Rep. Elise Stefanik has positioned herself as a champion in the fight against anti-Semitism since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7. Having made headlines last December when she asked college presidents whether calling for genocide against Jewish students violated their codes of conduct (an exchange kindly packaged for us by Stefanik’s office), the New York Republican has also been hailed as an ally by some liberal Jews.
Since then, she has questioned more college presidents and public school leaders about anti-Semitism. According to Politico, she “raised more than $7 million in the first quarter of this year, garnering endorsements from prominent Jewish Republicans for grilling college presidents about anti-Semitism on campuses.” Last month, she visited Israel to speak at a Knesset conference for Jewish and pro-Israel students at universities around the world, where she denounced U.S. President Joe Biden and praised former President Donald Trump, whose support for Israel was “historic,” she said. During the same visit, she also met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog. Her popularity in political circles has also risen, with Trump reportedly considering her as a running mate.
I’d love to write a detailed article on whether this is the culmination of a career dedicated to Jewish safety or a reflection of her deep concern for religious minorities in America. Unfortunately, I can’t, because Stefanik has consistently promoted and defended anti-Semitic rhetoric for many years. That is, while she presents herself as an advocate for anti-Semitism, in reality Stefanik is spreading anti-Semitism.
To be clear, I am not saying Stefanik is an anti-Semite. I don’t know or care what’s in her heart or mind. All I know is her words and actions that promote anti-Semitic conspiracy theories and smears. Presumably, she does so because she is a politician and it serves her political purposes.
Most egregious, I think, is her belief in rhetoric similar to the Great Replacement Theory, a white supremacist, anti-Semitic conspiracy that claims that a shadowy elite is bringing immigrants into the country to change its demographics. This change, the story goes, benefits the elites and the left in political ways. In 2017, this “theory” was behind neo-Nazis marching in Charlottesville, Virginia, chanting “Jews will not replace us.” In 2018, the shooter at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh reportedly chanted “all Jews die” before carrying out the worst attack on Jews in U.S. history, and posted a lengthy critique of HIAS, a Jewish nonprofit that resettles refugees, claiming that “HIAS likes to bring invaders who kill our people.”
So one would imagine that anyone concerned about anti-Semitism in the US would at least try to distance themselves as much as possible from this conspiracy theory. But in 2021, Stefanik “embedded this despicable tactic in a campaign ad,” local newspaper the Times Union said at the time, in which she claimed “radical Democrats” would grant amnesty to “illegal immigrants” to “create a permanent liberal majority.”
Stefanik’s language has been brought back into the spotlight after similar rhetoric was used by the shooter who killed 10 people in Buffalo, New York, in the spring of 2022. But that, apparently, was not enough to convince Stefanik that such language was harmful or that whatever political gain might come from it was not worth harming Jews and other minorities in this country. She has not abandoned it or apologized, and continues to use anti-Semitic political rhetoric.
For example, in April of this year, the same month that she grilled Columbia University President Nemat Shafik about anti-Semitism and the safety of Jewish students for whom she is said to be extremely concerned, Stefanik tweeted that “George Soros is trying to fund the downfall of America by buying elections for radical far-left politicians & corrupting the next generation to support terrorist groups,” suggesting that the Hungarian-born Jewish billionaire philanthropist is secretly trying to take control of American democracy.
Some will argue that it is not anti-Semitic to criticize Soros. And they are right! It is not anti-Semitic to criticize what Soros says or does. But what Stefanik presents in this tweet is not criticism, it is a conspiracy theory. She is grossly exaggerating what Soros says and does, and implying that one Jew is using his money and power to undermine the American state. A cartoon depicting a Jew puppeteering America with dollar signs would have been just as subtle.
Even more ironic is that on several occasions, Stefanick states: that’s all Stefanik has made Jews talk about anti-Semitism and erased actual Jews from conversations about Jewish safety (Stefanik is Catholic). For example, in March, after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, the highest-ranking Jewish elected official in the United States, called for re-elections in Israel, Stefanik issued a statement saying, “Israel is not only fighting for its own right to exist, it is fighting for the rights of Jews everywhere. Instead of interfering in Israel’s sovereign elections, Chuck Schumer should follow House Republicans and support our most valued ally in our darkest hours.” Clearly, “Jews everywhere” did not include “Chuck Schumer.”
Joining her in all this is Trump himself, who regularly denounces Jews who don’t vote for him (a group that by now includes most American Jews) and, along with other members of his campaign, promotes anti-Semitic conspiracy theories as well. Trump is also known for downplaying the white supremacist demonstrations in Charlottesville, for dining with white supremacist and Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes, and for hiring Steve Bannon, a key figure in bringing online white supremacist and neo-Nazi support to the Republican Party, as a senior White House adviser. Yet Stefanik was an early backer of Trump’s 2024 campaign and has become the former president’s “biggest ally.”
Her office did not respond to my request for comment.
Of course, Stefanik is not alone among her party members in using this rhetoric and pushing conspiracy theories while defending Israel. Still, it may be worth making clear that all the viral moments and Knesset sessions combined cannot erase what she has brought to American politics. Anti-Semitic conspiracy theories and smears — that shadowy forces are trying to change America’s demographics, that Jewish billionaires are financing the country’s downfall — undermine democracy, American institutions, and trust among Americans. But more than anything, they endanger Jewish people. Yet, despite ample evidence, Stefanik repeatedly repeats these smears.
Some might think that all of this undermines Stefanik’s credibility as a soldier in the fight against anti-Semitism. But the fight against anti-Semitism has clearly helped Stefanik raise funds; it’s helped her political profile; it may soon become her vice-presidential seat. It seems fair to ask her to now join the fight against anti-Semitism. Not siding with anti-Semitism in that fight would be a mistake. start.
