BDS Archives - The New Antisemitism

November 7, 2023 By Olivier Melnick 2 Comments

Kristallnacht 2.0 is Upon Us!

Each year, I feel that it is my responsibility to remember and remind others of Kristallnacht. It took place on the night of November 9-10, 1938 in Germany. During that dreadful night, a critical event took place that would seal the fate of six million European Jews. That was 85 years ago.

The event is known as Kristallnacht or “The Night of Broken Glass.” The reason given by the Nazis was the assassination of German official Ernst Von Rath, shot two days prior by Herschel Grynszpan, a Polish teenager reacting to his parents’ deportation. In reality, the boycott/pogrom of Jewish synagogues, schools, businesses and homes, resulting in the death of almost 100 Jewish people and the destruction of 7,500 properties, was extremely well planned and anything but a reaction to the death of a German official. As a result, 30,000 Jewish people were sent to concentration camps. Historians agree that Kristallnacht was the onset of the Holocaust, shifting Nazi antisemitism from mere rhetoric to pure violence and murder. It set in motion the death factories aimed at accomplishing “the final solution to the Jewish question.” They almost succeeded!

This year, more than ever, we need to revisit the 1930s and we must come to the sobering realization that that ominous era of destructive Jew hatred is upon us again, and this time, it is global. I have been a watchman for the last 23 years, and I often warned people that things would get very dicey for the Jewish people at some point in the future, but frankly, I never thought that I would witness this level of hatred and bloody violence in my lifetime, and yet, here we are!

The atrocities committed by Hamas in Israel on October 7 were straight out of the Nazi playbook, but what I was not expecting, at least not at that level, was the vocal and violent hatred of Israel and the Jewish people all around the globe. Within a week or two at the most, it seemed that the world had forgotten about the 1400 Israeli victims brutally maimed, raped, beheaded, burned alive and blown to pieces, not to mention the 200+ hostages taken by Hamas.

Much of the world is now focusing on what they call a humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip. The US is pushing for Israel to accept a cease-fire, re-labeling it with the woke term of “humanitarian pause.” A pause that would accomplish nothing except a respite allowing Hamas to regroup, re-organize and better prepare for their next wave of terror.

In the meantime, US Universities across the nation, including Ivy League campuses, are showing their true colors. Their antisemitism is no longer subdued or cloaked in anti-Zionism. The monster is out in the open on a bloody rampage. They scream for the death of Jewish people, like in the case of Cornell University in New York. What about the violent punching of a Jewish student at UMass?

The violence doesn’t stop on campuses. It overflows onto the streets of America and leaks all the way to the rest of the world. Just days ago, an angry mob broke into the Makhachkala International Airport in Russia’s Dagestan. they wanted to get to the Israeli travelers coming in on an El-Al flight from Tel Aviv. The rage demonstrated by the mob had all the markings of a modern-day pogrom. It was controlled and stopped by local authorities, but it clearly shows the level of animosity against the Jews. Killing is definitely an option.

Additionally, in Paris, France and in some of its suburbs, people have been painting Jewish stars of David on buildings and private residences to identify where Jewish people live. This too is straight out of the Kristallnacht playbook, not to mention the yellow star patch that Jewish people (including my family) were forced to wear in order to be easily identified by the Nazis. Are Jewish people being identified to be singled out and persecuted? This too, has all the markings of an organized campaign to separate the Jews from the rest of the population.

Finally, on the streets of Thousand Oaks, California, Paul Kessler, a Jewish man holding an Israeli flag at a street corner opposite a group of pro-Palestinians brandishing the modern Palestinian flag, was hit by a pro-Palestinian protester. The Jewish man died in the hospital hours later. At the same time,

In my most recent book The Normalization of Antisemitism: When the Longest Hatred Becomes the New Normal, I identify ten steps toward the complete normalization of antisemitism: Apathy, lack of education, desensitization, low or incorrect reporting, no accountability, empowerment, demonization of the defenders, increased persecution of Jews and defenders, encouragement to kill, and, mass murder of Jews. I believe that the first nine of these criteria are in place, leaving only the mass murder of Jews as the final step towards the complete annihilation of the Jews. Looking at the events in front of our eyes, I might have been too conservative. The murder of Jews appears to also be on the current agenda of hatred that is spreading all over the world.

