Anti-Semitism and the Lessons of History
I sat down with Alexander von Sternberg to discuss the outstanding essay [https://www.historyimpossible.com/p/enduring-the-misfortunes-of-others] he recently wrote about the rising anti-Semitism in the US and the de facto excuses for it that are becoming increasingly common, told through the lens of the history of Japanese internment during WWII. We also discussed the viral quote from Ezra Klein’s recent Times piece on anti-Semitism, why anti-Semitism has been so persistent over time, Israel versus Jews as people, anti-Arab bigotry, the history of Arab nationalism, Alex’s article in American Dreaming about ICE’s activities in Minneapolis, its lingering effects among people in the Twin Cities, the dangers of fear and psychological war more broadly, the notion of history repeating or “rhyming”, political violence, the assassination attempts on Donald Trump, the role boredom plays in fueling illiberalism, the Epstein files, Michael Tracey, and more.
Alex is a writer, historian, and host of the popular History Impossible podcast and Substack [https://www.historyimpossible.com/] of the same name. His work has appeared or been mentioned in outlets including Quillette, Areo Magazine, Merion West, Uncommon Ground, Queer Majority, and the New York Times [https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/13/style/darryl-cooper-martyr-made-podcast.html]. He’s also a contributor to American Dreaming and a friend.
Alex’s essays: “Enduring the Misfortunes of Others [https://www.historyimpossible.com/p/enduring-the-misfortunes-of-others]” and “The Psychological War on Minneapolis [https://americandreaming.substack.com/p/the-psychological-war-on-minneapolis]”
Klein’s NYT piece: “This Is Why There’s No Liberal Joe Rogan [https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/12/opinion/hasan-piker-democrats.html?unlocked_article_code=1.aVA.eJsX.BdvwPF26eD0t&smid=url-share]”
Other articles referenced: “The ‘Roaring 2020s’ and Other False Rhymes of History [https://americandreaming.substack.com/p/the-roaring-2020s-and-other-false]” and “Memory-Hole Archive: Political Violence [https://americandreaming.substack.com/p/memory-hole-archive-political-violence]”
Research referenced: Pew Research (2023) [https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/08/21/how-americans-view-israel-netanyahu-and-u-s-israel-relations-in-5-charts/], Pew Research (2026) [https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2026/04/07/negative-views-of-israel-netanyahu-continue-to-rise-among-americans-especially-young-people/?cb_viewport=tablet], and Blue Square Alliance (2026) [https://www.bluesquarealliance.org/research/antisemitism-at-alarming-levels/] (and the Axios [https://www.axios.com/2025/12/04/antisemitism-america-israel-jews] coverage of it)
Jamie Paul is a writer based in Greater Philadelphia, founder of American Dreaming [https://americandreaming.substack.com/], managing editor at Queer Majority, and contributing editor at Bi.org. His work has appeared in outlets including Quillette, Persuasion, Areo Magazine, and Gazeta do Povo.
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Intro music: “Americana [https://freemusicarchive.org/music/holiznacc0/rock-montage/americana-1/]” by HoliznaCC0, CC0 1.0 [https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/]. Outro music: “Never-Ending To-Do List [https://freemusicarchive.org/music/happyworldwithmochi/bouncy-album-energetic/never-ending-to-do-list-reggae-optimistic-instrumental/]” by HappyWorldWithMochi, CC BY 4.0 [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/]. Both from Free Music Archive.
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