All animals are wired with a survival instinct, and humans are no exception. The Jewish people, having been conditioned to the trauma of numerous extinction efforts, recite at the Passover table that in every generation, someone has risen up to vanquish us and failed. Children say or hear this line before stuffing their faces with matzah farfel, thinking victory is guaranteed.
But we shouldn’t rely on miracles.
While Israel was caught off guard on October 7, Jews in the Diaspora were also unprepared for a coordinated and well-funded campaign to cast Israel, Jews, and Zionists as villains, even before the IDF responded militarily. I yearn for the day when parents in Israel don’t have to send their children off to war, and all Israelis and Palestinians live in peace.
Sinwar’s Plan Failed, Then Succeeded
October 7 mastermind Yahya Sinwar failed to become Saladin. But although he was killed, other elements of his plan are working. He wanted to conquer Israel with the help of Iran and Hezbollah, but they didn’t do what he had hoped. But he also knew there was a good chance to make Israel look like a pariah, as after murdering and raping young Israelis at a dance for peace, he knew Israel would have no other choice than to retaliate, and he knew the world media would depict Israel as the villain. He also hoped it would be open season on Jews, despite no such thing happening to Russians when their country invaded Ukraine.
The Battle for Words
Qatar has already spent an estimated $6.5 billion to brainwash college students to hate America and Israel, while Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens seek to make Christians feel that support for Israel is a yogurt that has now soured. But a third, and perhaps most important, part of this campaign has been to hijack the word “Zionist,” to give a false definition to the word “genocide,” and to have these repeated in the media so often that even Jews would adopt this false language and could be shown off as tokens in the type of game our enemies can actually win.
Being Stubborn Is Now Hurting Us
The Torah refers to Jews as an “am k’shei oref,” a stiff-necked people. While this was a survival strength when the two spies Calev and Yehoshua saw that Canaan could be conquered despite giants living there, in modern times Jewish organizations have not adequately responded to the new challenges we are facing and also to some of the old ones.
Judaism is a religion that can criticize its heroes. Bless Robert Kraft for spending the money on the Blue Square Campaign, but for three years it has been a total failure. An ad against hate requires a consequence for the hater, just as an ad against drunk driving needs to show a crash or an arrest.
Arguing Without Action Is a Trojan Horse
For such a smart people, it is bizarre that, in Chelm-like fashion, we sit and argue whether or not the “Golden Age” for Jews in America is over and whether or not anti-Zionism is antisemitism. The first question is irrelevant, and as for the second, Rabbi Dr. Ari Berman, president of Yeshiva University, recently said that anti-Zionism is antisemitism if one believes all other countries have a right to exist but only Israel does not. Berman should be on many shows saying this every day, as should Robert Kraft. Going on the offensive to reclaim the true meaning of words is of paramount importance, and sadly, leaders have been asleep at the wheel.
Invest in Jewish Education
New York Times opinion writer Bret Stephens recently gave a speech at 92NY in which he correctly said that Jews need to spend more on Jewish education. I was lucky to have parents that could afford to send me to the Frisch School in Paramus, New Jersey. The school was excellent in teaching critical thinking. I also got incredible passion from Camp Ramah.
It is a shame that many Jewish parents can’t afford to send their kids to Jewish schools, and those who do have to live paycheck to paycheck. Jewish schools and camps are essential for the preservation of Jewish identity, and funding for them is far more important than Holocaust museums. This does not mean that all public schools are bad (I taught at an excellent one), and it also doesn’t mean parents should abdicate their roles and let their children be educated by TikTok.
Don’t Turn Your Back on Jewish Singles
I would encourage Stephens to call for funding either new or existing organizations to run Jewish singles’ events. Not everyone will find a spouse through a matchmaker or a Jewish dating app. Manhattan Jewish Experience is one organization responsible for making a huge number of marriages, and there is no reason there couldn’t be similar organizations in cities across the country.
As you sit down at your next Shabbos meal and look into the eyes of your spouse and your children, know that there are tons of Jewish singles who yearn to get married but have been marginalized and feel frustrated. They are only one party away or one meal invitation away from finding their bashert. Do something to help and don’t make singles feel like they have to wait for Moshiach or for when Elon Musk decides to make a party for Jews on Mars. The 2020 Pew Research Center study found that Orthodox parents have 3.3 children on average and non-Orthodox families have 1.4. The failure of Jewish organizations to do more for Jewish singles is one of the greatest tragedies few people talk about.
Don’t Underestimate the Domino Effect
While the Anti-Defamation League (like almost all organizations) could use reform, I do not agree with Stephens’ call to dismantle it. The NAACP has not ended racism, but nobody is calling for it to be shut down. Sinwar would laugh at this possibility from his grave and hope AIPAC would be next on the chopping block. Stephens said in his speech that there is no cure for antisemitism. While that is true, we still have tools to fight it and we must call out slander, for if we cede the truth of language, it is like hitting a shield with a blunt sword. Stephens is also correct that we should not beg for allyship, but we should not refuse those who in good faith offer it. There is a reason an ignorant fool named Carrie Prejean Boller falsely claimed that Catholics by definition are not Zionists. It is because she, Owens, and Carlson believe that if they can sever this cord of support for Israel by evangelical Christians, they can become more powerful and hurt Israel.
We must invest in Jewish education and camps and help Jewish singles. At the same time, the ADL and new organizations must work to train the next set of leaders to be able to speak about Judaism and Israel like Douglas Murray, Ben Shapiro, Shabbos Kestenbaum, Hillel Fuld, Natasha Hausdorff, Hen Mazzig, Lizzy Savetsky, Hillel Neuer, Constantin Kisin, and Emily Austin.
It would also be a good idea for Jews in America to take self-defense courses, but there is a stigma that is tough to overcome as well as an erroneous belief that the police will always be able to protect.
There are an estimated 15 million Jews in the world – many linked to Judaism only by bagels, Jerry Seinfeld, and Adam Sandler – whose importance should not be underestimated. But some have been brainwashed to believe that if they focus on tikkun olam and bury their heads in a bowl of chicken soup, all will be fine as long as they don’t slurp too loudly.
Our social media enemies don’t simply smell blood in the water. They see they can make Jews turn on themselves and engage in bloodletting. It is not possible to legislate thoughts and opinions. But it is possible to make laws that best protect Jews and keep out politicians who have now normalized Jew-hatred.
Just as we can walk and chew gum at the same time, we can fight antisemitism with one hand and work to build the Jewish people with the other. The battle for the soul of America is raging, and Jews are being ostracized. In a world of growing darkness, we must be sure to shine our flashlights on the right places.