Israeli Expatriates' Perceptions and Experiences of Antisemitism Post-October 7th

Background and Purpose

The October 7, 2023, Hamas attack marked a seismic rupture in Israeli society and sent shockwaves through global Jewish and Israeli communities, including Israeli expatriates (IEs) in the United States. As members of a diaspora navigating complex cultural, political, and identity dynamics, IEs grappled with heightened visibility, vulnerability, and conflicting expectations in the wake of the war. While recognizing the profound pain experienced on both Israeli and Palestinian sides, this study draws from a broader project examining IEs’ post–October 7 lived experiences and focuses specifically on respondents’ unprompted spontaneous narratives concerning antisemitism. This presentation is based on a manuscript coauthored with Dr. Judith L. M. McCoyd.

Method

This qualitative study drew on 20 in-depth interviews with Israeli expatriates in the U.S., conducted from March to October 2024, using purposive and snowball sampling. Thirteen interviews were selected for focused analysis based on the presence of spontaneous narratives concerning antisemitism. Interviews were semi-structured, conducted in Hebrew, and later translated and reviewed for cultural nuance. Participants varied in age, ideology, tenure in the U.S., and acculturation style. A trauma-informed approach guided recruitment and interviewing. Data were analyzed thematically using an interpretive descriptive framework, incorporating both inductive and deductive coding. Peer and mentor debriefing, reflexivity, and a positionality statement were used to enhance the study’s trustworthiness.

Findings

Four key themes emerged in respondents’ narratives: (1) Shifting from majority to minority status, as IEs confronted antisemitism more directly in the U.S. than they had in Israel, where Jewish identity is the majority norm; (2) Blurring boundaries between anti-Zionism and antisemitism, where critiques of Israeli policies were often perceived as targeting Jews more broadly, especially in protest contexts; (3) Conflation of Jewish and Israeli identity, with several respondents expressing that attacks on Israel felt like personal attacks on their Jewishness; and (4) Efforts to differentiate political critique from antisemitism, as some IEs maintained that not all anti-Israel sentiment is antisemitic and emphasized the need for nuance. These themes reflect the diversity of IE perspectives and underscore the emotional and political complexity of navigating Israeli and Jewish identity in a polarized American discourse following October 7.

Conclusions and Implications

This study highlights the complexity and diversity in how IEs in the U.S. perceived and experienced antisemitism following October 7. While some interpreted anti-Israel sentiment as antisemitic, others emphasized the importance of context, intent, and maintaining space for political critique. Across narratives, respondents reported difficulty preserving nuance in a polarized discursive environment where identities and viewpoints were often flattened. These findings underscore the need to understand antisemitism within broader sociopolitical and cultural frameworks. For educators, practitioners, and policymakers, the study calls for creating space for layered, nuanced, and depolarized discourse that allows for critical yet respectful engagement across identities.