Jewish Pride Is Missing

Anti-Semitism is on the rise in most of the world. In the United States, there are anti-Israel students at almost every university. They have shown their wrath against the Jewish people. I'm told that in some areas carrying a kippah, a little hat worn on the top of your head to signal you're a religious Jew, can be dangerous. Religious Jewish students, walking on campus, have been harassed, pushed, and assaulted.  Israeli speakers have been boycotted, not allowed to speak at all and when permitted, the interruptions from the hostile audience did not let them communicate.  

As far as I'm concerned, the Jewish people—and especially Israel—are not doing enough, or are doing the wrong things, in order to deal with this growing menace.

What we are doing is continually reminding the world of the Holocaust. We are building Museums of Tolerance all over the globe as if that will make the world feel guilty and stop anti-Semitism. It will not work. You cannot stop hate by trying to make people feel guilty for hating you. 

What the Jewish people should do to counter anti-Semitism is take definite, proactive measures by showing the value that they bring to the world. And Israel should do the same.

We need to build Jewish pride museums. We must present to the world the contributions Jewish people have made throughout history in art, literature, medicine, science, and the social sciences. For instance, I recently came across an online list of all the famous actors and directors in the film industry who are Jewish or of Jewish origin. I was very excited to see the talent and impact we have had and continue to have. The same with Nobel prize winners. Look at the leaders in any field who have Jewish blood somewhere in their ancestry, and you'll see that Jewish people worldwide have always been at the forefront in all fields of knowledge. We need to be proud of who we are, rather than beg the world to tolerate us because we have been maltreated over generations in history.

If it were up to me, I would go onto social media and make posts like Donald Trump does. Somebody is posting for him under the title “Real Donald Trump,” and showing only the good things he did for the nation, all the good news. This is to counter the continuous attacks he receives. We should do the same thing. We should have an account called “The Real Israel”, or something to this effect, and post daily about all the great things Israel is doing—not only for Arabs but for the rest of the world as well. We must be proactive in changing the image Israel has.

We should work to change the world’s perceptions of what Israel is, and the value that the Jewish people bring to the world. We are on the defensive all the time as if we feel guilty. We have been brainwashed for thousands of years to feel guilty for wandering the world, for saving every cent we can find, for our dress, for Jesus’s death, etc. It is time to stop defending ourselves and stand up, be counted, and be proud of who we are.