Jew Hatred Has No Place in a Civilized World

Yesterday, a gunman opened fire with what has been described as a submachine gun near a synagogue in Halle, Saxony-Anhalt, in Germany. At least two people have been killed. There are reports that the attacker also threw a hand grenade in the attack. This attack was on Yom Kippur, the holiest day on the Jewish calendar.

Jewish people around the world have endured persecution for hundreds of years. Unfortunately, anti-Semitism remains prevalent around the world, and is not limited to hateful street thugs.

Jihadist terrorist groups, such as ISIS, Al Qaeda, Hizballah, HAMAS, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Lashkar e Taiba, target Jews. Jihadists cite Quranic verses 7:166, 2:65, and 5:60, which state that Jews have been cursed by Allah, are refers to them as “apes” and “pigs.”

In November 2008 the Jihadis of Lashkar e Taiba from Pakistan launched an attack in Mumbai, India. Signal intelligence subsequently indicated Jews were the specific target. In a cell phone conversation with other terrorists, the leader stated “the lives of Jews are worth 50 times those of non-Jews.” 165 innocent people of all religions—Jewish, Christian, Hindu and Muslim—were killed and 300 more were wounded. When the world does not stand up to terrorists who target any religious group simply because of its beliefs, everyone is put at risk.

The historic effect of anti-Semitism has taken a dreadful toll. At the start of World War II in 1939 there were 17 million Jews in the world. Just 6 years later, at the end of the war in 1945, there were just 11 million.  Over 6 million Jews-men, women and children—died at the hands of the Nazis.Although many people today do not recognize this fact, historic Jewish persecution is  precisely why the Jewish State of Israel was established—so that Jews would have a homeland, a safe haven where they could be protected from the violence that has been targeted at them for centuries. The whole reason for the existence of Israel can be eloquently summarized in two compelling words: Never again.

Israel’s strength and determination ensure that Jews will continue to survive and thrive and that another Holocaust will never happen again. Never again will Jews fall victim to genocide.

Given the astonishing achievements of Jews in the fields of arts and sciences, if not for Jew hatred and genocide, what great works were never conceived and completed for all of mankind? What scientific discoveries were delayed or never realized?

Today, denying Israel’s right to exist is the most malicious form of Jew hatred. Within hours of its establishment in 1948, Israel’s neighbors on all sides launched a coordinated attack designed to wipe Israel off the map. This same playbook has been repeated unsuccessfully by Israel’s neighbors throughout its history. Today, Israel is largely under siege by the threat of terrorism.

A world without Israel would be a world in which all Jews would live under constant threat, not just to their security, but to the futures of their children and successive generations of Jews.

The civilized world must ensure that Jews are never persecuted and victimized by barbaric, genocidal ideologies ever again. That is why America must continue to stand with Israel.