As Israel’s prime minister visits the White House, Jews across America and around the world continue to face physical attacks and cultural exclusion. U.S. President Donald Trump is optimistic that Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition government and the Hamas terrorist organization can reach a new ceasefire deal to end the war in the Gaza Strip. The proposed 60-day truce would reportedly see Israel release many convicted terrorists in exchange for 10 of the remaining 20 living hostages and the bodies of others.
There are 50 total hostages still in Gaza, some living and some dead. Israel also would pull back its forces and allow more aid to enter Gaza, with Hamas remaining in power.
At the same time, violent rhetoric and attacks against Jews are growing. From Boulder, Colo., to London and from Melbourne to New York City, the line between protest and provocation grows thinner, and the cost of normalized hatred is becoming harder to ignore.
Enduring hostage crisis: ‘Every mother worries about her child’
Nearly two years after Iranian-backed Hamas carried out its brutal Oct. 7 massacre, the agonizing condition of Israeli hostages remains an unbearable burden for their families—and for Israelis and Jews around the world. Recently, three hostages’ families agreed to release the Hamas propaganda videos of their children held in captivity.
Anat Angrest described the agony she feels for her son, Matan Angrest: “Every mother knows from the first cry of a baby, we are worried about our children.” She is concerned that her son, a 23-year-old soldier, is suffering from untreated burns and chronic asthma, according to the testimonies of other hostages held with him. Hamas does not respect international prisoner-of-war laws for humane treatment.
Matan Angrest has reportedly been tortured with car batteries and electric paddles until losing consciousness, as a result and may be permanently disabled. The other hostages still held in captivity are all enduring incomprehensible pain. Hostages are suffering from a number of illnesses, including: Matan Zangauker, 25, muscular dystrophy; Segev Kalfon, 27, PTSD; and Eitan Horn, 37, chronic illness.
Bar Kuperstein, 23, was abducted from the Nova music festival while providing first aid to the injured; he served as an army combat medic. His dad, Tal Kuperstein, has worked with a speech therapist following a stroke in an effort to regain his ability to speak so he could advocate for his son’s release. He was shown with Maxim Herkin pleading for their lives: “We are dying here with a pulse; we don’t feel human. We are dead men walking.” Now 37, Herkin is a loving father to a 3-year-old daughter, Monica. He was studying computer science while working to support his family when he was kidnapped from Nova.
Oct. 7: ‘Hamas used sexual violence as a tactical weapon of war’
A new report excruciatingly details the sexual atrocities committed by Hamas and other Palestinian terrorists, who murdered more than 1,200 Israelis on Oct. 7, 2023. There had been a lack of firsthand accounts because while the sexual violence was “widespread and systematic,” most victims were “permanently silenced.”
The Dinah Project, named after the first rape victim in the Bible, adds new evidence from 15 returned hostages who experienced sexual violence in captivity. The project’s goal is “to be a voice for those who cannot speak and to counter denial, misinformation and global silence, especially the grave failure of international human-rights groups.”
The report and investigators stated that “clear patterns emerged in how the sexual violence was perpetrated, including victims found partially or fully naked with their hands tied—often to trees or poles—evidence of gang rapes followed by execution and genital mutilation. Sexual violence continued in captivity, with many returnees reporting forced nudity, physical and verbal sexual harassment, sexual assaults and threats of forced marriage. Some hostages had to strip and shower while being watched.”
The sexual violence experts also interviewed Oct. 7 survivors and first responders. They “described dozens of cases of sexual violence, including rape and gang rape that took place in multiple locations. Women were found dead, naked and mutilated with gunshots in their genitalia and tied to trees. Many of the witnesses spoke of the victims being shot and Palestinian terrorists still trying to rape a dead body. The patterns are proof that this was premeditated. Sexual violence in conflict is about destruction and dehumanising a community.”
