidenA Conversation With U.S. Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism Deborah LipstadtAntisemitism being 'normalized' and not taken seriously enough, chief rabbi tells BBCThird arrest over attempted arson at synagoguePolice investigate pro-Palestinian protest at Sydney Opera House over alleged anti-SemitismMarjorie Taylor Greene to resign from Congress amid clashes with Trump over Israel, EpsteinBinyamin (Bibi) Netanyahu - BiographyCode Pink Outs Itself as Anti-Jewish Hate GroupRothschild familyGunman Kills Three at Kansas City Jewish Community Center, Retirement HomeUCLA can’t allow protesters to block Jewish students from campus, judge rulesFinal Columbia University antisemitism report details disturbing examples of Jewish students being cruelly singled outMet Police apologizes for 'openly Jewish' commentParis Peace ForumManuel VallsCharlie Hebdo attack: Three days of terror‘Déjà Vu’: Remembering Hyper Cacher Five Years LaterOtto FrankReport of the Yale Committee on Trust in Higher EducationTel Aviv UniversityBBYOVenice Biennale previews in chaos, overshadowed by row over Israeli and Russian participationSara J. BloomfieldAbraham AccordsLeading Jewish Organizations Disturbed By Saudi Arabia’s Islamist TurnWahhabismFight against antisemitismKeir Starmer: ‘If you stand alongside people who say Globalize the Intifada, you are calling for terrorism against Jews’‘Globalize the Intifada’: Meaning, Origins, and Why The Slogan Is a Call for ViolenceEmory Together: Countering Antisemitism // DCCouncil of EuropeOrganization of American StatesOSCEWould-be Michigan car bomber rammed explosives-laden truck into Temple Israel preschool — before security guards shot him deadNCSYUSYA Break in the Argentina Murder Case Tied to IranIran: Mahsa Amini's father accuses authorities of a cover-up92nd Street YAIPACDebbie Wasserman SchultzDutch ministers decry Israeli ministry’s report on Amsterdam violenceTrump Is Right to Deport Hamas SupportersFiddler on the RoofGrace and FrankieJon OssoffThe Presidential Campaign That Changed American PoliticsShabbatPurimPassoverThe Metropolitan Museum of ArtWhat Is the Amidah?After Senate Confirmation Hearing, CAM Voices ‘Unqualified Support’ for Appointment of Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun as Next US Antisemitism Special EnvoySix-Day WarThe Western Wall: The Western Wall TunnelsMandelbaum GateHow Golda Meir Rose to Become the ‘Iron Lady’ of IsraelArab Terrorists Murder Israelis at Munich OlympicsNatan Sharansky, Co-Founder and Chairman of the Advisory BoardFear No EvilGal BeckermanWhen They Come for Us, We'll Be Gone: The Epic Struggle to Save Soviet JewryThe Adventures of Rabbi JacobSupport the podcast directly by becoming a member of the Kehillah.Watch Being Jewish on YouTube:www.youtube.com/@beingjewishpodcastSubscribe to the Being Jewish Newsletter:bit.ly/beingjewishnewsletterFor Sponsorships, please email:[email protected]://beingjewishpodcast.com/merchTo contact us & all things BJJP:www.BeingJewishPodcast.comFollow Jonah on:Instagram - @JonahPlattX - @JonahPlattFollow Being Jewish on:Instagram - @BeingJewishPodcastTikTok - @BeingJewishWritten and Hosted by Jonah Platt, Executive Producers: Steve Hein, Jonah Platt, Chief Business Officer: Kenyon Laing, Chief Marketing Officer: Katya Chen, Production Manager/Executive Assistant: Josie Rothschild, Research Associate: Samantha Greenwald,  Production Associate: Rachel Stern Production Interns: Sasha Nelson, Emma Webb,  YouTube Consultants: Jason Al-Samarrie & Zac Stein, Post Production by TIMEWEAVER, Creative Director: F. Brian Scofield, ACE, Lead Editor: Noam Klement, Editor: Gray Clevenger, Joe King. Graphic Designer: Noah Bell, Theme Music by Gabriel Mann, Performed by Jonah Platt

