More than a Dozen Terms and Tropes Added to Translate Hate Antisemitism Glossary

Several terms show how some of the most common anti-Israel rhetoric is actually a mutation of older forms of antisemitism

Amid the terrifying increase of antisemitic harassment, intimidation, and violence around the world in the wake of the October 7 terror attack against Israel, American Jewish Committee (AJC) today released updated terms to its Translate Hate glossary, a tool to help people identify, understand, and report antisemitism. While the additional terms and phrases are in response to various sources of antisemitism, several of them, including “Globalize the Intifada,” expose the hatred of Jews that is a defining feature of some of the most recent, and common, anti-Israel rhetoric in society. 

“Over the last nearly eight weeks, protests, social media accounts, celebrities, and even government officials have used terms like ‘From the River to the Sea,’ ‘Globalize the Intifada,’ and “settler colonialist” when criticizing Israel. Translate Hate helps clarify how these words contribute to a culture of antisemitism,” said AJC CEO Ted Deutch. “Translate Hate originally grew out of a desperate need for a go-to resource for all Americans to better understand when terms and tropes are antisemitic. Our experts consistently note how antisemitism mutates and we must continue to shed light on both old terms and new ones. Since October 7, anti-Jewish hatred has skyrocketed and put the global Jewish community in danger. In order to prevent and combat antisemitism, we must first identify and understand it – Translate Hate makes that easier and more accessible to everyone.”

AJC’s Translate Hate glossary has been used, cited, and downloaded millions of times by reporters, members of law enforcement, government officials, educators, and all sectors of society since it was first published in 2019. It is continuously being updated as antisemitism evolves.

“Because many people do not know how to recognize antisemitism and it is constantly changing, we needed a resource that was also dynamic to continue to explain what we were seeing," said Holly Huffnagle, AJC U.S. Director for Combating Antisemitism. “Antisemitism is not only an attack on Jews; it is also an assault on the core democratic values of America. We have shared this tool with multiple partners, including government officials, law enforcement, and social media companies, amongst others.”

AJC’s Translate Hate was first launched in 2019 with 25 terms. It now contains nearly 60. While some terms are always antisemitic, others need critical context to explain when they can become antisemitic.

The terms added to the glossary today include: 

• gaslighting
• “Globalize the Intifada”
• Holohoax
• Jew Coup
• Jewish agents
• Jewish power
• laughing Jew
• Nazi symbols
• Pepe the frog
• philosemitism
• puppet master
• Semite
• settler colonialist
• tokenizing

AJC is the global advocacy organization for the Jewish people. With headquarters in New York, 25 offices across the United States, 14 overseas posts, as well as partnerships with 38 Jewish community organizations worldwide, AJC’s mission is to enhance the well-being of the Jewish people and Israel, and to advance human rights and democratic values in the United States and around the world. For more, please visit www.ajc.org.

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