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After October 7, Dreaming About Israel’s Future Is More Important Than Ever
Some 550 new immigrants from the Bnei Menashe community visited the Western Wall for the first time on March 9, 2022. Photo: Yehoshua Halevi/Courtesy of Shavei Israel.
Theodor Herzl, the founder of modern Zionism, famously declared: “If you will it, it is no dream.” It’s a memorable line — almost too neat to be true.
But what if Herzl got it backward? What if the dream comes first — and the will simply follows?
In 1927, J.W. Dunne, a British engineer and airplane designer, published a book called An Experiment with Time. It sent shockwaves through polite scientific circles — and then, just as quickly, vanished beneath the waves of mainstream disdain.
The book’s key idea was that dreams don’t just recycle our past — they preview our future. And this wasn’t mere idle speculation: Dunne meticulously documented his thesis, offering hundreds of case studies drawn from a broad and diverse group of subjects.
It all started with a nightmare. One night, Dunne dreamt that his watch had stopped — at exactly 4:30 p.m. The next day, his watch stopped. At exactly 4:30 p.m.
At first, Dunne brushed it off as a coincidence. But then it happened again. And again. He would dream about something — and shortly afterward, what he dreamt about would happen.
So Dunne began documenting his dreams with scientific precision. Over the next few years, he compiled hundreds of data points — not just from himself, but from friends and colleagues he recruited to do the same. The results were staggering: up to 40% of dreams contained elements of future events, not just recollections of the past.
Dunne’s theory, which he called “Serial Time,” suggested that our conscious minds move through time like a train on tracks — one moment after the next. But the subconscious is different. It floats. In dreams, we catch glimpses of events that haven’t happened yet, paths we haven’t taken, outcomes we haven’t lived.
The scientific establishment of his day dismissed him as a kook. But Dunne didn’t care. As far as he was concerned, the evidence spoke for itself — and no amount of scorn from the experts could make it any less real.
In one dream, Dunne had seen a volcanic eruption on a remote island — with ash, fire, and mass panic. The next morning, he opened the newspaper only to read about the catastrophic eruption of Mount Pelée on Martinique, with details uncannily similar to his dream.
On another occasion, a man Dunne studied described dreaming of a specific newspaper headline — which he then saw appear, word for word, a few days later. Bottom line: these weren’t vague premonitions. They were precise, time-stamped echoes from a future that hadn’t yet arrived.
I’ve often thought that if Herzl and Dunne had met, they would have gotten along famously. Because, in a way, Herzl was doing the same thing — drawing on vivid, internal visions to lay the foundation for the Zionist project.
He, too, had a dream — not the kind you have in an REM cycle, but the kind that burns behind your eyes when you’re wide awake. He saw Jewish soldiers guarding Jewish farms. He saw a Jewish airport, Jewish towns and cities, a Jewish parliament, and a Jewish society. At the time, these images were no less fantastical than Dunne’s dream volcanoes and predictive newspaper headlines.
But Herzl believed — and he dared to look absurd. And because he did, we now live in a world where his once-ridiculed vision became the world’s only Jewish national home: the State of Israel. Which brings us to the Torah readings of Tazria and Metzora — or, more precisely, their Haftorahs, the prophetic passages that accompany them. Both are taken from the Book of Kings, and both center around another man who saw what others couldn’t: the prophet Elisha.
The story goes like this: the city of Shomron is under siege, surrounded by the Aramean army. There’s no food, and the people are starving. Panic sets in. Elisha’s servant looks out at the horizon and sees only doom. But Elisha sees something else entirely. He tells his servant (II Kings 6:16), “Don’t be afraid. Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”
Then Elisha prays: “God, please open his eyes so that he may see.” Suddenly, the servant sees what Elisha had already seen in his vision — the hills are filled with chariots of fire, an invisible army of protection.
This is exactly what Dunne discovered. This is what Herzl knew in the depths of his soul. This is what anyone who has ever glimpsed the unseen and refused to look away understands. Elisha didn’t invent the protection — he simply saw it before others could. That’s what prophets do. And it’s what any of us can do if we’re willing to believe it’s possible.
Later in the same story, four men afflicted with tzara’at — the Biblical skin discoloration condition — are camped outside the city gates. Cast out, ignored, and desperate, they decide to do the unthinkable: to enter the enemy camp and beg for mercy, so that they can get some food and survive.
But when they arrive in the camp, they discover something incredible — the Arameans have gone, and the siege is over. The starving city has no idea. But the exiles, the outsiders, the rejected dreamers — they are the first to know.
