A new international study led by researchers at Reichman University suggests that perceiving Jews as a “powerful” group fuels antisemitism on both the political right and the left.
According to the researchers, contemporary antisemitism no longer remains confined to the margins of the far right. It is also present in liberal and progressive spaces, including on university campuses, in cultural arenas and in public discourse. The trend, they say, has intensified since the October 7 terror attack carried out by Hamas terrorists.
Dr. Brit Hadar of the Baruch Ivcher School of Psychology at Reichman University, who led the study, said the key factor is the perception of Jews as strong or influential.
“We saw that almost all antisemitic perceptions are built on the idea of Jews as powerful,” she said. “So we examined how that perception, of Jews as strong, affects the sense of threat from both ends of the political spectrum.”
To explain the phenomenon, the researchers propose what they call the “dual threat model.” According to the model, the same image of Jewish power activates different types of perceived threat depending on a person’s ideological orientation.
On the political right, the perception translates into a threat to group dominance and hierarchy, framed as Jews “taking over” or controlling resources. On the political left, the threat is directed at values of equality and fairness, with Jews seen as symbols of power and privilege that undermine egalitarian ideals. In both cases, the researchers argue, it is the sense of threat that drives hostility.
Hadar described the dynamic as paradoxical. “The left is generally expected to defend the weak or condemn inhuman acts,” she said. “Yet when it comes to Jews, we see antisemitism appearing in places that we would expect to hold liberal values.”
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Pro-Palestinians step on Israeli flag in New York on October 7, 2025
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Pro-Palestinian protest in Athens
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The study was conducted by Hadar alongside Dr. Nir Halevy of Stanford University, Dr. Taya Cohen of Carnegie Mellon University, Prof. Evan Apfelbaum of Boston University and Lauren Chan of Stanford University.
The researchers conclude that efforts to combat antisemitism that focus solely on debunking stereotypes and conspiracy theories may miss the core issue. Because antisemitism rests on different perceived threats for different audiences, they argue, effective responses must also address the underlying threat mechanism and tailor messaging accordingly.
If past initiatives have focused primarily on either the right or the left, or concentrated on correcting misinformation without addressing the emotional and identity-based components of threat, the study suggests this may help explain their limited impact.
“Effective confrontation with antisemitism cannot rely on factual debate alone,” Hadar said. “For many, this is an identity-laden and morally charged issue.”
She added that messaging should be adapted to the audience. When engaging someone on the right who supports hierarchical structures, she said, it is important to emphasize that Jews are not a single, uniform or organized entity, but a diverse group of individuals with varied views and backgrounds, reducing the perception of a competing collective threat.
When engaging someone on the left, she said, it is important to avoid framing Jews as a symbol of privilege and instead highlight the diversity within Jewish communities in terms of class, origin and political identity, in order to reduce sweeping generalizations.
First published: 07:43, 02.24.26