According to JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin, the Hamas-led terrorist attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, raise troubling questions about the reactions from the international community. Rather than rallying to Israel’s defense, much of the world responded with a surge of antisemitism that has impacted the lives of Jews around the world, as well as isolating the Jewish state.
He is joined in this week’s episode of “Think Twice” by Israel Ellis, author of 10.7 The Wake Up Call: Global Terrorism and the Rise of Antisemitism in a World Gone MAD.
Ellis, a Canadian entrepreneur and author who has a son in the Israel Defense Forces, says his new book is an effort to answer the question of how this catastrophe could have happened. It’s also intended as a primer about the facts about Oct. 7 and the war against Hamas in response to the denial about the atrocities, in addition to the lies that have been spread about the Jewish state’s conduct in the conflict.
He spoke of his outrage about the Jew-hatred that is making itself felt throughout North America, especially in his home of Toronto, in which sympathy for the Palestinians’ “death cult” and hostility to Israel has become widespread. He pointed out that a key factor in transforming college campuses into hotbeds of pro-Hamas activism and hostile environments for Jews is the corrupting influence of money from Qatar and Iran. Ellis thinks importing students from the Middle East led to antisemitic demonstrations and illegal activities, transforming these schools since the 1990s, when he studied the region.
Ellis believes a big part of the problem that Israel faces is the way that the West, especially the Obama and Biden administrations in the United States, and the Justin Trudeau government in Canada, “betrayed” Israel by appeasing Iran and undermining the war on Hamas. He is hopeful about the new administration of President Donald Trump, whom he believes is a “messenger of God,” and whose outlier personality and role as an agent of “chaos” have brought about a necessary change in the conversation about the Middle East.
Ellis also believes that an imperative of the post-Oct. 7 world is to create Jewish unity. He says that can only be achieved in Israel by the creation of a constitution, and a change in the way the Knesset and government are elected. Though he acknowledges that it seems an unlikely prospect, he asserts that when you consider that “Israel is a land of miracles,” anything is possible.
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JNS will host its inaugural International Policy Summit on Monday, April 28, 2025. This daylong event will convene government officials, policymakers, diplomats, security experts, leaders of pro-Israel organizations, and influencers for vital discussions aimed at addressing Israel’s critical challenges and opportunities in a post-Oct. 7 world.
Registration at this point is for invitees only. However, you can submit a request for registration using the following link.
