Jewish members of Congress and political candidates are facing an unprecedented barrage of direct and violent antisemitic threats that have drastically altered their day-to-day lives and personal security.
Lawmakers from both parties say that the traditional era of veiled dog whistles has been replaced by a shocking level of hate speech delivered through official office lines, social media platforms, and direct mail.
Lawmakers have shared graphic communications, Axios revealed. Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) reportedly received a letter praising Adolf Hitler alongside a drawing depicting him being shot in the head. Rep. Greg Landsman (D-OH) said callers told his office that he “should just go die,” while Rep. Max Miller (R-OH) received voicemails warning that “a real holocaust will take effect” and threatening that Jewish lawmakers would be “shot dead every f*cking day.”
The growing concern was punctuated by the recent arrest of John Kevin Lipinski near the home of Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL). Authorities discovered an arsenal of weapons, tactical gear, and 3,000 rounds of ammunition, along with a hit list targeting Moskowitz, Jewish cemeteries, synagogues, and “bar mitzvah halls.”
In response to the threat, Moskowitz now requires private security, metal detectors at indoor events, and police stationed outside his family home.
Political figures across the spectrum warn that extreme rhetoric has broken into mainstream American politics, emanating from factions on both the far-right and the far-left.
“Both ends of our parties are wackadoos who hate Jews,” Rep. Miller observed, while California state Sen. Scott Wiener (D), a hard-Left congressional candidate, acknowledged that “horrific” and “very violent” rhetoric has deeply infiltrated corners of the Left.
On the Right, traditional conservative figures have faced criticism for failing to aggressively police antisemitism within their ranks. A political action committee supporting Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) drew intense condemnation after running an ad featuring a Jewish donor alongside a rainbow Star of David—an incident Rep. Seth Magaziner (D-RI) labeled “the most brazen example of an antisemitic political ad that I have seen in years.”
Massie declined to denounce the ad, instead characterizing his race as a “referendum… on whether the Israeli lobby can buy a seat in Kentucky.”
Additional incidents have heightened tensions on Capitol Hill. William Paul, the son of Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), engaged in an antisemitic tirade against Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) at a Washington bar, blaming “you Jews” for political opposition to Massie and calling them “anti-American.” Meanwhile, Tucker Carlson has been normalizing conspiratorial anti-Zionist narratives that echo historical antisemitic tropes regarding hidden global manipulation.
On the Left, anti-Israel rhetoric has frequently crossed into overt prejudice, occasionally protected by party establishment figures prioritizing electoral coalitions. In Texas, Democratic congressional primary frontrunner Maureen Galindo was exposed for posting rants about “Jews who own Hollywood” and the “synagogue of Satan.” Galindo openly campaigned on plans to introduce legislation to try any American official who has accepted Israeli funding for treason.
Furthermore, mainstream Democratic leadership has faced backlash for embracing controversial figures. In Maine, the party establishment has rallied behind Senate candidate Graham Platner, despite disclosures regarding his Nazi tattoo and a history of antisemitic commentary. While Halie Soifer of the Jewish Democratic Council of America expressed “deep concern” over Platner, other prominent party strategists insisted the party would remain firmly on the “Platner train.” Prominent progressives, including California Democrat Rep. Ro Khanna, have similarly faced criticism for publicly defending and boosting controversial left-wing commentators accused of popularizing dangerous rhetoric.
Ultimately, moderate lawmakers warn that the failure of both party establishments to forcefully excoriate their own internal extremists has allowed naked Jew-hatred to move from the fringes of American political life directly into the mainstream.
