Antisemitism is running rampant. Where do we ask for forgiveness?

From the President’s Desk
A Yom Kippur Column

“On the tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. It shall be a holy convocation for you, and you shall afflict your souls and bring an offering by fire to the Lord. You shall do no work on this very day, for it is a day of atonement, to make atonement for you before the Lord your God…”

Leviticus 23:26-32

My dear esteemed friends,

We find ourselves on the eve of Yom Kippur, the day of Jewish soul-searching, man before God and person before their fellow. This is a moment of self-reflection, of personal honesty, and of courage to admit our mistakes as well. A day of greatness of spirit to ask forgiveness, take responsibility, and correct our ways.

But even on this day, we must remember that just as it’s important to take responsibility, it’s sometimes equally important to remember that the blame isn’t always ours, and that we shouldn’t be too harsh with ourselves in an environment that hardens its positions toward us and sharpens its arrows against us.

Personally, I wish for all of us a profound and beneficial day, a day of insights leading toward embarking on a new chapter in a long journey. And on the national level, may we be sealed for a year of strength and national pride, from a position of standing our ground and maintaining our power.

Easy fast, may you be sealed in the Book of Life for good!

Yours,
Anat

Antisemitism is running rampant. Where do we ask for forgiveness?

When the whole world is against us, maybe we did something wrong. Because what are the odds that we’re okay, and the rest of the world is hypocritical, crazy, and self-interested? A Yom Kippur Column

By: Anat Vidor, WIZO President

We are experiencing open miracles, wonders upon wonders, in these two years of war. From the simultaneous explosion of thousands of Hezbollah terrorists’ pagers, to heavenly systems that intercept enemy missiles in flight, to the accelerated elimination of the entire Iranian military leadership, and even the entry of a true friend of Israel into the position of president of the world’s strongest superpower. Open miracles, wonders upon wonders—someone is showing us charity and kindness, and saving us.

And the more these signs and wonders multiply, the more the entire world turns against us. This week, the level of global antisemitism rose above periods we used to call “dark.” In the Israeli media, every other headline dealt with antisemitism! What began as political discomfort has become a political tsunami washing over us from all directions. “The Zionist entity is the most isolated and hated in the world,” tweeted the scoundrel Khamenei from his rat hole, and this time the facts confirm the words of this pathological liar: Israel is boycotted and ostracized, most world leaders have taken a distinctly anti-Israeli stance, and we are two fingers away from being expelled from every possible international forum—in arts, sports, academia, and business.

And if that’s not enough, Yom Kippur arrives, when we are commanded to ask: Have we sinned? Where did we go wrong? Maybe we too are guilty of this shameful situation? Maybe we should bow our heads and ask someone for forgiveness?

But alongside these questions, we’re presented with Colombia’s president (this time the country, not the university), Gustavo Petro. Dressed in a colorful hippie outfit, combined with a red-and-white keffiyeh and a sheriff’s hat, standing before an inflamed New York crowd, and inflamed himself, calling for mobilization of a global army to liberate Palestine that would be stronger than the U.S. army.

The insane words of this Colombian peacock surely also reached the sons of Satan—Hamas terrorists—who with great satisfaction marked another pin on their world map. Look, a massive international army is forming right now and will come to help them kill all the Jews. So why would they want to stop the war right now? Why would they agree to release hostages??? The world loves them, just as they are, with Jewish blood on their lips.

This is the world, my friends. Hypocritical, crazy, inflamed, awash with hatred and interests, where ambassadors leave the hall when Israel’s leader rises to speak, lest they have to hear a bit of truth. A shallow and ignorant world that has found itself a convenient victim to unite around, in order to whitewash all the world’s other problems.

So, no! Even the most penetrating soul-searching doesn’t lead me to beat my chest in confession. Antisemitism didn’t begin with the “genocide” and “starvation” in Gaza. It erupted in full force already on October 7th itself, when spontaneous bonfires of joy were lit around the world against Israel and the Jews. Actually, this started much earlier – maybe with the occupation of 1967? But the PLO was established three years before that, so maybe they’ve hated us since ’48? No, no, much earlier, Zionism itself was created as a response to antisemitism. What did we do to them then? Whom did the Jews of Kishinev starve? What genocide did the Jews of Spain commit? Whom did the murder victims of Babi Yar threaten? What did the Jews of all generations do to them?

The world assigns us the role of the guilty ones. It hated us when we were weak and pitiful, and hates us more when we are powerful and brave. It’s hard for them. We don’t need to ask forgiveness for this – they need to ask forgiveness from us, in their name and in the name of all their antisemitic ancestors for generations.

And what do we need? To continue caring powerfully and fearlessly for our future, to nurture our Zionism, our children, and not to be tempted to rely on the good will and evil advice of our tormentors. As long as we are destined to be “a people that dwells alone,” let’s at least be careful about the second part of that verse too: “and shall not reckon itself among the nations.”

This week, before the closing prayer, let us pray to be blessed with much strength: of the State of Israel, of Jews around the world, of the Zionist enterprise, of our many good friends in the world, and especially the particular one in the White House. Much strength to stand against the political tsunami, against the lies and incitement, the hatred and ignorance. Our Father, our King, deal with us charitably and kindly, and continue, continue to save us.

Food for Thought

During the Prime Minister’s speech at the UN, representatives from 78 countries walked out of the hall in a demonstrative manner. Among them were representatives of Eswatini, Saint Lucia, Brunei Darussalam, Tonga, Tuvalu, Djibouti, Congo, and Belize. Due to this and just for fun, I’m announcing that over the coming week, I’ll be boycotting them too.