3D-printed images of the logos of Facebook and parent company Meta Platforms are seen on a laptop keyboard in this illustration taken on Nov. 2, 2021. Photo: REUTERS/Dado Ruvic

I have been posting self-defense videos online for years. Sometimes an Israeli flag is visible behind me. For a long time, the hostile comments were easy to recognize. People called me a Zionist or wrote “Free Palestine” under videos that had nothing to do with Israel.

Over time, the language changed.

“Zionist” became “Zionazi.” Anti-Jewish cartoons started appearing. People wrote about Jews controlling governments, money, or the media. Others blamed Jews as a group for whatever Israel was doing. Eventually, some stopped hiding behind politics and wrote things like, “This technique won’t help in the gas chambers,” or “Hitler didn’t finish the job, but we will.”

A comment like that leaves little room for confusion. A person who uses Hitler and the Holocaust to threaten a Jewish person knows what those words mean.

What interests me more is the person who seems surprised when I call his or her comment antisemitic.

I see this often now. Someone posts something openly anti-Jewish. I answer publicly and tell them that I am leaving the comment up so other people can see it. Sometimes, within minutes, the person apologizes. They tell me that they have nothing against Jews. A few people have even told me they have nothing against Israel.

And that reaction tells me something has changed.

These people do not always see themselves as antisemites. In fact, some seem genuinely offended by the label. Yet they were still comfortable posting language and images that have been used against Jews for generations.

So how does that happen?

The repetition is part of the answer. It stopped being rare and no longer feels “different.”

People hear old ideas in new language. Claims about Jewish control become claims about “Zionist control.” Blaming Jews as a group becomes “holding Zionists accountable.” Jewish schools, synagogues, businesses, and organizations become acceptable targets because someone has decided they are connected to Israel.

A person can hear versions of these ideas from social media, activists, friends, professors, politicians, or public figures without ever sitting down and thinking, “I hate Jews.”

After enough repetition, the language starts to feel normal.

That became much more obvious after Oct. 7. Criticism of Israel grew quickly, and criticism of any government is fair. What concerned me was how often that anger moved from Israel to Jews who had nothing to do with Israeli policy.

Jewish students were asked to answer for Benjamin Netanyahu. Jewish-owned businesses became targets over Gaza. Synagogues became places for political protest. On my own pages, a self-defense video could lead to comments about Hitler simply because I am Israeli and Jewish.

That connection between an individual Jew and every action of the Israeli government is where political criticism can turn into something older.

The person making that connection may not notice what they are doing. He or she may believe they are speaking about politics while using the same kind of collective blame that has followed Jews for centuries.

I wonder what shaped those people who comment on the page. I don’t know what they were taught, what they watch, or who they listen to. I can only see the result.

Some people use antisemitic language and then seem embarrassed when they are forced to look at it directly.

That embarrassment is important because it shows that a social boundary still exists. They know open hatred of Jews is wrong. They did not recognize their own words as part of that hatred.

This is how normalization works. People do not need to become committed antisemites. They only need to become comfortable repeating ideas that once would have made them stop and think.

The same problem affects how Jews respond. Some become quieter because being openly Jewish now attracts attention they did not ask for. Others decide that hiding their identity sends the wrong message. That struggle has become real for many Jewish communities dealing with antisemitism, especially when hostility shows up in schools, workplaces, neighborhoods, and online spaces that once felt ordinary.

I still leave many of the comments visible. I want people to see who writes them.

The profile often looks completely normal. It may belong to a parent, a student, a professional, or someone whose page is filled with family photos, vacations, food, and friends.

Then, mixed in with all of that, there is a comment about Hitler or a cartoon about Jewish power.

That is the part I think people should pay attention to.

Antisemitism does not always arrive wearing a uniform or shouting a slogan. Sometimes it comes from people who still believe they are tolerant.

And sometimes they only recognize what they have become comfortable saying after we speak up and point it out to them. That is our task — and one we must address urgently.

Do something amazing,

Tsahi Shemesh is the founder of Krav Maga Experts in New York City. An Israeli-born IDF veteran, he works with individuals, families, and organizations on self-defense, resilience, situational awareness, and decision-making under pressure.