From viral firestorms to death threats, this man isn’t backing down from the Israel conversation.Jonah Platt sits down with conservative activist Xaviaer DuRousseau, who describes his rapid shift from a Bernie-supporting, BLM-boosting young liberal to a professional Republican who appears on Fox News, visits the White House, and publicly supports Israel, including traveling to Gaza during the war. Xaviaer recounts growing up in Chicago and Central Illinois with Marxist family influences, becoming an activist, then researching BLM finances and concluding the movement was fraudulent, which led him to vote for Trump and face family accusations of white supremacy. He argues Bernie-to-Trump is a seamless anti-establishment pipeline, rejects widespread student-loan forgiveness as a solution, and says crime drives businesses and jobs out of black neighborhoods. Xaviaer credits a 2023 Shabbat dinner at PragerU and multiple Israel trips with deepening his connection to Jewish life, describing backlash, antisemitism, death threats, and filming humanitarian aid in Gaza to counter starvation claims. He criticizes anti-Israel voices across the left and right, advocates a black/Jewish alliance based on shared history, and discusses resentment, Marxism, and cultural lessons between the communities.Xaviaer presents his “hot takes” on most modern-day racism being against white people and asians, how he would be talking shit all day if he were jewish, and how “hood” black folks love Trump.Plus, Jonah explains why epistemic antisemitism, despite its subtlety and widespread normalization, is so terribly destructive.Topics Include: Xaviaer DuRousseau’s viral trip to Gaza documenting humanitarian aid and response to misinformation and the backlash from European audiences and online threats following his Gaza video How a Netflix show called The Circle was the unexpected catalyst for DuRousseau's political awakeningHis criticism of influencers like Hasan Piker, Tucker Carlson, Candace Owens, and Nick FuentesHow PragerU’s CEO Marissa Streit in 2023 was DuRousseau's first real introduction to Jewish culture and traditionHis fallout with Candace Owens Experiences attending Passover Seder hosted by Montana TuckerThe historical alliance between Black Americans and Jewish Americans during the Civil Rights MovementCritique of Black Lives Matter (BLM) and discussions of Marxism in modern activism Exploration of Igbo Jews in Nigeria and Xaviaer’s possible ancestral ties to IsraelInfluence of activist Rudy Rochman in discussing Jewish identity and African connections Commentary on celebrities like Timothée Chalamet and Seth Rogen in relation to Jewish identityMentioned in the episode:Law Scholar Christine A. LittletonEpistemic Antisemitism: “Good People Gone Wild”David Schraub’s The Epistemic Center of AntisemitismJonah’s take on Cognitive BiasAJC Warns: Staggering FBI Hate Crimes Data Likely Represents Under-Reporting of Anti-Jewish Hate CrimesReport on the Rise of Antisemitic Incidents in the U.S.Man Pleads Guilty for Displaying Nazi Flay at Pro-Palestine RallyTwitch streamer commenting on what “real antisemitism” is. When Did Jews Become White?Van Jones’s Statement Supporting the People of IranIsraeli’s Voice Dissent of War in GazeReverse CausationBeing Jewish Podcast Featuring Bishop Michael J. FisherXaviaer DuRousseau InstagramRespectfully, Xaviaer | PragerUBernie SandersHe used to march for BLM. Now he’s calling for mass incarceration to save Black AmericansXaviaer’s Instagram Post on Visiting Gaza During the WarThe debate on Latino vs. Latinx vs. Hispanic