In a post-October 7 world, American Jews face a crisis of trust Opinion

October 7, 2023 changed Jewish history forever. The catastrophe is so profound that it will take years to fully understand. Time stood still that day. It’s still October 7th. We haven’t moved on yet. Our fear is too great, our fear and insecurity too omnipresent. We are still traumatized and can only truly begin the healing process when the fiercest fighting stops and the danger is averted.

For American Jews, the past year has shown how persistent the Jew-hatred that we thought was largely suppressed simmers beneath the surface of Western societies. It’s not that we weren’t aware of the hostility that still existed. We still remember the synagogue massacre in Pittsburgh. We vividly remember the “Jews will not replace us” chants from Charlottesville. But in terms of our daily routines, most of us deal with Jew-hatred as much as we deal with our own mortality: we know it’s inevitable, but we convince ourselves that somehow it won’t happen to me.

One of the saddest developments since October 7th is the shock to American Jews, who for the first time in their lives are confronted with pervasive anti-Semitism. The realization that ancient hatreds are still alive in America plunged American Jews into a crisis of confidence. We begin to hear eerie echoes from Europe, the haunting howls of hate that brought our ancestors to these shores in the first place.

The connection between anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism is now much clearer. Leaving aside the philosophical debate about whether anti-Zionism constitutes anti-Semitism by definition, the effect, if not the intent, of anti-Zionism is to generate intense hostility toward Judaism and Jews themselves. As if miraculously on the tongue, the words “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” transform into “gas the Jews,” “kill the Jews,” “cleanse the world of the Jews.” How naturally the hatred of Israel mutates into hatred of the Jews. How easily anti-Israel passions lead to violence against Jews and Jewish institutions.

Israel’s enemies have made a virtue of the obscenity of anti-Zionism: Israel stands in the way of human progress. Fighting against this means fighting for freedom, goodness, justice and righteousness. This is classic anti-Semitism. Its roots run very deep. The collective Jew is always at the center of anti-Semitism. That is why atheist, secular, religious, ultra-liberal and ultra-conservative Jews from all parts of Europe met in Auschwitz. For this reason, on October 7th, atheists, secularists, religious people, ultra-liberals, ultra-conservatives, pro-two-states and opponents of two-states were slaughtered and kidnapped. Israelis who dedicated their lives to coexistence with the Palestinians, who advocated and acted for it, were also brutally murdered. It didn’t matter what they actually believed. Nobody asked. They were viewed in terms of their proximity to the Jewish collective.

Israel’s enemies have tried for decades to portray it as a genocide, as genocide is the ultimate evil of our time. To blame the Jews – the victims of genocide – is to justify the genocide against them. It is Holocaust denial in its most blatant form. It drains the word “genocide” of its meaning.

Anti-Semites always accused the Jews of the very acts they had done to us. The Nazis accused the Jews of wanting to destroy German civilization – so for reasons of self-preservation, the Jewish people had to be destroyed first.

Criticizing Jewish organizations, opposing Israeli policies, standing up for the Palestinians, protesting against the carnage of the war – all of this is legitimate. But American Jews will not debate whether the Jewish state, of all things, has a right to exist. We will not discuss whether we have a right to national dignity and self-determination. If we can’t convince you to leave us alone, we will defend ourselves. What other choice is there? We’ve already tried everything else. The days of bowing down to marauding murderers are over.

Wherever individual Jews choose to live, Israel is the last stop for the Jewish people. There is no other place to go. We are open to all discussions about living together. We will not discuss national suicide with you.

Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch is the senior rabbi of the Stephen Wise Free Synagogue in New York City.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own.