J Street president visits New Hampshire amid rising antisemitism | CloseUp

追加: 2026-05-24

[00:00:01]BACKSTAGE ON BROADWAY WITH THE GRANITE STATERS IN THE SPOTLIGHT MONDAY NIGHT.

[00:00:06]WELCOME BACK TO CLOSE UP, THE PRESIDENT AND FOUNDER OF J STREET, A PROGRESSIVE JEWISH ORGANIZATION, WAS IN NEW HAMPSHIRE THIS LAST WEEK.

[00:00:15]WE ASKED JEREMY BEN-AMI ABOUT THE RESURGENCE OF ANTI-SEMITISM IN AMERICA.

[00:00:18]HE SAYS IT’S OBVIOUSLY NOT A NEW PHENOMENON AND NOT ONE THAT IS EASILY DEALT WITH.

[00:00:24]BUT HE BELIEVES CURRENT INTERNATIONAL EVENTS BETWEEN ISRAEL GAZA AND ALSO THE CONFLICT IN IRAN ARE PLAYING A ROLE IN HELPING TO KEEP THAT KIND OF HATRED, FINDING A NEW FOOTHOLD WITH MORE AMERICANS.

[00:00:36]I THINK THE GAZA WAR IN THE LAST TWO AND A HALF YEARS OF TENSION BETWEEN ISRAEL AND PALESTINIANS AND ALL STARTING WITH OCTOBER 7TH, COMBINED NOW WITH THE IRAN WAR AND THE REAL SENSE OF UNEASE IN THE AMERICAN PUBLIC ABOUT HOW IT IS THAT WE GOT INTO THIS WAR AND WHY WE’RE FIGHTING IT IN THE FIRST PLACE.

[00:00:57]I DO THINK THAT THAT HAS RAISED THE LEVEL OF POLITICAL ANGER, BOTH ON THE RIGHT AND ON THE LEFT, ABOUT HOW WE GOT INTO THIS MESS AND WHAT IS HAPPENING BETWEEN ISRAEL AND ITS NEIGHBORS, PARTICULARLY THE PALESTINIANS AND GAZA.

[00:01:11]THE ILLUSION IS THAT THERE IS A SIMPLE ANSWER TO FIGHTING ANTI-SEMITISM, BUT IN REALITY, IT’S THE UNDERLYING PROBLEMS THAT LEAD TO IT THAT NEED TO BE SOLVED.

[00:01:23]SO IN THIS CASE, THE ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN CONFLICT, WHICH HAS BEEN FESTERING FOR 100 YEARS AND DOESN’T HAVE EASY ANSWERS ITSELF, BUT AS LONG AS THAT IS ONGOING AND THERE IS A PERCEPTION OF ISRAEL OPPRESSING ANOTHER PEOPLE, I THINK IT WILL CONTINUE TO ADD FUEL TO THE FIRE.

[00:01:41]J STREET, WHICH ADVOCATES FOR A