Kristallnacht was also a blatant boycott of Jewish businesses. Outside of the ongoing Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS), which has been going against Israel and Jewish people worldwide since 2005, we see new levels of antisemitism and double standards in a lot of areas. Amazon recently denied the publishing of a Christian book by renowned Pastor and author Dr. Mark Hitchcock on the war between Hamas and Israel, titled “What’s Next: The Israel-Gaza War: Connecting Today’s Headlines to Tomorrow’s Prophetic Events.” It was claimed that the algorithms caught parts of the book that contained “offensive or controversial content that promotes, incites, or glorifies hatred, violence, racial, sexual or religious intolerance or promotes organizations with such views.”
Incidentally, Amazon has no issues with selling all kinds of books and other items with the slogan, “From the River to the Sea, Palestine shall be free.” which has nothing to do with colonization or land occupation but is a euphemism for the complete destruction of Israel and the killing of all Jews.

If you do not see what is happening against the Jews today, beware because the Jews are definitely the canaries in the goldmine of civilization. A global explosion against Christians and conservatives is next and not far behind. In the meantime, much can be done to come to the rescue of Jewish people. My people are scared and Christians now have a great opportunity to reach out, rescue and shelter their Jewish friends and neighbors.

Kristallnacht 1938 was localized to Germany, eventually spreading to Greater Europe.
Kristallnacht 2.0 is a global pogrom against the Jews!

August 7, 2023 By Olivier Melnick 1 Comment

Jewish World Domination Explained!

One of the major accusations against Jewish people worldwide is that we want to control things from politics to the Media to Hollywood to the banking system. We have been accused of wanting to take over the world for centuries, but the one piece that put Jewish world domination on the map more than anything is probably the early 1900s Russian hoax plagiarized from the previous work of French author Maurice Joly, “The Dialogue in Hell Between Machiavelli and Montesquieu.” It was officially debunked in the early 1920s but is still in circulation today in many languages and is known as “The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion.” Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel described the Protocols: “If ever a piece of writing could produce mass hatred, it is this one. . . . This book is about lies and slander.”

Attributed to a cabal of Jewish leaders, the agenda of the Protocols calls for a global Jewish takeover: “By all these means, we shall so wear down the GOYIM that they will be compelled to offer us international power of a nature that, by its position, will enable us, without any violence, gradually to absorb all the State forces of the world and to form a Super-Government. In place of the rulers of today, we shall set up a bogey which will be called the Super-Government Administration. Its hands will reach out in all directions like nippers, and its organization will be of such colossal dimensions that it cannot fail to subdue all the nations of the word.” (Protocol V.)

Frankly, I find it eerily reminiscent of the biblical promise of a New World Order (Revelation 13 and 17.) All one would have to do is switch the main protagonists, and it would fit the times we live in. They also claim to control the Press: “We must compel the governments of the goyim to take action in the direction favored by our widely-conceived plan, already approaching the desired consummation, by what we shall represent as public opinion, secretly prompted by us through the means of that so-called “Great Power”—the Press, which, with a few exceptions that may be disregarded, is already entirely in our hands. (Protocol VII.)

The accusation of Jewish world domination precedes the publication of the Protocols, as Jews were accused of creating and spreading the 14th Century Black Plague to destroy Christian Europe and take over the continent. The pamphlet lays out a precise plan for takeover but keeps all the players, including the author, anonymous. Not one name is mentioned. Not the name of leaders, victims or even co-perpetrators. This might very well be a factor in the survival of such a piece of trash for so long when all other propaganda works have come and gone.

The Protocols can be applied to Jewish people through time without risking becoming obsolete; in the mind of antisemites, that is! Additionally, some have applied the plot of the Protocols to modern days, claiming erroneously that the Jews were behind the latest pandemic. They also paint a picture of Jewish greed and Jewish banking control.

