Noa Tishby at the Milken Conference: Unmasking the Roots of Campus Antisemitism
At this year’s Milken Institute Global Conference, Israeli-American actress, activist, and former Special Envoy for Combating Antisemitism, Noa Tishby, delivered a powerful warning about the rise of antisemitism on U.S. college campuses. In a compelling interview, Tishby explained that what we are witnessing today is not just spontaneous student activism, but the outcome of a 30-year strategic campaign targeting American higher education.
A Strategic Campaign, Not Spontaneous Protests
Tishby began by noting that although recent campus protests, including pro-Palestinian encampments, have captured national attention, they represent just the tip of the iceberg. According to her, Israel’s adversaries shifted tactics decades ago, realizing that military confrontation would not succeed. Instead, they turned to a geopolitical strategy designed to undermine Israel’s legitimacy by winning over the “hearts and minds” of young Americans.
Their battleground of choice? College campuses.
These institutions, Tishby argues, were deliberately targeted as fertile ground for ideological influence. By framing Israel as an apartheid state and tying anti-Israel sentiment to broader social justice narratives, these groups aimed to normalize the idea that voting against Israel was morally acceptable—first in universities, and then in the broader public and political spheres.
The Organizations Behind the Movement
Tishby emphasized the role of two key groups: Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and American Muslims for Palestine (AMP). While SJP appears to be a grassroots student organization, Tishby clarified that it has no official structure—no 501(c)(3) status, no offices, and no officers. It is, in effect, a front.
The real force behind SJP, she claimed, is AMP—a group with documented ties to organizations and individuals involved in funding Hamas. Tishby has testified about this link before Congress multiple times, emphasizing the open-source evidence of AMP’s problematic associations.
The Long-Term Impact
Many people, including leaders within the Jewish community and even the Israeli government, dismissed early warnings about campus radicalization. “They’ll grow out of it,” Tishby recalls being told. But she insists this was a dangerous underestimation of the problem.
By allowing anti-Israel resolutions like BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) to pass—even if they are largely symbolic—universities have helped normalize the delegitimization of a democratic ally. According to Tishby, this has laid the groundwork for more serious political shifts: “If they vote against Israel on campus, it becomes okay to vote against Israel in city halls, in Congress.”
Antisemitism Rebranded
Tishby ended her remarks with a sobering observation: the world is increasingly projecting ancient antisemitic tropes onto Israel. “Israel has become the Jew of the world,” she said. Once, antisemitic rhetoric called for the erasure of Jewish people. Today, it takes the form of calls to dismantle the Jewish state.
This form of antisemitism, cloaked in the language of human rights and activism, is particularly dangerous because it blurs the line between political critique and racial or religious hatred.
The Bigger Picture
Tishby urged the audience not to focus solely on the term “terrorism,” arguing that it’s merely a tactic. The real issue, she said, is the goal behind it—a systematic attempt to erode democratic values and Western norms under the guise of activism.
Her message was clear: this is not just about Israel or the Jewish community. The ideologies being seeded on campuses today threaten the very principles of freedom, democracy, and truth.
Conclusion
Noa Tishby’s appearance at the Milken Conference was more than a speech—it was a wake-up call. Antisemitism on college campuses isn’t just a flare-up of youthful radicalism. It is, she asserts, the culmination of decades of planning by groups hostile not only to Israel but to Western democratic ideals.
As public concern over rising antisemitism grows, her insight offers a crucial lens for understanding what’s really happening—and what must be done to stop it.