Guno צְבִי
We fight, We win
History shows that the world’s biggest transformations and crises have always been accompanied by the rise of antisemitism. Jews have continuously been viewed as the root of all evil and have been the scapegoats for blame in a staggering array of misfortunes that have befallen the societies surrounding them. Moreover, this foreboding trend continues to the present day.
After blaming Jews for the Black Death plague that killed almost 50 million people worldwide, wiping out over half of Europe’s residents in the Middle Ages,2 a similar blood libel was revived in 1918 when the Spanish Flu pandemic ravaged the planet.3 From diseases to various economic crises, including Germany’s economic problems in the 1920s and 1930s, the global financial upheaval in 2008 and many other phenomena, Jews have repeatedly found themselves under accusation.
With the surge of Covid-19, a similar dose of hatred had been injected into humanity's consciousness by antisemites who accused Jews and Israel of creating the pandemic for wealth and world dominance.5 Conspiracy theories and blood libels spread around the globe like the highly infectious virus. Antisemites extensively disseminated their vicious agenda on a global scale, and the tentacles of the far-Right and the far-Left intertwined forces to fight their common enemy: the Jews.
The tragic events of October 7, 2023 may have made the world sympathetic to the Jews for a moment, but this sympathy soon became drowned in a new and much more powerful wave of global antisemitism. Slogans calling for the elimination of the Jewish state then became commonplace at anti-Israel protests worldwide, as new heightened levels of antisemitic crimes and threats soared in several countries.
The current worldwide wave of antisemitism indicates that the dark days when Jewish people were described as conniving and abusing elements of society are not over. The days when Jews were accused of being responsible for all of the world’s problems are not behind us, quite the contrary. And this situation will not change unless certain specific measures are taken because antisemitism is embedded in the very foundation of the world as a law of nature. It will continually resurface, particularly in times of peril, with swift vengeance and manifest in new variants and mutations.
In fact, after World War II and since the birth of the State of Israel, a new form of antisemitism has emerged, one that tries to legitimize hatred against Jews under the convenient cover of delegitimizing the only Jewish country: Israel.
Although the new antisemitism is the consequence of careful preparations from anti-Israeli organizations, nations and activists throughout the years, an event celebrated in September 2001, the Durban Conference organized in South Africa by the United Nations, was the turning point in the campaign to delegitimize the State of Israel
The gathering was originally planned to tackle racism and xenophobia, but rapidly transformed into a breeding ground for venom against Israel which was described as a “racist, apartheid state” that was guilty of “racist crimes including war crimes, acts of genocide and ethnic cleansing.” This vicious discourse would later become the role model for global movements such as the BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) aimed to not only isolate but mortally wound the Jewish nation.
In such an effort, anti-Israeli activists found a common language with Jews opposed to Israel’s right to exist. But while some Jews in the Diaspora may disagree with the State of Israel’s policies or direction, it will fail to save them from the implacable hatred against Jews. Antisemites make no exceptions. Their calculation and aim are clear—Israel and Jews are good only as far as they are annihilated, and they will not rest until their goal is achieved.
Israel is an intrinsic part of the collective Jewish identity and is perceived that way by the nations of the world. So when judgment is passed and punishment imposed on Israel, it falls on the entire Jewish collective and not only on an individual part. This phenomenon can be witnessed in universities and colleges across America and other countries, and basically in every realm of human society.
Therefore, the current foreboding menace to Jews is even more alarming than during the Nazi era. Why? In our era of globalization and instant communication, the new antisemitism will never remain focused on a single geographical area as was the case in the past. It is and will be a worldwide phenomenon that will affect any Jew, anywhere, anytime. Threats both physical and virtual now spring up on all sides and in every shape and form: from radical Islam, the far-Right, the far-Left, mainstream politics, the economic sector, and even from the worlds of arts and academia.
The increasing pressure against Jews and the State of Israel must be seen as a wake-up call for Jews to come together and ask essential questions: Why are we singled out among the peoples of the world? What is it in our background that makes us unique? Where are we headed and do we have a destiny? What is the root cause of such animosity against us? Until now we have spent enormous efforts trying to directly combat the bad attitudes and behavior of others toward us, but every effort has ultimately failed or has only partially succeeded for a limited period of time until new blows have struck our faces.