True, there are a lot of Jewish people in the financial world, and many of them are or have been extremely successful and, as a result, have amassed large fortunes. This is based on what is known as shrewdness. Jewish people are shrewd. They are good at business transactions which helps them make good profits. Incidentally, this is not exclusive to Jewish people. There are plenty of successful Gentiles in the world, but shrewdness might be more prevalent among Jewish people, for which they really shouldn’t have to apologize. Jewish philanthropy is one of the highest in the world. Jewish people can actually be very generous with their money. This is based on two traditions: tzedakah (charitable giving) and Tikkun Olam (repairing the world).

This concept of Tikkun Olam really warrants our attention if we want to better understand the predominance of Jewish people in the most influential segments of society because, at the end of the day, influential Jewish people are not trying to take over the world, but they are seeking the betterment of the planet one innovation at a time.

Consider this, Between 1901 and 2022, out of the 900 people who receive the honor, 211 were Jewish. That’s about 23% of all Nobel Prizes ever given to people. Keep in mind that Jewish people make up only 0.02% of the world population, and NO, the Jews do not control the Nobel Prize organization!
So, Tikkun (Repairing) Olam (The World) is a Jewish concept that transcends various levels of religiosity on the wide spectrum of Jewish identity. Assigning it to the Tanach (G-d’s Law), the Talmud (Oral law) or even Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism), Jewish people recognize that the world can use improvement. Tikkun Olam was even recognized by the Lubavitcher Rebbe Menachem Schneerson as the duty of every human being, and not only the Jewish people. Additionally, religious Jews believe that every one of the 613 mitzvot (commandments) prescribed in the Torah are representative of Tikkun Olam. Could we then assert that Tikkun Olam is within the fabric of every Jew, religious or not? Possibly!

The desire to make this world a better world is commendable. One certainly doesn’t have to be Jewish to seek and practice Tikkun Olam. This being said, when we look at Jewish innovation over the centuries, and certainly over the last few decades, we must admit that many improvements came from Jewish people. The world is indeed a better place because of inventions like drip irrigation, the laser, pacemakers, stainless steel, the polio vaccine, word-processing computers, mobile phones and Google®, to name just a few.

It is entirely possible that there exists a certain jealousy between some people and the Jewish people. Coupled with the longest hatred of antisemitism, Jewish inventions and innovations, instead of being praised, are seen as means to an end, that end being world domination. This is ludicrous! To be sure, I do not adhere to all the Jewish concepts derived from Tikkun Olam, but the idea of contributing to our world to make it a better place is part of my personal modus operandi. I am Jewish, but the last thing on my mind is to take over the world.

There is a promise of a final Tikkun Olam coming in the future. As much as we strive to make this world a better place, the Bible tells us that G-d will send His Messiah to judge the world and restore it to what it was meant to be in Gan Eden (the Garden of Eden.) Only the Messiah will fulfill Tikkun Olam perfectly and for all eternity. Our people patiently await Him, and in the meantime, they seek to contribute to their own version of Tikkun Olam.
The Messiah already paid us a visit to bring peace to the hearts of men (Isaiah 52:13-53-12), and He will return a second time to bring peace to the world and settle Tikkun Olam once and for all. Only Mashiach can truly repair the world because He is the One who created it in the first place.

In the meantime, let’s not accuse the Jews of seeking to take over the planet. We are not looking for a takeover, but we might be guilty of looking for a makeover!

June 4, 2023 By Olivier Melnick Leave a Comment

The White House Strategy to Combat Antisemitism Should Start with CUNY!

On May 25th, the White House unveiled a new strategy to combat antisemitism in America in a 60-page document. In President Joe Biden’s words, “Toward that aim, my Administration has developed the first U.S. National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism. It represents the most ambitious and comprehensive U.S. government-led effort to fight antisemitism in American history. It also brings Americans together—regardless of our backgrounds and beliefs—to stand united against the hate, racism, bigotry, and violence that have long haunted our Nation. The Strategy outlines a whole-of-society effort to combat antisemitism, including unprecedented, coordinated, and bold actions that will be implemented across government agencies, as well as calls to action for public officials, private sector leaders, and Americans from every sector, industry, and walk of life. “

In principle, I have to applaud that statement. It seems to show that a great effort is being made to combat the oldest hatred. After all, it is extremely alarming to know that 2.4% of the U.S. population is the victim of 63% of all hate crimes in America. This task force is part of a broader committee known as the “Interagency Policy Committee on Antisemitism, Islamophobia, and Related Forms of Bias and Discrimination.” It has been tasked with combatting antisemitism as its first order of business and has partnered with a myriad of various organizations to do so on as many levels as possible, and again, we should all be very encouraged…If, indeed, this new endeavor truly leads to change. Sadly, I have my doubts.

