President Donald Trump has revived the hyphenated spelling of anti-Semitism, reversing a years-long shift toward the unhyphenated antisemitism used by Jewish organizations and scholars. The decision, reflected in his executive order on combating anti-Semitism and a new White House task force, has sparked debate among experts.

Holocaust historian Deborah Lipstadt criticized the move, arguing that removing the hyphen clarifies the term’s meaning. The Trump administration has not provided a formal explanation, but the change aligns with its broader push to reverse Biden-era policies.

Why Trump is bringing back ‘anti-Semitism’

It was supposed to be settled: Strike the hyphen from “anti-Semitism” and use “antisemitism” instead.

Public debate heated up in 2020 and by 2024, nearly everyone had made the switch: Jews and gentiles; academics and journalists; government officials and private citizens; right-wingers and left-wingers.

Then Trump took office and made “anti-Semitism” hyphenated again.

It’s the spelling the government is using in official statements, including in Trump’s Jan. 29 executive order, “Additional Measures to Combat Anti-Semitism,” and in the title of the new “Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism.”

The White House has not explained the reasoning behind the shift. However, some see it as a continuation of Trump’s effort to roll back Biden-era policies.

Jewish scholars and organizations push back

Deborah Lipstadt, a Holocaust scholar and former U.S. special envoy to combat antisemitism, expressed strong opposition.

“This decision makes no sense,” Lipstadt told JTA in an email. “The only people who push for the hyphen are those who wish to create a racial category of ‘Semitism’… The man who coined it intended it to mean one thing and one thing only: Jew-hatred.”

Michaela Küchler, secretary general of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), also reaffirmed support for the unhyphenated spelling, stating it helps clarify that antisemitism refers specifically to hatred of Jews.

Jewish organizations such as the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), the American Jewish Committee, and Yad Vashem have long advocated for the spelling shift. In 2021, the ADL officially dropped the hyphen, stating, “While removing a hyphen by itself won’t defeat antisemitism, this slight alteration will help clarify understanding of this age-old hatred.”

Even some right-wing groups, including The Heritage Foundation, had moved to the unhyphenated spelling in recent years.

Despite the controversy, the Trump administration is doubling down, maintaining the spelling in official government materials.