After the worst massacre against Jews since the Holocaust on Oct. 7, 2023, Jews throughout the world are becoming increasingly sensitive to signs that eerily parallel those preceding the Holocaust. Is this paranoia? An overreaction? Let’s look at a warning this week from a non-Jew, radio talk show host Hugh Hewitt.
Mein Kampf came out 101 years ago, in 1925. That’s Hitler’s call to arms against the Jews. He takes another eight years to get to power in Germany. After he’s in power in 1933, it takes five years to Kristallnacht. That’s when the real pogrom came to Germany. Germany was as civilized as the United States was. All right. Just as civilized. And then after Kristallnacht, 1938, takes another three years till the killing operations, the Holocaust actually goes into killing mode. I believe at Chelmno in December of 1941. And I think the same cycle is repeating itself. Antisemitism is the evil of the day right now.
The Holocaust Encyclopedia reminds us what happened on Kristallnacht:
During Kristallnacht, Nazis burned more than 1,400 synagogues, vandalized thousands of Jewish-owned businesses, broke into Jewish people’s apartments and homes, and desecrated Jewish religious objects. They also humiliated, assaulted, and killed Jewish people.
With this history in mind, a story about a Jewish business forced to close in 2025 because its owner no longer feels safe is deeply significant—especially in a country that has just experienced a horrific terrorist attack against Jews celebrating Chanukah and may have narrowly prevented a follow-up attack.
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Ed Halmagyi, the owner of the Jewish-themed Avner’s Bakery in Sydney, has decided to close his business due to ongoing safety concerns. In his announcement on the closing, Halmagyi cited “two years of almost ceaseless antisemitic harassment, vandalism and intimidation directed at our little bakery.” In a note to customers, he blamed “the philosophy of the second intifada, where pizzerias, clubs, playgrounds and cafes were the most common targets” for the attacks on his bakery. He continued: “Businesses like these will be part of whatever happens next, now that performative and hateful calls to ‘globalise the intifada’ have been realized.”
But the Land Down Under is one of the farthest destinations you can fly from the United States. Is that enough to abate fears that similar situations could arise for American Jews? Unfortunately not.
Returning to the Kristallnacht description above, we can now look at Zohran Mamdani’s New York for current examples of Jews being “humiliated” and “assaulted.” On a New York City subway this week, a group of Jews were targeted with death threats from two men, including shouts of “F**k the Jews” during the assault.
“They yelled at me, and the son said, ‘I’ll kill you,’” Mendy Asraf, a 20-year-old Yeshiva student, told the New York Post. Video of the incident shows one man being choked.
Just a day later, also in New York City, a Jewish man was stabbed in the chest by a man reportedly hurling antisemitic comments. Eyewitness News ABC7NY reported that data showed 230 anti-Jewish hate crime incidents in the city through September of this year. Jews are correct to fear that this number will increase next year when the anti-Semitic Mamdani comes to power. He has already shown his willingness to blame victims of harassment and intimidation if they’re Jewish, with his statement after Jews were harassed while trying to enter the Park East Synagogue in Manhattan to get information about making Aliyah to Israel. The statement said that “these sacred spaces should not be used to promote activities in violation of international law.” As City Journal asked: Is moving to Israel now a crime in New York City?
Speaking of moving to Israel, the aforementioned Hugh Hewitt has been asking American Jews on his radio show whether they are considering leaving the United States due to the rise in antisemitism. Bethany Mandel of the New York Post gave a noncommittal answer to that question.
Speaking personally, it is often the courageous voices of non-Jews — like Hewitt — speaking out firmly against antisemitism that provide the strongest encouragement for Jews to remain in the United States. Their bravery reminds us that, even amid rising threats and the echoes of history, this country can still be a place where Jews live safely and with confidence.
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