Ambient antisemitism. When I first encountered this phrase several weeks ago, a condition I had sensed but was unable to name snapped into focus. The term gave language to the uneasy, inchoate feeling that something in Ithaca, New York, has gone deeply wrong — a feeling my Jewish friends and neighbors experience not as abstraction, but as daily reality.

Dr. Jonathan Boyd, executive director of Britain’s Institute for Jewish Policy Research, defines ambient antisemitism as an atmosphere that communicates to Jews, often subtly, that we do not count and are not welcome. Yael Silverstein expanded on the concept in the Spring 2026 issue of Sources: A Journal of Jewish Ideas. What makes the idea so powerful is that it describes a phenomenon that is more difficult to quantify than overt hatred. Ambient antisemitism is not always a swastika spray-painted on a wall or a shouted slur. More often, it is a cultural atmosphere — a steady accumulation of signals, omissions, double standards, and silences that tell Jews they we exist outside of the moral community.

Ithaca has certainly seen explicit antisemitism. There have been swastikas on public property,  “Free Palestine” graffiti in public parks, inflammatory posters near schools (see above), and social media images depicting blood-soaked politicians who support Israel. The city government backed a mural that many residents viewed as Hamas propaganda, prominently painted on a major thoroughfare. Supporters of Israel have been denied service at a popular coffee shop, emboldened by workplace policies that tolerate political discrimination. Public officials who express support for Israel are skewered on social media and in person.

Those incidents are ugly, but........

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