When it comes, to antisemitism, the number one challenge is education, and, for those interested in fighting the beast of Jew hatred, there are more than enough resources online, in printed form and even in person. Additionally, they announced that “in 2024, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum will launch the first-ever U.S.-based Holocaust education research center.” There is great potential for continued education on the Holocaust and its ramifications into the 21st century. This should equip people to debunk history revision and holocaust denial. Again, education is available, but it will only change the landscape if people who learn also take action.

It is not the first time that words have been spoken against the evil of antisemitism. Politicians from both sides of the aisle have claimed multiple times that “America will not tolerate any antisemitism” and that “antisemitism will be punished by law.” Sadly, these have been spoken words but followed by very little action unless the event that led to the statements was important enough to draw the attention of the general public – like the tragedy of the Pittsburgh Synagogue murders in 2018. Even then, not enough has really been done.

Another of the greatest challenges in combatting antisemitism is identifying acts of Jew-hatred as such. When a man took hostages in a synagogue on Shabbat in Colleyville, TX, in 2022, the FBI immediately came out to denounce the crime, but without declaring any antisemitic connection. In their defense, they quickly changed their story. Many incidents take place in America on a daily basis and when the Jewish community witnesses the lack of recognition and lack of any enforcement, they simply don’t report antisemitism anymore. Why would they if nothing or very little gets done?

As the White House is promising action against antisemitism like never before in America, they have an opportunity to put their money where their mouth is. On May 12, there was a graduation ceremony for the the law students’ class of 2023 at City University of New York (CUNY). The school has a reputation for being very liberal, which is their right in our beautiful country. They got into trouble last year for letting graduate Nerdeen Kiswani who has called for “the destruction of Israel,” and invited people to “globalize the Intifada.” One would think that this year, they would have tried to be a little less controversial, let alone not so anti-Jewish.

Enter Fatima Mousa Mohammed to deliver the graduation speech at CUNY 2023 Commencement ceremony. Her 12-minute speech was laced with racism, CRT and antisemitism. A graduation speech is an awesome opportunity to encourage, challenge and inspire the graduating class. It should be seen as an important responsibility and a tremendous honor. Her speech turned out to be none of that, unless, of course, she wanted to encourage people to ostracize and demonize Israel. It is a sad day we live in when people use any platform they can to denigrate the Jewish state with antisemitic tropes. CUNY trains the next generation of legal experts, lawyers and judges. Where is this world going?

Some of the statements that Miss Mohammed said were, “The continual white supremacy that continues to oppress and suppress people in this nation,” and ” I want to celebrate CUNY Law as one of the few if not the only Law School to make a public statement defending the rights of its students to organize and speak out against Israeli settlers colonialism,” “This is the Law School that passed and endorsed BDS on a student and faculty level,” “Israel continues to indiscriminately rain bullets and bombs on worshippers, murdering the old, the young, attacking even funerals and graveyards as it encourages lynch mobs to target Palestinian homes and businesses as it imprisons its children as it continues its project of settlers colonialism expelling Palestinians from their home carrying the ongoing Nakba,” “Leading the fight against capitalism, racism, imperialism and Zionism around the world.”

