The Blogs: Will American Anti-Jewish Violence Reach a Tipping Point?

I ran into an old friend at a wedding this summer. As we were catching up, I mentioned that a group was recently arrested for plotting to “kill as many Jews as possible” at my synagogue in Houston. He nodded grimly and remarked that his childhood synagogue in Mississippi was firebombed.

Conversations like this are taking place across America. They are a chilling echo to similar conversations decades ago among Jews in Germany, Eastern Europe and Russia. For those who have wondered whether America is pogrom-proof, current trends are disturbing. Jews must now take extraordinary safety precautions at houses of worship and children’s schools. We enter through guard gates, greet armed law enforcement officers at the door, and heed admonitions from active shooter training classes.

Hate crimes against American Jews have spiked dramatically since October 7, 2023, when Hamas terrorists invaded Israeli villages and massacred more than 1200 people, raped scores of Israeli women, and abducted 251 hostages. Not long ago this would have triggered a public outcry against terrorism. This time the atrocities seem to have emboldened anti-Israel vitriol. Even before a single soldier entered Gaza to rescue hostages or pursue the terrorists, there were shrill outcries of “genocide” against the Jewish state as angry demonstrators poured into the streets. (See more discussion of the “genocide” libel here.)

Next in the illogical sequence was an escalation of violence against Jews. In the rapid turnover of news cycles, it is easy to lose track of–or become desensitized to–these incidents. Here is a partial list of violent attacks against Jews in the U.S. since the October 7 massacres:

West Bloomfield, MI: Attacker rams vehicle loaded with explosives into a synagogue intending to murder preschool children, with resulting shootout.
Washington, DC: Attacker opens fire outside Jewish museum, killing a young couple who worked for the Israeli embassy.
Boulder, CO: Attacker firebombs a peaceful gathering in support of Israeli hostages. Fourteen are injured and an elderly woman later dies from her injuries.
Brooklyn, NY: Attacker stabs a Jewish man in the chest outside the Chabad-Lubavitch headquarters.
Los Angeles, CA: Attacker shoots two Jewish men outside of a synagogue. In the same neighborhood a Judaic studies teacher is attacked behind a synagogue.
Harrisburg, PA: Arson attacker breaks into the official residence of Governor Josh Shapiro, a Jew, as he and his family sleep.
Bloomfield, NJ: Man arrested for trying to firebomb a synagogue.
Lauderdale, FL: Arson attack damages a Chabad Jewish Center.
Brooklyn, NY: Attacker drives car onto sidewalk in attempt to run down Jewish students and rabbi outside a school.
Chicago, IL: Attacker shoots Jewish man walking to synagogue.
San Antonio, TX: Man wielding a knife threatens congregants near synagogue.
Albany, NY: Man shouting anti-Israel slogan fires shotgun outside of synagogue.
Punta Gorda, FL: Arson attack causes extensive damage to a Chabad Jewish Center.
Albuquerque, NM: Attacker smashes the doors of a synagogue, and attempts to enter nearby Jewish Community Center, prompting an evacuation of children.
Manhattan, NY: Intruder disrupts synagogue service, punches female congregant, and head-butts a security guard.

(Omitted here are attacks in other countries such as the Bondi Beach massacre of 15 Jews in Sydney, the killings of two at Heaton Park Synagogue in Manchester, stabbings of Jews at Golders Green in London, and gunfire at Canadian synagogues.)

In the aftermath of the Holocaust many have asked the hypothetical question: Had I been a citizen of Germany, how would I have reacted as my Jewish neighbors were being persecuted and attacked? Would I have objected, silently acquiesced, or even rationalized participating in it?

Aware or not, Americans are modern-day subjects in a social science experiment, and many have flunked the first round of tests. Never in American history has violence against Jews been so widespread.

To be clear, the situation in the U.S. today cannot be compared to the devastations of the Holocaust. We are not even close. But violence against American Jews has never been so widespread, raising the obvious question: What comes next?

The Holocaust did not happen suddenly. It was the culmination of progressively worsening stages of persecution: libelous scapegoating; street beatings, initially sporadic and then widespread; implementation of laws restricting the rights of Jews and isolating them; the rounding up of Jews for forced transport to concentration camps; and cramming them into gas chambers for industrialized extermination. The normalization of one stage of depravity dulled the collective conscience to the next, yet even more atrocious.

