Ep. 172: The October 7 wake up call for unity against antisemitism

According to JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin, the horrific Hamas-led Palestinian attacks on southern Israel that took place on Oct. 7, 2023 raise troubling questions about the reactions from the international community. Rather than rallying to Israel’s defense, much of the world responded with a surge of antisemitism that has impacted the lives of Jews around the world as well as isolating the Jewish state. He is joined in this week’s episode of Think Twice by Israel Ellis, author of 10.7 The Wake Up Call: Global Terrorism and the Rise of Antisemitism in a World Gone MAD. Ellis, a Canadian entrepreneur and author who has a son who serves in the Israel Defense Forces, says his new book is an effort to answer the question of how this catastrophe could have happened. It’s also intended as a primer about the facts about Oct. 7 and the war against Hamas in response to the denial about the atrocities as well as the lies that have been spread about the Jewish state’s conduct in the conflict.He spoke of his outrage about the Jew-hatred that is made itself felt throughout North America and especially in his home of Toronto in which sympathy for the Palestinians’ “death cult” and hostility to Israel has become widespread. He pointed out that one of the key factors in transforming colleges and universities into hotbeds of pro-Hamas activism and hostile environments for Jews is the corrupting influence of money from Qatar and Iran. Ellis also thinks that the importing of students from the Middle East who have helped lead antisemitic demonstrations and illegal activities has helped transform these schools since the 1990s when he studied the Middle East.Ellis believes a big part of the problem that Israel faces is the way the West, especially the Obama and Biden administrations in the United States and the Justin Trudeau government in Canada “betrayed” Israel by appeasing Iran and undermining the war on Hamas. He is hopeful about the new administration of President Donald Trump, whom he believes is a “messenger of God,” whose outlier personality and role as an agent of “chaos” has brought about a necessary change in the conversation about the Middle East.Ellis also believes that an imperative of the post-Oct. 7 world is to create Jewish unity. He believes that can only be achieved in Israel by the creation of a constitution and a change in the way the Knesset and government are elected. Though he admits it seems an unlikely prospect, he asserts that when you consider that “Israel is a land of miracles,” anything is possible.Listen/Subscribe to weekly episodes on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, iHeart Radio or wherever you listen to your podcasts.Watch new episodes every week by subscribing to the JNS YouTube Channel.This episode of “Think Twice” is sponsored by The Jewish Future Promise — ensuring a vibrant and thriving future for Jews and Israel.Sign the promise: https://jewishfuturepromise.org/jns/