Extremism and Antisemitism: Pathways to Disengagement and Recovery, A Program-Based Practice Report.

Abstract

Antisemitism remains a persistent feature across contemporary extremist movements, including far-right, jihadist, and certain far-left ideological ecosystems. This article examines antisemitism as a cognitive and narrative accelerant within radicalization pathways and explores how multidisciplinary, trauma-informed interventions may disrupt these processes. Drawing from intervention work conducted through Parents for Peace, we analyze two case studies involving radicalized adolescents whose trajectories included antisemitic ideation, online extremist exposure, identity-based grievances, and social isolation. We further examine the role of Exit Peer Specialists (“formers”) within clinically supervised disengagement models and discuss both the potential benefits and ethical challenges associated with former-led intervention work. Across the cases, antisemitism functioned less as an isolated prejudice and more as a mechanism for organizing grievance, moral certainty, and out-group hostility. Findings suggest that relationship-based interventions combining psychological support, family engagement, religious literacy, and supervised lived experience may weaken extremist identification more effectively than ideological refutation alone. We conclude with recommendations for integrating public health, trauma-informed care, and early-intervention frameworks into contemporary P/CVE practice.