Desperate times call for desperate measures.
An English idiom, paraphrasing Hippocrates.
Of everything I have read and heard recently about Israel’s position in the modern world, the most interesting and competent was the presentation by Gregg Roman, executive director of the Middle East Forum. He spoke in the midst of a universal parade of hatred toward Israel, on the eve of the UN General Assembly session dedicated to its 80th anniversary.
Today or never
The Middle East Forum is an American conservative think tank founded 35 years ago by Daniel Pipes. The Forum’s mission is to promote American interests in the region and strengthen ties with friendly governments. The Forum initially understood the danger of radical Islam, but placed its hopes in moderate Islam being able to counter it. The current crisis in the Middle East has shown that these hopes were illusory. The opposition in Islamic countries is weak and ineffective.
The Forum sees Israel as America’s most important and reliable ally in the Middle East and rejects the policy of appeasement toward Palestinian terrorists and their accomplices. By supporting Israel, America is also defending its own fundamental interests and values. The war between Israel and Hamas is not a local conflict. It is a confrontation between civilization and barbarism.
Another focus of the Forum’s work is to draw attention to the situation in universities, where the political atmosphere is shaped by radical progressives. The free expression of conservative ideas in education has become virtually impossible. Anti-Zionist hysteria in universities is part of a broader attack on the foundations and values of Western civilization. Everything that Israel is accused of today will be transferred to the entire Western world tomorrow: colonization, imperialism, racism, apartheid, genocide, global control.
Gregg Roman has revealed Israel’s main political dilemma in the current situation: to agree to a forced truce so as not to further exacerbate international antagonism, or to act on the understanding that there will never be another opportunity to put an end to Hamas once and for all and prevent it from reviving in Palestine. Logic and morality cannot change world public opinion. And, as history has shown, Israel cannot rely on guarantees from outside. This is the position taken by the current Israeli government.
The Middle East Forum realistically assesses the situation: there are no good and quick solutions. Leaving Hamas in power means new cycles of terror; ignoring world public opinion means difficult political and economic consequences, increased internal confrontation, and a colossal moral burden on Israelis, who have not known peace and stability since the country’s founding.
And if military action continues indefinitely, Jews in the diaspora will have to go into hiding; many are already afraid to reveal their identity and beliefs. But the Trump presidency has created more favorable opportunities for Israel than Obama and Biden did, and Netanyahu’s government is aware that there may not be another such moment.
Gregg Roman also spoke about the use of artificial intelligence in information warfare, but the trouble is that all these achievements of civilization are also in the hands of savages, and what frightens and stops people with moral standards is no obstacle for terrorists and their inspirers.
Anti-Semitism: new and old
In the past, when Jews were persecuted and expelled from Spain, England, Germany, Russia, and Muslim countries, it was possible to find refuge where religion, authority, and mob violence were not so rampant at the time. Today, the social base of anti-Semitism has expanded. Anti-Semitism on the streets and in ethnic enclaves has merged with the atmosphere in universities, government, public, and cultural institutions, conditioned by left-liberal ideology, new demographics, and the wild lawlessness of social media.
On the eve of World War II, most countries understood the nature and threat of fascism and its inextricable link to anti-Semitism. But today, even countries that have fully experienced the threats of Islamic radicalism have lost their sense of self-preservation and are providing political and financial support to terrorists.
In the post-WWII period, there have been many international and civil wars and conflicts in which hundreds of thousands of people have died and tens of millions have become refugees. The current state of relations between the West and China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea is fraught with the possibility of nuclear war. But the main concern of many states and international organizations has been the situation in Gaza and the slanderous condemnation of Israel. The international community is demanding an end to military action, but the war would have been over long ago if the terrorists had not received widespread support.
October 7 did not become the moment of truth. The international community considers it adequate and fair to exchange a few innocent hostages captured by bandits for hundreds of terrorists who, after leaving prison—where they are fed, treated, given the opportunity to receive an education—replenish the ranks of Hamas and are rewarded with recognition of their right to statehood. The world knows that schools, hospitals, mosques, and high-rise buildings serve as shelters and battlefields for terrorists. But the responsibility for civilian casualties is placed on Israel, not Hamas.
