In the midst of a raging war of authoritarian regimes and their proxies on civilization, at an existential moment in an algorithmic world rife with conflict, fear, despair and distrust, the results of the U.S. elections offer a glimpse of hope — first and foremost, that common sense will not give up to radical extremes without a fight.
It should be a moment of soul-searching, particularly for those who detest President-elect Trump, including legacy media in an age of digital platforms. It should be a wake-up call to all those who are committed to liberal values, which have been taken captive by a so-called “progressive” left that pulls back and not forward, is rejected by a huge public, and was exposed in the inability or lack of willingness to condemn the horrors of the Oct. 7 massacre.
Instead, many took to the streets in sympathy with its murderous perpetrators, sounding alarms that warn of an international and national security threat — including to the USA. The tsunami of antisemitism that was exposed, unleashed and mainstreamed provided a litmus test on the reality that threatens the foundations of democracies.
It was antisemitism to which the October 7 perpetrators of war crimes and crimes against humanity were indoctrinated, and it is antisemitism, led by a murderous Islamist regime in Iran, that continues to fuel a multi-front war with the intent to destroy Israel, the proverbial Jew among the nations, and all those who support her right to exist.
The previous Trump administration advocated a historic pivot, represented in the Abraham Accords, from the “three no’s” of Khartoum to the three yes’s: to recognition, negotiation and peace. A return to this potential paradigm shift is significant not only for the State of Israel; it constitutes a critical change of perception toward a growing radical evil axis.
Antisemitism, a lethal shape-shifting hate, is a predictor for the collapse of all the spaces and places where it spreads. Its modern and mainstream strain manifests in tearing down posters of baby Kfir Bibas, stolen from his home into the terror tunnels of Hamas; in attacks on Jews/Zionists on campuses, on the streets and online worldwide; and in demonstrations in support of Gaza, including in the streets of New York City, days after six hostages including one American-Israeli were executed after surviving more than 11 months of hell.
Recognizing Israel as what it is — the nation state of a prototypical indigenous people, who returned to their ancestral homeland after thousands of years of exile and persecution — is a necessary first step, which enables negotiations and paves the path to peace.
This has many critical implications, including ending UNRA funding that fuels a perpetual war; stopping the inculcation of antisemitic hatred and policies that pay to slay Jews; identifying foreign funding, including in universities, that has turned them into institutions that teach what to think, rather than how to think; and implementing the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance working definition of antisemitism, the result of a long democratic process adopted by over 40 countries, in any strategy that aims to identify and combat antisemitism comprehensively.
Hope is an active virtue that requires courage, according to the late Rabbi Sacks. The results of the U.S. elections offer a glimpse of hope for a fundamental profound change, that implemented, can pave the path to peace.
Michal Cotler-Wunsh is Israel’s special envoy for combatting antisemitism.
