Letter to Government Leaders: Condemn Antisemitic Statements
Late last week, Voice4Israel broke the news about leaders of the North Carolina Democratic Party's Muslim Caucus making hateful, public comments such as describing Zionists as "Nazis" and "a threat to humanity." In response, the Jewish Federations of North Carolina have sent a joint letter to Governor Josh Stein and many other leaders in the North Carolina Democratic Party. You can read the text of the letter below.
Dear Governor Stein, North Carolina Democratic Party Leadership, and Democratic Elected Officials of the State of North Carolina,
We write jointly as the CEOs of the Jewish Federations of Charlotte, Greensboro, and Raleigh, and Jewish for Good in Durham. Together, our organizations represent and serve Jewish communities across North Carolina through security coordination, education, civic partnership, and community relations. We are compelled to address an urgent and serious matter.
Recent public statements by a North Carolina Democratic Party caucus leader describing Zionists as “Nazis” and “a threat to humanity” are not merely offensive political speech. They constitute dangerous antisemitic rhetoric that places Jewish communities at heightened risk and further destabilizes an already volatile environment. Language of this nature is historically loaded, morally reckless, and socially inflammatory.
As Jews in North Carolina who support the existence of the State of Israel, and who represent broad cross-sections of our state’s Jewish population, we find this language hate-filled, insensitive, inflammatory, and threatening. It is incompatible with the standards of responsible civic leadership and it should disqualify any individual from holding a leadership role within a political party structure. Immediate corrective action is required.
Equating Zionism with Nazism is a recognized form of Holocaust distortion and inversion. It weaponizes the memory of genocide against the very people who were its primary victims and targets a core component of Jewish identity for the overwhelming majority of Jews. For most Jewish community members, Zionism is directly tied to peoplehood, history, and the right of Jewish self-determination. Casting Zionists as enemies of humanity functions, in practice, as the stigmatization of much of the Jewish community itself.
This is not simply our view of what is morally unacceptable. North Carolina has formally adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Working Definition of Antisemitism into state law through the Shalom Act (HB 942). The IHRA definition includes as an illustrative example of antisemitism “drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis.” Publicly branding “Zionists” as “Nazis” operates in the same lane of Holocaust inversion and demonization, and it predictably fuels hostility toward Jewish North Carolinians.
We are already operating in a period of elevated antisemitic incidents across North Carolina, including harassment, vandalism, and threats. Rhetoric that demonizes Zionists in absolute and dehumanizing terms does not remain theoretical. It contributes to real-world hostility and increases security concerns for Jewish institutions, schools, and community spaces. The effect is concrete, not abstract.
This concern does not arise in isolation. Last year, North Carolina Jewish communal executives met directly with Party Chair Anderson Clayton regarding harmful resolutions and rhetoric that created significant distress within the Jewish community. That prior engagement reflects our consistent preference for dialogue and partnership. It also underscores a pattern that now requires a firmer and more public response. When party-affiliated spaces are perceived by Jewish constituents as increasingly unwelcoming or hostile to core elements of Jewish identity, confidence and participation erode.
Silence or procedural distancing is not an adequate response. Leadership requires moral clarity and decisive action.
We therefore call for the following:
A direct and public condemnation from state Democratic Party leadership of these statements and the antisemitic framing they employ
Immediate and clear corrective action regarding the individual holding a party leadership role who made these statements
An explicit reaffirmation that Holocaust inversion, antisemitic tropes, and the demonization of Jewish self-determination have no place in party leadership or party-affiliated structures
Prompt engagement with North Carolina Jewish communal leadership to address the damage done and the safety concerns created
This is not a partisan appeal. It is a civic and moral one. Jewish communities across our state must know, without ambiguity, that elected officials and party leaders reject rhetoric that vilifies them through historical distortion and collective accusation.
We are ready to engage directly and immediately. The seriousness of this moment warrants nothing less. Sincerely,
Adam Kolett
Chief Executive Officer
Jewish Federation of Greater Charlotte
Glenda Bernhardt
Chief Executive Officer
Jewish Federation of Greater Greensboro
Jill Madsen
Chief Executive Officer
Jewish for Good, Durham
Seth Malin
Chief Executive Officer
Jewish Federation of Greater Raleigh