The recent antisemitic attacks in Washington, D.C. and Boulder, Colo. have sent a shock wave through the global Jewish world. America has been called the safest diaspora land for Jews in the history of the Jewish exile. Some are wondering if we should now reassess this viewpoint going forward.
As recently reported to the Knesset’s Committee for Immigration, Absorption and Diaspora Affairs, the increase in antisemitic incidents in America continued in 2024, and the numbers broke once again the annual record for incidents since the monitoring of the issue began 46 years ago. The mind-boggling numbers: in 2024, a total of 9,354 incidents of antisemitic assault, harassment or vandalism occurred – a 5% increase from 2023, a 344% increase over the past five years, and an 893% increase over the past decade.
The question going around is what would need to happen for Jews to become genuinely fearful for their lives and futures? Many Jews have begun asking if rising antisemitism around the world can be compared to Europe before the Holocaust. If 2025 is another repeat of 1937, the year many consider the last one European Jews had the opportunity to flee the rising antisemitism. One major difference between Pre-Holocaust Europe and the rising antisemitism seen today is that antisemitism in Europe was state sponsored, while today’s governments are actively combating antisemitism.
For example in the U.S., four months before the Simchat Torah massacre of October 7, 2023, the Biden administration recognized the dramatic rise in antisemitism and released its U.S. National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism. And ten days after taking office, President Trump took steps to marshal all federal resources to combat the explosion of antisemitism on American campuses and streets, ordered every federal executive department and agency leader to report to the White House on all criminal and civil authorities and actions available for fighting antisemitism, and directed the DOJ to, among other things, quell pro-Hamas vandalism and intimidation and investigate and punish anti-Jewish racism on college campuses.
But even with government taking major steps and instituting policies to combat rising antisemitism and violence against Jews, world Jewry have begun to fear that this antisemitism is not only quantitatively but qualitatively different than previously experienced contemporary antisemitism. Jews have sensed a shift in the in their situation. They’re recognizing that antisemitic attacks are continuously shifting more than just an incremental way, but an exponential way, with a danger of a more serious increase coming in the future.
“There is a direct line between demonizing Israel, tolerating antisemitic hate speech in the public square, and violent action,” William Daroff, the CEO of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, recently wrote on X. “We are now witnessing the deadly consequences of months of relentless antisemitic incitement – amplified by international organizations and political leaders across the globe – since the horrors of October 7. This is not a debate over policy; it is the mainstreaming of hatred, and its consequences are measured in blood.”
More and more the rising fears of global Jewry have begun running parallel with the question of whether it is “1937 all over again.” It is imperative for Jewish people to recognize that Jewish history rarely sees the exact same persecution twice. Ironically, since the times of Paroah instituting incremental slavery, Haman hosting a lottery, and the Romans erasing and renaming the land, Jewish enemies consistently innovate in their attacks against the Jewish people.
Today’s Jewish community lives with the Holocaust as a current event, not an event in ancient history. It can be challenging for non-Jews to understand that Jews today, born into the safety of America and Israel, live with the Holocaust as if it just recently happened and can happen again at any moment. Today’s Jews were raised in communities that centralized the Holocaust and its lesson of “Never Again.” The Jews witnessing the rise in antisemitism have met with survivors and heard their stories of missing the last boats out of Europe and getting stuck in the camps without a path to refuge. The Jews of today have internalized these nightmares and live with them every day.
But Jews have long erred by peering into history’s rear-view mirror, scouring past persecutions, only to breathe a false sigh of relief when the patterns don’t match. This myopic vigilance breeds complacency, blinding the Jewish people to the new face of rising. The next wave of persecution won’t mimic the German Holocaust – it never does. If Jews fixate on yesterday’s warning signs, they’ll miss the hateful storm barreling straight toward them.
What then should act as today’s warning signs of hate rising in such great quantities and qualities that genuine fear becomes justified? Today’s warning signs are twofold. The first flashes when the very question of when fear is justified is asked in greater and greater frequency. The second warning sign flashes when the questions of whether one should be scared is no longer asked in the abstract but in practical terms. If the question of whether one should be scared needs to be asked, that’s all the warning the Jewish people need to recognize they’re already justifiably scared.
Jewish history has unfortunately taught the Jew to always be wary of their situation. This doesn’t mean that the Jew must always be scared and on alert for the next Holocaust. A healthy medium of caution mixed with a realistic approach to actual danger has always been a healthy approach to life. Jewish communities around the world are taking this approach, increasing security while continuing to gather as a community for prayer, programming, and growth. As always, we pray that every Jew will always be safe and secure.
