Israeli minister Chikli says antisemitism on the Right more concerning than the Left

Chikli: “When someone posts about Israel day and night, that’s not criticism — that’s obsession.”

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Israel’s Minister for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism, Amichai Chikli, warned this week that a surge of extremist rhetoric from the American right has become a growing source of concern for Jewish communities, surpassing the traditional threat from the far left.

Speaking to The New York Post, Chikli urged U.S. leaders to take the trend seriously before it escalates further.

“When I began this position three years ago, antisemitism from the right appeared marginal — small neo-Nazi circles, nothing more,” Chikli said.

“Now it’s a different reality. I’m more alarmed by antisemitism on the right than the left — and I say that as a conservative.”

Chikli attributed the rise to online figures who mix conspiracy theories with populist messaging and receive amplification through social media.

He cited conservative influencers associated with Tucker Carlson, whom he accused of giving Holocaust deniers and extremists mainstream exposure.

“When a broadcaster calls a Holocaust denier ‘one of the most honest historians,’ that’s not free speech — that’s legitimizing hate,” he said.

The minister said antisemitic content is now spreading rapidly among younger Americans, often through podcasts and online platforms rather than traditional education.

“For Generation Z, antisemitism has become trendy,” Chikli said. “Figures like Nick Fuentes and Darryl Cooper are treated as thinkers. These are neo-Nazis.”

He also questioned whether coordinated foreign efforts might be driving the surge in anti-Israel and antisemitic narratives across social media.

“We see identical messages appearing on hundreds of accounts simultaneously. It’s not spontaneous,” he said. “Someone is funding this, and that’s something for the FBI to investigate.”

Chikli cautioned that parts of the American isolationist movement have been “hijacked” by white supremacists and antisemites who disguise hate as foreign policy.

“We can cooperate with isolationists,” he said. “We can’t cooperate with neo-Nazis. When someone posts about Israel day and night, that’s not criticism — that’s obsession.”

The minister also warned that Islamist networks supported by Qatar and Turkey are influencing Western media, academia, and even politics.

“They’re working closely with the Muslim Brotherhood and gaining ground while Washington looks away,” he said.

Still, Chikli expressed confidence in Israel’s relationship with the United States, calling it “strong and based on shared values,” but urged vigilance.

“Antisemitism is rising again — only this time, it wears new clothes,” he said. “We know how these things begin, and we can’t allow history to repeat itself.”