After blaming Jews for the Black Death plague that killed almost 50 million people worldwide, wiping out over half of Europe’s residents in the Middle Ages,2 a similar blood libel was revived in 1918 when the Spanish Flu pandemic ravaged the planet.3 From diseases to various economic crises, including Germany’s economic problems in the 1920s and 1930s, the global financial upheaval in 2008 and many other phenomena, Jews have repeatedly found themselves under accusation.
With the surge of Covid-19, a similar dose of hatred had been injected into humanity's consciousness by antisemites who accused Jews and Israel of creating the pandemic for wealth and world dominance.5 Conspiracy theories and blood libels spread around the globe like the highly infectious virus. Antisemites extensively disseminated their vicious agenda on a global scale, and the tentacles of the far-Right and the far-Left intertwined forces to fight their common enemy: the Jews.
The tragic events of October 7, 2023 may have made the world sympathetic to the Jews for a moment, but this sympathy soon became drowned in a new and much more powerful wave of global antisemitism. Slogans calling for the elimination of the Jewish state then became commonplace at anti-Israel protests worldwide, as new heightened levels of antisemitic crimes and threats soared in several countries.
The current worldwide wave of antisemitism indicates that the dark days when Jewish people were described as conniving and abusing elements of society are not over. The days when Jews were accused of being responsible for all of the world’s problems are not behind us, quite the contrary. And this situation will not change unless certain specific measures are taken because antisemitism is embedded in the very foundation of the world as a law of nature. It will continually resurface, particularly in times of peril, with swift vengeance and manifest in new variants and mutations.
In fact, after World War II and since the birth of the State of Israel, a new form of antisemitism has emerged, one that tries to legitimize hatred against Jews under the convenient cover of delegitimizing the only Jewish country: Israel.
Although the new antisemitism is the consequence of careful preparations from anti-Israeli organizations, nations and activists throughout the years, an event celebrated in September 2001, the Durban Conference organized in South Africa by the United Nations, was the turning point in the campaign to delegitimize the State of Israel
The gathering was originally planned to tackle racism and xenophobia, but rapidly transformed into a breeding ground for venom against Israel which was described as a “racist, apartheid state” that was guilty of “racist crimes including war crimes, acts of genocide and ethnic cleansing.” This vicious discourse would later become the role model for global movements such as the BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) aimed to not only isolate but mortally wound the Jewish nation.
In such an effort, anti-Israeli activists found a common language with Jews opposed to Israel’s right to exist. But while some Jews in the Diaspora may disagree with the State of Israel’s policies or direction, it will fail to save them from the implacable hatred against Jews. Antisemites make no exceptions. Their calculation and aim are clear—Israel and Jews are good only as far as they are annihilated, and they will not rest until their goal is achieved.
Israel is an intrinsic part of the collective Jewish identity and is perceived that way by the nations of the world. So when judgment is passed and punishment imposed on Israel, it falls on the entire Jewish collective and not only on an individual part. This phenomenon can be witnessed in universities and colleges across America and other countries, and basically in every realm of human society.
Therefore, the current foreboding menace to Jews is even more alarming than during the Nazi era. Why? In our era of globalization and instant communication, the new antisemitism will never remain focused on a single geographical area as was the case in the past. It is and will be a worldwide phenomenon that will affect any Jew, anywhere, anytime. Threats both physical and virtual now spring up on all sides and in every shape and form: from radical Islam, the far-Right, the far-Left, mainstream politics, the economic sector, and even from the worlds of arts and academia.
The increasing pressure against Jews and the State of Israel must be seen as a wake-up call for Jews to come together and ask essential questions: Why are we singled out among the peoples of the world? What is it in our background that makes us unique? Where are we headed and do we have a destiny? What is the root cause of such animosity against us? Until now we have spent enormous efforts trying to directly combat the bad attitudes and behavior of others toward us, but every effort has ultimately failed or has only partially succeeded for a limited period of time until new blows have struck our faces.
