The Jewish world must stop spending vast sums trying to persuade antisemites and instead invest in Jewish education, World Jewish Congress President Ronald S. Lauder told Jewish leaders in Geneva, warning that global Jewry faces “another dark hour” 90 years after the organization was founded in the same city.
Speaking to the WJC Governing Board as the organization marked the anniversary of its 1936 founding, Lauder drew a direct parallel between the Jewish leaders who gathered before World War II to warn of the danger from Nazi Germany and the threats facing Jewish communities today.
“Ninety years ago, one of the darkest hours for the Jewish people was coming, and it is no accident that we are back here exactly 90 years later,” Lauder said, according to a copy of his remarks. “Because today, in 2026, we face another dark hour.”
Lauder said Jewish communities worldwide were facing a surge of antisemitism from Australia and Canada to the UK, France, and the US, adding that it had become dangerous to be visibly Jewish in major Western capitals.
“We either move forward as one people ready to fight the fight of our lives, or suffer consequences that I don’t even want to contemplate,” he said.
‘You can’t educate an antisemite’
Lauder said Jewish organizations in the US had spent more than $600 million since the October 7 massacre fighting antisemitism through advertisements, media campaigns, and public messaging.
“Has it helped?” he asked. “Has all that money stopped, or even slowed down, the hatred against us? The answer is ‘No.’”
He argued that antisemites were not lacking facts but were committed to narratives that blame Jews and Israel for global problems.
“You are wasting your breath trying to reason with them,” Lauder said. “You can’t educate an antisemite.”
The WJC president called for what he described as a complete change in course, saying Jewish institutions should stop focusing their energy on antisemites and redirect resources toward the next generation.
“We stop concentrating on the antisemites, and we start focusing on our children,” he said. “Take all the money that’s been spent on this media circus and spend it on Jewish education.”
Lauder cited the Jewish schools he helped establish in Eastern Europe nearly 40 years ago, saying they had become “catalysts for the revival of Jewish communities.” More than 50,000 students had graduated from the schools, he said, producing “proud Jews” active in their communities.
“That is exactly what we have to do for all Jewish children everywhere,” he noted.
Warning to Europe and Western governments
While Lauder said that education was the long-term answer, the current crisis required immediate political action. He accused governments in Europe of lacking the courage to confront antisemitism and extremism.
“All of these problems cannot be fixed by the Jewish people alone,” he said. “We need the help and courage of governments to stand up to this.”
Politicians are afraid of losing votes, he said, comparing today’s political weakness to appeasement before World War II.
“We are facing the greatest crisis since World War II,” Lauder said. “And all we see in government after government is Neville Chamberlains and no Winston Churchills.”
Lauder also urged Jews to build stronger alliances with Christian communities, saying Jews and Christians both face the threat of Muslim extremism.
“What the world has to realize is that today it’s the Jews, and tomorrow it’s everyone else,” he said. “What starts with the Jews never ends with the Jews.”
Lauder praises Döpfner, criticizes media
Lauder also used the gathering to introduce Axel Springer CEO Mathias Döpfner, whom he called a “righteous gentile” and a rare media leader willing to defend Israel publicly.
“This is especially true in journalism and media right now, when it is hard to tell the difference between the BBC and Al Jazeera,” Lauder said.
“When journalism distorts the news about Israel every day, Mathias holds fast,” he added.
The WJC’s strength lay in its access to heads of state and senior officials, and the organization deals directly with national leadership in ways other Jewish organizations cannot, he explained.
He noted that he became WJC president in 2007 and said that his current term, which has three years remaining, would be his last.
“I need your support in this, the greatest fight of our generation,” Lauder said.
“I will fight for you with every ounce of my strength, to my dying breath.”