Podcast Summary: "Anti-Semitism: Canary in the Coalmine"

The Commentary Magazine Podcast | Sept. 12, 2025
Host: John Podhoretz (Editor, Commentary Magazine)
Panel: Abe Greenwald (Executive Editor), Seth Mandel (Senior Editor), Christine Rosen (Columnist)

Episode Overview

This episode explores the ongoing rise of anti-Semitism in the United States and the West, discussing its historic role as an indicator of broader societal illness ("the canary in the coalmine”). The panel traces how anti-Semitism reveals deeper problems in social cohesion, security, immigration, generational attitudes, and the effects of social media on both public and private discourse. They use contemporary examples—most notably the assassination of Charlie Kirk and reactions to it—as a springboard for a broader analysis, connecting current events to historical precedents and cultural trends.

Key Themes & Discussion Points

1. Anti-Semitism as a Societal Alarm Bell

Timestamps: [03:01]-[07:53]

• Security Fears and Jewish Institutions:
  In the wake of high-profile violence (e.g., Charlie Kirk’s assassination), John Podhoretz draws a parallel to centuries of Jewish institutions being targeted—a trend especially pronounced since October 7. He details the physical security measures now common at synagogues and Jewish centers: man traps, magnetometers, bollards, redesigned entrances ([06:00]).

  "Jews are the canary in the coal mine here. That...is exactly the kind of thing that has been happening to Jews... very much since October 7, but also in the preceding seven or eight years." – John Podhoretz [04:22]

• Broader Implications:
  Anti-Semitism is viewed as an early symptom of a societal shift towards paranoia and scapegoating, inevitably leading to broader social ruin.

  "When people turn on their Jews, it means that they have become paranoid, they're looking for scapegoats for failure, and they have gotten used to the idea of dehumanizing others." – Abe Greenwald [07:53]

2. Dehumanization and "Low-Level" Anti-Semitism

Timestamps: [08:36]-[13:07]

• Normalization of Harassment:
  Christine Rosen recounts recent incidents—including vandalism of Jewish sites in London—underscoring that such harassment now often meets indifference or victim-blaming responses from authorities.

  "That attitude is new...but the acceptance of that as a response...is unacceptable in a free society." – Christine Rosen [09:35]

• Generational Shift:
  Growing generational divides show younger cohorts are more likely to tolerate violence as an expression of beliefs.

3. Expansion & Political Uses of Anti-Semitism

Timestamps: [13:07]-[20:08]

• Depersonalization and Scapegoat Dynamics:
  The panel connects depersonalization of Jews to broader trends in political distraction and societal malaise, referencing polling data from Poland and Arab countries as examples where anti-Semitism persists even in the absence of Jews.

• European and American Parallels:
  European state leaders (notably Macron, Starmer, and Spain’s PM) are criticized for invoking Israel as a distraction from domestic problems, a tactic likened to historic scapegoating in Arab states.

  "We're seeing European states...behave like Arab police states did 75 or 100 years ago." – Seth Mandel [15:16]

4. Immigration, Multiculturalism & Acculturation

Timestamps: [20:08]-[33:11]

• Muslim Immigration & Radicalization:
  Discussion of the challenges posed by both imported and homegrown radicalism, with Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib named as examples of politicians representing insular, radicalized communities ([21:41]-[28:41]).

• Failure to Acculturate:
  They compare past waves of Jewish and other immigrant groups (Italians, Irish) that ultimately acculturated, to current dynamics where multiculturalism is seen as having undermined integration.

• Political Instrumentalization:
  Anti-Semitism is deployed not just by radicals, but as a political organizing tool on both the left ('manosphere,' campus activism) and the right (conspiracy theories).

  "It's in the manosphere and it's on the campus left. The Jews are blamed for getting us into wars, blamed for our immigration problems...it's that pointed finger that Ruth Wisse talks about." – Abe Greenwald [33:11]

5. Hopelessness, Helplessness & Societal Nihilism

Timestamps: [34:16]-[42:52]

• Rise of Violence as Expression:
  The panel discusses disturbing acceptance (in polls and on campuses) of violence to resolve disagreements, using notorious school shootings and Kirk’s assassination.

  "This is so demonic...there's some online force that is either getting kids to kill themselves or shoot other people." – John Podhoretz [35:08]

• Nihilism Among Youth:
  Christine Rosen labels the prevailing mood among youth as "nihilism"—an absence of hope or sense of purpose, fostered by online ecosystems.

