RSS
Being Jewish Today: The Curse That Became a Blessing
Orange balloons fill the skies above Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square on Thursday as hundreds gathered to mark the grim milestone of the first birthday of Kfir Bibas, who is a hostage in Hamas captivity. Wednesday, January 17, 2024. (Photo: Debbie Weiss)
The time has come to take the hard steps needed for healing and to come together stronger than ever before. Let us take the necessary steps to confront our new reality, to cleanse our wounds, and to stand united with the people who are truly our allies.
In doing this, it is imperative to help re-educate well intentioned people who have been misled by half-truths and lies. Let us take the experiences of the curse of antisemitism and turn them into the blessings of understanding and common decency.
In a recent conversation on Honestly with Bari Weiss, Shabbos Kestenbaum shared a personal story that resonates deeply with the Jewish community. He described how he supported the Black Lives Matter movement and even marched alongside them, believing he was standing for justice.
He described how he was an advocate and supporter of Bernie Sanders in 2016 and then also in 2020. His credentials for the progressive movement were unmatched, and he assumed that those that he stood with would support him and his community in their time of crisis. What befuddled him, and ultimately woke many people up, was discovering that justice applies to all except for the Jewish people.
An example of this was that female Israelis’ experiences of being sexually abused were not initially believed. This surprised him, as it surprised many people, who otherwise believed that they were in complete alignment with the progressive side of the Democratic Party.
Similarly David Harris, the former head of the American Jewish Committee, gave a speech in Westchester, New York, where he expressed shock that in the past 40 years, he had been building bridges and supporting a gamut of different causes including women’s causes, LGBTQ causes, children’s cause’s, interfaith causes, and many more. He found it unconscionable that these organizations which have received the support of the Jewish community for decades remained silent in the face of the extreme violence perpetrated against the civilian population in southern Israel.
There is a recognition that something went very wrong along the way — where an ideology was promoted (and then reinforced) that allowed for the dehumanization of Jewish people.
As a tiny minority we must attempt to seek unity, however true unity cannot exist if we do not agree on certain fundamental facts.
One of the most basic — and urgent — questions we must ask ourselves is: who stands with us, and who stands against us. This is a truth that is painful to confront, but necessary to move forward. Liberty yes, justice yes, equality yes — selective justice no, subjective truth no, hierarchy of the oppressed, no.
As Jews, we are heirs to a tradition that emphasizes introspection and moral clarity. Our tradition of teshuva — repentance — is not just about returning to God; it’s about returning to our core values. One of these is the value of self-preservation (survival). This journey starts with reflection and intellectual honesty. It requires us to admit difficult truths, first to ourselves, and then to others. We must be willing to do the hard work of partaking in teshuva — to ourselves and for our children.
In the wake of the October 7th attacks, many people have been shocked by the resurgence of antisemitism, both overt and subtle. It’s made many Jews feel vulnerable, in ways they haven’t felt in decades. Some have compared the current climate to 1930s Germany, but this comparison is flawed.
The United States, despite its challenges, remains a liberal democracy with a long history of equality and freedom. This is something that Weimar Germany, with its brief and unstable democracy, never had.
Moreover, we now have the State of Israel, a homeland for the Jewish people, which didn’t exist in the 1930s. This alone marks a fundamental difference between then and now. In today’s world, there is a country that will intervene on the behalf of worldwide Jewry in the event of an existential threat. It’s simply incorrect to equate today’s environment with that of Nazi Germany.
While we can recognize that we do have many challenges in front of us we should also know that it’s never been a better time to be Jewish when taking into account the arc of history. History has taught us that blessings can become curses and curses can become blessings. We will emerge stronger than before once we retrench and re-educate ourselves, as well as other people of good will.
Daniel Rosen has been a recognized opinion leader since his early college days, when he co-founded Torchpac, a pro-Israel advocacy group at New York University. Daniel is currently the chairman and co-founder of the pro-Israel group, Minds and Hearts.
The post Being Jewish Today: The Curse That Became a Blessing first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
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.”
RSS
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.
RSS
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.