{"id":45698,"date":"2025-12-22T12:26:30","date_gmt":"2025-12-22T20:26:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=45698"},"modified":"2025-12-22T12:26:31","modified_gmt":"2025-12-22T20:26:31","slug":"stopantisemitism-takes-credit-for-getting-hundreds-fired-a-music-teacher-is-suing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2025\/12\/22\/stopantisemitism-takes-credit-for-getting-hundreds-fired-a-music-teacher-is-suing\/","title":{"rendered":"StopAntisemitism Takes Credit for Getting Hundreds Fired. A Music Teacher Is Suing."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Known for targeting celebrities like Ms. Rachel, the pro-Israel blacklist also goes after private individuals who post in solidarity with Palestine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Jonah Valdez<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

December 20 2025 (TheIntercept.com)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Liora<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

StopAntisemitism executive director Liora Reznichenko testifies before the House Committee on Small Business hearing on rising crime at Capitol Hill in Washington on Jan. 11, 2024. Photo: Jose Luis Magana\/AP<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Oregon music<\/strong> teacher Susan Lewis logged onto a Zoom meeting with her boss one afternoon in August 2024, she thought she would be preparing for a sixth year teaching at Valley Catholic School. Instead, she lost her job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lewis was shocked, she recalled in an interview with The Intercept, as were her colleagues and students. The school did not give any explanation for why they did not renew her contract. Unbeknownst to Lewis, the pro-Israel blacklist organization StopAntisemitism had recently launched an online campaign against her, framing her social media posts about the genocide in Gaza as \u201cusing her platform to spread vile antisemitic hate online.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lewis is one of at least 400<\/a> people<\/a> StopAntisemitism has taken credit for getting ousted from their jobs in its online crusade, which has drawn widespread attention for targeting more prominent figures \u2014 including right-wing pundit Tucker Carlson, progressive actor-turned-activist<\/a> Cynthia Nixon, and the popular children\u2019s educator Rachel Accurso, known by her stage name Ms. Rachel. Lewis, without her own platform or mass audience, is one of only two recent StopAntisemitism targets pursuing active federal lawsuits against the blacklist organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI really thought we had free speech and this wouldn\u2019t be a problem \u2014 that\u2019s what social media is for, is that you can vent,\u201d Lewis told The Intercept. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t like I was saying anything above and beyond what other critics of Israel were saying.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She sued StopAntisemitism for defamation in an Oregon state court over the summer, and the case was elevated to federal court last month. Her suit faces long odds, legal experts told The Intercept, but serves as a rare chance to register public dissent in the courts against the group\u2019s targeting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Founded in 2018 by social media influencer Liora Reznichenko and funded by the California-based real estate millionaire Adam Milstein\u2019s<\/a> foundation, StopAntisemitism targets public figures and private individuals over their criticism of Israel or advocacy for Palestinian human rights \u2014 forming a single-issue Rolodex similar to Canary Mission<\/a>. The blacklists supplement the fierce crackdowns<\/a> and censorship<\/a> against Palestine solidarity activism increasingly seen at schools across the U.S. since the outbreak of Israel\u2019s war on Gaza.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

StopAntisemitism elevated its own profile by targeting Accurso, who has used her platform to advocate for Palestinian children who have been killed, wounded, or starved by the Israeli military in Gaza, especially after she posted videos with a Palestinian 3-year-old who had lost her leg. In April, StopAntisemitism requested that the Department of Justice investigate her for alleged ties to Hamas, despite no evidence of such connections, and this month named her a finalist for \u201cAntisemite of the Year,\u201d on a list that also included Carlson and Nixon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Accurso has faced an increase in online harassment, including physical threatening letters to her and her family members, she said in an Instagram post<\/a> after StopAntisemitism released the \u201cAntisemite\u201d list. Her audience of nearly 5 million on Instagram and more than 18 million on YouTube has largely rallied around her \u2014 offering backing that hundreds of people like Lewis don\u2019t have.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Reznichenko said that since October 7, 2023, her group has profiled 1,000 employees and students, often sharing their work or school information, encouraging their followers to contact their employers and at times calling for their firing, according to an October interview<\/a> with the right-leaning Zionist media outlet Jewish News Syndicate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When StopAntisemitism shared screenshots from Lewis\u2019s personal Facebook page last August, it amplified the posts to a far larger audience than Lewis\u2019s 2,000 Facebook friends. Lewis had criticized Israel\u2019s apartheid rule over Palestinians, its genocide in Gaza, and Western support for the war. StopAntisemitism listed an email address for Valley Catholic School and encouraged its followers, who currently number more than 300,000 on X, to contact Lewis\u2019s employer. \u201cWarning to parents of students in Beaverton,\u201d the post read. \u201cStudents at [Valley Catholic] are in grave danger under Sue Lewis.