Tag: aoc

Bondi Beach: The end of these glory days

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

I have been writing and talking about the rise of antisemitism and Jew hatred for over a decade. In July of 2016, I co-authoried this article in the Seattle Times calling for people to stand up and speak out against antisemitism. I’ve endured ridicule from those on the far left in the Jewish community and people telling me that this is America and we are safe here.

October 7th and the more than two years following that has changed some of that ridicule as more in the Jewish community are seeing the blatent Jew hatred around the world and in America. Yet, as we as Jews have done for centuries, we continue to see ourselves as members of the society we live in first and Jews second while the rest of the world sees us as Jews first, second, and third. Whether it’s Jews like Peter Beinert and Bernie Sanders or leaders like Zohran Mamdani, Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, or talking heads like Tucker Carlson, Candace Owens, Joe Rogan, and Nick Fuentes, we are being battered on all sides.

On Sunday, on Bondi Beach in Australia, we reached a breaking point. Two gunman attacked a Hanukkah celebration, murdering at least 15 and wounding at least 40. The death and injury count would have been even higher if not for the bravery of one man, Ahmad Al-Ahmad, a 43-year-old Muslim man, husband and father of two, who risked his life to save others, wrestling the weapon from one of the terrorists. The video is incredible and we can watch a true hero in action.

We’ve seen things like this before. Unfortunately they are too many to even list. There was a school shooting at Brown University earlier that day. Hatred and murder go hand in hand. As a world, we have emboldened hatred of ‘the other’ and this is the result. It happens time and time again. We have seen in the LGBTQ+ community, the African American community, the Muslim community, the Sikh community, with violence against women, and any other group that somebody deems as being ‘different’ or ‘the other.’ That isn’t the breaking point I refer to.

The breaking point I refer to is all the people who chanted, agreed with, failed to condemn, defended slogans like ‘Globalize the intifada’, condemning the attacks they they helped ensure would happen. It’s the leaders of countries who, by their actions and inactions, created the environents that make this type of violence and murder a reality, now condenming it. Public Jew haters like Rashida Tlaib, posting she is ‘heartbroken’ by the very thing that she advocates for on a daily basis. Brianna Wu’s comment is what we all should be feeling.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks out after the shooting while failing to take responsiblity for his inaction despite warnings that Jewish gatherings were going to be attacked. He and the Australian government actively took steps prior to the shooting to encourage Jew hatred, to fuel antisemitism, and to make Australia not safe for Jews. The day before the murderous attack at Bondi Beach, this article was published, highlighting the rise in “unprecedented anti-Jewish violence” while the government does nothing. Nothing but try to play the victim and shirk responsibilitiy after their actions and failure to act resulted in mass murder of Jews.

Comedian Michael Rappaport’s comment on Mayor Elect Mamdani’s post states exactly what I am talking about. Set the stage for violence against Jews and then when it happens, call for peace.

I’m beyond disgusted by these people who actively hate Jews, who do what they can to ensure the death of Jews, and then pretend after it happens that they are sad. I go back to the famous Maya Angelou quote. I’m tired of the two faced liars who want me dead and want me to help them murder me.

Last night was the big, public Hanukkah celebration in my town. I had been excited to go. I was excited to celebrate being Jewish publicly. The past few days, I have been feeling worn out from all my travel the past 10 weeks. North Carolina, Israel, Baltimore, Ft Myers, Tampa, DC, Seattle, Israel, Boca, and Gainesville. It has been an exhausting schedule. Yet after the Jewish massacre on Bondi Beach, after the Jew haters pretending to be sad that what they have advocated for, globalizing the intifada, policies that make Jews unsafe, I was physically ill. I simply couldn’t do it. As my grandparents used to say, ‘it just wasn’t in my kishkes” (translated from Yiddish it means “I don’t have the guts/stomach for it.”) It made me sad. But I also knew that I needed to protect myself. I stayed home, we lit the Hanukkah candles as a family, sang the blessings, and brought in Hanukkah together.

I put on my special Hanukkah pajamas – well over the top in outrageousness – but I didn’t care. The shooters on Bondi Beach, the politicians, talking heads, and even the Jews who take positions that make me not safe will not crush my Jewish soul. They won’t stop me from being Jewish, from celebrating being Jewish, and from doing my part to ensure that we continue, L’Dor V’Dor, from one generation to another as Jews.

I’ll be wearing my absurd pajamas every night during Hanukkah. I’m wearing my ridiculous Hanukkah long sleeve t-shirt today and have my absurd Hanukkah sweater to wear when I go outside. Hanukkah is about lighting the darkness. It’s about remembering that miracles do happen so embrace the darkness because we have the power to make it light. So enjoy my ridiculous picture in my ridiculous sweate and may it bring just a little more light into your life.

It’s not safe to be Jewish in public any longer

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

I have spent the last few years writing and talking about the rise of Jew hatred. I have called out the increasing bigotry and been very vocal about the violence that was going not come if this continued. We saw it happening in Europe and I wrote and said that it was going to come to here, to the United States. We saw it in Canada and I wrote and said that it was going to come here. We saw individual assaults that were played down by the media and many in the Jewish community as ‘isolated incidents’ and I warned that it was now here and was going to get worse.

On Wednesday May 21st, two Jews, Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim, were fatally shot outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., after attending an American Jewish Committee (AJC) event. The media chose to call them “Israeli Embassy staffers” which is where they worked, but not why they were shot and murdered. That was because they were Jews.

