How DEI Has Promoted Antisemitism—and Often Is Itself Antisemitic
It promotes a binary "oppressed" versus "oppressors" worldview
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs are designed to combat discrimination and foster inclusion. However, increasingly, critics across the political spectrum argue that many DEI frameworks have promoted antisemitism.
At the heart of many DEI programs is a binary worldview: society is divided into "oppressors" and the "oppressed." Within this binary, Jews are cast as “white” and therefore privileged oppressors. This ignores both the diversity within Jewish communities— such as Sephardic, Mizrahi, and Ethiopian Jews—, and the long history of Jewish persecution, from pogroms to the Holocaust to modern university quotas and the high rate of hate crimes against Jews in the U.S.
In schools and on campuses, this categorization has led to real consequences. Jewish students have been marginalized, excluded from DEI programming, or even directly maligned. One college DEI director recalled being told it was her job to “decenter whiteness” and that Jews were “white oppressors.” The CAPS DEI program at a U.S. institution was accused of portraying Jews as “white, powerful, and privileged,” denying Jewish ethnic and religious identity, and excluding antisemitism from its agenda.
On many campuses, DEI language has been used to justify or excuse hostility toward Jews, particularly around Israel. As noted by critics like constitutional law professor Josh Blackman and watchdog organizations such as the Amcha Initiative, DEI programs often blur the line between criticism of Israeli policy and antisemitism, failing to protect Jewish students from harassment that is framed as social justice.
“Through its DEI committee, weekly seminars and racially segregated affinity groups, the CAPS DEI program has maligned and marginalized Jews on the basis of religion, race and ethnic identity by castigating Jews as white, powerful and privileged members of society who contribute to systemic racism and denying and attempting to erase Jewish ancestral identity. In addition, the DEI program has denigrated the concept of Jewish victimhood and deliberately excluded anti-Semitism from the program's agenda.”-- Josh Blackman, constitutional law professor at South Texas College of Law Houston, and Presdent of the Harlan Institute.
Even after the October 7 Hamas massacre, some defenders framed the attack in DEI terms—casting Palestinians as oppressed people of color and Israelis (and by extension Jews) as white colonial oppressors. In Newton, Massachusetts, local Jonathan Levin called for a suspension of all DEI programming pending an investigation into its role in promoting antisemitism. He wrote the following:
“Those defending or celebrating the Oct. 7 massacre frequently frame the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in terms straight out of DEI jargon. They claim that Jews are ‘white oppressors’ and Palestinians oppressed ‘people of color.’ They hold that Jews are ‘settler colonialists’ and Palestinians are engaged in ‘decolonization.’ None of this is true.”
As Tammi Rossman-Benjamin, founder of a campus watchdog, wrote in SAPIR Journal, “despite having endured thousands of years of oppression... Jews are not viewed as oppressed at all within a DEI framework.” This structural exclusion not only erases Jewish suffering but can create a hostile environment under the guise of social justice.
“Consequently, despite having endured thousands of years of oppression, including one of history’s largest genocides, and even now suffering more hate crimes in America than any historically marginalized and underrepresented group except African Americans, Jews are not viewed as oppressed at all within a DEI framework. On the contrary, they are generally seen as white, privileged oppressors who do not merit the attention of DEI programs.”— Tammi Rossman-Benjamin, co-founder of the campus antisemitism watchdog Amcha Initiative and a lecturer who teaches Hebrew at University of California Santa Cruz.
Some institutions are beginning to reassess. A recent California bill proposes requiring that DEI training include education about antisemitism. Others advocate for scrapping the binary framework altogether in favor of a more nuanced, pluralistic approach to diversity.
.
References/Further Reading:
"DEI Still Has An Anti-Semitism Problem," Josh Blackman, South Texas College of Law
“DEI and Antisemitism: Bred in the Bone” by Suzanna Sherry, Vanderbilt University - Law School
”How DEI Inspires Jew Hatred” by Stanley Goldfarb, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
"Why DEI Programs Can’t Address Campus Antisemitism" by Tammi Rossman-Benhamin
"The Connection Between DEI and Anti-Semitism" Bill Kuhn (Medium)
While Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) aims to foster environments where all individuals feel welcomed, valued, and can fully participate , concerns arise when its implementation inadvertently leads to exclusion. An overemphasis on group identity can overshadow individual merit, leading to perceptions of unfairness. Focusing solely on historical underrepresentation might exclude individuals from majority groups or those with different intersectional identities who also face barriers.
The perception of quotas or preferential treatment, even if inaccurate, can foster resentment and a sense of exclusion. Some DEI training programs have been criticized for using language that may alienate or stereotype individuals from majority groups. The tension between colorblindness and targeted strategies can also lead to perceptions of discrimination. Ultimately, when DEI practices are perceived as discriminatory or unjust, they can undermine the principle of inclusion they intend to uphold.
DEI still discriminate against Jews by refusing to address the reality of Muslim antisemitism.