I’ve always found it fascinating that the Talmud — the most grounded, rational, detail-obsessed of Jewish texts — devotes pages of Masechet Berakhot to dream interpretation. Some of it is mystical, and some almost comical, but the message is hard to miss: dreams matter.
And then, just when you think the rabbis are taking a deep dive into ancient superstition, they hit you with the real shocker: “All dreams follow the interpretation.” And if that weren’t enough, the Talmud closes the whole discussion with a bombshell — essentially saying that if you don’t believe in dreams, then none of this applies to you.
Some interpret that as the rabbis quietly rolling their eyes — as if to say, “We’re just humoring the superstitious stuff.” But maybe it’s the opposite. Maybe they were saying what Dunne said 1,600 years later in a different language: don’t dismiss the dream — because that’s where prophecy begins.
The real danger isn’t in believing too much – it’s in believing nothing. Maybe the prophets among us are still seeing glimpses of what’s coming — but we’re too quick to call it nonsense. So we lose the message. We silence the signal. And the future gets left behind in the dust of our disbelief.
This Shabbat is Yom Ha’atzmaut. The modern State of Israel — vibrant, miraculous, flawed — turns 77. For 2,000 years, Jews dreamed of returning to the Land. Then someone woke up and said, “This dream is real.” And everything changed.
But lately — especially in the wake of the October 7th massacre and the tidal wave of anti-Israel hatred that has followed — I worry we’re losing our edge. We’ve traded vision for pragmatism. We’ve started to scoff at mysticism and to mock prophecy, choosing instead to focus only on what’s immediately in front of us.
But doing that is more than just short-sighted. It’s a rejection of what it means to be a Jew. The Talmud wasn’t joking when it said that dreams follow the interpretation. What you name, you shape. What you believe is happening is what actually happens. And what you dismiss — you surrender.
Dunne believed our minds were antennas, tuning into frequencies of time we don’t yet understand. Herzl believed our souls were pulling us home — because, on some level, we were already there. And Elisha knew that clarity isn’t about better eyesight — it’s about deeper insight.
And maybe, just maybe, the next great Jewish chapter is already written — waiting for someone to dream it, so the rest of us will know where to go next.
The author is a rabbi in Beverly Hills, California.
The post After October 7, Dreaming About Israel’s Future Is More Important Than Ever first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Trump Says He Expects Gaza War to Reach ‘Conclusive Ending’ in 2-3 Weeks
US President Donald Trump speaks during a swearing-in ceremony of Special Envoy Steve Witkoff in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, US, May 6, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Kent Nishimura
US President Donald Trump said on Monday he expects the ongoing war in Gaza to reach a “conclusive” end within the next two to three weeks, even as ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas remain unresolved.
Speaking alongside South Korean President Lee Jae Myung at the White House, Trump told reporters he believed a resolution was close. “I think within the next two to three weeks, you’re going to have a pretty good, conclusive ending,” he said.
Trump also urged Americans not to forget the Hamas-led invasion of southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, the largest single-day massacre of Jews since the Holocaust that started the war in Gaza.
“It has to end, but people can’t forget Oct. 7,” Trump said.
Palestinian terrorists led by Hamas murdered 1,200 people and kidnapped 251 hostages while perpetrating rampant sexual violence during their onslaught, which led Israel to wage a military campaign aimed at freeing those who were abducted and dismantling Hamas’s rule in neighboring Gaza.
The comments came as Israel continued to deliberate over a ceasefire proposal agreed to by Hamas last week. Though Israel has not given an official answer, Israeli Prime Minister Benjmain Netanyahu said he commenced negotiations to secure an end to the war and a return of the remaining hostages.
The proposal, brokered by the US, Egypt, and Qatar, calls for a 60-day truce during which Hamas would free 10 living hostages along with the deceased bodies of 18 others. In return, Israel would release significantly more Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails, allow more humanitarian aid into Gaza, and partially pull back its forces in Gaza.
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Cornell University Takes Cleaver to Budget Amid Trump Crackdown
Illustrative: Cornell’s anti-Israel divestment protests on May 25, 2024. Photo: USA Today Network via Reuters Connect.
Cornell University is taking a cleaver to its budget amid what it described as a “contraction” in government funding caused by the Trump administration’s impounding $1 billion previously awarded to it via research grants and federal contracts as punishment for its alleged nonresponse to campus antisemitism.