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What followed was a flood of messages demanding her firing and a slew of personal attacks. \u201cTheir phones are ringing off the hook,\u201d one user commented below the post, sharing the school\u2019s phone number and listing school administrators\u2019 names. \u201cKeep trying.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In one post highlighted by StopAntisemitism, Lewis reshared a statement pointing out the false reports<\/a> of \u201cbabies beheaded\u201d by Hamas and exaggerated claims<\/a> of systemic rape<\/a> to \u201cmobilize Western support for the Palestinian genocide.\u201d She had quipped in a separate post that Hamas would \u201cwipe out Israel with their homemade bombs, small arms, hang gliders, grenades and sling shots,\u201d and later clarified the post was sarcastic, given Israel\u2019s clear military advantage thanks to billions of dollars\u2019 worth of military aid<\/a> each year from the U.S. and allied nations<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The following month, StopAntisemitism posted again: \u201cUpdate: antisemite Sue Lewis is thankfully no longer teaching at Valley Catholic High School.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In her lawsuit, Lewis is alleging that StopAntisemitism and Reznichenko defamed her, invaded her privacy, interfered with her work contract, and inflicted emotional distress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Valley Catholic School did not respond to The Intercept\u2019s request for comment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In court filings seeking an immediate dismissal, the organization has claimed its statements are true and protected by the First Amendment as opinion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Groups like StopAntisemitism have free speech rights too, said Aaron Terr, an attorney with the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, \u201ceven when it\u2019s harsh, unfair, or deeply offensive.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

StopAntisemitism declined to comment on Lewis\u2019s lawsuit and instead doubled down on its criticism of Accurso.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRegarding Ms. Rachel, it is disturbing that the media continues to pretend she merely advocates for Palestinian children,\u201d Reznichenko said in a statement to The Intercept, claiming that she attempted \u201cto pass off pictures of children with birth defects as victims of Israeli aggression\u201d and had inspired \u201can army of antisemitic lunatics\u201d to make threats against the group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A spokesperson for Accurso called Reznichenko\u2019s accusations false and dangerous. In a statement, Accurso said that her \u201ccompassion and care for children doesn\u2019t stop at any border\u201d and that her advocacy for children in Gaza is no exception.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI want every child to be fed, safe and able to attend school,\u201d Accurso said. \u201cI know that everyone benefits when we help children reach their full potential and grow into thriving, healthy adults. I also know that it\u2019s not right for children to suffer like they are currently in Gaza, Sudan, the Congo and beyond.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019re independent of corporate interests \u2014 and powered by members. Join us.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Become a member<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

While her project\u2019s<\/strong> main currency lies in the mass ire of social media, Reznichenko has also been a recurring guest on broadcast TV, including Jake Tapper\u2019s CNN show, Fox News, and NewsNation. In a recent segment<\/a> on Fox, she blamed the recent Bondi Beach mass shooting on the Palestinian liberation movement, calling for the deportation of \u201cradicals\u201d who want to \u201cglobalize the intifada,\u201d a historical reference to Palestinian resistance against Israeli occupation<\/a>, often framed by pro-Israel advocates as a call for violence against Jews.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Encino, California-based nonprofit Merona Leadership Foundation, of which Adam Milstein is president, paid Reznichenko $142,722 in 2023 while she worked for StopAntisemitism, according to the group\u2019s tax filing. The foundation, which helps cover StopAntisemitism\u2019s operating costs, serves as one vehicle for Milstein to support efforts to crush Palestinian solidarity work, as first reported by the Washington Post<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Milstein Family Foundation, which Milstein operates with his wife Gila, helps fund the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC<\/a>, and its offshoot, Democratic Majority for Israel<\/a>, as well as the right-wing think tank Heritage Foundation<\/a>. Milstein, who pleaded guilty to tax evasion<\/a> in 2008, has also been tied to blacklist group Canary Mission and has praised their work, but rejected claims that he funds the group. StopAntisemitism, however, is listed as among the Milstein foundation\u2019s supported groups<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Milsteins sit on the board of Impact Forum Foundation<\/a>, a network of dozens of pro-Israel philanthropists who support nonprofits that include StopAntisemitism. The supported companies include media organizations such as Jewish News Syndicate, pro-Israel think tanks like Middle East Forum and Jewish Institute for National Security of America, and advocacy groups such as Students Supporting Israel<\/a>, Parents Defending Education, and ELNET, which has described itself as the AIPAC of Europe<\/a>. The network\u2019s website said the coalition\u2019s aims are to \u201cfight antisemitism, strengthen the State of Israel, and advance the U.S. \u2013 Israel alliance.