It's been a year since the biggest massacre of Jews in recent memory.
I know that some of you won’t be happy reading that. To that, I simply say, “Too bad!”. You may not like hearing that October 7th, 2023 was a tragedy, but I don’t like remembering it either. That was a Jewish holiday, by the way. It was supposed to be a celebration of the continuity of Torah, and it transformed into a harrowing memory of violence and destruction. People died on October 7th, 2023, often in brutal ways. And yet, despite the initial concern and sympathy globally, the aftermath has seen a resurgent hatred for Jews I never even thought was possible.
Let’s get this cleared up right now: the Palestinian side of this war has already won in the court of public opinion. They won it almost immediately. Right from the get-go, there were already attempts to discredit this massacre online and offline. It only got worse as the days went on, with protests and demonstrations flooding the streets, often in Jewish neighbourhoods. You can argue semantics about whether these were peaceful all day, but the public has already made up its mind.
So I don’t want to hear about how the Palestinian voice “is being silenced”. It’s not. Instead, I’d like for people to actually listen to the Jewish voice. And not the political one that uses Benjamin Netanyahu as its mouthpiece. That’s cowardly to constantly bring up, especially since Netanyahu’s one person. No, I’m talking about listening to the voices of average Jews who’ve been socially ostracized because of a war they didn’t start and never wanted. Listen to them for a change.
I can’t begin to tell you how scared I’ve been since last year. Even ignoring global spikes in Antisemitic incidents, I can’t wear my kippah exposed at work anymore, as it makes me a target for hate. I have to cover it with a baseball cap. I hate wearing baseball caps, as they constrict the blood flow in my head. But you’ve made it dangerous not to.
My social circle has shrunk. I’ve had people I’ve known for years, respected colleagues, stop talking to me because they assume that I want WWIII to happen. I’ve had to sever ties for the sake of my mental health. Even talking about it with people has been hard, as I’ve had to navigate potential landmines. Do you think it’s fun to do that? I don’t!
Even while working, I’ve still felt like I’m always on the defensive. My courier job, which has me interacting with the city, sees me witnessing no-so-subtle messaging attacking me for being Jewish. Kidnapped signs are being ripped down indiscriminately. The war of misinformation is enough to give me a headache, as I see it constantly. It isn’t fun having constant reminders that I’m not valued by much of society.
It also isn’t fun getting into arguments with strangers over this. I don’t want to keep talking “whataboutisms” whenever I bring up October 7th. Yes, I’m not thrilled by the war. No, I don’t think it’s being handled well. Yes, too many of my fellow Jews have become dismissive of civilian casualties, led on by the dissemination of information by news outlets and politicians hungry for attention. But so what? If you can’t acknowledge my pain without distracting from it, then you’re not being helpful in the slightest.
Speaking of which, this idea that October 7th was “justified” is nauseating to listen to. It wasn’t. These might’ve been citizens in a country you despise, but they’re still citizens. One of the hostages was an infant. What did an infant ever do to you? Why are you so scared of him? He can’t even speak yet, let alone fight!
And yet, this is the nonsense I’ve had to endure for a whole year. And the rhetoric itself has been sending me mixed messages. If October 7th was “justified”, then so was Israel’s response. If it wasn’t, then neither was Israel’s response. But you can’t pick and choose which to celebrate and which to condemn. Either be consistent, or stop talking.
There’s so much more I could go on about here. For example, the Antisemitic attacks. The uptick in hate crimes. The fact that university campuses have become the most-dangerous places to be Jewish. That last point especially! I know university kids are still experimenting politically, but if you can drink, drive and vote, then you can be held accountable for your bad behaviour. You’re not a baby. Also, the faculty encouraging you are monsters, plain and simple.
It's been a real eye-opener as to how full of garbage people really are. They claim to be your friends one day, only to turn around and hate you the next. And it’s causing a massive shift of disillusioned Jews toward a politics that, quite frankly, is really dangerous. Because that political structure is at least pretending to care! What excuse do you have to counter this?
I’ll end this here. This is way too painful to keep writing about. But know this: you’re not the friends I thought you were. You don’t care, and you never did. And as the one-year anniversary of a horrible tragedy comes and goes, and the ensuing war continues, I’ll be sure to remember that going forward. You’ve lost my trust, and now you must earn it back. I’m sorry, that’s how this works.
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