Amid all the statements that are not based on factual truth, she also declared, “We must practice a discipline of truth and courage.” While I agree with this statement, I am not certain that this is what she had just accomplished in her passionate speech. There are a few things that troubled me with her graduation speech, and the reason for my discomfort is the choice of venue for such a declaration. It is absolutely true that we must uphold freedom of speech in America; otherwise, we become a police state with no freedoms at all as a result. Yet, free speech being upheld should never occur if and when it places people at risk for their lives. Some questions we need to ask ourselves after listening to the words of Miss Mohammed are:

• Was her speech encouraging and positive, seeking to make a better world?
• Why was she wearing a Palestinian scarf around her neck?
• Why was there so much cheering from the student body?
• Of all her cries against injustice in the world, was Israel disproportionally represented?
• Were all her complaints about Israel killing Palestinians accurate?
• How did the speech receive faculty approval prior to being delivered (or did she change it at the last minute)?

In their defense, the CUNY Board of Trustees made a statement in which they clearly condemn the speech:

“The remarks by a student-selected speaker at the CUNY Law School graduation, unfortunately, fall into the category of hate speech as they were a public expression of hate toward people and communities based on their religion, race or political affiliation.”

I applaud them for coming out so quickly to denounce the hate-filled speech. Circling back to the new White House strategy to counter antisemitism, what took place at the 2023 CUNY commencement ceremony is a perfect example of the normalization of antisemitism and that it falls into the incidents that the White House needs to identify, analyze, and denounce. But, beyond denouncing the hate, we must start to bring those who promote it to justice and have them pay for their crimes. Maybe I live in a utopian universe, but I still have faith in the human spirit. My prayers go out to our current administration for the hard work that lies ahead of them.

May 1, 2023 By Olivier Melnick 1 Comment

Do Biblical Zionists Love Palestinians?

Whenever one puts “Biblical,” “Zionist,” and “Palestinian” in the same sentence, definitions are in order. Unity might never be fully achieved, but it should never be because of a lack of clarity. First, what I mean by Biblical is “in accordance with the Biblical record,” which, as far as I understand, includes the sixty-six books of the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation. As far as a fair definition of Zionism, lest I be accused of any bias as a Jew, I prefer to give a plain dictionary definition of the word as, “a movement for (originally) the re-establishment and (now) the development and protection of a Jewish nation in what is now Israel. It was established as a political organization in 1897 under Theodor Herzl and was later led by Chaim Weizmann.”

Now, for the definition of who is a Palestinian, it gets a little tricky. Again, for the sake of clarity, I will say, “any physical descendant of the various Arab inhabitants of the Land of Israel known as Palestine before 1948.” While I do not believe that tracing the Palestinian people historically is possible, we must recognize that Arabs born in the Land of Israel when it was still known as Palestine are real people, not responsible for the conflict they or their children were catapulted into. We must not forget that Palestine as a word was introduced by the Roman emperor Hadrian at the time of the Bar Kochba Revolt in AD 132-135 (A failed Jewish revolt against Rome). To humiliate the Jewish people, Jerusalem was renamed Aelia Capitolina and Israel became known as Palaestina.

Unfortunately, the word stuck and until 1948, “Palestine” was the word used to describe the geographical area that had always been known as Israel before. Eventually, under the leadership of Yassir Arafat and subsequent “Palestinian” leaders, the word’s etymology was expanded to mean both a land AND a people, a political claim that cannot be proven historically, archeologically, culturally or biblically. Today’s “Palestinians” have an Arab culture, eat Arab foods, speak Arabic and have Arab ancestors. “Palestinians” as a people group do not exist, but “Palestinians” as Arabs do. This is in no way meant to belittle their right to self-determination and their right to exist, but not at the expense of or to replace native Jews. Here is a question: Why do pre-1948 ‘Palestinian’ coins, bills, postage stamps and other items with a country of origin written on it all include the two initials in Hebrew for ‘Eretz Yisrael’ meaning ‘Land of Israel’?

Logically, we now need to look at what defines a “Biblical Zionist.” We often hear the words “Christian” and “Zionist” put together to describe someone who would consider himself a follower of Yeshua (Jesus) and a supporter of Israel and the Jewish people’s right to the land. I prefer the term “Biblical” to “Christian” as it pertains to those who love and support Israel. Unfortunately, in the last few years, many people who call themselves Christians have displayed quite a bit of antisemitism and have supported faulty views like Replacement Theology or Christian Palestinianism. We must also mention the recent upsurge in support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanction (BDS) movement from several mainline Christian denominations.

