The Rise of Antisemitic Attacks: A Call To Return to Israel

It’s not often that I write something like this on this platform, but as someone who analyzes current events and political trends around the Middle East, particularly in Israel, it’s hard not to step back and look at the bigger picture. Especially as it relates to what’s happening in Israel and in the Diaspora with the rise of antisemitism and Jewish hatred around the globe. This reality is nothing new, but since October 7, 2023, something has changed. A sleeping giant that was lying below the surface was awakened. An ancient giant that can be traced back to even before Israel’s existence as a nation was lying in dormancy, waiting for just the right time to show its ugly head. From the recent attack in Colorado to the attack and murder of two Israeli embassy workers in Washington, DC, we could go on and on with incidents that have taken place over the last several months alone. So, the question I ask myself and Jewish people around the world as a whole is, why now? Is there something that Hashem is telling us that we need to hear? I believe that the message G-d is sending us is part of an ancient prophecy of Ezekiel that is beckoning to be fulfilled but requires our response. It’s a call to return to Israel to the Jewish people around the globe. A call to make Aliyah and fulfill the prophet’s words, “Though I scattered you, I will gather you from among the nations.”

I say this not to negate the difficulty of the moment or the pain and suffering that so many have had to go through, or to suggest that G-d has caused this to happen to bring about the fulfillment of His word. However, I do believe that G-d has a plan, and it would not surprise me that he would use Israel’s enemies to fulfill its destiny. He’s done it before with Esther and Mordecai, flipping the script on what was meant for the destruction of the Jewish people to give them the ability to defend themselves and reap the spoils of their enemies. Look at the Israelites and how they wandered in the desert for forty years when they were only miles away from the promised land. It was all about the process and G-d’s desire to produce something out of his people. Did they suffer hard times? Yes. Mostly because of their own doing, but the time they spent in the desert produced some of the key foundations of the Jewish faith. When the Israelites entered the land of Israel, they were not just becoming Israel the nation-state, but rather they were already Israel as a people, and their character and identity were already bestowed upon them.

I write this not in condemnation but in the spirit of optimism, not something that the Jewish people are known for, but something that is needed. While it can be argued that Israel is as strong as ever as a nation right now. Though internal political conflicts ensue, and enemies on every side still desire their destruction. Israel has pushed back its enemies. Imagine telling Yahya Sinwar on October 6th, 2023, that he’s going to launch a attack and the following day, he and his entire leadership would be dead a year later. Hamas is being decimated and its stronghold, devastated, Nasrallah killed, and Hezbollah eviscerated in the most successful clandestine operation of the 21st century, hitting 3000 Hezbollah operatives with explosive pagers. Bashar Al-Assad is gone, and Iran is exposed as a paper tiger, its air defense system degraded to nothing. While Israel grows stronger, Jews around the world have come more and more under attack, and though it is our right to fight back. I believe G-d is calling us to recognize his call and return to Israel. I truly believe that everything has a time and a place, and while some of us may not be ready, maybe we are still walking in our own desert experience. Whatever the reason may be, let us recognize this moment. Let us hasten the Mashiach’s return and return home. Let us remember our covenant with G-d and the words of Ezekiel, and let us fulfill the calling of our forefathers and become the people we are meant to be in the land that is our home, Israel!