OPINION:
“That didn’t take long” is the understatement of the decade.
In the 48 hours after the Dec. 14 Bondi Beach massacre, the incidence of antisemitic attacks soared worldwide. In New York City, several members of Orthodox Judaism’s Hasidic Chabad movement, including a rabbi, were attacked on the subway on their way home from a Hanukkah celebration. Hours later, a Jewish man was stabbed on a sidewalk in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, as his assailant reportedly spat slurs at him.
Australia reported a 600% spike in such incidents in the days after the Bondi Beach massacre, including “expressions of hatred against Jews, alongside physical and verbal violence in public,” according to The Jerusalem Post. On Christmas Day in Melbourne, a car bearing a “Happy Chanukah” roof billboard was firebombed.
Antisemitic violence surges globally after every large-scale, widely publicized murder of Jews. It happened in 2023 in the days after Oct. 7; in 1987 and 2000 after the launch of the first and second intifadas, respectively; and in 1942, after Holocaust atrocities were revealed to the American public. That’s hardly an exhaustive list.
For some reason (it’s antisemitism), instead of triggering sympathy, such events seem to indicate to the world that it’s open season on the Jews — again. In response, politicians and the mainstream media get out and press into service their multiple-choice acknowledgment cards and pick from among the usual offerings: “We condemn this heinous act,” “We cannot allow this to happen again,” “We stand with the Jewish community,” and “The perpetrators will be brought to justice.”
If the past four millennia have taught the Jewish people anything, it’s that they cannot rely on anyone but themselves for protection, much less survival. Academics can delve as deeply as they like into the underlying causes of hatred, pacifists can caution against an eye for an eye, and leftists can urge “dialogue” all they want, but no solutions lie in those ways.
Jews everywhere must instead take a page from the playbook of the state of Israel, which defends itself ceaselessly. If it takes even a day off, it’s finished. So, Jewish people of the world, be done waiting for governments to act in your interest, because they won’t. It’s not politically expedient for country leaders to cater to 0.2% of the world’s population. Learn how to shoot a gun safely and effectively and then arm yourselves legally. If it’s physically feasible for you, take self-defense classes and practice frequently and regularly.
Be alert and vigilant. Don’t assume you can relax if you’re in an area with a large Jewish population. Crown Heights is about 25% Hasidic; that didn’t stop the antisemitic stabbing there last week, right near the Chabad Lubavitch World Headquarters.
Demand that your synagogues, schools, community centers and other identifiably Jewish places have their security systems and protocols thoroughly and independently reviewed and then fortified — even if leadership says they already have sound measures in place. Whatever they have, I can guarantee you it has gaps through which a “Free Palestine”-er could squeeze.
Finally, do the opposite of what the political left tells you every time there’s an attack, and profile away, early and often. If you see an individual in a kaffiyeh trying to get into your Zumba class at the Jewish Community Center, alert security immediately and then get the heck out of there.
While we’re on the topic, no, a kaffiyeh is not “just a scarf.” It’s a terrorist neckerchief with modern origins in the Arab revolt against British Mandate Palestine and the very idea of a Jewish homeland in the region. It necessarily means the destruction of Jews and Israel; do not be deceived into thinking otherwise. Nobody with one on has good intentions regarding Jews, particularly in a Jewish setting.
Finally, resist falling prey to the bystander theory. “Someone else” is not doing anything; you need to do it. Then you need to get your hand on your holster.
• Anath Hartmann is deputy commentary editor for The Washington Times.
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