Polite Society

For more than two years I have tried in so many different words and in so many different ways to communicate with you about the tsunami of lethal antisemitism proliferating unchecked around the globe, urged you not to become desensitized and indifferent, and to believe Jews when they tell you things are really, really bad, because we know in our bones from thousands of years of experience how to recognize the patterns and the warning signs.

It’s been such a rude awakening to realize that “Never Again” was not a promise the world made to us, but one that we made to ourselves. It’s been horrifying to watch people die for being Jewish in Washington, in Colorado, in the UK, and now 15 more in Australia. I have tried in my own small corner of the world to give people the benefit of the doubt, to assume they really must not “get it” — the armed guards outside of synagogues and Jewish communal spaces worldwide, the arson and vandalism, the bomb threats, and the bullying and intimidation both in person and online. Jews are being hunted and killed, and anti-Jewish violence is through the roof. The stats are staggering, and that’s only the ones that have been both reported and verified.

In May 2025 the National Council of Jewish Women included this in their statement about the cold blooded murder of Sarah Milgrim and Yaron Lischinsky.

“Sadly, we are not surprised by this tragedy. For years, American Jews have told our fellow Americans, our coworkers, and those who claim to be our allies in justice about the rising tide of hate directed against Jews. We have sounded the alarm about the consequences that calls to ‘Globalize the Intifada’ would have on Jews around the world. And now, after last night, we saw what that failure to listen to us looks like. Antisemitism doesn’t begin with bullets, but it ends there when ignored. We need allies to denounce it clearly and consistently, not just in death, but in everyday life.”

Countless of Jews have been sounding the alarm, some for a decade or more, to no avail. Instead of a meaningful response what we have seen is:

• A prolonged and accelerating rise in antisemitism, documented, measurable, and undeniable

• The normalization of antisemitic rhetoric and violence, making escalation a question of when, not if

• Sustained warnings from Jewish communities, consistently minimized, dismissed, or reframed as overreaction

• Credible intelligence and security warnings, insufficiently addressed until after blood is spilled (and sometimes even after)

I know for myself that I have tried so hard to be skillful, to not be too “in your face,” to not alienate anyone or sound accusatory (even if I failed at it at times,) and to talk about this in ways that are palatable and socially acceptable.

But I am done being polite and I will not relent. Antisemitism is a global emergency and we need decisive action and unequivocal allyship right now.

I once had a non Jewish friend tell me that when she learned about the holocaust she learned about evil. That it was an existential pivot moment in her life, memorable because of how profoundly it shifted her worldview. I have to say that as a Jew it means nothing to hear this kind of thing. Because the holocaust did not happen as the result of a radicalized few, it happened because of the silence of the masses, indifference and “good people” not taking any kind of meaningful stand.

So yes, I am raging, furious, unforgiving. What happened in Australia was entirely preventable. And this will not be the last time it happens. And the next time will likely be much, much worse. And you can think I am annoying and whiny and “why don’t you just shut up about antisemitism already,” and distance yourself and delete my emails and unfollow me or whatever, but in fact I will double down. Because I am willing to risk your discomfort and mine to save my own life and the lives of my Jewish brothers and sisters around the world.

It’s the last night of Hanukkah as I write this, and Jews around the world will light our menorahs in keeping with our tradition, in keeping with our refusal now as then to capitulate, assimilate or disappear. No matter how many times the world has tried to extinguish our light we shine even brighter, contribute and innovate even more. And we will never know what the 15 Jewish people who were massacred this week in Australia might have given to the world had they lived, but I am sure it would have been fucking spectacular.