Enough Is Enough: A Plan for Action

This week, supporters of Hamas escalated their campaign of intimidation and hatred in profoundly disturbing ways. In New York City, they harassed attendees outside a synagogue hosting a Nefesh B’Nefesh aliyah seminar, shouting calls for death, “resistance,” and intifada. In Washington, D.C., at Union Station, demonstrators staged a grotesque, blood-libel–inspired mock Thanksgiving dinner, wearing masks of Israeli and American leaders while theatrically drinking “Gaza’s spilled blood” and consuming “harvested organs.” Online, an anti-Zionist group reportedly placed bounties—$50,000 and $100,000—on the contract killing of Israeli academics.

A Yiddish expression comes to mind: “Stop chopping my chinik”—literally, stop banging on my tea kettle. It’s what you say when someone’s relentless harassment becomes unbearable. Yet these agitators show no intention of stopping. Their goal is not mere disruption; it is to normalize antisemitism, provoke violence, and exploit legal protections to test society’s limits.

Even more alarming is the response—or lack thereof—from public officials. Rather than condemning these acts or reaffirming the right of Jewish institutions to gather safely, New York City’s mayor-elect, Zohran Mamdani, attacked the synagogue hosting the event, absurdly calling it a “violation of international law.” Equally troubling was Mamdani’s subsequent appearance in the Oval Office. Whatever the president’s intentions, the meeting risks legitimizing rhetoric that should be unequivocally rejected.

This denial—or minimization—of rising antisemitism reminds me of a joke my father used to tell. A rabbi noticed a congregant sleeping through his sermon. He asked the man beside him to wake the sleeper. The neighbor shrugged and said, “You put him to sleep; you wake him up.” Today, far too many people remain asleep to the threat before us.

Awareness alone is not enough. Outrage is not enough. Statements of concern are not enough. We need a clear, actionable strategy addressing legal, social, digital, educational, and cultural dimensions. That plan includes six essential steps:

1. Strengthen laws and protections. Enact and enforce comprehensive safeguards for targeted communities, including anti-mask laws at demonstrations, enhanced hate crime and anti-incitement statutes, and explicit protections against religious persecution. Civil rights, anti-discrimination, and defamation laws must hold perpetrators accountable for antisemitic blood libels, conspiracy theories, or false claims portraying Jews as aggressors or global controllers. Prosecutors and judges must enforce and apply these laws fully, without political interference, leniency, or convenience.

2. Ensure venue-appropriate security and empower law enforcement. Synagogues, schools, homes, businesses, and community centers must have security measures tailored to their risk level, including personnel, surveillance, perimeters, and emergency-response protocols. Law enforcement must be allowed to perform their duties without interference from political agendas or other constraints. Rapid-response systems coordinated with authorities are essential to address immediate threats effectively.

3. Hold individuals and public figures accountable. Confront blood libels, conspiracy theories, inverse victimhood claims, and other manipulative tactics used to justify antisemitism. Public figures who disguise hatred as “criticism of Israel” must face clear consequences.

4. Counter lies and hate through communications. Deploy articles, documentaries, podcasts, films, social media campaigns, and political speeches to expose manipulative tactics and correct misinformation. Media organizations must report accurately, fairly, and without amplifying hate, clearly distinguishing between genuine policy critique and deliberate efforts to incite antisemitism.

5. Secure digital spaces and cut off financial incentives. Audit AI systems and online platforms to remove coordinated hate campaigns. Shut down bot networks and foreign-sponsored propaganda. Platforms should demonetize hate profiteers and refuse to enable revenue streams for those spreading antisemitism.

6. Strengthen community resilience, education, alliances, and monitoring. Implement training, emergency protocols, rapid legal and counseling support, and preparedness drills. Promote education on antisemitism, hate speech, and interfaith understanding. Build cross-community alliances to enhance protection and advocacy. Strengthen monitoring and reporting systems to track antisemitism, harassment, and threats, ensuring data informs policy and toughens enforcement.

We can no longer simply implore the agitators to desist from their relentless harassment. We must act decisively and demand that our leaders do the same. History is clear: ignoring escalating antisemitism has grave consequences. Today, we face a moment reminiscent of 1938, when indifference allowed poisonous myths about Jewish control of media, finance, governments—even natural events—to spread unchecked. Those same delusions are resurfacing with alarming speed.

If left unchallenged, this hatred threatens to reopen some of the darkest chapters of history. Now is the time to confront it with clarity, courage, and resolve. Good people can no longer remain silent in the face of this rising tide of hate and the dangers it poses. Should the world allow the embers of antisemitism to ignite into a consuming blaze, we must soberly consider whether making aliyah is not merely a spiritual calling but a vital matter of safety, survival, and the preservation of Jewish life itself.