After September 11, America, which lost 20 times less in proportion to its population than Israel did on October 7, started a global war on terror, in which nearly hundreds of thousands of people died, destroyed bin Laden and other Islamists on foreign territory, changed regimes in Iraq and Syria, and strengthened its military presence in dangerous regions. But Israel has no right to self-defense and its leaders are declared war criminals.
We can recall once again the carpet bombing of German cities, the nuclear strike on Japan, the 15 million German refugees, the territories lost by Germany and Japan, and the long post-war occupation by the Allies. Liberals say: times were different then. Indeed, it was a different time. The Allies did not have to wage urban warfare while taking into account the opinions of outside observers. They used their entire arsenal of available means and only began counting civilian casualties and providing humanitarian aid after victory and the eradication of the remnants of the fascist regime.
Israel’s military actions could have been avoided or suspended if the international community, the UN, the coalition of democratic states, and moderate neighbors had taken real responsibility for eliminating the terrorist regime, punishing the organizers of the October 7 crimes, and creating a new state. But Israel has to fight alone and under enormous pressure.
In the countries of the diaspora, not a day goes by without pro-Palestinian demonstrations involving thousands of people, anti-Semitic attacks, and vandalism. The doors of churches are wide open, but on Shabbat and holidays, synagogues are guarded by police, searches, detectors, and internal security. Barbarians who hold hostages and use the victims of the war they have unleashed as their main weapon have gained the status of fighters for rights and freedoms. The streets of Paris, London, Amsterdam, Vienna, and Berlin are controlled by crowds of migrants from the Middle East who hate their new country as passionately as they hate Israel and are convinced that they determine the future of Europe.
The current session of the UN General Assembly, “Better Together: 80 Years for Peace, Development and Civil Rights,” focuses on global reforms and multiculturalism. What are the results of these efforts and trillions in spending? The world is closer to a new world war than it was when the UN was founded, nuclear weapons are proliferating, and global terrorism is on the rise. Totalitarian, despotic, authoritarian regimes are strengthening their power and influence, the concepts of civil rights and freedoms have become a tool of demagoguery and political manipulation, and Nazism, xenophobia, and extremism have buried the illusions of universal human values, cooperation, and mutual assistance.
Destructive forces dominate the UN and other international organizations, the authority and influence of the West have been lost, the “golden billion” — the white race — is being demonized, and the US, the main donor and home of the UN, is increasingly finding itself alone and losing the political and ideological war. The UN’s attitude toward Israel is indicative of its degradation and toxic role.
But it must be said that the UN leadership is coming to understand that America has less and less desire to subsidize and maintain an unfriendly and ineffective organization on its territory, and that Trump has enough determination to advise it to move to Paris, Qatar, or another place more adequate to the UN structure and politics. At the opening ceremony of the session, the UN Peace Institute displayed the “Wishing Tree,” a helpless pacifist creation by John Lennon’s wife, Yoko Ono. Those gathered hung pieces of paper on strings on the tree, with “peace” being the most popular wish. At least this time there were no speeches condemning Israel.
But hatred of Israel prevails among UN members, and the current session was not without resolutions on genocide and war crimes. How long can America contain global chaos and hatred? There are constant demonstrations at the UN with Palestinian flags, posters, shouting, and drums. For whom does the bell toll? The bell tolls for you, Western civilization.
Our unity
The Talmud states that the Temple was destroyed and Israel lost its independence as punishment for the hostile relations between Jews, and only the Torah, firm religious beliefs, saved the Jews from complete assimilation and disappearance as a distinct people.
The current situation evokes sad associations with the past. The mantra of Jewish global unity and influence is at the heart of the anti-Zionist canon, and Jewish leaders constantly speak of the need for solidarity and joint action, but the real situation shows deep divisions and disagreements on fundamental issues of worldview and practical action.
Even in the midst of a devastating war, political strife continues in Israel, the judicial system opposes the administrative system, left-wing politicians and the press exploit the difficulties of wartime for partisan interests, and the position of the ultra-Orthodox—their refusal to serve in the military—is perceived by most Israelis as sabotage and dishonor.