“Urgent action is necessary, both to reduce costs immediately and to correct our course over time — achieving an institutional structure that enables us to balance our budgets over the long term,” Cornell president Michael Kotlikoff wrote in a letter to the campus community. “Our work toward this goal will progress in several phases, beginning with immediate budget reductions already underway for the current fiscal year across our Ithaca, Cornell AgriTech, Weill Cornell Medicine, and Cornell Tech campuses.”
He continued, “Hiring on all campuses remains restricted indefinitely, with rare exceptions from campus-based position control committees.”
Cornell announced the cuts even as it inches closer toward a reported $100 million settlement with the federal government to restore the confiscated funds. It has already resorted to borrowing, having placed over $1 billion in bonds on the market since April — according to Bloomberg — and refused to publicly discuss the decision.
Cornell University has seen a series of disturbing antisemitic incidents since the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre perpetrated by Hamas across southern Israel.
Three weeks after the atrocities which ravaged Israeli communities, now-former student Patrick Dai threatened to commit heinous crimes against members of the school’s Jewish community, including mass murder and rape. He was later sentenced to 21 months in federal prison.
Cornell students also occupied an administrative building and held a “mock trial” in which they convicted then-school president Martha Pollack of complicity in “apartheid” and “genocide against Palestinian civilians.” Meanwhile, history professor Russell Rickford called Hamas’s barbarity on Oct. 7 “exhilarating” and “energizing” at a pro-Palestinian rally held on campus.
Cornell University and Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) sparred all of last academic year, with SJP pushing the limits of what constitutes appropriate conduct on campus. In September, school officials suspended over a dozen SJP affiliated students who disrupted a career fair, an action which saw them “physically” breach the area by “[pushing] police out of the way.” In February, the university amnestied some of the protesters, granting them “alternate resolutions” which terminated their suspensions, according to The Cornell Daily Sun.
In January, anti-Zionist agitators at Cornell kicked off the spring semester with an act of vandalism which attacked Israel as an “occupier” and practitioner of “apartheid.” The students drew a blistering response from Kotlikoff, who said that “acts of violence, extended occupations of buildings, or destruction of property (including graffiti), will not be tolerated and will be subject to immediate public safety response,” but the university has declined to say how it will deal with the matter since identifying at least one of the culprits in February.
Other elite colleges may soon face the same hard choices as Cornell.
Just last week, the US Department of Education began investigating Haverford College over alleged violations of civil rights laws stemming from inadequate responses to antisemitism.
“Like many other institutions of higher education, Haverford College is alleged to have ignored antisemitic harassment on its campus, contravening federal civil rights laws and its own anti-discrimination policies,” acting civil rights secretary Craig Trainor said in a statement. “The Trump administration will not allow Jewish life to be pushed into the shadows because college leaders are too craven to respond appropriately to unlawful antisemitic incidents on campus.”
Earlier this month, a coalition of leading Jewish civil rights groups called on the higher education establishment to prioritize fighting campus antisemitism during the upcoming academic year, citing an unrelenting wave of anti-Jewish hate that has swept the US in recent years.
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), Jewish Federations of North America, Hillel International, and the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations issued a joint statement, putting forth a policy framework that they say will quell antisemitism if applied sincerely and consistently. It included “enhanced communication and policy enforcement,” “dedicated administration oversight,” and “faculty accountability” — an issue of rising importance given the number of faculty accused of inciting discrimination.
“These recommendations aren’t just suggestions; they’re essential steps universities need to take to ensure Jewish students can learn without fear,” ADL chief executive officer Jonathan Greenblatt said in a statement. “Jewish students are being forced to hide who they are, and that’s unacceptable — we need more administrators to step up.”
As previously reported by The Algemeiner, colleges campus across the US erupted with effusions of antisemitic activity following the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, massacre across southern Israel, an uprising which included calling for the destruction of Israel, cheering Hamas’s sexual assaulting of women as an instrument of war, and dozens of incidents of assault and harassment targeting Jewish students, faculty, and activists.
At the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), anti-Zionist protesters chanted “Itbah El Yahud” at Bruin Plaza, which means “slaughter the Jews” in Arabic. At Columbia University, Jews were gang-assaulted, a student proclaimed that Zionist Jews deserve to be murdered and are lucky he is not doing so himself, and administrative officials, outraged at the notion that Jews organized to resist anti-Zionism, participated in a group chat in which each member took turns sharing antisemitic tropes that described Jews as privileged and grafting. At Harvard University, an October 2023 anti-Israel demonstration degenerated into chaos when Ibrahim Bharmal, former editor of the prestigious Harvard Law Review, and Elom Tettey-Tamaklo encircled a Jewish student with a mob that screamed “Shame! Shame! Shame!” at him while he desperately attempted to free himself from the mass of bodies.
