Growing up, I read many books by Holocaust survivors and wondered: why did Jews remain in Europe in the decade before the Holocaust, when antisemitism was rising and attacks were common? Why didn’t they recognize the danger?
Unthinkable as it seems, Jews worldwide are again facing a similar threat. Since Oct. 7, 2023, 17 synagogues have been set on fire across the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Australia and more. In the U.S., Pennsylvania’s Jewish governor’s home was set ablaze; a young couple was shot and killed outside a Jewish museum in Washington, D.C.; Jews at a peaceful Boulder, Colo. rally were torched by an anti-Zionist protester, killing a Holocaust survivor. On Aug. 5, a Jewish family in Clayton awoke to find their three cars burned and “Death to the IDF” (Israel Defense Forces) spray-painted on their driveway.
These are part of a surge of more than 10,000 antisemitic incidents in the U.S. since Oct. 7 — the highest recorded in such a short time since tracking began in 1979.
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Some claim these attacks are a response to Israel’s actions in Gaza. But there is no precedent for targeting an ethnic group for the actions of a related country. Have Russian restaurants been firebombed over Ukraine? Chinese schools attacked over Uyghur camps? Turkish cafés boycotted over Kurdish oppression? Syrian businesses torched over war crimes? Have their nationals been expelled from stores or publicly threatened with death, as happened at Coachella when the Irish band Kneecap displayed “F— Israel”?
Mainstream media often spreads unverified accusations against Israel. The New York Times recently published a striking photo of a child with a severely protruding spine, implying that Israel is responsible for starvation in Gaza. The image was widely shared to the Times’ 55 million followers — yet the paper knew beforehand that the boy suffered from a genetic disease, not hunger. Israel had even facilitated his medical evacuation to Italy. The correction appeared only on a little-known NYT social media account, unseen by most and leaving the false impression intact.
Meanwhile, the U.N.’s own data indicates that over 90% of U.N. aid trucks sent to Gaza since June 2025 have been looted or seized by Hamas — not blocked by Israel. This critical fact is largely absent from mainstream reporting. And according to data from the Gaza Health Ministry (which is run by Hamas), more than half of recent deaths in Gaza were men aged 18–59, strongly suggesting many were combatants and not civilians. Yet CNN, MSNBC and BBC rarely report this.
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The vilification of Jews today mirrors Nazi propaganda, which depicted Jews as inherently evil in order to justify violence. False narratives about Israel serve the same purpose — dehumanizing Jews until killing them seems acceptable.
We’ve seen this pattern before. The danger is real. The writing is on the wall. I hope Jews in the United States recognize what is happening — before it’s too late.
