For Jews today, the world feels less like a home and more like a battlefield. Countries and institutions you would expect to stand for fairness, like Ireland, Spain, the International Criminal Court, and even the United Nations – though the UN is notoriously skewed against us – have instead become platforms for spreading Hamas’s poisonous narrative.
This isn’t just some grassroots movement; it’s backed by powerful players like Iran and Qatar. What’s truly shocking is the global outrage over Israel targeting Hamas leaders hiding in Qatar, when in the past, nations hunting terrorists in foreign havens were praised. That glaring double standard shakes anyone who believes in fairness to their core.
Antisemitism isn’t new. Every so often, as if to remind us who we are, waves of hatred sweep over Jewish communities. My father, a Holocaust survivor, warned me what to watch for: campuses turning against Jews, chaos growing, and leaders resorting to hateful rhetoric. Today, those warnings play out all around us.
Widespread hate
The real heartbreak is watching so many swallow the lie that Israel is committing genocide. It’s baseless. Jews are once again singled out as the world’s villains. The phrase “From the River to the Sea” isn’t a call for peace but a call for the complete destruction of the Jewish people. It’s the same old hatred, dressed up now in radical Islamist ideology.
I’m not surprised by reckless comments like the Spanish prime minister’s call to nuke Israel or Greta Thunberg’s sudden shift from climate activism to backing a Gaza flotilla, seemingly chasing attention more than truth. I don’t flinch at Hollywood boycotts or political flip-flops from some left-wing Democrats. These voices are tools for Hamas and their supporters.
The IDF has been clear about targeting Hamas strongholds. Images of starving children are often doctored or misrepresented; many of those kids are sick and were treated in Israeli hospitals. Hamas inflates casualty figures and steals aid to fund terror. But facts don’t matter when antisemitism drives the story.
A personal affront
What cut deepest for me was a recent membership renewal request from the American Psychological Association, an organization I’ve been proud to belong to for decades. I’ve reviewed their journals, earned two fellowships, and received a Presidential Citation for my work helping abused children and families across faiths: Jewish, Christian, and Muslim. Yet, that simple email from the APA filled me with dread.
Lately, some APA journals have published pieces laced with political bias, lacking scientific rigor, and even containing outright antisemitism. I attended a webinar where an APA leader twisted the words of Amos Oz to brand Israel as genocidal. Oz was no pacifist – distorting his legacy like that feels wrong. There was even a push within the organization’s membership to wear a keffiyeh at their yearly convention in support of Gaza, with no mention of what happened on October 7.
My professional community, once a source of pride and support, now feels toxic, even hostile. I’m caught in a painful struggle between loyalty and betrayal. How do you stay in a place that feels like it has turned against you? There are voices fighting back inside the APA, but after years as a trauma expert teaching resilience and healing, I wonder if I have the strength to add my voice to theirs.
Fight or flight
Yet, silence feels worse. When institutions that are meant to uphold truth and science become breeding grounds for hatred and lies, doing nothing becomes complicity. A small group is calling this a moment for bravery and the courage to call out lies, challenge hatred, and defend truth. But am I brave enough? Torn and hurt, I’m unsure if renewing my membership is the right choice or if walking away is the only way to stand up to what feels like betrayal.
This is the struggle: deciding how to respond when the places you once trusted turn against you, when staying means fighting for change from within, and leaving feels like losing a piece of yourself. There is no easy answer, only the weight of that choice pressing down every day.
The writer is a psychologist specializing in trauma and abuse and director of ADC Psychological Services in Netanya and Hewlett, NY.