American Jews, stand firm upon the day of wrath
As Israel faces a wave of terror, you face the coming pogrom
My brothers and sisters of the American Diaspora,
Israel is currently facing a new wave of terror, as you are no doubt aware. This wave may crest soon, or it may not. There is at least a strong possibility that it will grow and intensify until, as in May 2021, it erupts into a full-scale war or, even worse, into a possible third intifada.
This will not be easy for Israel to deal with, no doubt. There have already been deaths, and along with them perpetual sorrow and trauma. We hope that there will be no more, but as Jews have done for centuries in such situations, we are worried. And as an Israeli, I am worried.
But I am also worried — perhaps more worried — for you.
I am worried because I know that, while this latest escalation may end short of war, there will be another that will not. In the Middle East, sadly, there will always be another war, and there is no telling how long or ferocious it may be. Israelis, of course, have been through that before, and we do what we must: put our faith in the prowess of the IDF and do our best to live our lives as normally and bearably as we can in an abnormal and unbearable situation.
You, however, do not have an army. The consequences of this were made clear in May 2021, when a nationwide pogrom erupted in the United States, led by Muslim-Americans backed by progressive Americans, who sought to support Hamas’ terrorism and the genocidal factions of the Palestinian national movement by engaging in a conscious campaign of antisemitic violence, vandalism, intimidation, defamation, and the shattering of the Jewish body. And against this pogrom, you were — through no fault of your own — unable to effectively defend yourselves.
So, an unpleasant truth must be told to you: if this current escalation continues, if another war breaks out, the pogrom will happen again, and likely on a much larger scale. And if the pogrom does not come this time, it eventually will. Sooner or later, in other words, as in every generation, they will rise up against you.
The pogromists freely admit this. Just last week, hundreds marched in New York City — home to a million Jews — openly threatening a new pogrom, shouting the slogan “globalize the initifada!” which is as clear a statement, and a threat, as could conceivably be made. It means precisely what it appears to mean: the Palestinians and their supporters intend to not only attack and kill Jews in Israel, but everywhere, all around the world — which by definition includes the United States.
There is no doubt what form this will take in the US: violence, vandalism, intimidation, defamation, and the shattering of the Jewish body. And it is very likely that, this time, it will end in a murder.
War, in other words, is upon you, whether you want it or not.
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