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Why Did a Massacre of Jews Lead to an Explosion of Antisemitism?
(Los Angeles Jewish Journal) David Suissa - How can the biggest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust lead to the biggest rise in antisemitism in modern times? My theory is that the tragedy of Oct. 7 was so enormous, the violence of Hamas so blatant, the images of Jews being massacred so graphic, this posed a stunning threat to the cemented narrative of Israel as the oppressors and Palestinians as the oppressed. Thus, it would require an immediate and massive response to shift the focus back to Israel - that big, bad Israel had it coming. The war has fueled the rioters by reminding them how difficult it will be to get rid of Israel. This has exacerbated their rage. They see that these are not the powerless Jews who went to their slaughter in Holocaust death camps. These are badass Zionists who know how to fight. Nevertheless, Oct. 7 introduced the tantalizing possibility that even these badass Zionists can be defeated. The haters smelled blood. Oct. 7 made the haters taste the ultimate victory of eliminating Israel, and they like the taste. That's why they're going hysterical. Their mission is to put Israel squarely in the defeated camp.