How long shall the wicked, O Hashem, how long shall the wicked exult?
This is what I said this morning, as I do every Wednesday during Shachrit, but today an emotion rose within me which I cannot explain.
The fact that already King David asked the same question we have been asking every day since modern evil rose up again:
How long do the Jewish people have to endure this?
David HaMelech posed this question after the Jews had already fought evil for generations. We still suffer from persecution, though not as we did during World War II. Baruch Hashem, we have the State of Israel. But the hatred of Jews sits quietly in our history, and the memories are passed from one generation to another. One only has to scratch the surface a little, the hatred is still there, waiting patiently beneath polished words and civilized behavior. It never truly disappeared, and perhaps will not until Moshiach arrives.
Now we have Eurovision taking place in my former hometown of Vienna.
The Israeli singer had to be accompanied by members of the Mossad and other security agents. The Austrian army, police, and local Jewish security are stationed all around the Israeli team, as well as in close proximity to synagogues and Jewish institutions.
I place my hand on my forehead and ask myself over and over:
What can we do?
There is mass manipulation through hypocrisy, lies, and hatred spread endlessly on social media with such speed that it feels impossible to compete.
When my classmates were indoctrinated by parents who described Jews as hook nosed thieves, they were children, easily brainwashed.
I still remember when one girl named Maria made the following statement:
“Rebecca, you do not have a hook nose. It is not true that all Jews do.”
When she said that, I knew exactly where I was, at which corner she let those words roll out of her mouth.
Now we see the intelligentsia, university professors, public figures, and even the Hollywood world with all its glitz and glamour repeating these lies as though hatred were the latest fashion statement.
I do not want to compare today’s times with the Nazi period, but then too, cultured Germans and Austrians embraced hatred so casually.
The answer to David HaMelech, and to everyone else who asks the same question:
What can we do?
We Jews, who have deep emunah, daven, and take as much action as we can through hishtadlut. We speak, and we defend.
Last night, I listened to the song that won the Eurovision Song Contest years ago, Hallelujah.
The singer and her choir received unending applause and a standing ovation when they completed their performance.
Hallelujah.
A song of hope and unity.
Europe loved and embraced the Jewish artists then, and no military or secret service was needed for such admiration.
Oh my, how life has changed, and how I miss the good old times.
