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A Big Part of the World Was Longing for Something Like Oct. 7
(Wall Street Journal) Bernard-Henri Levy interviewed by Tunku Varadarajan - The muted reaction to the murder of six Israeli hostages by Hamas "tragically confirms" liberal Jewish French philosopher Bernard-Henri Levy's view that the Jewish state and "Jews around the world" are alone, as reflected in the title of his new book, Israel Alone. In an interview in Paris, Levy draws attention to one of the hostages, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23. "Hersh was executed for being a Jew. He was also American. Where is the collective rage in the USA? The collective grief?" It is "fashionable to be anti-Jew in America. Jews have been assimilated into the box of oppressors." After Oct. 7, everyone realized "that there is no place in the world where Jews are safe." Rather than provoke sympathy and compassion for the Jews, Hamas's massacre liberated hate. "I expected at least a moment of real solidarity in the face of this enormous crime." Instead, the murderers were "blessed, excused and praised." The victims were "accused, cursed and held responsible for their fates." "A big part of the world was longing for something like Oct. 7, dreaming of it. People danced in the streets...after Oct. 7. They loved the humiliation of...Israel." There was a craving among the "antiliberal, antidemocratic, anti-Western, antisemitic crowds" for "someone to do this." Yet Levy wrote his book to "instill courage and pride in the Jews, and to galvanize their many non-Jewish supporters in America." He concludes that "the soul, mind, and genius of Judaism are standing firm amid tumult and torment." He's confident Jews will emerge stronger. The Jews "don't disarm themselves. They fight back. They behave as they should. They are proud." The writer is a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and at New York University Law School's Classical Liberal Institute.