When Hamas jihadists perpetrated the October 7 atrocities, they knew beyond any doubt that Israel would fight back. They also knew they could not escape retribution–under international law or otherwise–by using their families and neighbors as human shields. They did it anyway, hiding themselves and their weapons in and under hospitals, homes and schools. To paraphrase Golda Meir, there will be peace when the Palestinians love their children more than they hate their Jewish neighbors.

We cannot separate American political discourse from the tsunami of antisemitism, for there is a connection. Politicians are also emboldened to spew inciteful rhetoric and publicly associate with others who do. They lend a measure of public imprimatur to hate speech, and cannot be unaware of the violence that can – and does – follow.

A congressional candidate in Florida recently referred to his opponent on social media as a “fat disgusting Jew.” The post received more than 40,000 “likes.” He lost in the primary but managed to draw nearly 19% of the vote. Every one of his supporters flunked the “what if you’d been a German” test.

Then there is the former Maine candidate for US Senate who enjoyed broad support and endorsements despite having stamped his flesh with a Nazi tattoo. He appeared well on his way to winning his party’s nomination until one too many claims of mistreatment of women surfaced. How did his enthusiastic supporters so breezily look beyond his Nazi tattoo? Did they say, “that was terrible but he covered it up and he’s got the values we need to lead this country”? Or perhaps “he was too ignorant or drunk to realize what he was doing…and that’s the kind of guy I want leading us.”

Whatever the rationalization, they too flunked the test.

More dangerous are the nuanced, trendier brand of antisemites who spout dangerous and inciteful rhetoric while claiming to champion social justice. New York’s mayor, adored as a rising star in his political party, has on multiple occasions declined to condemn anti-Israel protestors’ chants to “globalize the intifada.” This sends a message to extremists: the mayor of America’s largest city does not oppose the global spread of the same violence Israeli civilians experienced during the Second Intifada, when suicide bombers blew up restaurants, hotels and buses. It tells jihadists—and those considering joining their ranks—that their fulfillment of calls for such violence will be justified, not condemned. On his very first day in office the mayor saw fit to pull back buffer zones designed to protect Jews from menacing harassment as they entered and exited their synagogues and religious schools. He would later call AIPAC “monsters,” thus demonizing American Jews who support a strong US-Israel relationship.

The irony, of course, it this: The more the mayor and others like him demonize American Jews, the more imperative that American Jews support Israel, for it may be the last refuge for their children and grandchildren. What are the alternatives? Australia, where Jews are gunned down en masse on the beach while celebrating Hannukah? Germany, where the chancellor has publicly declared that Jews are no longer safe? It’s not as if Canada, France, Spain, or the UK are any safer. Millions of twentieth century Jews died across Europe and Russia because they had no viable “Plan B.” To paraphrase Theodore Herzl, Jews cannot depend on the tolerance of other people for their safety.

Another politician on the rise, running for the US Senate in Michigan, made multiple campaign appearances with a social media figure who has not only publicly stated that America “deserved” 9/11, and called Hamas (an internationally recognized terrorist organization) “a thousand times better” than Israel, but has also suggested that American Jews may be inviting violence against themselves by supporting Israel. The candidate has, as of this writing, refused to condemn campaign advertisements peddling the falsehood that high grocery prices in America are linked to US support for Israel. Little wonder he has dodged questions about whether Israel has a right to even exist. One suspects we’ll soon learn his position on that issue if he wins a Senate seat.

History clearly teaches us that, in this political environment, Jews should not be surprised when synagogues and schools are attacked, when masked agitators harass them, when another stabbing occurs, or when the home of a Jewish governor is set afire. Now we must ask: Will American exceptionalism prevail before anti-Jewish violence reaches a tipping point? What are American Jews to do if the floodwaters of hate continue to rise?

Many American Jews like me have roots here dating back four or five generations, and cannot fathom ever leaving. Even so, at times like this we see with utmost clarity that Israel’s continued existence and strength are ultimately at the core of our own security. Calling us monsters will not deter us from protecting our children.