Opponents accuse the government of lacking a clear plan for waging war and for the future of Gaza. Israel is fighting for survival against global forces united by their hatred of the Jewish state. America is its only ally, but who and what will come after Trump, or how his moods will change, only God knows. Critics, however, demand certainty and guarantees. But even if Israel has plans and a roadmap for the outcome of the war, it would be strange to expect the government to inform The New York Times, Al Jazeera, or even Haaretz in advance.
The time will come when Israel will answer the question of how Hamas’s monstrous attack could have been prepared and carried out over such a long period of time. How adequate was the assessment of the conditions of war, the terrorists’ ability to resist, the reaction of world public opinion, and the internal situation in Israel?
Many in Israel and the West, not just liberals, hoped that Palestinian Arabs were waiting to be freed from the dictatorship of fanatics and corrupt officials. But the war showed that they actively support them, share their beliefs and goals, and no good deeds can change their minds and behavior. Endless aid from the West and Arab states, as well as support from international organizations, could have made it possible to build a Singapore or Hong Kong in Gaza. But the Palestinians’ goal is not peace and prosperity, but the destruction of the Jewish state, which justifies any sacrifice and defines the meaning of their existence.
A democratic society is incapable of understanding this mentality. Despite its colossal economic, military, and scientific and technological superiority, the West has not won a single war against Islamic fanatics. It is not even possible to buy them off; they will take everything they can, but remain enemies. The West has not realized the existential threats, is ready to pay and repent, to keep its borders open, even though demographics have already delivered a historical verdict. The number and proportion of white people in the world is constantly declining. In Soviet times, there was a saying: “Armenians, take care of the Jews, they will finish them off, then they will come for you.” This warning is relevant not only for Armenians.
Polls show a steady shift in American public opinion in favor of the Palestinians; after October 7, the number of those expressing support for them grew by 23 percent. Among young people, less than a quarter are supporters of Israel. The Democratic Party, which Jews regularly vote for, has become a refuge for anti-Israel, anti-Semitic forces. The time is not far off when progressives will oust Jews from big politics and other spheres of influence. Future New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and his like-minded colleagues in federal and local government are already a powerful political force today, and they make no secret of their views and intentions. Half of New York’s Jews are ready to vote for Mamdani, who has called for a global Intifada, accused Israel of genocide, and is ready to arrest Netanyahu and hand him over to the International Criminal Court. Few people take the socialist promises of the future mayor seriously, but his anti-Israel rhetoric proved necessary and sufficient to defeat his opponents.
Our leaders
America is home to the largest Jewish diaspora, second only to Israel in terms of population. It is difficult to call it a community—it is a conglomerate of people with different views and beliefs. American Jews do not recognize ethnic unity; here, Jews are not a nation, but a religion. At the same time, more than 70% of American Jews are liberals, reformists, reconstructionists, atheists, agnostics, and they all have the same relation toward Judaism as the Iroquois and Eskimos. Even worse, many of them try to adapt the Torah to their liberal fantasies, and their rabbis sign petitions condemning Israel for the suffering of the civilian population of Gaza. “When someone calls himself a rabbi, the real question is, in whose eyes is he a rabbi?” writes Rabbi David Bashevkin in Tablet. In today’s world, the aura of a sage and a righteous man is not necessarily associated with those who claim to be spiritual mentors.
Until recently, Orthodox Jews refrained from openly criticizing Israel, but many of them have changed their position. Their colleague, America’s most famous rabbi, Shmuley Boteach, said of the renegade rabbis: “There are periods in Jewish history when cowardice is disguised as conscience, weakness as mercy, and when those who should be the defenders of the Jews become saboteurs. We are living in a time when the voices of Orthodox rabbis, led by Yeshiva University, have chosen to publicly criticize Israel during the most fateful struggle for Jewish survival since 1948. This is not a scandal. This is treason.”
