This past week so many of us were shocked by the brutal pogrom that happened in Amsterdam. Following a local soccer match bands of violent terrorists roamed the streets searching for Jews who were there to support Maccabi Tel Aviv. The scenes were brutal. Jews were being pummeled in the streets of Europe. It reminded us all of the violence in the streets leading up to the Holocaust.
Aish leaped into action. I wrote an op-ed immediately condemning the attacks and we started to work our social media channels to alert our community as to what was happening. One of our TikTok posts went viral where we described what happened and included a prayer for the Jewish people. Almost immediately we had 3000 vile disgusting comments follow our post. They range from calls for violence against Jews to denying the attacks ever happened.
I was so troubled by what we were seeing online that I decided to spend a day this week at the Knesset talking with many of our friends to continue to build our partnership with the Israeli government to fight antisemitism online. My good friend MK Dan Illouz once attended Aish’s Hasbara Fellowship program where he learned to advocate for Israel from his hometown of Montreal. He suggested a number of ways to build our cooperation.
I also had a chance to spend time with MK Boaz Bismuth who was a world-famous journalist and editor of Israel HaYom before joining the Knesset. He served as the Ambassador to Mauritania, which is an Islamic country in Northwest Africa. He had a real perspective on the global antisemitism pandemic. We discussed bringing Ambassadors to the Dan Family Aish World Center and more ways to productively fight the hate.
My friends, whether we like it or not, the entire Jewish Nation is locked in a global battle. The hatred of the Jew is as old as time itself. It is now rearing its ugly head in a way that is forcing all of us to grow closer together as we work to defeat this worldwide evil. Aish is at the forefront of this battle and we need your help.
As a result of the events of October 7 and all that followed, Aish decided that we needed to organize our efforts. We created a party that is running in the upcoming elections of the World Zionist Congress. Our party is called “Aish Ha’am” which translates as the “Passion of the Nation.” We have recruited leaders from all over the Jewish world to be a part of this effort. The elections in the United States will be held starting in March and every Jew is eligible to vote.
Our kickoff online launch event will be on Wednesday, November 20 at 8 pm EST. I am asking each and every one of you to attend this crucial first meeting to learn about this effort. Aish is working tirelessly every day online to fight against the bigots and racists who attack Jews around the world. We average over 1 million video views a day! We cannot do it alone. We need your help.
Please share this crucial event with everyone that you know and please set aside the time to join us Wednesday, November 20 at 8 pm EST. As I have been writing to you, my dear friends, for the past 10 years I have never been so bold to demand that you get involved. This is as close as I will ever get. We need your help. I need your help. The Jewish Nation needs your help. Come learn how you can support Aish Ha’am as we fight for the Jewish people.
