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Do Jews Only Learn From Catastrophe?
Nineteenth century philosopher Max Nordau once reportedly told Zionist leader Ze’ev Jabotinsky that Jews don’t learn by reason, but by catastrophe. They won’t buy an umbrella because they see clouds in the sky, but instead will wait until they are drenched and have pneumonia.
In the United States, Jews are in great danger. They are unprotected, second-class citizens. No one believes that if African-Americans or gay people were under attack at campuses nationwide, they’d be treated this way. The world would be in an uproar. Yet, once again, it’s perfectly acceptable to hate Jews.
We must realize that Jewish history requires American Jews to have a plan B.
In New York City, Jews are terrified, wondering if they will be safe. Even if a perpetrator is arrested, they can be put right back onto the street due to New York’s bail reform laws. Jews have been attacked all across the city, and are being banished or assaulted at Columbia, NYU, and other educational and cultural institutions.
Jews are lost, without a unified leadership that has any organized plan to combat this hatred. Most have never before seen an environment where open antisemitism flourishes. And while a handful of Jewish youth have valiantly stood up, we largely see an American Jewry kvetching, complaining, bereft of the will or ability to truly fight back. Judaism requires action and self-defense, not just a brain.
On campuses where we hear “From the River to the Sea” — a call for mass murder of Jews — one wonders at what point do American Jews point to Hillel, the largest Jewish organization for students in the US, and ask “where have you been?” Have all of the years of multi-cultural dialogue with the Muslim community gotten us anywhere?
I haven’t heard of a single DEI program to support Jews at any of the schools featuring mass protests, or a single company counseling Jews who feel scared or in need. And we’ve seen silence from all of these liberals who have lectured us on these snowflake values for years.
At what point do American Jews consider plan B –aliyah to Israel? Some will argue that we’re not close to the time that Jews need to flee for our safety. Others argue we must stay and fight. But any American Jew who doesn’t have a plan B hasn’t read Jewish history. In Israel, Jews can live a real Jewish life. It’s not easy, but what happens if this becomes the last resort?
The materials being distributed on campus are heinous and atrocious. They feature calls for “resistance,” the glorification of terrorism, and support for Hamas and its massacre of 1,200 Israelis on October 7.
These are direct calls for violence at universities — and nothing will happen to the vast amount of these protestors who call for mass murder.
We live in a new world — or maybe an ancient one. But we must be prepared to take action.
Ronn Torossian is an entrepreneur and author.
The post Do Jews Only Learn From Catastrophe? first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.