“Right now we stand here as men who refute their Jewishness and the Holocaust being hijacked by an occupation which has led to conflict for so many innocent people, whether the victims of Oct. 7 in Israel or the ongoing attack on Gaza.”
These are the words of Jonathan Glazer during Sunday night’s Oscars ceremony, which sparked applause and cheers in the audience.
This pathetic performance is now common among the woke elite. It’s a modern form of self-flagellation to prove that (at least for now) you belong. But it also comes with a solid helping of elitist arrogance partnered with sheer hypocrisy, with these men taking it upon themselves to use their “Jewishness” and hijack the Holocaust as spokesmen of American Jewry to make their own political statement — a political statement the vast majority of American Jews reject.
But there’s something else going on here: Jews aren’t even allowed to exist in society without apologizing for the very Jewishness from which some Jews are so desperate to wriggle away. In today’s world of diversity, inclusion, equity, and every other buzzword, Jews don’t count.
Since the deadly Oct. 7 attack, antisemitic rallies thinly veiled as anti-Israel demonstrations have exploded across the world, targeting Jewish individuals, Jewish businesses, and Jewish organizations. Perhaps the most jarring example so far is the hordes of protesters waving Palestinian flags outside the newly opened National Holocaust Museum in Amsterdam, which was built to commemorate the Dutch Jewish population murdered by Nazi Germany.
A mass murder, by the way, supported by Palestinian leaders at the time.
And yet, despite the ongoing and obvious attacks on “Jewishness” by the same monsters who simultaneously deny the Holocaust ever happened and suggest that the Holocaust is worth celebrating, Jews continue to stand alone as safe havens continue to shrink and even disappear.
Not every attack is out in the open, accompanied by Hollywood applause or Palestinian propaganda. But they have the same goal: make life intolerable for Jews to force them to comply or face the consequences.
For example, after Guernica magazine published an article from a liberal Israeli translator detailing her experience before and after Oct. 7, the publication was reportedly forced to retract the article following numerous resignations. No matter that Joanna Chen volunteers her time to drive Palestinian children to Israeli hospitals for lifesaving care or that she expressed concern for the Palestinians of Gaza. Chen committed the crime of being an Israeli who also expressed horror at Hamas’s rape, murder, mutilation, and torture of her neighbors.
“Free Palestine,” the resignations declared, arguing that Jews who dare to complain about blatant antisemitism should remain voiceless.
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In this environment, Jews face the same choice that has followed us throughout history. Either we stand up for what is right — rejecting antisemitism and fighting for our basic right to exist without the constant threat of violence under an ever-changing and yet unchanging collection of ideologies — or we shrink away into the shadows of the latest ghetto, waiting to accept our fate while apologizing for our very identity.
Only Jews are expected to apologize for wanting to survive. Never apologize.
Ian Haworth is a columnist, speaker, and host of Off Limits. You can follow him on X at @ighaworth. You can also find him on Substack.