It didn’t take long for the taboo of Jew-hatred to come out of the woodwork and spread like poisonous black mold in the rotting environment of America where no one seems shocked to see a Hamas flag lifted high by proud protesters on the streets of New York.
No longer subtle in its expression, they’re going full throttle, by stretching out what could have been as large as a ten-meter Palestinian flag with the words “Free Palestine” in the midst of the estimated 7,000 protesters, gathered around it, who came to support the Labor Day demonstration against Israel just last week.
This is the new reality which has quickly metastasized, making it clear that being Jewish in America is now considered loathsome and perilous. So, if you thought that living on another continent would guarantee safety from an ignited Middle East, think again. The Hamas war has arrived on the shores of the red, white and blue, replacing it with their preferred colors of red, white, green and black (the Palestinian flag).
Militant marches have become a common sight, where angry, keffiyeh-wrapped participants are making the statement that Israel is toxic and Jews, by association, will no longer be permitted to go unchallenged and confronted, regardless of any political, geographical or religious connection to the Jewish homeland. Just being a member of the tribe is already considered sufficient to be denied the rights and considerations of others, because their ethnicity is enough of an indictment against them.
While no one saw this coming, it cleverly snuck in as the causal effect of a Jewish massacre which should have, instead, generated sympathy and outrage, that such barbaric acts could be perpetrated in any modern society where morals and ethics are anathema to those things. But, much to our surprise, the opposite happened.
Jumping on the antisemitic bandwagon
Every depraved fringe philosophy, from college campuses to corporate America, jumped on the bandwagon of anti-Jewish sentiment, expelling the bad taste in their mouth for an entire race of people who not only didn’t do anything wrong, but were the victims of an unprovoked savage attack.
Their message is, “Get used to this, because it’s the new normal. We are not going away nor will we be silent. We are spawning a movement which will change the character and face of America, and you’re just going to have to adapt to the fact that it will overtake your old and unwanted values.”
As shocking as that is, there is no denying that their numbers are increasing at a time when police officers are no longer permitted to interfere, under the guise of “freedom of speech and assembly.” Luckily for these protesters, that they have found a way to spew their hatred in a way that the law cannot subvert.
Even private campuses, who have a moral responsibility to protect their staff and students, will not be exempt from being surrounded by this militant-style bullying and intimidation, because its activists are embedded in the schools, as part of the student body and faculty, ready to take on the Jewish population in an attempt to rid the campus of those who are now seen as the enemy.
IF YOU think this is hyperbolic, then it’s only because you are not one of those students who can no longer wear a Jewish star necklace or skullcap without fear of repercussions. This is how New York City’s Columbia University has begun its new school year – by the continuation of protests that started after the events of October 7th, only curtailed by summer vacation.
But wouldn’t you know it, on Tuesday, the first day of school, “all eyes were on the demonstrators who gathered at the school gates to see whether they would reflect the scale of the earlier protests” (“Columbia University term starts with protests and security,” bbc.com, September 3).
The chants of “Free Palestine,” accompanied by a banging drum, were not muted even as they marched several blocks from the university, finally arriving at the iron gates of the school. Barricades had to be erected while each student could only enter once they had shown their campus identification.
But that didn’t stop the splattering of red paint from being poured over the Alma Mater statue which adorns the grounds of the Low Memorial Library, making it appear as if the blood of thousands had been spilled at that very location.
In a feigned message of sympathy, protesters cried out, “We ask that you put aside your excitement for a new school year and remember the Palestinians who died by our very dollars,” (bbc.com, September 3). Feigned, because they didn’t cry over the slaughter of Jewish babies.
But there it is – the indictment against America who, in their minds, is responsible for every Palestinian death, sharing the unholy alliance with Israel as the real killers and terrorists. They, too, just like the colors of the flag, are replaced as the evildoers, the savages and the murderers. And if you hear this accusation enough times, it will lose its shock value, becoming the normal and dominant voice of American culture, overshadowing those who once stood up for Israel, freedom of religion, and the Jewish people.
Because when faced with an angry mob, people tend to clam up, and who can blame them? It takes unusual courage to fight back and drown out the voices of hatred and anger, something which most people don’t have on their own. That is why a fringe group, such as the Nazis, was able to gain popularity and mesmerize an entire population! Fear goes a long way in silencing one’s conscience, but that also comes at a very high cost.
If everyday Americans do not catch hold of what is happening in their own backyards, they will be overtaken by the loud voices and masked faces, who are trying to overthrow almost 250 years of sacred tradition, freedoms, values and the place which has been known as the one great hope for those who reject oppression in favor of liberty.
It is the normal, everyday citizens of America who stand to lose the most, unless they come together as a nation and fight the scourge of Jew hatred that is trying to flood their gates. Banishing that darkness requires the courage to speak, without fear, and that can happen when everyone does it together with one voice.
The writer is a former Jerusalem elementary and middle school principal. She is the author of Mistake-Proof Parenting, available on Amazon, based on the time-tested wisdom found in the Book of Proverbs.