After Hamas killed 1,200 Israelis in the most barbaric ways imaginable, perpetrated horrific sexual violence, and kidnapped hundreds of civilians – it’s hard to imagine anyone excusing – or even worse – celebrating this attack.
Unfortunately, many have.
These celebrations and attacks on Jewish communities and institutions have caused a major uptick in antisemitism worldwide. If we are going to counter this post-October 7 surge, we must identify the forces driving it. There are four big lies we must tackle head-on if we are going to be successful.
The first is the notion that “From the River to the Sea” means the liberation of Palestinians or a secular binational Palestinian state. This couldn’t be further from the truth. It is a rallying cry for the erasure of the State of Israel and its people.
[The Jerusalem Post Report continues]
When testifying before Congress about antisemitism on their campuses, the presidents of Harvard, the University of Pennsylvania, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology refused to say whether calling for the genocide of Jews inherently violates their respective codes of conduct. Instead, they equivocated, saying that it would depend on the context, or that it would not be actionable unless it targeted individuals.
It’s no wonder that since the October 7 attack, “more than half of Jewish college students across the United States say they feel less safe on their campus,” according to Hillel.
FBI director Christopher Wray told lawmakers on December 5 that there has been a 60% year-over-year increase in reported hate crimes after October 7, with most of that increase driven by crimes against Jews. As Wray has previously noted, although Jews make up just 2.4% of the United States population, they are the victims of nearly 60% of religious-based hate crimes.
The four big lies seek to delegitimize Israel and Zionism in order to legitimize attacks against Israelis and Jews.
We must fight these lies with the truth and moral clarity that this moment requires. We must show the resolve and determination to make our voices heard, and our battle must continue long after Israel wins this war.
View this Jerusalem Post Report from December 28th