More recently, Eden Deckerhoff — a female student at Florida State University — allegedly assaulted a Jewish male classmate at the Leach Student Recreation Center after noticing his wearing apparel issued by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
“F—k Israel, Free Palestine. Put it [the video] on Barstool FSU. I really don’t give a f—k,” the woman said before shoving the man, according to video taken by the victim. “You’re an ignorant son of a b—h.” Deckerhoff has since been charged with misdemeanor battery.
Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.
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Trump Admin Reviewing Visa Applications of ‘Terrorist Sympathizers’ Set to Appear at Pro-Palestinian Conference
Marco Rubio speaks after he is sworn in as Secretary of State by US Vice President JD Vance at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, DC, Jan. 21, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
The US State Department is actively reviewing the records of foreign speakers at the upcoming People’s Conference for Palestine in Detroit for potential ties to terrorism, The Algemeiner has learned.
A spokesperson for the State Department told The Algemeiner that officials have “noted” the conference, which is set to take place from Aug 29-31, and will also watch out for visa applications for invited international speakers, citing a preponderance of “terrorist sympathizers” on the program’s lineup.
“Given the public invite lists seems to include a number of terrorist sympathizers, we are going through and ensuring all international speakers slated to attend the conference are being placed on a ‘look out’ status for visa applications, so we are alerted if a request is submitted and can ensure they are appropriately processed,” the spokesperson said.
“In every case, we will take the time necessary to ensure an applicant does not pose a risk to the safety and security of the United States and that he or she has credibly established his or her eligibility for the visa sought, including that the applicant intends to engage in activities consistent with the terms of admission,” the spokesperson added.
The People’s Conference for Palestine will feature dozens of anti-Zionist activists, academics, artists, and political organizers, including US Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI).
Tlaib’s appearance at last year’s iteration of the conference sparked intense backlash, with critics pointing out the event’s connections to Wisam Rafeedie and Salah Salah, members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), an internationally designated terrorist organization.
The conference is convened by a coalition that includes the Palestinian Youth Movement, Al-Awda: The Palestine Right to Return Coalition, and the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights, among others. Several of these groups have maintained ties with PFLP, openly supported boycott efforts against Israel, and called for an arms embargo in the wake of Israel’s military campaign against Hamas in Gaza. The programming highlights sessions on “Documenting Genocide” and “Breaking the Siege,” rhetoric that critics argue mischaracterizes Israel’s actions as it seeks to defend itself against terrorist attacks following Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, invasion of and massacre across southern Israel.
The Detroit gathering is expected to attract thousands of attendees, with dozens of speakers and activists scheduled to participate. Among the roster are well-known anti-Israel figures such as Linda Sarsour, Miko Peled, and Chris Smalls.
The planned presence of several alleged “foreign terror sympathizers” has sparked outrage among observers.
Abed Abubaker, a self-described “reporter” from Gaza, is expected to make a physical appearance at the Detroit conference later this month. Abubaker has repeatedly praised the Hamas terrorist group as “resistance fighters” on social media and won a “journalist of the year” award from Iran’s state-controlled media outlet PressTV. In a January 2025 social media post, he showered praise on long-time Hamas leader and Oct. 7 mastermind Yahya Sinwar, saying that the terrorist’s “love of resistance and land is seen very clearly.” In a March 2025 post, Abubaker argued that international supporters of the Palestinian cause should “attack your governments.” He also defended Hamas’s murdering of dissidents, saying that the victims were “collaborating” with Israel.
Since returning to the White House earlier this year, the Trump administration has launched a major overhaul of the US visa system, part of what officials have described as an effort to root out individuals sympathetic to terrorism or those espousing antisemitic views. The sweeping measures include expanded social media vetting for new applicants, continuous monitoring of the 55 million current visa holders, and the revocation of thousands of student visas.
The Trump administration’s sweeping visa crackdown has ensnared high-profile foreign academics and students, fueling outrage among pro-Palestinian activists. Rasha Alawieh, a Lebanese professor at Brown University, was deported after officials flagged content on her phone as sympathetic to Hezbollah, a US-designated terrorist group. Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University graduate and green-card holder, was arrested and assigned criminal charges for alleged ties to Hamas before he was released. At Tufts University, Turkish student Rümeysa Öztürk was detained after co-authoring an opinion piece on Gaza.