This is the pernicious nature of anti-Semitism: It emerges in many different forms, from all sides of the political spectrum. It is impossible to name a single enemy responsible for the apparent recent spike of anti-Semitic incidents in the United States; Jew hatred easily shape-shifts to fit the purposes of many ideologies. Many Jews feel scared by anti-Semitic violence and discrimination, and yet they disagree about its source and cause. That’s why yesterday’s kosher-grocery-store shooting is so complicated to explain, and yet so straightforward: As Jonathan Greenblatt, the head of the Anti-Defamation League, told me in an interview today, “Jews are being shot in the supermarkets where they shop, simply for the crime of being Jewish.”…

This is the twisted logic of anti-Semitism: Jews are blamed for bringing immigrant “invaders” to the United States while being simultaneously smeared as white supremacists. Jews are the targets of conspiracy theories and stereotypes, and yet Jewish vulnerability is constantly questioned and undermined by people who perceive Jews to have outsize cultural power. Visibly identifiable Jews, including those who might shop at kosher grocery stores like the one in Jersey City, are often targets for violence. At today’s press conference, Niederman, the Satmar rabbi, referred to an old article in The New York Times that asked whether Jews are safe in New York City. “Unfortunately, we see now that we are not safe in the New York metropolitan area,” he said. It’s remarkable that he has come to believe this about New York, of all places: An estimated 1.7 million Jews live in the metropolitan area, the highest concentration of Jews in America.