In the aftermath of the Bondi Beach attack, one word surfaced repeatedly in headlines and official statements: isolated.

It is a word meant to calm. To reassure. To close the book quickly and move on.

But calling acts of violence against Jews “isolated” has become one of the most dangerous habits of our time — not because it is always false in a technical sense, but because of what it prevents us from doing: recognizing patterns, asking hard questions, and responding honestly to a reality that many would prefer to explain away.

This is not about assigning blame prematurely. It is about intellectual integrity.

When an attack targets Jews in a public space, in a global climate where antisemitism is rising across continents, institutions, and campuses, describing it as detached from context is not neutral. It is a choice — and a consequential one.

Language Shapes Perception

Words matter. The way we describe events determines how societies process them.

“Isolated” suggests randomness. It implies no broader lesson, no connective tissue, no reason to reflect beyond the immediate incident. It subtly instructs the public: there is nothing to see here beyond the individual act.

But history — especially Jewish history — teaches the opposite.........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)