Many people were suddenly shocked. They had been to AJC or other Jewish events and for the first time, they realized that it could have been them. Those of us who have been warning that this was coming took no joy in their sudden realization. Two Jews were murdered because of the lies of the media, of our politicians, of the UN, and many others. For the first time, the conversation began to shift, just a little. For the first time, Jews in America had been slapped in the face and came to recognize the danger they face just for being Jewish.

Yesterday, Sunday June 1st, a domestic terrorist, filled with hatred of Jews fueled by many of our leaders, our press, and other Jew haters, threw molotov cocktails into a peaceful rally to support freeing the hostages still held by Hamas for over 600 days. Eight victims, including a holocaust survivor, were injured with a number seriously injured. A few are in critical condition. Two to Eight in 2 weeks. Being publicly Jewish or Jewish in public has become a life threatening condition.

Yet the media continues to lie. Today’s front page of the Orlando Sentinel, above the fold, highlighted a debunked claim, an outright lie, about Israel. The claim was made by Hamas and was unsubstantiated, yet many news outlets ran with it. A day after it was debunked, it was front page of the Orlando Sentinel. What about the terrorist attack in Boulder? Molotov Cocktails being thrown into a Jewish crowd? Where was that coverage?

The proof of the lie is video evidence. It was released after the claims were made. One security footage shows what was happening at the time of the alleged Israeli attack on civilians. What was happening? People peacefully lining up to get food from the new Israel NGO, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which has been successfully getting food to the people of Gaza. The people of Gaza receiving the food from GHF were stunned that the food was free. Since humanitarian aid has been coming into Gaza since the war began, you may wonder why they are so stunned that the food was free. It’s because the UN has allowed Hamas to take the food and Hamas has been selling the food. The complaint from the Gazan people wasn’t that there was no food, it was that the food was too expensive. That’s the free food being given as humanitarian aid. Yet the world, the media, and many of our leaders, chose to ignore this. The Free Press had a powerful article about this. I urge you to read it.

Video of what things looked like in the location of the reported Israeli shooting at the time of the alleged shooting. One problem – it’s a peaceful group of people getting their food and no shooting.

A few hours later, more video evidence was provided. This time it was footage of the shooting of Gazan people. One small problem with the lies being told that it was the IDF that murdered Gazan people. The shooter is Hamas. Our wonderful media chose not to report that either. And we wonder why people beileve the lies? It’s because the media keeps telling them. Nobody holds them accountable. Even with video evidence shown above and the video evidence below.

Video evidence of Hamas shooting and killing Gazan people. The media prefers an unverified Hamas claim to video evidence.

Where do we go from here? I was talking with a friend of mine in Denver today who said there are conversations now about whether observant Jews should walk to synagogue on Shabbat due to safety concerns. Wearing a kippah and a suit or a nice dress or outfit while walking on Saturday morning or evening is a clear indicator that you are Jewish. It’s no longer safe to do that.

I have attended many Jewish events in my life and while there was security at the venue, I walked undisturbed to my car from the venue at the end of the event. The shooting at the AJC event in DC has no longer made that safe. Walking to your parked car after a Jewish event now makes you a target. Being Jewish in public makes you a target.

A few years ago, as the rise of Jew hatred was clearly moving towards violence, I reached out to somebody I know and trust to ask if when the time came, they would hide me and my family. When I shared that, people were shocked. That reality comes a little closer every single day. When people like Bernie Sanders rail against Israel and incite people to violence and then post things like this on social media after Boulder, it’s offensive.

Bernie helped create the monsters who killed the two Jews in DC and threw the molotov cocktails in Boulder. He takes no responsibility for his part. When US Representative Rashida Tlaib still keeps up a post that has been proven to be a lie for more than 20 months after the proof, we know we are in a battle for our lives.

I spoke to a friend of mine yesterday who is physician. He glumly said to me, “I guess I have to go get my conceal carry now.” That’s the world we live in. To be Jewish and feel safe, you have to consider carrying a gun. To be Jewish and feel safe, you need to consider being armed to walk to your car, to go to the grocery store, or be anywhere in public.

The question is what are you going to do about it? Our members of Congress have issued statements but what are they going to actually do? Are they going to stay in the partisan lanes, write posts on social media, and allow (and sometimes encourage) Jew hatred or are they doing to put aside their political differences to keep us safe? Are there going to be consequences for inciting hate or are we going to allow it until the violence kills more Jews? Have we had enough or do we need to wait for the mass shooting of Jews event that will be on the horizon if we don’t act.

If you keep your head in the sand, stick with your partisan beliefs, and don’t speak out, all you have done is made yourself an easier target. I’m going to stand up, speak out and not stay silent. I’m going to do all that I can to live in a country where we don’t tolerate hate, even against Jews, who remain the only group that it is ok to publicly hate. The title of Dara Horn’s 2021 book is no longer ironic. It’s no longer acceptable

Nor is the title of David Baddiel’s 2021 book allowed to be true. Jews do count and I hope you will join me, whether you are Jewish or not, in making sure that Jews do count, that violence against Jews is not tolerated, and that Jews can once again feel safe being in public.

It’s a sad day in America when American citizens don’t feel safe being in public because of hatred and bigotry. Because our leaders and the media incite hate and then, like Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ihan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, vocal antisemites and Jew haters, try to distance themselves from the violence they helped create by issuing pithy statements on social media. It’s time to call them out. It’s time to call out the media for their lies. It’s time to stand against hate including antisemitism. Or find the person who will hide you and your family. The choice is yours.