The Link between Right-Wing Anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, and Racism
“We are operating as human beings from one of two places: fear or love. And we get to choose which one that is.”
— Tony McAleer, former white nationalist, from Healing from Hate
Over the past couple of weeks, right-wing politicians and hardline pro-Israel activists have repeatedly, and falsely, conflated legitimate criticism of Israel’s violations of Palestinian human rights with anti-Semitism. These same hardline voices have been a lot less vocal about actual anti-Semitic hatred on the right – even as violence by neo-Nazis and other white-nationalist extremist groups continues to rise.
For a deep dive into the personal, political, and social forces that contribute to right-wing anti-Semitism – and a clear-eyed look at how hatred for Jews links up in the white-supremacist imagination with hatred for Arabs, Muslims, Black people, Asians, and Latinx people – don’t miss the award-winning documentary Healing from Hate: Battle for the Soul of a Nation.
Healing from Hate tells the deeply moving story of a remarkable group of former skinheads and neo-Nazis who are working on the front lines to deradicalize violent extremists and help them lead compassionate lives that aren’t governed by fear. You can watch it now through your university on the Kanopy streaming platform, purchase a streaming rental, or get it on DVD. Click here to see if your university subscribes to Kanopy, and contact us if you’d like to host a virtual public screening.
If you’re interested in exploring how right-wing pro-Israel groups have falsely weaponized the charge of anti-Semitism to silence pro-Palestinian voices – including Jewish critics of Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian land – we also urge you to check out our acclaimed film The Occupation of the American Mind. You can watch it free here online.
Praise for Healing From Hate
“A hopeful expression of how hate does not need to be the end of the road.”
— CBS News
“Makes visible both the urgency of the threat of domestic extremists and the healing power of empathy to overcome the disease of hatred.”
— Beverly Tatum | Author, Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?
“If I had only one film to show my students to make sense of the Capitol riot, this would be it.”
— Sut Jhally | MEF Executive Director, Professor Emeritus at UMass-Amherst
“A no-holds-barred, raw masterpiece defining the causes and solutions for America’s ugliest disease: racism.”
— Daryl Davis | Author, Klan-destine Relationships: A Black Man’s Odyssey in the Ku Klux Klan
“Promises to spark the type of collective soul searching our nation desperately needs in these divisive times.”
— Adam Hodges | Author, When Words Trump Politics: Resisting a Hostile Regime of Language
“Goes beyond a shallow understanding of white supremacists as ‘bad’ people to explore the circumstances that draw them into these ideologies. A very useful teaching resource.”
— Dr. Raka Shome | Professor of Communication, Villanova University