6. Social Media’s Pervasive Influence

Timestamps: [42:52]-[66:37]

• Blurring Thought & Action:
  There is a nuanced debate over whether online expressions of hate (“I’m glad Charlie Kirk is dead”) are still “just thoughts,” or whether making them public constitutes action that amplifies and normalizes extremism.

  "People spend their lives wrestling with ugly thoughts...now, you type out and put out into the world...those ideas are weirdly externalized...Can be externalized. Some weird middle ground between thoughts that are in your head and action that is taken by an assassin." – John Podhoretz [51:30-56:15]

• Cancel Culture Redux:
  The right's embrace of "cancel culture"—publicly shaming and doxxing those who celebrate violence—is debated; is it justified or repeating the errors of the woke left?

  "I think it's bad to cancel someone...But I don't think it's cancel culture when you say, 'Hey, this guy is applauding supporting murder.'" – Christine Rosen [56:42]

• Algorithmic Extremism:
  Seth Mandel highlights how social algorithms create self-reinforcing loops of outrage, amplifying the most extreme content until it feels representative.

  "It’s very easy after an hour of that to say, wow, this is a sick world. And it may, it may be, it may not be. But that's... how the algorithm works." – Seth Mandel [58:37]

• Foreign Influence:
  Foreign actors (Russia, China, Iran) are said to be weaponizing social media to amplify anti-Semitic narratives and sow division, as confirmed by warnings from U.S. officials.

  "Foreign actors are seeking to inflame and divide the United States by amplifying this anti-Semitic opinion." – John Podhoretz [61:16]

7. Protean Identity, Anonymity & Perpetual Childhood

Timestamps: [66:37]-[75:37]

• Alias Culture:
  Discussion of how anonymity online fosters both cowardice and a loss of accountability. Christine Rosen, though initially harsh in viewing pseudonymity as “a sign of a loser," later concedes valid reasons for anonymity exist. ([70:26])

• Perpetual Adolescence:
  Seth Mandel analogizes adult use of online avatars and pseudonyms to children in superhero costumes—useful for development, but damaging when it persists into adulthood.

  "A large segment of society needs, you know, a mask and a cape in order to feel like they are capable...an arrested development." – Seth Mandel [75:21]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "Jews are the canary in the coal mine here." – John Podhoretz [04:22]
• "The presence or non presence of Jews does not itself indicate the degree of anti-Semitism that a country is going to express." – John Podhoretz [13:37]
• "We're seeing European states...behave like Arab police states did 75 or 100 years ago." – Seth Mandel [15:16]
• "...for Jews, there's a lot of behavior that can be suspicious seeming or off putting...but simply because it's directed at a Jewish institution." – Seth Mandel [11:49]
• "That attitude is...acceptance of that as a response...is unacceptable, should be unacceptable in a free society." – Christine Rosen [09:45]
• "It's in the manosphere and it's on the campus left...that's a sign that society is becoming sort of losers in mass." – Abe Greenwald [33:11]
• "This is so demonic...demonic. I mean, this is so that it almost does seem to have a weird, almost supernatural quality to it, like out of a heart, you know, out of a horror movie..." – John Podhoretz [35:08]
• "You need to be able to distinguish between the thought...and reality. And if you don't act on them...because that is what it means to be human. Full of aggression...and we're also full of love and understanding...we judge people by their actions." – John Podhoretz [49:51]
• "If you can't be you in the world, you have to hide behind a nea. A different name. That's sad. That's a loser." – Christine Rosen [70:58]
• "You reach a point at which that's not the way to feel better...what we're dealing with is adults doing that...an arrested development." – Seth Mandel [75:21]

Conclusion / Recommendation

The conversation ends by recommending Jonathan Moore’s near-future novel "The Night Market", which deals with tech-driven dopamine manipulation—a thematic echo to the discussed impact of social media on thought, agency, and society ([77:00]).

Additional Timely References

• Charlie Kirk assassination: Immediate and broad condemnation by U.S. political leaders, with concern about public glee at the event prominent in social media reaction ([60:00]).
• Social media’s unique and unprecedented enabling of hate, anonymity, and cancel culture.
• Arrested development and the masking/protean self, now endemic due in part to digital life ([75:21]).

This episode provides a sobering, historically-rooted, and personally felt exploration of anti-Semitism as both a warning and a symptom of deeper cultural sickness in America and the West. With intellectual breadth, personal anecdotes, and a sharp eye on recent events, the hosts connect the dots between violence, ideological radicalization, the failures of acculturation, and the distorting effects of digital life.
Listeners are left with the urge to reconsider the boundaries between thought and action, the dangers of scapegoating, and the social challenge of restoring hope and agency—before the 'canary' expires.