The Biblical Zionist position is usually taken because of one’s eschatological (End-Times) perspective and/or theological approach. Many evangelical Christians have supported Israel over the years, seeing that God is not finished with the Jewish people and has never completely fulfilled His promise given to Abraham and his descendants in Genesis 12:1-3. That same promise was ratified as a covenant known as the Abrahamic Covenant with a promise of a seed, a land and a blessing. At the ratification of the covenant made between God and Abram (Genesis 15:7-19), no conditions were made. However, specific land boundaries were given which, incidentally, are much larger than current Eretz Yisrael. When God specifically gave Abram the boundaries of the land He was giving him, He simply stated, “To your descendants, I have given this land.” When Abraham’s son Isaac settles in Gerar instead of moving to Egypt God repeats the promises of the Covenant He made with Abraham (Gen 26:1-4), “Sojourn in this land and I will be with you and bless you, for to you and to your descendants I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath which I swore to your father Abraham. I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven, and will give your descendants all these lands; and by your descendants, all the nations of the earth shall be blessed.”

Furthermore, in Genesis 28:13-15, the Abrahamic Covenant is reconfirmed through Isaac’s son Jacob where the same land (vv. 13, 15) spoken of prior, is promised to Jacob and his descendants as it was promised to Isaac before. It continues to be unconditionally given as we know through the Biblical record that Jacob lied to his father about his birthright. It was in God’s plan to have Jacob and not Esau inherit the blessings of the Abrahamic Covenant from Isaac. So biblically speaking, the descendants of Abraham, through Isaac and through Jacob are the Jewish people.

The Biblical Zionist’s love for Israel and the Jewish people is a result of his understanding of the eternal, unconditional and unilateral Abrahamic Covenant and its three promises made that were later amplified in three other unconditional covenants known as the Land Covenant (Deuteronomy 29:1-30:20; Ezekiel 16:53-63), the Davidic Covenant (II Samuel 7:11-16), and the New Covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-34).

But the great love that Biblical Zionists display for Israel and the Jewish people should not be exclusive, and it should extend to all, even those who have been indoctrinated to hate and destroy Israel. In the words of Yeshua in Matthew 5:44, we read, “But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” This doesn’t imply that all Palestinians today hate the Jews, as we should never paint with broad strokes. Yet, as difficult as it might be to fulfill that command, for those who take the Bible seriously, it is a command, nonetheless.

At the end of the day, Jews and Arabs have the same need of a redeemer to pay the price for their sins, just like anybody else in the world. There is only one way to God, and that is through the atoning death of Yeshua the Messiah for our sins. God doesn’t view people as Jews, Palestinians or Gentiles, but as sinners needing redemption. Once saved, we retain our ethnic identities, so a Jew remains a Jew and an Arab remains an Arab. It is only in Messiah that Jews and Arabs can truly get along and love and respect each other.

A Biblical Zionist not only can – but should – love the Palestinians. Over the years, I have found that to love Israel and the Jewish people and to love the “Palestinians” is not mutually exclusive. Unfortunately, when we reverse this equation, love, too often, disappears, and those who support a Palestinian cause almost always show animosity toward the Jews and Israel.

April 1, 2023 By Olivier Melnick 1 Comment

A Blue Square to Show Support To Our Jewish Friends…Then What?

It has now become common knowledge that antisemitism is on the rise like never before. Just this past week, the ADL released the numbers for antisemitic incidents in 2022, and it is not good at all. In fact, these numbers are the highest they’ve been in the past 45 years since records started being kept in the USA. According to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, The ADL counted 3,697 incidents of harassment, vandalism and assault targeting Jews last year — a 36% increase from the 2,717 recorded in 2021 and by far the highest total since the organization began tallying the data in 1979. The incidents include one fatality — the killing of a professor at the University of Arizona who was shot allegedly by a student, in part because the student believed Meixner was Jewish. The tally also includes the hostage situation at a Texas synagogue early in 2022.

