Misguided power is dominant in our youth

We are living in a world where misguided power is dominant in our youth.

Popularized by the American sociologist Barry Glassner, “the culture of fear is the concept that people may incite fear in the general public to achieve political or workplace goals through emotional bias.”

Egged on by the antisemites, the culture of fear is proliferating worldwide at a frightening rate. And for a great majority of diaspora Jews steeped in their historical obsession that, at last resort, now there’s always Israel to flee to, are becoming more inward-looking and hell-bent on building their own protective wall against antisemitism.

In essence, non-Jews do not care a damn about our achievements!

A past study that Jews are the world’s most-educated religious group or 22.5% of Nobel Prizes have been awarded to Jews, not only isolates us more than ever from the society we live in, but our non-Jewish neighbors couldn’t care less and for the most part are sick to death of us continually asserting ourselves, ploughing a knife into them. They want to know our opinion of what our solutions are.

Encouraged by the rhetoric of the antisemites, we are experiencing a terrifying political infectious disease containing no international borders. White nationalism and violent left-wing rhetoric are rampant today, and the hatred of Jews is a language common to many people, irrespective of the country one lives in.

Today, we are experiencing an upsurge from politicians, the antisemites, the hate-mongers, tenured university bigots, and the youth who publicly vilify and delegitimize diaspora Jews and Israel.

Diaspora Jews have become fearful of the political consequences now taking place in many of their respective countries, a trait not particularly acknowledged by many of them before. Yet, it’s always been there, hovering in the background, waiting for the antisemite to ignite the fire.

J.J. Rousseau, the 18^th century French philosopher said, “The Jews in Dispersion have not the possibility of proclaiming their own truth to humankind; but I believe that when they once have a free Commonwealth, with schools and universities of their own where they can speak out safely, we shall be able to learn what it is that the Jewish people have to say to us.”

To which I might add, today we Jews are still trying to communicate, to coexist with each other, let alone trying to figure out what we have to say to non-Jews!

What this all boils down to is this: The ever-increasing mob mentality and violence against Jews has become unable not only to differentiate between ignorance and conscientious stupidity, but the ability to make intelligent decisions. And coupled with Nationalism, we diaspora Jews are in for a rough time if we don’t get our act together and communicate as one.

It was Napoleon Bonaparte who was overheard to say that in politics, stupidity is not a handicap, a statement that subordinates in their eagerness to please their leaders are making every effort to accept.

It’s been said that young antisemite socialists of today are analogous to the zebra mussel, a species originally native to the lakes of southern Russia and accidentally introduced to numerous other areas. It has become an invasive species in many different countries worldwide, including the USA and Canada.

To quote Elie Wiesel: “Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” As diaspora Jews, our alarming silence and our indifference to the nationalists, the youth and their cronies will be our demise. Our willingness, as diaspora Jews, to openly declare our achievements in the fields of arts and letters with non-Jews and at the same time use them instinctively for self-preservation no longer works, if ever it did, in today’s multi-cultural society.

As diaspora Jews, are we becoming helpless?

As individuals, are we at a loss to know how to fight the hate that spews from branding terror as redemption, terrorists as martyrs, and condemnation of terror as racism?

To paraphrase a friend’s comment, how do we contend with the forces of evil that seek where extremism is reframed as justice, terror as resistance, radicalism as activism, criticism as racism, and terrorism as a right of free speech?

And for the Gen Alpha’s (born 2010-2024), who have been born into a world never knowing a world without social media and smartphones and their future children, the Gen Beta’s (born 2025-2039), who will be born into a world of always-on technology, what is in store for diaspora Jews who will remain stoic in their traditional obsessions of yesteryear?

Today, November 13, 2025, in an article published in Canada’s National Post, “Canada’s spy chief warns of increasing violent radicalization of Canadian children.” He stated that he’s increasingly concerned by growing violent extremism in Canada, particularly among those under 18 years old.

The extremism is motivated by different ideologies such antisemitism, xenophobia, misogyny, “extreme interpretations” of religion or accelerationism (the desire to accelerate the collapse of society) that spread faster and easier than ever due to online content, he said.

That means children and teenagers are much more susceptible to falling into the trap of violent extremists online, he warned.

“Worryingly, nearly one in 10 terrorism investigations at CSIS [Canadian Security Intelligence Service] now includes at least one subject of investigation under the age of 18,” he told his audience.

Credited Sources: pewforum.org; nationalpost.com