Education alone won’t stop antisemitism - opinion

Across schools, workplaces, and public institutions, efforts throughout the Diaspora, particularly in the US and Canada, to address rising antisemitism are becoming more visible. Educational programs are being launched. Statements are being issued and curricula updated. These are well-meaning steps forward.

Yet something essential is still missing.

It spreads because of the psychological impact of misinformation. It offers certainty in chaotic times. It turns discomfort into blame. It gives people a sense of belonging by projecting pain and guilt.

Most programs today focus on the Holocaust, acts of violence, or hate crime laws. Politics and history are important but incomplete. They often present Jewish identity only through the lens of trauma. What is frequently left out is the richness of Jewish life, including its values, contributions, and core worldview.

A commitment to education becomes control of information. Reverence for tradition is reframed as a refusal to conform to assimilation. Jewish resilience and peoplehood are distorted into conspiracy or privilege.

If we fail to teach what Judaism is – what Jews believe, practice, and contribute – we create a vacuum.

That space is often filled with fear-based interpretations and recycled myths. This is where the manipulation of Jewish values and ideologies begins. It is where distortion takes hold and begins to feel emotionally true.

This is not only about what we teach but also how we teach it. The most effective learning does not happen in lectures or slide decks. It occurs in dialogue. It requires interactive workshops where people can reflect, ask questions, and grapple with discomfort in real time.

It also requires a facilitator who understands how emotions like shame, guilt, and defensiveness show up in these conversations, as well as someone who is nuanced in all aspects of Jewish life.

This is why mental health professionals should be part of this work. Not because antisemitism is a diagnosis, but because it works through psychological mechanisms. It spreads even in highly educated spaces because it speaks to unmet emotional needs.

Propaganda works by offering simple answers during times of uncertainty. When people are overwhelmed, they are more likely to accept narratives that relieve internal tension, even if those narratives target others.

That means not only naming the harm done to Jews but also honoring what Jewish communities have built, offered, and sustained.

Jewish identity is not only about survival. It is about meaning, ethics, creativity, and a long history of contribution to humanity. If we want people to understand antisemitism truly, we need to help them understand what is being attacked and why, as well as teach them skills to recognize manipulation – and most importantly, how this affects them.

This is not only about protecting Jews. It is about creating allies. We need to reach the non-Jewish population in ways that make them care, not just comply. That means developing formats that foster curiosity, connection, and emotional relevance.

Antisemitism education must stop preaching to the already aware and start drawing in those who have never been invited to understand. We cannot afford to stay on the surface. If we want a different future, we have to go deeper. We are already failing. The rise in antisemitism makes that clear.

It’s time to change the lens, not just the content. Organizations across North America must begin working together, pooling resources, expertise, and strategies to create unified and meaningful change. New solutions require new thinking.