February 12, 2026—I’m getting sick and tired of right-wing politicos calling Jews antisemitic.

Jews have a wide variety of opinions and beliefs. And Jews sometimes call other Jews antisemitic. Nu? So what else is new? Netanyahu and his creeps can call me antisemitic. And I will call him double antisemitic. (And I would be right.)

But I draw the line at right-wing Christian pols doing the same.

So I was aghast over AG Pam Bondi’s exchange, yesterday, with Rep. Becca Balint of Vermont. (The anti-antisemitic, and most offensive part of this is near the end of this video.) If you watch this, you’ll see a frustrated member of Congress trying in vain to get an answer to a simple question: did the DOJ talk to the several cabinet officials mentioned in the Epstein files about their depth of involvement with Epstein’s activities?

After several refusals to answer, Bondi accused Rep. Balint of supporting antisemitism. Out of the blue. It was unrelated to the topic of discussion. Rep. Balint is the daughter of a holocaust survivor and her grandfather was murdered by the Nazis.

Now, I don’t have any problem with welcoming allies to the fight against antisemitism. But members of the Trump administration seem to have the whole thing backwards. They’re fairly unperturbed about the antisemitism of far-right commentators like Nick Fuentes, Tucker Carlson, or Candace Owens, but outraged at descendants of holocaust survivors who ask uncomfortable questions.

This is not allyship. As a Jew, I want no part of it. And I feel manipulated—as if mentioning the word “antisemitism” is supposed to shut me up.

And that’s why Bondi brought up antisemitism in an Epstein hearing. Rep. Balint voted against a proposal to redefine antisemitism in a way that would aid Bondi and her ilk in using the designation as a way to round up and persecute those who disagree with the Trump regime.

They are “weaponizing” antisemitism, and often using the weapon against Jews.

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Now, I have no illusions about antisemitism on the far left, though opposition to Israel and anti-Zionism is not automatically antisemitism. Even at the dawn of political Zionism, there were Jews who were uninterested in a return to Zion. In Yiddish, their movement embraced what was called Doikayt or “here-ness,” which asserted Jews’ right to live free wherever they reside. As noted above, Jews famously disagree.

And, sure, there are those on the left who authentically are antisemitic. But, for the most part, these folks are far away from power. The people who are currently dangerous are the right-wingers like Trump and Bondi who make a show of opposing antisemitism, but mostly as a way to extort cooperation or, at least, silence from Jews.

It makes me sick. And I won’t be silent.

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