Op-Ed: The Age Of Complacency Is Over

History is forcing a reckoning. The warning signs that once seemed distant have become present realities, and the question now is what response they demand.

For generations, many believed antisemitism would fade with societal progress and education, that the lessons of the Holocaust had been internalized. They thought that by contributing to their communities, defending democratic values, and living openly as Jews, hatred would remain peripheral. That assumption has proven false. What is occurring today is not sporadic or fleeting but a systematic normalization of antisemitism across democracies, using new rhetoric amplified by technology and increasingly endorsed by institutions and political movements aware of what they are doing.

The manifestations are consistent and widespread. On university campuses, city streets from New York to Europe to Australia, online platforms, and international bodies, the pattern repeats: Jewish students face harassment, synagogues require heightened security, Jewish businesses are targeted, Israel receives singular condemnation, terrorism is rationalized, and violence excused. Silence from decent people compounds the problem.

The situation extends into electoral politics. Abdul El-Sayed won the Democratic nomination for United States Senate while campaigning with incendiary figures, and his major financial backer holds leadership positions in organizations federal prosecutors have connected to the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood network. Similar political forces that backed other candidates are positioning themselves for higher office, including bids for New York's Senate seat.

This is no longer occurring at society's margins but in neighborhoods and polling places. The Jewish community's response will be consequential. Passivity and disengagement are not neutral positions - they are allowing circumstances to worsen unchecked.

The challenge before this generation mirrors tests previous generations faced. Their answer was to rebuild and strengthen Jewish life despite persecution. Today requires similar resolve: strengthening Jewish identity and institutions, participating in electoral processes, particularly in primary contests where Democratic dominance makes them decisive, and sustaining Jewish organizational and communal life through consistent engagement and support.

The responsibility is communal and individual. Living as a Jew in America can no longer be passive. Whether chosen or not, this moment demands action.