On October 7, 2023, the first day of the war triggered by Hamas’s barbaric attack on Israel, my son, Sgt. Yuval Ben Yakov (z”l), fell heroically defending our country. His military service was officially set to end on October 18, 2023. He was just 21 years old, with his entire life ahead of him, but...
Before enlisting, Yuval aspired to join the renowned 7th Armored Brigade, specifically the 77th Tank Battalion, “Oz.” Yuval endured grueling selection processes and combat training, ultimately becoming an indispensable right-hand man in the battalion commander’s staff during his final year of service. It was within this illustrious unit that he courageously stood to protect our nation, heroically perishing in an unequal battle against dozens of terrorists.
During a personal meeting with the battalion commander, I listened to his detailed account of Yuval’s sense of responsibility, attentiveness, unwavering readiness to support his fellow soldiers, and his final heroic battle. I recalled the hundreds of people who visited us during the shiva – praying, crying, expressing condolences, and hoping for change: the end of baseless hatred among Israeli citizens, calls for violence, and global condemnation of antisemitism and terrorism.
I am writing these lines in the month of Av. The Ninth of Av is a day dedicated to reflecting on the tragic chapters of our people’s history. It commemorates the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem by the Romans, an event traditionally attributed to the “baseless hatred – sinat hinam” that prevailed among people.
In contrast, the 15th of Av marks a day of reconciliation and unity. It has become a time for mutual blessings, including the traditional pre-New Year wish, “May you be inscribed for a good year in the Book of Life.”
The war that began on October 7, 2023, has brought to light internal conflicts within Israeli society – a lack of tolerance and readiness to accept differing opinions. Conversely, it has also sparked a massive wave of antisemitism worldwide, including in Western countries. For decades, I have professionally supported the development of vital connections between Israel and Jewish communities.
According to monitoring by the Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism Ministry, during the first three weeks of the war (October 7-25), there was a 330% increase in antisemitic violence compared to the same period last year, with the total number of antisemitic incidents rising fivefold.
Against this backdrop, the previously accepted views on Holocaust remembrance and intolerance of xenophobic antisemitism have given way to the distortion and rewriting of history by right-wing radicals and anti-Israel discourse from left-wing extremists, including the denial of the barbaric actions of Palestinian extremists, which involved unprecedented cruelty and sexual violence.
The dangers of social media
Social media, widely and almost unrestrictedly spreading xenophobic and antisemitic content, only accelerates this process. The only difference in the current situation is that while far-left and Islamic antisemitism in Western countries used to be masked as “legitimate criticism of Israel,” today, this need for disguise seems to have vanished for these groups.
The unprecedented scale of these events has surprised many, although the phenomenon itself is not entirely unexpected. In recent years, notable incidents rooted in antisemitism have been documented in the US, EU, and many other regions. Antisemitic views, once confined to marginal political groups, are becoming almost mainstream.
Beyond acts of direct physical violence or persecution (hate crimes), there is a much broader phenomenon of verbal assaults (hate speech), which authorities often do not register and are reluctant to include in official statistics on antisemitic actions. In the second decade of the 21st century, in addition to antisemitic rhetoric, we have also seen a significant increase in provocative statements, xenophobic provocations, defamation of Jews and their culture, Holocaust denial, and antisemitism disguised as “anti-Zionism.”
It is evident that today, Israeli leaders must take all necessary steps to foster genuine national unity within the country, while Jewish leaders in the Diaspora must demand that decision-makers eradicate the roots of antisemitism—incitement, violence, and hate crimes against Jews and Israel, regardless of whether they are cloaked in pseudo-liberal or patriotic packaging.
Much will depend on the persistence and activity of the Israeli government. It must view the pursuit of internal unity and the fight against the current wave of antisemitic violence and attempts to silence it globally as a “Second Front,” paralleling one of the most challenging wars in Israel’s history. Now, perhaps more than ever, internal politics are inextricably linked with the foreign policy of the Jewish state. We must act this way for the sake of the future and in memory of our fallen heroes. Without unity, we will achieve nothing!
The writer is the director-general of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress.