Stay Strong & Resolute

Antizionism only wins when we fail to rise to the occasion or give in to despair.

I understand the anxiety. I feel it too. Acutely on more days than I care to admit. A fellow advocate described himself as not enjoying feeling cornered like an animal. Another riddled with anxiety said she was taking time out to just breathe. These comments break my heart to read.

So this column is for them and for the countless Jews around the world — the outspoken, the softspoken, and the silent — who are carrying a sense of deep unease and worry right now.

To be clear: I am referring to a feeling of dread that societies and our neighbors are behaving in ways we hoped never to see again. It would be dishonest and foolish to pretend those concerns aren’t real.

But that’s not the purpose of this writing today. This is, and it’s a note to self too: A reminder that fear alone is not our story. The protests against the New York Times last week, for pushing yet more libel out into the world, and against Mayor Mamdani outside Gracie Mansion this week, has made that more clear than your mother’s crystal vase.

Because here’s what is still blooming inside that vase:

We are a people who build. We create. We teach. We heal. We contribute. We give generously of our talents, our intelligence, our labor, and our hearts because we believe that civilization is strengthened when people invest in something larger than themselves.

For generations, that instinct toward contribution has often been mistaken for weakness. Our patience has been mistaken for surrender. Our desire to coexist peacefully and productively has been mistaken for a tolerance to be scapegoated and bullied. Our commitment to repairing the world has been mistaken for an inability — or unwillingness — to defend ourselves.

That is a mistake. A grave one.

We know the history of societies that turn their frustrations toward Jews. It’s not pretty. We recognize the pattern when it begins to emerge. We see it. We will speak against it. We will organize against it. And we will defend ourselves against it.

And if some of us haven’t outed the antizionist movement yet, or not nearly enough until now, ahem, for its hate and bigotry and nefarious agenda, then we will begin to with a new vigor and determination.

On an individual level. And on an organizational one!

We can’t continue to ignore the elephant in the room. Not because we have abandoned our inherent kindness. But because kindness and strength were never opposites. They go hand in hand.

So yes, stay vigilant. Stay informed. Stand together. Replace despair with a courage that may simply be dormant right now. So give it a nudge. It’s a mind muscle like any other.

And when the old hateful narratives reappear wearing newly threatening garb and slogans, we have every right to say and we can feel ready to say:

NOT THIS TI✡️E.