Baseless Hatred Has Resurfaced

We have just commemorated Tisha B’av, the saddest day of the Jewish year when our temples were destroyed, and this long exile began. At the root of the destruction was baseless hatred among Jews.

For over two thousand years, Jews around the world have continued to live under hatred. This hatred has been aimed at us for various reasons, such as religious, national, and more. Sadly, it has often boiled over into suffering in the form of expulsions, persecutions, and even pogroms.

There is no other nation on this planet who has experienced life under continuous oppression of hate for thousands of years. Antisemitism was, and continues to be, a part of our very existence.

Until recently, this hate has primarily been external. Foreign countries, people, and religions have targeted the Jews and their small country.

Recently, this has begun to change.

Low and behold, hate is once again raging at home. The battles span secular against religious, left against right, coalition vs. opposition, and more. There has never been such hatred generated by, and directed at, ourselves.

As the world watches with astonishment, Jews demonstrate by the thousands against their own government with ferocity. This is giving antisemites a field day as they watch from the sidelines. Furthermore, we are incentivizing our enemies to consider exploiting our current lack of unity through a major confrontation, pushed by Iran and its proxies.

Both sides of the Israeli political spectrum are playing a role in this.

The opposition has normalized the use of harsh language against the government and its leaders to effectively generate hate and push the public towards a civil confrontation.

On the other side, Ben Gvir is only fanning the flames through his speech rhetoric and provocative actions. He is ultimately a confrontational person who will not be able to reach most of the population. It is unfortunate that Netanyahu must lean on Ben Gvir for political support in order to maintain his thin coalition.

At this point, neither our national or international situation needs an escalation. As we look ahead, we must turn to our leaders and demand action that removes hate from within our midst.

Jack Molad