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When our children walk to classes on American college campuses amidst chants, “Gas the Jews”, “Holocaust 2023”, and “From the River to the Sea”, it is a personal attack. It is a horrific reliving of our history where the Holocaust decimated 6.25 million Jews, two-thirds of the world’s Jewish population, our people.
Some American Jews think Israel’s war is not our battle. Some Jewish organizations believe that political party leadership in America does not matter if they claim to support Israel. When Jews in New York remove mezuzahs from their doors, and replace yarmulkas with baseball caps, it becomes our battle. When our children are forced to barricade themselves in libraries against pro-Hamas mobs and encounter swastikas drawn on school property, it becomes our battle. When academic institutions take billions of our philanthropic dollars and tell us and our children, we don’t belong, it becomes our battle. When the American flag is set aflame amidst chants, “Death to America”, it becomes our battle.
I believe American Jews should expect to live safely in the United States and stand strong for Israel.
October 7th, 2023, was the darkest day in Israel’s history when Hamas terrorists invaded Israel, beheaded babies, slaughtered young people at a peace concert, and raped young girls. These images should be enough reason for America’s support of Israel and its right to defend itself. And still, some American universities have allowed antisemitic groups to plan protests on October 7th this year, the one-year anniversary of the deadliest attack on Jews since the Holocaust. These well-organized pro-Hamas mobs are being allowed to terrorize our children on campuses. Antisemitism is at an all-time high in America.
As antisemitism spreads globally, we American Jews need to assert our rights as citizens to secure America as our homeland, a home that we helped build along with others as the greatest country on earth.
The world has become unsafe for Jews.
August 2024, an American-Jewish hostage was killed by Hamas; at the UN International Day of Remembrance for Victims of Terrorism, Israeli victims were excluded; a young Jewish man was stabbed amidst antisemitic slurs in New York City.
July 2024, a Jewish cemetery was vandalized in Cincinnati; Rabbi Moshe Sebbag of the Grand Synagogue of Paris told The Jerusalem Post, “It is clear today that there is no future or Jews in France. I tell everyone who is young to go to Israel or a more secure country.”
If American Jews are not safe in America or Europe, then where are we to go?
Many of us say Israel. Israel is at war and for us American Jews, America is our home. Most importantly, Israel needs a strong Jewish presence here in America.
Instead of trying to “contextualize” the horrific October 7th attacks, American politicians should condemn calls to annihilate Israel and condemn antisemitism in America. Each time our leaders fail to stand against such hate, they allow for Jew hatred and violence to perpetuate and grow to the unprecedented level we are seeing today.
As Americans, we pride ourselves on democracy, and yet, when we support Israel, the only true democracy in the Middle East, we are demonized. Weak candidates running for election are fearful of being called “genocidal” and losing votes. Appeasing pro-Hamas mobs is akin to surrender. We must stop this antisemitism and never surrender.
We must join in the fight for our right to live safely and prosper in America.
Courage is in our DNA from our ancestors.
At the ARC (Alliance for Responsible Citizenship) Conference 2023 in London, a British-Jewish citizen, Konstantin Kisin bravely stood up to world leaders and said, “How Dare You!? You will not steal my son’s future with empty words.”
We must restore a strong and secure America so that our children can carry forth with their Jewish heritage and “Never Again” holds true for every generation.
As “Death to the Jews” chants escalated on campuses last October, my friend’s daughter called her and said, “Mom, classes are going well. I just need to come home for the weekend, sleep in my own bed and know that I am going to be okay.”
Can we as American Jews act to support strong leaders who will fight for us here in America and stand as the strongest ally for Israel?
And if not, the question will remain, where are we American Jews to go?
Dr. Ora Burstein attended Queens College, Tufts University Medical School in Boston, and completed her residency in Pediatrics at Montefiore Hospital in the Bronx, NY. She completed a Fellowship in Allergy/Immunology at Albert Einstein and Montefiore, Bronx, NY. She is Board-certified in both adult and pediatric allergy/immunology.
