Editorial | Hate, horror and words: Fighting antisemitism in NYC after the massacre in Australia

Once again, Jewish New Yorkers find themselves in mourning over yet another horrific and murderous act of antisemitism — this time half a world away in Australia, where terroristic gunmen opened fire on a Hanukkah gathering in Sydney on Sunday.

No fewer than 15 people were reportedly murdered. The dead include Rabbi Elie Schlanger, who had numerous ties to the Lubavitch community centered in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. The massacre cast a pall upon Hanukkah celebrations in New York, and once again spurred an increased police presence outside synagogues, temples and menorah lightings on what should be carefree celebrations among friends and family.

Amid the festival of lights, Jewish New Yorkers are confronted with the darkness of antisemitism and hatred. What shall we do as a city to prevent the next act of antisemitism from targeting the Jewish community?

Hate is not a trait that is inherited among people; acts of hate do not occur naturally, like earthquakes or tornadoes. Hate propagates through how we view and then speak of one another. Words carry weight and bear consequences.

Whenever someone chooses to use words to demean and dehumanize a group of people as a whole because of who they are, we set the stage for violence to follow. Whenever someone chooses to speak or write things that attack Jewish people for who they are and what they believe, they put every Jewish person in greater danger of harm and violence.

This is why so many Jewish New Yorkers are concerned about the upcoming mayoralty of Zohran Mamdani, who has hesitated to condemn the use of language such as “globalize the intifada,” which Jewish New Yorkers see as a call to violence against them and the state of Israel.

For many, Mamdani’s mere assertion that such phrases are not words he would use is not enough; condemning them entirely truly acknowledges the pain that such words inflict.

Mamdani, to his credit, strongly condemned the terrorist attack in Australia as “a vile act of antisemitic terror” and repeated his pledge to protect all Jewish New Yorkers as mayor.

Such a strong statement in the wake of such monstrous acts was important for all New Yorkers to hear, and Jewish New Yorkers are counting on Mamdani to be a mayor who will support and proactively defend them against all who seek to do them harm.

We live in a city where antisemitism has spiked in recent years, and other hate crimes have also surged along with it. We must realize that an attack on Jewish New Yorkers is an attack on us all, and we must stand together with the Jewish community to repel and defeat antisemitism in our midst and around the world.