On October 7, 2023, the terrorist group Hamas attacked Israel from the Gaza strip in Palestine, beginning what is now known as the Gaza war. According to PBS News, hundreds of people, on both sides of the conflict, have been held hostage; over 70,000 have been killed; and countless have been harmed—in body, mind, and soul. A strong majority of those directly impacted by this conflict are civilians. They are women, men, children, elderly. They are husbands, wives, sons, daughters, brothers, sisters. They are all human, with someone in their lives, who lies awake at night in fear for them.
The ongoing war, which has lasted over two years, rapidly became an international concern. A major contributor to the growth in awareness of the situation has been social media, providing brief and immediate information.
However, the increase of information has been accompanied by an increase in fear. An average of 80% of Americans have expressed concerns about the war. These concerns are for themselves, their loved ones, or simply human life.
When widespread fear increases, so does hatred. Philosopher and freedom-fighter Mahatma Gandhi once stated, “The enemy is fear. We think it is hate; but it is really fear.” This fear, disguised by hatred, is be seen by both sides: pro-Palestine individuals fear the intense defense of the Israeli government, while pro-Israel people fear the power of the terrorists hiding in Palestine.
Although not a direct theocracy, Israel’s ties with religion, particularly Judaism, is profound. In spite of their connection, we must acknowledge that not all Jewish people are Israeli, nor do they have direct relation to the country. In fact, as of 2022, 53.8% of Jews were not from Israel.
Unfortunately, it appears that many people worldwide have been falsely educated on these facts, assuming that all Jewish individuals have ties to Israel and thus support Israel in the Gaza war. In actuality, according to the Times of Israel, about 40% of the Jewish population believes that the Israeli government has committed war crimes and/or genocide.
In spite of this, anti-semitism “trends” have greatly increased since the war began in 2023, with 55% of Jewish Americans reporting experiencing some form of harassment based on their religion in 2024, as reported by the Anti-Defamation League, an international organization committed to combatting antisemitism. Additionally, there was a 70% increase in Jewish hate crimes in that same year, as reported by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
In 2025, there were several major hate crimes against the Jewish community globally. In February, an attempted stabbing occurred at the Holocaust memorial in Berlin, Germany. It’s unsettling that the perpetrator chose this location, a memorial whose purpose is to remember the horrible actions of the Nazis in hopes that such extremism would never happen again—to anyone. Seven months later, on October 2, congregants of the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue, in Manchester, England, Adrian Daulby and Melvin Cravitz, were stabbed to death, and many others were left injured. The attack occurred on Yom Kippur, a significant holiday in the Jewish Calendar that is widely celebrated, demonstrating the hateful and religiously-targeted sentiments of the attack.
The most recent hate crime took place on December 14 in Melbourne, Australia, as roughly one thousand Jews gathered to celebrate the first evening of the eight-day celebration, Hanukkah, by the beach. Nearly two hours after the event began, shots were fired by alleged supporters of the terrorist group ISIS, killing 35 individuals. The victims ranged from a 10 year old girl to an 87 year old man. The man was one of the few holocaust survivors still alive.
Unfortunately, the named events are not the only hate crimes that happened this past year. “Casual antisemitism” has become part of the daily life for many Jews. Hearing about the global attacks on Jewish individuals as well as personally experiencing minor forms of hatred has sent many into a fearful state, hiding their religion from the public. This is most unfortunate with Jewish Americans, who live in a country with deep roots, values, and laws in religious freedom that are supposed to ensure they never feel the need to hide their religion to be safe.
The acts of these antisemitic individuals are driven by misplaced hatred rooted in fear. Hearing the horrifying stories and statistics from various media outlets on the conflict between Israel and Palestine can easily set anyone into a rage—a state of mind where reason can never be found. Rather than jumping to conclusions based on the first piece of information we hear, we need to analyze various sources and understand who is truly in the wrong. Regarding the Israeli-Palestine conflict, false assumptions have led many individuals to believe that those who are religiously and/or ethnically Jewish are in support of the Israeli side of the war.
No person should ever have to live in fear because of who they are and what they believe in. No person should ever be ashamed of their origins and culture because of current events. No person should ever have to ask for permission to just be. •
