I am aware that I should express how challenging this year has been. I grieve over our numerous losses and the continuous distress of the hostages. Nevertheless, recall our anxieties from a year ago – we were convinced that the approaching conflict with Hezbollah would result in significant damage, but we eventually emerged victorious. Israel is significantly safer now, having defeated Hezbollah, Iran, Hamas, and contributed to the downfall of Syria's regime.
This year, news reports highlighted Israel's victory in the conflict but the damage to its reputation. If defending itself as Jews is a zero-sum game, then so be it! A reputation can be restored. However, wars cannot be undone. Israel needs to achieve a clear and decisive victory.
Some questioned: Why is Israel's public relations in trouble? Even if we accept the government's lack of public diplomacy efforts, Israel, by confronting its adversariestoo “aggressively”for the world's palate, causing distress among many friends, while encouraging those waiting to discredit.
This is a conflict based on deterrence, not retaliation. The term evokes deep-seated Western biases that portray the Jewish deity as vengeful. However, I continue to recall Amos Oz's question from previous Gaza conflicts – what would you do? As a historian, I wonder how America and the West confronted jihadists? Do not assess Israel according to the actions of its adversaries. Yet, do not evaluate it unjustly either, applying criteria that the United States and the West themselves did not uphold in Iraq or Afghanistan, let alone during World War II.
Truth-speaking can be exhausting. But I'll continue to highlight Israel's lower ratio of combatants to civilians.kill ratio, Israel's warnings have sacrificed the element of surprise in order to protect Gazan lives, along with the unprecedented importation of more than 100,000 truckloads of aid into Gaza.
Criticizing Israel's war
This brings up the issue of the year: Why this sudden surge? Is it unreasonable to attribute it to antisemitism, or is it foolish to overlook how this prejudice affects Jews' trust in the Jewish state?
As I discuss in my latest e-book,The Fundamental Handbook on Zionism, Anti-Zionism, Antisemitism, and Hostility Towards Jews, identifying genuine criticism from extreme antisemitism is straightforward. Apply the TEST test: Question, is it "Totalizing"? – adopting essentialist views, vilifying everything connected to Israel, Jews, Zionists. Is it "Exaggerated"? – the more extreme the critique, the more it resembles prejudice. Is it "Sweeping"? – using Israeli errors to support complete denial, not merely criticizing Israel's actions, but the very existence of Israel. And what is the "Tone"? The more severe the criticism, the more it appears to be prejudice.
Many critics blast Israel’s war effortand the government. That is valid. These criticisms reflect some Israelis' fear of Bibi.
Critics turn into detractors by engaging in a battle of invalidation, moving from criticizing Israeli actions to rejecting Israel and its people. Take the language used by the pro-Palestinian movement, which includes exaggerated claims of "genocide," and its call for violent destruction: "Globalize the intifada!... From the River to the Sea...." and, justifying October 7, "Resistance is Justified When People are Occupied."
Explore the origins of Palestinian antisemitic anti-Zionism. It's not our responsibility – or Jerry Seinfeld's – that "Free Palestine" or the keffiyeh conveys anti-Jewish sentiment. It's their issue. They have been engaging in this since Haj Amin al-Husseini in the 1940s, and then denying it when confronted.
Even the starvation accusationoften shows prejudice. Why justify Hamas for taking from its own citizens, and for putting thousands of their own lives at risk for public relations benefits? And why inflate the situation in Gaza, while overlooking the hunger crisis in Mali, Haiti, and South Sudan – where 25 million individuals are starving?
Since October 7, I have incorporated the term "obsession" in my definition of antisemitism. "Obsession" refers to an excessive focus on Israel, positioning it at the heart of global issues, and evaluating Israel differently from other Western nations.
Celebrating on Rosh Hashanah
Nonetheless, since nearly every Israeli Jew intends to participate in the Rosh Hashanah meal, along with millions of Jews around the globe, there is much to rejoice about.
Israel remains at the forefront globally in terms of altruistic kidney donations per person. The nation's nationwide innovation hub keeps improving the world, with ForSight Robotics creating micro-eye surgery technology that benefits underprivileged populations in developing countries, as well as a "peer-to-peer" tutoring platform initiated by some teenagers from Afula.
As concerns from the West increase regarding violence, anger, loneliness, intolerance, disconnection, harmful partisanship, rejection of facts due to AI, and alienation caused by social media, Judaism presents a powerful solution, the ultimate alternative culture. Jews continue to be a people of community, tradition, history, identity, and discussion; of those who seek meaning and purpose.
Welcome this Jewish new year not only by purchasing new attire or the largest brisket. Rather, read one of our remarkable books, delve into the teachings of our sages.
On a more cheerful note, advocate for your local film festival to showcaseFloaters, a delightful new independent comedy, directed by my friends Becky, Lily, and Shai Korman. Set in a fictional Zionist camp called Camp Daveed, shot at Young Judaea Camp Tel Yehudah, this movie is perfect for anyone who has ever returned home with a sore throat from youth group activities or believed that summer meant spending the whole day discussing Zionist ideas and the essence of life, from morning until night.
The film, which evokes a sense of nostalgia, concludes with a deep and timely message. The Floaters – individuals who don't fit in – present a typically humorous and theatrical performance. In the midst of simple aluminum-foil props, a former outsider appears in a tallit and tefillin, stating: “The coverings assist me in reflecting on my bond with my community.”
Immediately, your attention moves away from the social interactions that define every group experience – and every teenage film – towards the impactful nature of understanding you are "part of the bigger picture," of feeling "at ease" in your "own identity," and of improving humanity, one "kind person," one meaningful action, one lasting concept at a time.
That's how we succeeded over the past 3,500 years. Our lives are filled with noise and numerous distractions. However, on Rosh Hashanah—and every day after—our goal is to rise above daily troubles, address the issues we can, and then live, act, pray, believe, and dream in an eternal sense. Shana Tova.
The author, a senior fellow specializing in Zionist ideology at the Jewish People Policy Institute, is an expert on American presidential history. He released a publication last year.To Oppose the Academic Uprising: Letters to My Students on Upholding the Zionist VisionandThe Must-Have Handbook on October 7th and Its Consequences. His latest e-book,The Fundamental Handbook on Zionism, Anti-Zionism, Antisemitism, and Hostility Towards Jews, has recently been released and can be downloaded from the JPPI website.