Shmuley is one of the few rabbis who is not afraid of either the mob of haters or rejection by his fake co-religionists who have lost their common sense and conscience, forgotten the Torah and the lessons of history. Shmuley did not shy away from publicly condemning his friend and colleague Ben Shapiro for his collaboration with Candace Owens, who glorifies Hitler, accuses Israel of genocide, conspiracy, and suppression of opponents. She tries to link the murder of Charlie Kirk to his “uncomfortable questions” about Israel, mentioning the names of Bill Ackman and Netanyahu. Shapiro is a brilliant commentator who understands the essence of what is happening, but the interests of lucrative collaboration with a paranoid fanatic—bringing in millions—turned out to be higher than knowledge and conscience.
There is a high price to pay for taking a principled stand. Shmuley receives death threats on a daily basis, has been attacked repeatedly in his own country and abroad, and is viewed with suspicion and hostility by most Jewish religious and political leaders. He is constantly having to defend himself against legal proceedings. He recently led a memorial prayer for 22-year-old Shani Luk, who was killed by Palestinians on October 7. Terrorists brought her naked body through the jubilant streets of Gaza. Shani’s father came to New York for the ceremony, and ten people gathered for a minyan. Although it was a public place, the management of Waterline Square in Manhattan sued the rabbi. There are Jews in the management of this organization.
The Jewish New Year and Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, are approaching—a time for retrospection and introspection, for reflecting on the past and making plans and hopes for the future. Where are we today? What will tomorrow be like? What led to the current crisis? Everyone will answer these questions in their own way.
Most American Jews have a ready answer: Trump and Netanyahu are to blame for everything. And if everyday reality does not convince them, what can be discussed, what unity can be expected? Engage in dialogue with Jewish Voice for Peace, If Not Now, J Street, Rabbinic Call for Human Rights, financial and political sponsors of Israel’s enemies such as Soros and Sanders, Jews participating in pro-Palestinian protests, useful idiots who don’t know what they are doing?
Journalists and professors Norman Finkelstein, Judith Butler, Sarah Roy, Ilan Pappé, Max Blumenthal, Naomi Klein, Peter Beinart, and many others like them have built their careers on accusations against Israel. Today is their golden age. They are invited and listened to more eagerly than non-Jewish anti-Semites. If enlightenment comes, it will only come to their children and grandchildren.
Many Jews in the mainstream media, universities, and schools are forced to keep up with the atmosphere, ideology, and moods of their colleagues and superiors. Not everyone is capable of heroism and self-sacrifice. Even non-participation is not easy; today, you cannot say, “I am not involved in politics,” even if you are a mathematician or write about classical music.
Many Soviet Jews remember the conditions of work and study in the context of the struggle against Zionism and Jewish nationalism; even staying on the sidelines and remaining silent was almost a civic feat. But at least Soviet Jews, although there were many staunch supporters of the regime among them, for the most part understood the essence of what was happening and deeply felt the dependence and humiliation. And it must be said that most Jewish immigrants with Soviet experience have learned the lessons of anti-Semitism well and understand the essence of what is happening.
Biblical and archaeological arguments dating back thousands of years and the Zionist idea may raise doubts and discussions, but at the same time, it must be understood that eight million Israelis need the right to life and security, that many Jews in the diaspora will have to change their place of residence and have no other country to go to, and that it is impossible to find a compromise with terrorists.
Hopes that democracy, the constitution, laws, education, charity, and positive examples would ensure the rights and safety of Jews have been dashed. Jewish organizations, Jews in big politics and philanthropy have failed to cope with the challenges of the times and circumstances. Moreover, they often helped the enemies of the Jews, hoping to re-educate them, and suppressed the voices of those who did not succumb to illusions and fantasies. They did not lose the battle; they did not participate in it or took a position on the other side of the barricades.
In Manhattan’s reform synagogues, they fight against Trump and pray for those suffering in Israel and Gaza in one prayer, while conservative rabbis speak of Israel’s “disgrace” and how it does not represent Jewish values. The largest Jewish charity, the United Jewish Appeal, is dedicated to serving Jews in need around the world, but even in the current circumstances, this organization is trying to continue its senseless policy of building bridges with enemies and has allocated financial aid to the Palestinians. This aid may be a drop in the ocean compared to the billions provided by the West, Muslim countries, and international organizations, but it is a telling gesture.
