Political commentators and rights advocates Lara Friedman and Yousef Munayyer discuss ongoing efforts to suppress criticism of the Israeli government’s oppression of Palestinians under the guise of fighting antisemitism—efforts which are fueling authoritarianism and pushing shared safety further from grasp.
Lara and Yousef lay out how the Israeli government and its supporters have championed a contentious definition of antisemitism in order to dismiss criticism of Israel and conflate said criticism with prejudice against Jews. They also explain how the increasingly fraught conversation about antisemitism is doing little to actually make Jews safer—and is being exploited to distract from Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza, annexation of the West Bank, and expansionist war across the region.
Lara Friedman is the President of the Foundation for Middle East Peace (FMEP). She is a leading authority on U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East, and a preeminent subject-matter expert with respect to anti-Palestinian legislation (state and federal) and “lawfare,” including as these connect to the weaponization and instrumentalization of the definition of, and concerns about, antisemitism. Lara’s research on lawfare and antisemitism-related political initiatives—all of which she makes available to the public—is widely cited and widely recognized as the authoritative data in the field. Previously Lara served as a member of the U.S. Foreign Service, with diplomatic postings in Jerusalem, Washington, Tunis and Beirut. She also served previously as the Director of Policy and Government Relations at Americans for Peace Now. Lara holds a B.A. from the University of Arizona and a Master’s degree from Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service.
Yousef Munayyer is Head of Palestine/Israel Program and Senior Fellow at Arab Center Washington DC. He also serves as a member of the editorial committee of the Journal of Palestine Studies and was previously Executive Director of the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights. Some of his published articles can be found in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Nation, Boston Globe, Foreign Policy, Journal of Palestine Studies, Middle East Policy, and others. Dr. Munayyer holds a PhD in International Relations and Comparative Politics from the University of Maryland.
Resources:
- Diaspora Alliance. “Arguments Against the IHRA Definition.” Diaspora Alliance. 2023.
- Lorber, Ben. 2024. “The New Antisemitism and Neo-McCarthyism” Political Research Associates.
- The Foundation for Middle East Peace. “Tracking Lawfare.”
- Munayyer, Yousef. “Finally, the Dam Shoring Up Support for Israel Seems to Be Breaking.” The New Republic, July 31, 2025.
- Munayyer, Yousef. “Spaces Beyond Borders: Israel’s Transnational Repression Network.” In Suppressing Dissent: Shrinking Civic Space, Transnational Repression and Palestine–Israel, edited by Zaha Hassan and H. A. Hellyer. 2024.
Lifting the Curtain on Antisemitism is a collaboration between Political Research Associates and Diaspora Alliance. The show is produced by Olivia Lawrence-Weilmann. Our hosts are Ben Lorber and Shoshana Brown. Original score by Aakash Desai. Artwork by Zoe Newton. Our fact checker is Natasha Roth-Rowland. Sound design and mixing by Thick Skin Media. Also thank you to Natasha Roth-Rowland, Simone Zimmerman, Em Hilton, and Koki Mendis for your insights and thought partnership.