Two kindergarteners were critically injured while playing on their school’s playground in northern California after being shot by a man claiming false “genocide” about Israel’s role in Gaza. This attack is one in a series of deeply disturbing incidents rocking Christian and Jewish communities around the world.
Without warning and unprovoked, the attacker shot Elias Wolford, 5, and Roman Mendez, 6, when the students were playing at the Feather River School of Seventh-day Adventists in Oroville, Calif. “It’s very likely they’re going to have to have a number of surgeries going forward. But the fact that they are currently still with us is a miracle and something we should all be thankful for,” Sheriff Kory Honea said. The attack reminds us that violent ideologies thrive on targeting the innocent, at times ignoring their background or actual ethnicity.
In Laguna Beach, Calif., a Palestinian-Iranian man seriously injured an Israeli-American man in what appears to be an attempted vehicular attack. The suspect asked the young man and his friends to identify their nationality while they were waiting for a taxi, and then attacked them and ultimately tried to run them over.
“This is the first time I have encountered such violence,” recounted one of the victims. “We tried to calm the situation and avoid a confrontation, but the suspect acted maliciously and with intent to harm.” In an incident nearby, another group of young men were asked where they and their parents were from, being told “we’re looking for Israelis.”
The calculated nature of these attacks—a question about identity, then violence—reflects the same chilling intent seen throughout history: Jews being singled out simply for being Jews. Similar instances of Jews being asked about their identity occurred in the streets in California and on university campuses across the country this year. In previous years, American Jews have been hunted in acts of hatred, including synagogue shootings in Pittsburgh (2018) and Poway, Calif. (2019); as well as the hostage situation in Colleyville, Texas (2022). The assaults are not confined to one political group or ideology. Whether driven by far-right extremism, far-left activists or Islamist radicalization, attacks against Jews are a blaring alarm that no society can afford to ignore.
From a school shooting and a car-ramming attack in California to fire-bombing a synagogue in Australia, where worshippers were praying inside, and a brutal “Jew hunt” in the Netherlands, these are not isolated events; they are symptoms of ailing societies. While Jews are the primary target, these attacks signal broader, systemic moral failures that threaten the very foundation of human rights and democracy. History teaches us that hatred against Jews rarely stops there. It is a cancer that metastasizes, spreading to other vulnerable groups, tearing apart communities and destabilizing nations.
Violence against Jews around the world
Masked attackers firebombed the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne, Australia, reducing sacred prayer books and Torah scrolls to ashes, injuring a worshipper. Investigators consider the incident a terror attack. Jewish leaders have expressed outrage at the government’s inaction, pointing out that efforts to form a task force to address antisemitism came only after the attack, not before. It was at least the third arson attack against Jews since June.
One day before the latest arson attack, anti-Israel activists—supported by staff and students from local universities—protested outside the Great Synagogue in Sydney, forcing the Jews praying inside to enter a lockdown. Attacks against Jews have quadrupled in Australia since the Hamas-led massacre in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
Executive Council of Australian Jewry leader Alex Ryvchin said, “For over a year, we have seen racist mobs impeding on the rights and freedoms of ordinary Australians. Our security and place in society has been eroded. I urge our prime minister and our government to contemplate and reflect on how it has come to this. Under their leadership, a house of prayer has been burned.” Ironically, police arrested a rabbi in October for disturbing the peace after he waved an Australian flag across the street from an anti-Israel rally.
In Amsterdam, Netherlands, violence took an even darker turn. Following a soccer match in Holland’s capital, fans of Maccabi Tel Aviv were chased and beaten by violent Muslim and Arab gangs. Calls for a “Jew hunt” circulated on social media beforehand, fueling the attack and showing how easily online rhetoric translates into real-world violence. As in California, pedestrians were asked about their identity. One man stated that he was not Jewish but was punched in the face anyway. Anti-Israel activists are emboldened around the world by government inactivity. Increasingly hostile incidents are happening across the United States, Canada, France, the United Kingdom and across Europe reflecting this global pattern of hatred.
On a positive note, more than 30,000 Jews and their allies—Christians, Hindus, Sikhs and Iranians—recently braved the rain to support the Jewish community in London. They marched holding banners that read: “Act against hate before it’s too late,” and waved British and Israeli flags. Another sign read, “Dear Jews, You aren’t facing terrorism and hate alone because you are ABSOLUTELY NOT alone. We are PROUDLY standing with you guys. Love always.”
Points to consider:
- Selective outrage: Where are the protests for Syria and Ukraine?
When atrocities kill and maim civilians in places like Syria and Ukraine, let alone Darfur in the Sudan or the Uyghurs in China, the world often looks the other way. Millions worldwide have been killed, displaced or brutalized, yet there are no widespread marches or campus protests demanding justice for these victims. The silence reflects a troubling double standard: some human suffering is spotlighted while others are ignored. This selective outrage dehumanizes entire groups and allows atrocities to continue unchecked. A moral society must care about all innocent victims of violence, no matter where they are or who they are. No Jews, no news. Even the brutal attacks on Oct. 7 were dismissed by many so-called human-rights groups and advocates.
- Attacks on Jews are a human-rights issue.
Targeting Jews is not only a “Jewish problem.” Attacks on Jews are a fundamental violation of human rights and reflect a society failing to uphold its most basic values of equality and safety. Throughout history, hatred against Jews has been a warning sign of broader moral collapse. Governments, organizations and individuals who ignore these attacks are normalizing hatred and eroding the foundations of humanity. Condemning violence against Jews is not optional; it is a moral imperative for all who believe in right vs. wrong, good vs. evil.
- Attacks on Jews will spread to other communities.
Hatred that starts with Jews never stops there. History has shown that attacks against Jews often are the beginning of violence that spreads to others. The shooting of two children at a Christian kindergarten in California underscores this chilling truth. Jews are often the first scapegoats because of deep-rooted prejudices, but unchecked hatred inevitably expands to harm other communities. Societies that fail to stop attacks on Jews open the floodgates to broader intolerance and violence. Protecting Jews is not just about their safety; it’s about protecting everyone.
- Violent rhetoric leads to the targeting of Jews.
Words have consequences, and violent rhetoric fuels real-world violence. Calls to “Globalize the intifada,” chants of “Death to Jews” and “Death to America,” and social-media posts encouraging “Jew hunts” create an environment where attacks become inevitable. Silence and, at times implicit support, from community and world leaders empowers haters to act more boldly. In the Netherlands, mobs chased and assaulted Jews. In Australia, attackers targeted a synagogue in an act of terror. This escalation does not happen in a vacuum. It begins with words that normalize hatred. Governments, organizations and civilians need to recognize that unchecked rhetoric with little to no response incites and promotes violence.
- Governments need to act before attacks start.
Too often, governments act only after violence occurs. In Australia, a task force addressing antisemitism was created only after a synagogue was firebombed. In the Netherlands, community support came only after mobs hunted down Jews. This reactive approach is failing Jewish communities. Governments must take active steps: enforce laws against hate crimes, improve education and hold perpetrators accountable. Leaders have a responsibility to set a moral tone. When they ignore or downplay attacks against Jews they embolden those who spread violence. Addressing hatred early is not just policy. Every country has the duty to protect its citizens.