Since October 8, 2023, a disturbing spectacle has been exposed across the world: an unprecedented wave of hostility toward Israel that goes far beyond diplomatic criticism or political protest.
This is no longer a debate over borders or policy but a far broader and deeper phenomenon: hatred of Israel that at times serves as a convenient stand-in for hatred of the West itself.
Israel is no longer merely “the small Jewish state in the Middle East.” Against its will, it has become the frontline of a global ideological struggle between democracy and ideological militancy, between freedom and totalitarian thinking, between Western values and forces seeking to dismantle them from within.
In a bitter historical irony, Europe – the continent that bore responsibility for the Holocaust, the greatest catastrophe in Jewish history – has once more become one of the main centers of modern antisemitism. This is not the crude, overt antisemitism of the 20th century, but a sophisticated form, wrapped in the language of “human rights,” “universal justice,” and the “fight against colonialism.”
In the name of historical guilt and in a culture of nearly unlimited tolerance, a paradoxical reality has taken shape in Europe: Jews are once again being targeted, not because they are seen as “foreign” but because they are identified with a state that refuses to apologize for its right to exist and defend its citizens.
Synagogues are under guard.
Jewish students are afraid to identify themselves as such at their universities. Mainstream media adopt one-sided narratives that launder terrorism and portray Israel as the world’s moral problem.
This moral vacuum is being filled by a radical Islamist ideology that divides the world into only two camps: believers and infidels.
Under this worldview, anyone who is not Muslim – and certainly anyone who does not accept the supremacy of Sharia Law – is deemed an infidel.
The takeover of Western Europe is a gradual process: mass immigration, the creation of closed communities, demands for special rights in the name of religious freedom, the erosion of civil law, and ultimately the imposition of religious norms on the public sphere. This is not the pursuit of coexistence but a long-term strategy to replace Western values from within.
If Europe provides the ideological backdrop, American campuses have become the testing ground. Universities built on the values of free speech, pluralism, and critical thinking have deteriorated into arenas of silencing, intimidation, and open incitement.
Jewish students report boycotts, threats, and exclusion – not on the fringes but at the heart of prestigious academic institutions. Faculty members and administrators choose silence, fearing they will be labeled “insufficiently progressive.”
Foreign funding from non-democratic states influences curricula, appointments, and the ideological agenda. Thus, in the name of “social justice,” parts of academia embrace ideas that justify violence and cast Israel and Jews as legitimate moral enemies.
Anti-Zionism is a tool
The fact that Israel is a Western, technological, liberal, and successful democracy is one reason for the attack against it, but not the only one. Israel is a symbol of Western success, of refusal to surrender, and of steadfast resistance to terror and extremist ideologies.
For radical movements and Western elites that have lost confidence in themselves, Israel is a convenient target. It is easier to attack “Zionism” than to confront the failures of immigration policies and religious radicalization.
Western values are increasingly portrayed as “oppressive.” Thus, hatred of Israel becomes a tool for undermining the very idea of the West.
The gravest problem is not the extremist chants but the silence of the establishment.
Politicians, university presidents, newspaper editors, and opinion leaders prefer “not to get involved.” They condemn late, weakly, or not at all. In doing so, they signal that this new antisemitism, cloaked in moral language, is tolerable.
History, however, teaches a simple truth: Hatred that is not checked in time does not stop on its own.
The struggle over Israel’s image on the international stage is not a narrow public relations battle. It is a struggle over the character and freedom of the free world. Israel is the frontline, not the final target.
The choice is now clear: Take a firm stand on values or continue to surrender in the name of false morality.
This is not only about Israel’s future. It is about the future of the West as a whole.
The writer is CEO of Radios 100FM, an honorary consul, deputy dean of the Consular Diplomatic Corps faculty, president of the Israeli Radio Communications Association, and a former media monitor for IDF Radio and television correspondent for NBC.