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Milsteins did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Lewis\u2019s lawsuit against StopAntisemitism represents a rare legal challenge against pro-Israel doxxing groups, and it faces long odds because of First Amendment protections. Former Cabrini University professor Kareem Tannous<\/a>, a Palestinian American who lost his job in 2022 after StopAntisemitism blacklisted him over social media posts critical of Israel, sued the group for defamation but had his case dismissed when a federal judge in Pennsylvania found that StopAntisemitism\u2019s statements were protected opinion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A federal judge in Michigan made a similar free speech ruling<\/a> in a lawsuit filed against StopAntisemitism in 2024 by a former University of Michigan hockey player, John Druskinis, who the group had falsely accused of painting a swastika on the sidewalk in front of the Jewish Resource Center when he had instead painted a male genitalia and a homophobic slur. Although the court upheld Druskinis\u2019s defamation claim, he dropped<\/a> his suit earlier this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aside from Lewis\u2019s suit, the only other active lawsuit against StopAntisemitism was filed by Abeer AbouYabis, a physician and former professor at Emory\u2019s medical school, who was fired after the group doxxed her over a social media post expressing \u201chope\u201d in a free Palestine and praising the \u201cglory\u201d of Palestinian \u201cresistance fighters\u201d on October 7.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unlike previous lawsuits, AbouYabis, who is an Arab Palestinian and Muslim, alleges discrimination based on race, religion, and nationality, as well as retaliation allegations under the American Disabilities Act. In a 213-page complaint, AbouYabis alleged Emory fired her while she was on medical leave for post-traumatic stress disorder after 37 members of her family were killed in the first month of Israel\u2019s genocidal war in Gaza. The suit, originally filed in May, names the school, the Milsteins, StopAntisemitism, and Canary Mission, accusing Emory of collaborating with the latter two to silence AbouYabis\u2019s protected speech. In a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, attorneys for the Milsteins did not deny its financial support for StopAntisemitism, but said the couple cannot be held liable \u201cfor the acts of these third party websites.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Central to Lewis\u2019s complaint against StopAntisemitism is the group\u2019s email campaign against Lewis as part of a series targeting educators called \u201cCorrupting the Classroom,\u201d in which they labeled her \u201ca raging antisemite.\u201d A link on the campaign\u2019s site, which remains active, leads directly to a pre-written email message addressed to Valley Catholic School\u2019s principal. The email calls Lewis \u201ca grave threat to the safety and well-being of your students\u201d whose \u201cpresence in the classroom cannot be tolerated\u201d and called on the principal \u201cto take immediate and decisive action to address this situation.\u201d Lewis\u2019s lawsuit frames the campaign\u2019s message as \u201cfalse and malicious statements\u201d about her personal views on the Israeli government\u2019s policies. The campaign, the suit alleges, is full of \u201cmischaracterizations and distortions\u201d of her social media posts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a motion to dismiss Lewis\u2019s case, attorneys for the Reznichenko and the organization defended the \u201cCorrupting the Classroom\u201d campaign as having used Lewis\u2019s own \u201cquotes and screenshots from Plaintiff\u2019s publicly available social media profile,\u201d arguing that the group \u201csimply framed them as an example of dangerous antisemitism, a conclusion StopAntisemitism is entitled to reach and express under the First Amendment\u201d and Oregon law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

