The Increase and Normalization of Jew Hatred

For the last few weeks, I’ve noticed that the number of stories on Jew-hatred and actions against Israel seems to have increased. I decided to check out my perceptions of the current situation, and unfortunately my perceptions were confirmed.

To explain the data I collected, I organized information on increases under three categories: internationally, nationally, and in Israel. Although the first two categories overlap to some degree with the last, I think the divisions are helpful for reviewing the information.

Increases Internationally of Jew Hatred

The movement to Boycott-Divest-Sanction was minimally successful in attacking the country of Israel. But since the October 7 attack, participation has grown substantially:

Years of pro-Palestinian campaigning for a global boycott against Israel once found limited support. But in the months since the war in Gaza began, support for the isolation of Israel has grown and widened well beyond Israel’s war effort.

The shift has the potential to alter Israeli careers, hurt businesses and weigh on the economy of a country of nine million people that depends on international cooperation and support for defense, commerce and scientific research.

When an ethics committee at Ghent University in Belgium recommended terminating all research collaborations with Israeli institutions in late May, Israeli computational biologist Eran Segal didn’t see it coming.

The overall impact, over time, could be consequential:

The spate of new political and legal initiatives against Israel is unprecedented, said Eran Shamir-Borer, former head of the international law department in the Israeli military. They include moves against Israel and its leaders at the United Nations’ top court and the International Criminal Court.

‘I think there is definitely reason for concern for Israel,’ said Shamir-Borer, now a fellow at the Israel Democracy Institute. ‘Becoming a pariah state means that even if things don’t happen formally, less companies feel that they want to invest in Israel in the first place, less universities want to collaborate with Israeli institutions. Things just happen when you get this symbolic status.’

In addition to these restrictions, Israelis have been banned from conferences and from collaborating with other scientists and universities. Even fund managers in Europe are taking action. Norway’s largest private pension fund, KLP, has responded:

KLP unloaded over $68 million in shares in U.S. company Caterpillar in late June, citing a statement by the U.N. human-rights commission that said arms transfers to Israel could violate human rights and international humanitarian laws and called on 11 multinational companies—including Caterpillar—to end exports to Israel. Caterpillar didn’t respond to a request for comment.

University bans are becoming more widespread:

More than 20 universities in Europe and Canada have adopted such bans, she said. An Israeli student who was preparing to study at the University of Helsinki said she was already looking for housing in Finland—until the school told her in May that it had suspended its exchange agreements with Israeli universities.

There’s no indication that these bans will decrease in the future.

National Evidence of Growing Jew-Hatred

Although the number of pro-Palestinian/anti-Israel protests taking place on college campuses has dropped, they may reappear in the fall term. Meanwhile, serious and violent activities have demonstrated that these activities are continuing. On June 8, the following protest took place:

Thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters in Washington converged around the White House on Saturday, urging President Biden to stop all military aid to Israel and calling for an immediate cease-fire in Israel’s war in Gaza.

Holding signs calling Mr. Biden a liar, the protesters, mostly clad in red and bearing Palestinian flags, marched around the block of parkland where the White House sits. They spilled across two six-lane boulevards, pushing out tourists, whose faces showed variations of confusion, anger or intrigue. The police presence was heavy, and the U.S. Park Police used pepper spray against a protester at least once.

Many of the protesters on Saturday chanted slogans that some groups have said incite violence against Jews, such as ‘There is only one solution: intifada, revolution,’ as well as ‘From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.’

Washington, DC was not the only site for this type of protest.

A physician based in L.A., who requested anonymity because he fears reprisals, worked as a medic during Sunday’s [June 27] protest outside the Adas Torah synagogue in the predominantly Jewish Pico-Robertson neighborhood. During the hours-long melee, in which violent clashes broke out between pro-Palestinian supporters and pro-Israel counterprotesters, he said he treated at least 11 people, whose injuries ranged from chest pain and shortness of breath from inhaling pepper spray to a fractured arm.

‘This was probably the scariest protest I’ve been to,’ he said. ‘It was very apparent that our police weren’t there to protect us and that any acts of violence that occurred in front of them wouldn’t be met with consequences.’

Apparently, the police were told to stand down in response to this protest.

Increased Hatred Toward Israel

Israel’s neighbors have been consistent in their attitudes regarding the atrocities that were committed. In fact, interest in the October 7 atrocities appears to be fading:

To this day, there seems little-to-no interest in the fate or condition of the hostages still in Gaza. Instead, there is denial that the October 7 atrocities even took place, compared to an almost obsessive regard for the safety of, and humanitarian aid for Gazans. When the U.N. is unable to deliver the aid, Israel, not the UN, is blamed.

Local Gaza polling also confirms that overwhelmingly the Palestinians support the rule of Hamas. And Hamas has been nothing if not consistent in its attitude toward Israel:

‘Israel is a country that has no place on our land," said Ghazi Hamad, a leading Hamas terrorist, in an interview with Lebanese TV channel LBC.

‘We must remove that country, because it constitutes a security, military, and political catastrophe to the Arab and Islamic nation, and must be finished. We are not ashamed to say this, with full force. We must teach Israel a lesson, and we will do this again and again. The Al-Aqsa Flood is just the first time, and there will be a second, a third, a fourth, because we have the determination, the resolve, and the capabilities to fight.’

In 1979, when Iran took 52 of our citizens hostage, our response at that time showed a stark contrast to how we are responding to our citizens who are being held by Hamas now:

I’m old enough to remember the yellow ribbons. In 1979, Islamic radicals in Iran took 52 Americans hostage, holding them for 444 days. The hostages’ plight captured the nation’s attention. Some of them became household names. Across the country people prayed for their release.

The crisis was the lead story on the news every night. Tying a yellow ribbon on a tree or lamppost became a public expression of sorrow and concern. Even the White House Christmas tree had one.

What a contrast to our current hostage crisis. On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas killed more than 30 American citizens and took as many as a dozen Americans hostage. Of those who were taken, at least two have been murdered. Five, we pray, are still alive. Do you know any of their names? Have you seen one yellow ribbon?

Are the Jews so despised that their well-being is either discounted or condemned?