is the song that never endsThe Circle: TV’s Trashiest Reality Show We Can’t Stop WatchingXaviaer DuRousseau: PragerU Personality, Commentator, and Content CreatorAP lands national scoop on a Black Lives Matter fraud investigationActBlueNew Report Reveals Illicit Foreign Donations and Mass Resignations at ActBluePresident Donald J. TrumpKamala D. Harris Here's How Bernie Sanders Explained Democratic SocialismPresident Barack ObamaJoseph R. Biden Jr.Xaviaer’s Appearance on Dr. PhilBlack Unemployment is Surging Under Donald TrumpCandace Owens Instagram5 of Kanye West’s Antisemitic Remarks, ExplainedBLEXIT, ‘Black Exit’ Foundation Now Powered By Turning Point USAQuotas are a diversity quick-fix, but companies must dig deeperRacism in the music industry 'is upfront and personal'K. Michelle Talks Double-Standard for Black Pop SingersFox News Gues Called Out for Shading Beyoncé’s Appearance at Harris Houston Rally Despite Past PraiseBeyoncé’s Cowboy Carter, explainedAre Emily and Greg More Employable Than Lakisha and Jamal? A Field Experiment on Labor Market DiscriminationMarissa StreitWhat to Expect at a Shabbat DinnerWas I Paid to Visit Israel?Myth: The Jewish people are white settler colonialists who have no connection to the land of IsraelWhat Is the Correct Term for Someone Who Is Not Jewish?Debra Lea InstagramYad Vashem – The World Holocaust Remembrance CenterHorseshoe Theory in American PoliticsWho is Nick Fuentes and Why Is His Antisemitism Dangerous for America?Tucker Carlson YouTubeCameron HickeyPalestinian Elections, 15 Years and CountingRepublicans are more likely than Democrats to see Israel as a US ally: AP-NORC pollHasan Piker has said that “America deserved 9/11” (yes, that is a direct quote).Alex JonesTucker Carlson’s Biggest Conspiracy Theory YetMontana Tucker BJJP EpisodeBlack Lives Matter Issues Statement Of Support For Free Palestine MovementRoy unveils immigration bill dubbed ‘MAMDANI Act’ Xaviaer Walk With Me Video on Chinese HeritageThe Igbo, DNA, Struggle for Jewish soulsRudy Rochman InstagramLiz Kennedy InstagramWe Were Never Lost DocumentaryXaviaer DuRousseau: The Black Christian Zionist, Former BLM Activist Fighting for Israel and the JewsThe Strokes frontman says ‘privileged’ Zionists talk ‘like Black people during slavery’We Have Our Eyes on Timothée ChalametEsDeeKid ft. Timothée Chalamet - 4 Raws Remix (Official Music Video)Israel’s Deni Avdija finishes 3rd in vote for NBA’s Most Improved PlayerSandy KoufaxHank AaronWhy We Care About How Seth Rogen Went From Jewish Day School to Saying ‘WTF’ to IsraelThe Jewish Fam Behind TimberlandSupport the podcast directly by becoming a member of the Kehillah.Watch Being Jewish on YouTube:www.youtube.com/@beingjewishpodcastSubscribe to the Being Jewish Newsletter:bit.ly/beingjewishnewsletterFor Sponsorships, please email:[email protected]://beingjewishpodcast.com/merchTo contact us & all things BJJP:www.BeingJewishPodcast.comFollow Jonah on:Instagram - @JonahPlattX - @JonahPlattFollow Being Jewish on:Instagram - @BeingJewishPodcastTikTok - @BeingJewishWritten and Hosted by Jonah Platt, Executive Producers: Steve Hein, Jonah Platt, Chief Business Officer: Kenyon Laing, Chief Marketing Officer: Katya Chen, Production Manager/Executive Assistant: Josie Rothschild, Research Associate: Samantha Greenwald,  Production Associate: Rachel Stern, Production Interns: Sasha Nelson, Emma Webb, YouTube Consultants: Jason Al-Samarrie & Zac Stein, Post Production by TIMEWEAVER, Creative Director: F. Brian Scofield, ACE, Lead Editor: Noam Klement, Editor: Gray Clevenger, Joe King. Graphic Designer: Noah Bell, Theme Music by Gabriel Mann, Performed by Jonah Platt