The Jewish holiday of Passover, which ended on Sunday, recounts the story of the Jewish people’s escape from slavery in Egypt. Recounting the exodus from Egypt is a call to rise against all the pharaohs, including the pharaoh who occupies the White House. His thin disguise as a crusader against antisemitism is a ruse for decimating free speech and higher education, by scapegoating pro-Palestinians and the country’s most respected universities.

How does freezing $2.2 billion in funding to Harvard and threatening to remove the university’s non-profit status help Harvard’s Jewish students? Does kidnapping and arresting Tufts University student, RümeysaÖztürk, with an intent to deport her without due process help combat antisemitism? Perhaps Donald Trump’s supposed war against antisemitism is a twisted effort to isolate and scapegoat Jews, resurrecting the trope that Jews control the government and our universities.

Tim Snyder describes Trump as “fomenting, not combating” antisemitism. His tactics come straight out of Project Esther, created by The Heritage Foundation, the authors of Project 2025. Purportedly written by evangelical Christians, Project Esther defines the enemy as the “Hamas Support Network,” which includes organizations like Jewish Voice for Peace. Project Esther, named after the Jewish heroine credited with exposing a plot to murder the Jews of ancient Persia, points a finger at the “virulently anti-Israel, anti-Zionist and anti-American “pro-Palestinian movement” supporting Hamas. Under the guise of protecting Jews, it sets the stage for increasing executive powers to reign in pro-Palestinian protests by canceling student visas, detaining and deporting students, all without due process, and punishing institutions of higher education deemed to not adequately protect Jewish students.

The Massachusetts Legislature, concerned by the uptick in antisemitic incidents in the state since the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attacks against Israel, created the Special Commission on Combating Antisemitism. The commission’s mandate for the commonwealth is to “Report on trends and data related to incidents of antisemitism … identify and evaluate … efforts to combat antisemitism in the commonwealth. Identify best practices … in other states … evaluate the commonwealth’s hate crime statutes … recommend strategies, programs and legislation to combat antisemitism in the commonwealth.”

Most concerning is the commission’s directive to: “Make recommendations for the implementation of the United States national strategy to counter antisemitism.” The first meeting of the commission was held on Oct. 29, 2024, before Trump invoked his own strategy. While I believe the commission was created with good intentions, commission meetings I have virtually attended have disproportionately focused on antisemitism in the aftermath of Oct. 7, without differentiating between anti-Zionist and antisemitic actions. Little attention has been given to the impact of the Trump administration’s weaponization of antisemitism to justify actions limiting freedom of speech and due process, actions that ultimately instill fear in both Jews and non-Jews.

The commission’s meetings have given much attention to the need for education about antisemtism, especially the Holocaust, yet teaching the Holocaust, without teaching students in age-appropriate ways about how antisemitism manifests itself today, as well how individuals can be upstanders, will not make Jews safer.

The commission’s 19 members include representatives from education, criminal justice, law, civil rights, and Jewish organizations. State Rep. Simon Cataldo and western Massachusetts Sen. John Velis co-chair the commission. The Jewish representatives comprise a group of mainly establishment, pro-Israel organizations. The large numbers of Massachusetts Jews, who do not support the war in Gaza and/or Israel’s occupation of the West Bank are not represented on the commission.

Antisemitism is a huge concern among Jews, but the commission’s acceptance of a definition of antisemitism that equates criticism of Israel and Zionism with antisemitism risks leaving Pro-Palestinian Jews unprotected. A commission focusing exclusively on antisemitism also isolates Jews from other victims of oppression. I searched to find Massachusetts legislative commissions targeting Islamophobia, homophobia, transphobia, and racism. They don’t exist. Instead, complaints regarding discrimination are handled by the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination.

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The commission on antisemitism emphasizes the IHRA definition that equates anti-Zionism with antisemitism, yet Jews engage in pro-Palestinian protests because our Jewish tradition teaches us to protect the stranger and to work for justice. Together for an Inclusive Massachusetts is a group of Jewish, Muslim, labor, education, civil rights and other organizations and individuals advocating for justice and equity in the commonwealth. 

TIM’s goal “is to work collectively to mobilize a broad public base to ensure that Massachusetts policy makers address antisemitism using an anti-racist, solidarity framework … and rejects partisan efforts to exclude Jewish people who are critical of Israel or to redefine antisemitism in a way that harms Palestinians.” TIM has pressed the commission for a definition of antisemitism differentiating antisemitism from criticism of Israel.

We are watching the Maga/Doge regime pick off people on our streets, in homes, and college campuses one by one, starting with detaining, then deporting undocumented people, disappearing hundreds to El Salvador, canceling student visas, abducting those with green cards, interrogating citizens at airports.

Trump’s call to move on to “homegrowns” suggests American citizens are next. If Trump follows the Hitler playbook, Jews will join his list of scapegoats slated for persecution. The commonwealth’s Commission on Combating Antisemitism must protect all Jews, regardless of their connections to Israel. Dismantling antisemitism means resisting the tactics of white and Christian supremacists to weaponize and isolate Jews from other targeted groups.

Sara Weinberger lives in Easthampton.