I usually hate writing about things like this, and hate talking about it even more. The subject is heartbreaking and draining, especially when it feels like nobody's listening. But, after several antisemitic terror attacks last week, I feel that I cannot be silent any longer.
Last week, several terrorist attacks lead to the violent deaths of eleven people at the hands of radicals. The first of these attacks resulted in the deaths of four people in a combined stabbing and car-ramming in the city of Beersheba. Just days later, two police officers were murdered in Hadera, and a terrorist killed five people in Bnei Brak. The most concerning part of these attacks is that the terrorists were Israeli Arabs. These were people that decided to viscously murder their neighbors.
Where was the outrage? In May, while Israel was defending itself from rocket attacks, my social media feed was flooded with infographics of the war, which side was “right,” different places to donate and lots of misinformation. I even received several DMs, claiming that I didn’t know what I was talking about when I expressed concern for my loved ones who were spending nights in bomb shelters. I was, in their minds, a part of a system that had been misrepresented as oppression in the form of colorful Instagram posts. And yet, when Israel experiences its highest single-week death toll since 2006, the world is silent. The death of a Jew is met with apathy, as if it is expected that it is the price to pay for living in Israel.
The issue of antisemitic terrorist attacks in recent days can also be found beyond the borders of Israel. On Friday night, the beginning of Shabbat (the Jewish Sabbath), six people beat a Hasidic man on the streets of Williamsburg. This attack is especially surprising because Williamsburg is a famously Jewish neighborhood of Brooklyn, known for its Hasidic population.
Meanwhile, April 4 marked the five-year anniversary of the outrageous murder of Jewish 65-year-old Sarah Halimi, with her killer walking off virtually scot-free.
And the timing of these killings is not coincidental. In Israel, it is well known that around the time of Ramadan is when terror attacks surge. And yet, even though it is expected, the world seems to ignore it. When I was reading about my Israeli brothers and sisters who were dying on the streets of their own neighborhoods, I was doing it from Jewish and Israeli news sites. I could not find any mention of these attacks in larger news sources. It was chilling to see the world ignore these deaths.
Jewish people being murdered does not make the news. Jewish deaths are ignored, even when they are caused by horrifying terror attacks that would get attention if they took place in any other part of the Western world. While the rest of the world sweeps the deaths of Jews aside, we look on in horror, knowing that this pattern will return again next year.
Hadass Galili is a junior studying political science pre-law at Ohio University. Please note that the views and opinions of the columnist do not reflect those of The Post. Do you agree? Tell Hadass by tweeting her at @HadassGalili.
