Why I Wrote a Jewish Pocket History in This Moment |
In the wake of the Oct. 7 attacks, American Jewry has been thrust into an “eighth front” of the Israel-Hamas war: the fight for truth amid a torrent of lies. Members of our community have faced unprecedented vitriol online, on university quads, and in the streets of major cities for their support of Israel.
Oct. 7 served as a wake-up call for American Jews of all stripes. In an instant, the rug was pulled from under us. Many of us felt betrayed by fair-weather friends who bolted when we needed them most, worn down from justifying our views to a war-weary public, and demoralized by fears about our place in Western society.
As our community grapples with this fallout, we have tended to direct the blame outward. Why, despite the long shadow of the Holocaust, has the West tolerated this onslaught of hatred? How has America, the “golden land” whose shores have afforded Jews untold opportunities, stood by this erosion of its liberal values?
These are important questions – but the........