From rhetoric to real-world violence: ‘Globalize the intifada’
A dangerous worldwide trend is becoming more virulent: the escalating normalization of rhetoric that directly incites violence against Jews, Zionists and Israelis. In New York City, Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani repeatedly refused to condemn the chilling slogan “Globalize the intifada.” During the years of the Second Intifada (2000 to 2005), launched by Palestinian Authority chief Yasser Arafat, Palestinian terrorists attacked Israeli buses, restaurants and other targets, killing more than 1,000 Israelis.
When New York City voters were asked: “Mamdani backs the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement against Israel and also refuses to condemn the phrase ‘Globalize the Intifada,’ which some interpret as a call to violence against Jews. Does knowing this make you more or less likely to vote for Mamdani?” While a slight majority responded that they were less likely to vote for him, some 31% were more likely to support Mamdani. This number rises to 46% among 18- to 44-year-olds.
The latest arson attack against Jewish worshippers in a synagogue struck Australia yet again. The attacker poured and lit flammable liquid on the front doors; it was the second firebombing in Melbourne in seven months. Fortunately, the 20 worshippers inside for a Shabbat meal were unharmed. There have been firebombing attacks on synagogues during the past few years, including in America, Armenia, Canada, France, Germany, Poland, Tunisia and Ukraine.
About a mile away from the Melbourne synagogue, anti-Israel protesters stormed an Israeli restaurant. About 20 individuals chanted, “Death, death to the IDF!” It echoed the calls from the lead singer of the Bob Vylan band from the prior week’s Glastonbury music festival in the United Kingdom, where chairs were thrown and tables knocked over, terrifying diners.
Jeremy Leibler, Zionist Federation of Australia president, responded: “We’re starting to see outright calls for the death and murder of Jews become normalized on Melbourne’s streets. There has been a transition from coded slogans like ‘From the river to the sea’ and ‘Globalize the intifada’ to explicit incitement with the chant ‘Death to the IDF!”
Co-CEO Alex Ryvchin of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry said: “Those who chant for death are not peace activists. Those who would burn houses of prayer with families inside do not seek an end to war.”
Points to consider:
- It is a moral imperative to bring all the Israeli hostages home.
Nearly two years since Oct. 7, dozens of Israeli hostages remain in Hamas captivity—some alive, others presumed dead. Families are forced to endure propaganda videos, radio silence and global indifference. The hostages are denied Red Cross visits, held in inhumane conditions and stripped of every human right. These are not political abstractions; they are people. And there is no true justice until they are brought home and their captors are held accountable.
- Normalizing incitement normalizes violence.
From North American university campuses to Australian streets, chants once confined to the fringe now echo through mainstream politics and protests. Chants of “Globalize the intifada” and “Death to the IDF!” are not slogans of peace. They are pure incitement and blur the line between speech and violence, and the world has already seen where this leads. When leaders, such as politicians, entertainers, influencers, activists and university presidents refuse to condemn these words—or worse, promote them—they encourage those willing to act on them.
- Anti-Zionist rhetoric is fueling attacks around the world.
Anti-Israel protesters stormed an Israeli restaurant in Australia, chanting, “Death, death to the IDF!” A mile away, a synagogue was set on fire. Diners and worshippers were terrified. These are not isolated incidents. They are part of a worldwide pattern, where anti-Zionist language is used to justify threats and violence against Jews. “Zionist” is too often a stand-in for “Jew,” and calls to destroy Israel are heard by some as calls to destroy all Jewish lives anywhere in the world. We ignore this correlation at our peril.
- Jewish identity is not a political position.
At every Passover seder, Jews recite: “Next year in Jerusalem.” For most Jews, Israel’s existence is not a political debate; it is part of their Jewish identity, memory and survival. Chanting for its destruction is not just a policy critique. It erases a people’s culture, history and right to exist in their ancient homeland. When anti-Zionism veers into the denial of Jewish identity, it becomes something even more dangerous. Jewish pride should not come with fear, and Jewish existence is not up for negotiation.
