Ronald S. Lauder, President of the World Jewish Congress and President of the Jerusalem Post Washington Conference, said that over the past two years, antisemitism has rapidly increased throughout Europe and is growing in the United States. “Over the past two years, antisemitism hasn’t simply risen; it has exploded across Europe, and we are now witnessing the same dangerous trends and violence taking root here. This is a full-scale assault on truth, on democracy, and on the safety of Jewish people everywhere, especially in Israel,” he said.
Lauder noted that antisemitism is now rampant throughout contemporary culture, and while it is frequently disguised as criticism of Israel, it is the world’s oldest hatred. “Let’s be as clear as possible: when someone chants ‘from the river to the sea,’ they are calling for the elimination of the Jewish state. When people chant ‘Globalize the intifada,’ they are calling for Jews around the world to die.”
He told attendees that there is a historical parallel between the world’s reaction to the rise of Nazism in the 1930s and the support given to Hamas. “After Kristallnacht, the world’s silence emboldened Hitler. The fact that we saw celebrations and support for Hamas on October 8 should alarm every democracy. We are watching the same patterns repeat themselves - and history shows us how dangerous that silence can be.”
Lauder said that the truth about Israel has been distorted. “Today, our enemies have pushed their indoctrination against Jews and against Western civilization into the very foundations of our education system. From kindergarten through 12th grade, textbooks have been altered, our history distorted, and too many young people have been systematically brainwashed about Israel and the United States.”
People must fight back against antisemitism, Lauder said. “We’re in the fight of our lives, and this is how we will fight back. First, we must use social media because that’s what young people follow. Israel must finally get serious about public relations. If Israel can’t tell its amazing story to the world, then its enemies will, and they’ve done it now. We must expect more courage from our political officials, not excuses. We must rebuild education around truth, not slogans and lies. We will have to reinvent how we teach the history of the Jewish people because it’s not working. Too many young people have never heard of the Holocaust.
Lauder concluded his remarks with the message: “This is not only a Jewish issue - it is a democratic, moral, and human issue. We must build a coalition so strong and so united that no extremist movement can break it. This is our time, and this is our fight, and we stand together for Israel, for the Jewish people, and for all mankind.”
This article was written in collaboration with World Jewish Congress.