FIRE\u2019s Terr, who is familiar with cases involving StopAntisemitism, said he agreed with the court\u2019s previous decisions in other cases where judges ruled to protect StopAntisemitism\u2019s free speech rights, even if he disagreed with the group\u2019s tactics. It would be worse, he said, if the government could decide what speech is or is not acceptable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second Trump administration, however, has tested the limits of such constitutional protections by passing executive orders inspired by the Heritage Foundation\u2019s Project Esther, which aims to target the pro-Palestinian movement by accusing them of being Hamas supporters<\/a>. The orders have only emboldened groups like StopAntisemitism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Earlier this year, the administration began detaining and attempting to deport high profile pro-Palestinian activists Mohsen Mahdawi<\/a>, R\u00fcmeysa \u00d6zt\u00fcrk<\/a>, and Mahmoud Khalil<\/a> \u2014 the latter of whom Reznichenko regularly attacks online. The right-wing Zionist group Betar has openly collaborated with the Trump administration, providing lists of pro-Palestine activists in the U.S. for deportation<\/a>. StopAntisemitism has cheered on<\/a> such deportation efforts. A Palestinian woman who joined a pro-Palestine protest in New York, Leqaa Kordia<\/a>, has been in immigration detention since early March despite a judge twice ordering her release. The Trump administration and groups like StopAntisemitism have accused her of being a \u201cpro-Hamas extremist\u201d while failing to present evidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Terr said StopAntisemitism is protected by the First Amendment, he criticized blacklist groups like StopAntisemitism for punishing people who say things the group disagrees with by \u201ctrying to inflict devastating consequences on people, like depriving them of their livelihoods,\u201d which he said chills further speech.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen an organization like Stop Anti-Semitism not only amplifies someone else\u2019s social media posts to criticize their views, but also organizes a campaign to get them fired, it\u2019s right to call that out as illiberal,\u201d Terr said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Calling out StopAntisemitism is perhaps the best recourse people have in seeking accountability, said Dylan Saba, an attorney at Palestine Legal, which has supported students<\/a> and faculty who have been censored by schools due to their advocacy for Palestine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBecause the speech protections are so strong, it\u2019s really a situation in which sunlight is the best disinfectant,\u201d Saba said. \u201cThe more that people understand who and what these organizations are, that there is this mass campaign to propagate smears and to stamp out any criticism of Zionism or criticism of U.S. support for Israel, the less effective those smears will be \u2014 especially as more people are becoming familiar with the issue of Palestine.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cThe more people understand that there is this mass campaign to propagate smears and to stamp out any criticism of Zionism or criticism of U.S. support for Israel, the less effective those smears will be.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Hundreds of comments by supporters of StopAntisemitism were leveled at Lewis, some of which her attorney described as as \u201cviolent and threatening\u201d in court filings. They ranged from misogynist attacks to others calling for her to get a pager, referencing an attack in Lebanon in which the Israeli military detonated thousands of pagers<\/a> and handheld walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah members, killing 42 people, including 12 civilians, and injuring more than 4,000 others. Another user suggested Lewis should be \u201cteached\u201d by Mossad, according to a police report she filed with the Portland Police Department last year, a reference to Israel\u2019s intelligence agency, which has a long history of assassinating its political enemies<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lewis said the attacks strained her marriage and her livelihood. She said she has retained some of her students for private lessons, teaching from her home studio, but she misses the camaraderie with her co-workers and helping build the school\u2019s music program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lewis, who is self-funding her case through her savings and a GoFundMe, said she is motivated by the many students who have been blacklisted by the group and whose lives have been interrupted because of StopAntisemitism\u2019s blacklist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m a teacher, that\u2019s what I do \u2014 I try to help my students reach their full potential,\u201d she said. \u201cTheir whole career could be just snuffed out, you know? They may never be able to work in their chosen field. They got student loan debt, they got to pay the rent.\u201dShare<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Contact the author:<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Jonah Valdez<\/a>jonah.valdez@theintercept.com<\/a>@jonahmv.05on Signal@jonahmv<\/a>on X<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Known for targeting celebrities like Ms. Rachel, the pro-Israel blacklist also goes after private individuals who post in solidarity with Palestine. Jonah Valdez December 20 2025 (TheIntercept.com) StopAntisemitism executive director Liora Reznichenko testifies before the House Committee on Small Business hearing on rising crime at Capitol Hill in Washington on… Continue reading → <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45698"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45698"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45698\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45699,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45698\/revisions\/45699"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45698"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45698"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45698"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}