It is the middle of January, 2025 and yet it is also October 7, 2023. The calendar moves on yet for many of us, it remains October 7, 2023, one of the worst days in Jewish history. The Holocaust and the destruction of the first two temples are certainly worse, but October 7, 2023 belongs in the top 5 of all time worst days in Jewish history. The 15 months that have followed have reinforced the Jew hatred that we saw on that day.

More than 1,200 men, women and children, including 46 Americans and citizens of more than 30 countries, were slaughtered by Hamas on October 7. Girls and women were sexually assaulted. Babies were cooked alive in ovens. People were beheaded. The depravity of Hamas’s crimes is unspeakable and yet we must speak. I watched the 47 minute Hamas video and those images are forever burned into my mind as are the comments of the representative from the Israeli Consulate that day – that they had worse footage that they simply wouldn’t release because it was too graphic and too horrific to be in the public domain. Hamas also took 254 people hostage that day, including 12 Americans. Four of those Americans – Hersh Goldberg-Polin (z’l), Itay Chen (z’l), Judy Weinstein (z’l), and Gad Haggai (z’l) – were murdered by Hamas.

Since October 7th, the rise in antisemitism has been profound. Jews are attacked daily for being Jewish. Jewish buildings are being attacked. Jewish schools shot at in Montreal. Attempted firebombings. Jews have been threatened with arrest in England just for looking Jewish. Synagogues in the United States have had protests blocking people from entering or exiting the building to pray. University campuses are filled with hatred, not just from other students but from faculty. Classes are including antisemitism as part of their curriculum. Columbia had Jewish students take their finals in the spring of 2024 online because campus wasn’t safe instead of making campus safe.

All of this has made we wonder how we got here. And yet, I do see some brightness flickering. Growing stronger. Not only because people who are Jews but not connected are now saying, if I am really Jewish no matter what, maybe I should learn what being Jewish means. It’s also because of our allies stepping up and speaking out. Shouting from the rooftops that these are lies and fighting not just along side us but often times leading the fight.

They give me hope. Not only do I want to talk about them but I want to show what is possible from things that have happened in the past. We don’t have to accept hatred in our lives, in our communities, in our city, state, country or world. It requires effort and requires allies. Not just to fight Jew hatred but to fight all hatred.

I’m going to start in the past. In 1993 in Billings, Montana, somebody threw a rock through the picture window of a Jewish family’s home. The family had been displaying a menorah in the window, a very Jewish custom and part of the Hanukkah celebration. The local paper—The Billings Gazette—hear about the story and did something that would be shocking in today’s world. Rather than excuse the behavior, rather than publish lies about why it happened, rather than make up something about Hanukkah being offensive to Christians, rather than, as happened in my own Orlando Sentinel where a very well known and respected columnist published a column with the headline, “In college protests, media hysteria overshadows reality“ making the claim that there really wasn’t antisemitism on campus and it was being overblown. He took the side of the terrorists and those who spout hate over Jewish students attempting to go to class. I reached out directly to him, angry and frustrated by what he wrote since it simply wasn’t true. When called out on this, he stood his ground, basing everything on his nephew’s reports and what was happening in Florida. A nephew he admitted is part of the protest movement against Israel and the Jews. Florida, a state in which leadership has done what very few other states have done to protect Jewish students. He never apologized. He never retracted what he said. The column remains posted. At least he hasn’t tried to comment on the rise of antisemitism since then.

In Billings, Montanta, in 1993, they reacted totally different. Instead of minimizing what happened, the newspaper published a full-page image of a menorah, urging its readers to tape the picture up in their windows. There were only approximately 150 Jews in Billings, yet the greater community displayed over 10,000 newspaper menorahs.

Billings didn’t stop in 1993. With the rise in antisemitism, they reprinted the menorah in December, 2022 and held a public menorah lighting. All in a town with a small Jewish population. Because they believe in morals and ethics. Because they chose to stand against hatred, including Jew hatred. In a world where we don’t hear or publicly see much support for Jews, it’s important to recognize it and show people that they can make a difference and they can stand against hate.

It’s similar to the “MyZuzzah, YourZuzzah” campaign that Patricia Heaton created, encouraging people who aren’t Jewish to stand up against Jew hatred by putting a mezzuzah on their front door. Special solidarity mezzuzahs were created for those who aren’t Jewish but want to show solidarity.

That’s what allies do. They stand up. They speak out publicly. We have plenty of celebrities who speak out in favor of Jew hatred. Examples include Mark Ruffalo, Susan Sarandon, John Cusack, Bella Hadid, and many more. We need to focus on those like Patricia Heaton, who stand with us.

People like Douglas Murray, a journalist who has been speaking loudly for a long time. He isn’t Jewish. He has no Israeli family members. Yet he speaks out loudly, clearly, and passionately about the stakes of this war and the moral clarity required. Here is just one example of what he does and says.

There is Australian news anchor Erin Mulan, also not Jewish, who has been actively talking about the truth of what happened on October 7th and the evil of Hamas. It cost her her job. She didn’t care. She continues to speak out and speak up. She uses her platform to advocate for truth, Israel, and the Jewish people. You can watch her recent report from Israel.

Natasha Hausdorff is another ally. She is a British barrister, not Jewish, and an incredible advocate. She often travels and speaks with Douglas Murray. She gave the closing argument in the Munk Debate staying that Anti-Zionism is Antisemitism. With no dog in the fight, she chooses truth and humanity. Listen to her closing argument in the Munk Debate.

It’s not just academics. Boxer Floyd Mayweather recently took his second trip to Israel since October 7th, calling Israel his “home way from home”. He doesn’t just speak with his words. He takes action with his money. He has used his private plane to deliver essential medical supplies to the nation. and during his previous visit in March 2024, he not only spent time meeting with IDF soldiers, rescue workers, and civilians, he donated an fleet of ‘medicycles’ to Magen David Adom.

On his recent trip in December 2024, he visited an IDF base where he hosted a barbecue for military personnel. He visited the headquarters of United Hatzalah, Israel’s largest volunteer emergency medical service and then made a $1 million donation to United Hatzalah, supporting their critical work. He has donated $100,000 to buy bullet proof vests for Israeli medical volunteers. Like I said, he doesn’t just say it with words, he shows it with actions and with his money.

We need to thank our allies. We need to invest in building relationships so we have more allies. Antisemitism thrives when the non-Jewish community allows it to. When the non-Jewish community steps up and says no, antisemitism and Jew hatred decrease. I have spent countless hours talking with non-Jewish friends about what’s going on in Israel, Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, as well as in Orlando, Florida, the U.S. and around the world. Helping them to understand. Perhaps if that Orlando Sentinel columnist had strong Jewish relationships, he would have asked for input before writing and publishing that column. We cannot sit idly by and let others tell our story. We must reach out to potential allies and engage with them. We must thank and engage with those who are our allies and are actively speaking out against Jew hatred.

It’s the only way to survive.