It is important to note that these incidents are not just verbal or printed abuse. Since 2012, at the time of the France “Toulouse Massacre”, Jewish lives have been lost again. Jews are being killed again, just for being Jewish. Looking back at the year 2000 when I started to compile data about worldwide antisemitism, things have gotten worse. A lot worse. I used to get looks from people when I said that if things keep getting worse, the Jewish communities of the world will experience the 1930s and 1940s again soon. I fear that we are now on the cusp of a renewed 1930s and 1940s era for Jews.

Additionally, many antisemitic incidents worldwide are under-reported or not reported as a result of the lack of consequences for the culprit over the years. In other words, when in the best-case scenario, a person or group is found guilty of antisemitism, very little if anything is being done to punish them. There seems to be no accountability at all, which emboldens perpetrators to do more harm. I document this and much more in my latest book The Normalization of Antisemitism: When the Oldest Hatred Becomes the New Normal.

As I write this, we are approaching April 18, 2023, the day of the very solemn commemoration of Yom HaShoah (the Day of the Catastrophe) in Israel when all Israelis stop everything wherever they are in Eretz Yisrael and observe a two-minute moment of silence remembering the Holocaust victims. This time of year, the topic of antisemitism is always a little more tender than usual.

As we live in the age of Internet communication with a plethora of social network platforms, people can get very creative in expressing support for a particular cause. We often see people’s profiles dressed up with a hashtag or a flag in support of a country in turmoil. It is no different for those who desire to express their support for Israel and the Jewish people worldwide. A few years ago, we saw a deluge of #WeRemember on all the networks, posted by people who were declaring their support for the Jewish people and remembering the horrors of the Holocaust. While I agree that any show of solidarity is positive, I still think that many people posted the hashtag on their platforms and then felt that their conscience was cleared of any guilt. In reality, soon after Yom Ha Shoah, the hashtag dwindled down and eventually disappeared. It was back to business as usual, and people are not really paying attention to antisemitism anymore.

It seems that we are again bringing attention to the Jewish people and their plea with a new image in 2023. Again, I applaud the attempt at exposing the hatred against the Jews, but will it change anything? The new hashtag #StandUpToJewishHate was created along with a blue square. The blue square campaign was launched by the Jewish owner of the New England Patriots football team. He invested $25 million in this honorable endeavor. Many people are starting to display the little royal blue square in their photos online. The website connected to the square has several links offered to viewers for reporting antisemitic acts. This attempt at documenting and reporting acts of antisemitism is exemplary, but will it change anything? I have my doubts.

Over the years, I have seen many attempts at ending antisemitism, and while they were all commendable, they never have gone far enough to move into legal actions and prosecutions. A lot happens on paper and in committee meetings, but very little gets implemented. I have become convinced that antisemitism has now become the bully in the Jewish community’s courtyard. Even when we know that the bully will return multiple times, it is our duty to fight that bully the best we can every single time all the while knowing that we will not win the battle, or not yet at least.

So, can we fight against antisemitism and oppose it? Absolutely yes! Can we completely eradicate it? I don’t think so! The reason why I don’t think we can fully eradicate it is spiritual. Fighting antisemitism is a spiritual battle. Any attempt at fighting antisemitism without understanding that it is a creation of Satan who hates the Jews because God loves them is bound to fail. I believe that the Bible clearly explains why Satan hates the Jews, namely because they will one day say Baruch Haba Bashem Adonai and usher in the return of Yeshua the Jewish Messiah which will also put an end to Satan’s career of hate.

While people of goodwill and Bible-believing followers of Yeshua should continue to denounce, expose and oppose antisemitism, now is the time to start thinking about what we can do for our Jewish co-workers, family members, schoolmates and neighbors. A blue square might identify us as friends of Israel and the Jewish people–in our day and age, that is enough of a target on our backs–but the real test comes when we must move into action to physically help Jewish people. The time has come to prepare to help the Jewish people around you.

Go ahead and publish the hashtag and wear the blue square pin…Good for you, but please, also make yourself ready to become Genesis 12:3 in action and actually come to the rescue of Jewish people. Who knows? It might be as easy as telling your next-door neighbor that you’ve got his back!

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