4 | NOVEMBER 16 • 2023 J
N

op-ed

‘Jews Worldwide Haven’t Been 
This Fearful in Living Memory’

Editor’s Note: As antisemitic 
incidents soar around the globe, 
Jewish media outlets have come 
together for the first time in 
history to publish this open 
letter warning of unprecedented 
fear — and unprecedented 
unity and resolve — among 
our readers. The project was 
initiated by London-based 
Jewish News in England and 
organized in partnership with 
the Jerusalem Post.
T

wo decades ago, the 
late British Chief Rabbi, 
Lord Jonathan Sacks, 
astutely likened antisemitism 
to a constantly evolving virus. 
One that, in the modern era, 
specifically targets the Jewish 
nation-state. 
He aptly described this prej-
udice as a deeply ingrained 
malignancy, perpetually linger-
ing beneath the surface of soci-
ety. For many of us in the glob-
al Jewish community, the great 
man’s words were not merely 
a statement of truth but also 
a stark reminder. Until recent 
days, the extent and intensity 
of this virulent strain of hatred 
were tragically underestimated.
While the need for stringent 
security measures at schools 
and synagogues has long been 
a familiar reality, the realization 
that such profound levels of 
hatred and indifference to the 
threat exist on a global scale 
has been a devastating shock. 
We dared to hope such 
malevolence had been relegat-
ed to the annals of history.
Today, in an unprecedented 
moment in Jewish history, we 

unite as Jewish news outlets 
spanning borders, continents 
and religious affiliations to 
issue this open letter — some-
thing we never envisioned as 
necessary or even conceivable. 
The events of recent weeks 
have surpassed even the som-
ber portrayal offered by Rabbi 
Sacks all those years ago. Some 
of those who propagate hatred, 
concealing their prejudice 
under the veneer of being 
“anti-Israel,” no longer find 
it necessary to obscure their 
malice.
We’ve witnessed raw hatred 
against Jews in cities across the 
globe. 
In Dagestan, a mob ran 
toward planes on a runway to 
check passengers’ passports, 
hunting for disembarking Jews. 
 In Sydney, when authorities 
lit the famous Opera House 
in Israel’s colors, a crowd sang 

“Gas the Jews.”
In Lyon, France, a woman 
was stabbed at her home, and 
a swastika was spraypainted on 
her front door.
In London, red paint was 
daubed on Jewish school doors 
and the Wiener Holocaust 
Library.
In Berlin, Magen Davids 
have been spray-painted on 
homes, a haunting echo of 
scenes in that German city 90 
years ago.
On campuses across the 
United States, “martyrs” who 
butchered Jewish children in 
their beds on Oct. 7 are being 
celebrated, while a student at 
Cornell University was arrest-
ed for posting death threats 
against Jews. 
This is not a call for two 
states living side by side in 
peace. This is not legitimate 
opposition to Benjamin 

Netanyahu and his govern-
ment.
How could we have been so 
blind to this malignancy in our 
midst?
And yet, all that we have 
seen so far isn’t even our worst 
fear. Our gravest concerns lie 
in what the future may hold.
Meanwhile, some world 
leaders act as cheerleaders, 
sometimes inadvertently but 
at other times, not. Colombia’s 
president Gustavo Petro said: 
“If I had lived in Germany of 
1933, I would have fought on 
the side of the Jewish people, 
and if I had lived in Palestine 
in 1948, I would have fought 
on the Palestinian side.” 
Turkish President Recep 
Tayyip Erdogan said: “Hamas is 
not a terrorist organization.” 
The head of the U.N. 
Antonio Guterres said Oct. 7 
“didn’t happen in a vacuum.” 
 No, it didn’t, Mr. Guterres. 
It required decades of indoctri-
nation, years of holding up ter-
rorists as heroes to be lionized, 
a sure way to fame and, often, 
fortune, and the presence of a 
terrorist organization whose 
central aim is to wipe Israel — 
and every one of our Jewish 
family and friends — off the 
face of the Earth.
Have no doubt that Hamas is 
cheering those “from the river 
to the sea’” chants because a 
Palestine between the river to 
the sea leaves not a single inch 
for Israel.
Why do so many still seek 
to deny what’s in Hamas’ own 
charter? 
And why are so many good 

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