The rabbi investigating antisemitism: 'The greatest challenge isn’t stopping the hatred – it’s staying Jewish in the face of it' (2025)

Rabbi Raphael Shore, founder of Open Door Media and a longtime advocate for Jewish education, is tackling one of history’s most enduring questions in his latest book and documentary.

His book, Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Jews, and his new film, Tragic Awakening, explore the deep-rooted origins of antisemitism and how it continues to shape global perceptions of Jews today.

In an exclusive interview with Ynetnews, Shore discussed his findings, the ideology behind antisemitism and the fight to counter the rising wave of hatred against Jews and Israel.

Shore challenges conventional explanations for antisemitism, arguing that many of the commonly accepted reasons—economic jealousy, cultural differences or political conflicts—fail to address its deeper origins.

"We all know how long we've been hated—but why? We tend to explain it by saying, 'They needed to blame somebody for their problems' or 'The Jews were in the wrong place at the wrong time. It's a regular bias. People don't like those who are different, or we’re seen as too assimilated—or not assimilated enough, too rich or poor. We tend to accept these superficial explanations."

Shore delves into historical antisemitic ideologies, particularly those of Adolf Hitler, to illustrate how hatred of Jews has often been rooted in opposition to Jewish values.

"Hitler said very explicitly his whole career that the Jewish people were instrumental in changing humanity and bringing values and ideas into the world that he hated, that he thought were going to destroy humanity," he said.

"What were those ideas? The ideas of love your neighbor, brotherhood of all mankind, God, ethical monotheism, and human rights. And Adolf Hitler believed if those ideas were successful and they were being successful at taking over all of Western civilization, that would be the destruction of humanity because humanity grows like animals, natural selection, might make right, power, dominance. Hitler was trying to reset the world and he needed to destroy every Jew because he believed that every Jew had this 'spiritual DNA' of bringing these humanitarian ideas into the world."

Shore also draws a direct line between the Jewish mission, as outlined in religious texts, and its historical resistance.

"The Talmud also says that on Mount Sinai, hatred came down into the world," he explains. "At Sinai, Sin'a (hate in Hebrew) came into the world. The play on words—Sinai, Sin'a—the two are very related. When the Jewish people were tasked with bringing these ideas into the world, that created resistance. People have a body and a soul. The body doesn't like to be told to be good and moral and spiritual and have the responsibility of freedom. So there's a push. And just like a human life has a push and pull, and that resistance is called antisemitism."

One of the most compelling figures in Shore’s new documentary is Rawan Osman, a former antisemite from Lebanon who has become an outspoken supporter of Israel.

"She came to me after October 7 as an Arab who was a 'recovered antisemite,' that's what she called herself. And she realized over the course of the last 10 years that the Jewish people in Israel are actually very good and the hatred is something irrational and strange. So after October 7, she wanted to speak out in Arabic to the Arabic-speaking world about Israel and the Jewish people and try to set them straight," he said.

"We chose her to be the first person featured in our film because she was exploring the nature of antisemitism. The answer to why there's antisemitism is the flip side of what is the mission of the Jewish people. This is what she really reflects."

Osman, who now lives in Germany, has even expressed a desire to convert to Judaism and make Aliyah, Shore noted.

Following the October 7 massacre, the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, Israel is still perceived by many as the aggressor. How do you explain this shift in the narrative?"It's another example. They don't hate us because we're committing 'genocide.' They don't hate us because we have a little property in Judea and Samaria or Gaza; it's the latest excuse. It's the same thing when we were too rich and too poor or too communist or too capitalist. Today, we're the colonialists. There's something bothering them, bothering antisemites, including much of the Islamist world today about the Jewish people. And it's deep down and it's even progressive liberals today. It's bothering them about the Jews and they label it anything.

"The double standard proves it. It's obvious we're not the worst genocidal human rights-violating people on the planet. We're the most moral army that the world has ever seen in the most difficult and complex set of circumstances against Hamas—the greatest human rights violators that the world has ever seen in a conflict. Any person who's a balanced thinker, who's not biased and not antisemitic at their core is going to see that. But if someone really doesn't like the Jews, here's another opportunity to say 'you're genocidal', 'you're baby killers.'

"Antisemitism has morphed once again successfully, this time in the disguise of human rights. I wrote the book and the film to help us not be fooled and to give the Jewish people the strength to face this negativity, to face the antisemitism and not only have a defense against it but to come out proud because they hate us because of our greatness, because of our goodness. We need to flip it on its head."

Did anything shock you in particular while making the film?"Rowan Osmond surprised me because she is just such an incredibly inspiring person. She is a role model for how we all need to respond. At the end of my book, I tell about 15 stories of amazing people. Sapir Cohen is another one. People who faced antisemitism, looked at it head-on, and instead of responding by being less Jewish or less connected, responded morally and spiritually with strength. That's the best response because antisemitism is a moral and spiritual phenomenon."

If this is all rooted in old antisemitism, is there even a chance to win this battle over public perception?"Antisemitism has been going on for 3,000 years. And while I am optimistic, I think our most important priority is to strengthen ourselves against this onslaught. Because especially if you're a young person, an American Jew on a college campus today, your challenge is to stay Jewish because they're telling you, 'we don't want you to be Jewish,' we don't want you supporting Israel, and if you want to be part of our crowd, check your Judaism and pro-Israelism at the door. The greatest challenge today for the Jewish people is not to stop antisemitism, but to stay Jewish in the face of antisemitism. To do that, we need to understand it and flip it on its head and be inspired by what it means. Fighting antisemitism is good, but I don't think that's the most important battle."

When asked who he sees as the biggest promoters of antisemitism today, Shore pointed to radical elements within Palestinian society, progressive elites in the U.S. and far-right figures.

"According to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), the Palestinian community is the most antisemitic population on Earth. Unfortunately, we Jews did not face that reality. There's some land dispute, but they have been brainwashed to be antisemitic haters, and it's not just Hamas, it's the entire community. One of the hostages who just came out said there are not two million citizens in Gaza, there are two million terrorists.

"Number two, I think the elite progressive community in America and the university campuses are very dangerous. And also the far right—people like Tucker Carlson are definitely something that we should be flagging and concerned about."

Shore also pointed to pop culture figures like Kanye West, whose recent antisemitic tirades have reached millions.

"These people have tens of hundreds of millions of followers, that's why I say fighting antisemitism is not the key because you can put tens of millions of dollars in and you're not going to reach the same audience that Kanye West just did with one little tweet," he noted. "They hate us for being Jewish, so let's be Jewish. And I think that since it's a moral and spiritual phenomenon, if we strengthen ourselves, if we're united as a Jewish people and stand for what our values are, I think that's the most powerful response and even solution to antisemitism in the long run."

Shore, whose father Marvin was a Canadian politician, grew up in London, Ontario, in a predominantly non-Jewish environment. He recalls a defining moment when antisemitism suddenly surfaced in his own community.

"When I was in grade 12, a 'No Jews Allowed' sign was put out at a Friday night party. We're hanging out with these people for years, and all of a sudden it turns out that there's a lot of antisemitism even amongst our friends. Overall, it wasn't a problem growing up, but then they showed their colors. That was definitely a seminal moment. My twin brother and I shifted schools, but I became more Jewish and made Aliyah right after college, not because of antisemitism, but because I realized how incredible we the Jewish people are. Being in our homeland and being part of a beautiful family of the Jewish people and our traditions, I understood how amazing Israel and Judaism are, that's what brought me to live in Israel and be more connected."