The Anti-Defamation League, which in the past enjoyed considerable authority and whose main task was to combat anti-Semitism, is now busy fighting Islamophobia and defending illegal immigrants, the rights of ethnic minorities and gays.
I remember, long before the current crisis, I was at a meeting with the leadership of one of the largest Jewish organizations in America. Even then, in those blessed times, anti-Semitism was still on the agenda. Someone asked what the organization was doing to counter the anti-Israel bias of the mainstream media. A young PR woman, as she introduced herself—a journalist—said that they had met with journalists from The New York Times and “explained everything” to them… The idiocy of the answer came as no surprise to either the audience or the leadership on the podium.
There is no point in waiting for repentance. It would be good, at least, not to give money or vote for those who have proven their incompetence and alienation from Jewish history and destiny. And to support those who have proven their commitment to Jewish interests and have not backed down in difficult trials. There is the Zionist Organization of America, a staunch defender of Israel and an uncompromising fighter against anti-Semitism. There is Tablet, Commentary, and the Jewish News Syndicate. Even in The New York Times, there is still a supporter of Israel—the Zionist Bret Stephens. There are rabbis-prophets in our time, such as Shmuley Boteach, Arthur Schneier, and Meir Soloveichik. There are professors who have not compromised their conscience, such as Alan Dershowitz, Miriam Elman, and Deborah Lipstadt.
On the eve of the holidays, it is necessary to say something comforting, not in dreams, but in reality. America is a huge country with many contradictions and conflicts of interest, and the “Jewish question” is not the biggest problem here. Sooner or later, it will fade into the background and become less acute. Anti-Semitism generates a chain reaction, and civil conflict on a national scale in a multiracial, multi-ethnic country is an even greater threat than external antagonisms.
America is a country of Judeo-Christian civilization, and marginal groups will not succeed in erasing its history and values; their radicalism will provoke an even more radical response. To put it very briefly, those who helped bring Trump to power and strengthened conservative positions were, first and foremost, Obama, left-wing radical progressives, Black Lives Matter, Woke, illegal immigration, and their threat to the American way of life and values. Trump and Vance are primarily a manifestation of powerful political forces that are not prepared to yield to those who are trying to change the face and way of life of the country. They will not surrender the country to outsiders.
There is a potential opportunity to stop viral anti-Semitism in America. There are legal grounds and administrative capabilities to do so. This has been proven not by Jewish organizations, but by the conservative research center Heritage Foundation, which developed the project Esther: A National Strategy to Combat Anti-Semitism. The project recommends suppressing the activities of organizations and movements that support organizations recognized as terrorist. Legislative measures should be taken against those who provide them with financial and political support. This practice is fully applied to ISIS supporters; the precedent exists. Why are Hamas activists and propagandists immune from punishment? Why is staring at a woman in an elevator harassment, but shouting “baby killer” at a Jewish student is freedom of speech?
The project proposes to identify people in the media and education who incite anti-Semitism, to destroy the network of Hamas supporters by criminalizing their activities, deporting them, revoking student visas, and confiscating their funds.
Who are among the active critics of the project? The answer is obvious: Jewish organizations. Their arguments? Freedom of speech, academic freedom. And most importantly, they were not consulted. Stupidity, cowardice, meanness, suicidal thinking and behavior are inseparable here.
I read another interesting observation in Tablet that allows us to look to the future with a degree of optimism. When the opportunity arose to escape from Egyptian slavery, most Jews did not follow Moses, fearing uncertainty and difficult trials. Only a quarter dared to change their fate. Those who remained in Egypt assimilated, dissolved into mixed marriages, accepted foreign gods, and left no trace of themselves.
History does not offer direct associations, but the lessons of the Bible are not metaphorical. The question is who wants to remain Jewish, and who is unable or unwilling to do so. It is a question of free will and consciousness, personal choice and responsibility.
“I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Choose life, that you and your descendants may live.”
—Deuteronomy 30:19
