June 16, 2025
The following column appeared in the Palm Beach Post.
As director of American Jewish Committee’s (AJC) Palm Beach County office, I’m often asked whether there’s still room for a nonpartisan, centrist organization like AJC in today’s hyper-polarized world.
That question reflects a deeper reality: from cable news to social media, we’re inundated with voices insisting that moderation is a weakness — that if we aren’t outraged enough, aggressive enough, pure enough, we’re part of the problem.
But history — and human experience — tells a different story.
When the political and moral center collapses, extremes don’t just grow louder — they grow more dangerous. Time and again, we’ve seen how the absence of a strong, principled center leaves societies vulnerable to division and violence. And when that center disappears, antisemitism often rushes in to fill the void.
Indeed, when discourse becomes absolutist and tribal, when society loses its ability to mediate differences, minority communities — Jews included — are most at risk.
We’re seeing this play out in frighteningly real ways. The past several weeks have brought a disturbing escalation in violence targeting Jews:
In Pennsylvania, a man tried to burn down the Jewish governor’s residence on Passover eve — while Gov. Josh Shapiro and his family were inside. In Washington, D.C., two young Israeli Embassy staffers were murdered outside the Capital Jewish Museum after leaving an AJC event. In Boulder, Colorado, a man threw fire bombs at Jews marching in support of the hostages taken by Hamas, injuring at least 15 people, including a Holocaust survivor.
These aren’t isolated incidents. They’re symptoms of something deeper: a world where extremists drown out the middle. Where antisemites stop seeing Jews as human and turn their fury into violence.
In response, the FBI and Department of Homeland Security warned of an "elevated threat" to the Jewish community, urging the public to “remain vigilant” and report threats or suspicious activity to law enforcement.
Even here in Palm Beach County, we are not immune. Community institutions have had to increase security. Jewish students and families are asking whether they are truly safe.
This is why a strong, sane center isn’t just a nice concept — it’s essential. When we lose it, we lose the guardrails that keep hate and chaos in check.
True moderation isn’t passive — it takes courage. It requires standing in the middle while others retreat to their corners. The great Jewish philosopher Maimonides, writing nearly 1,000 years ago, called it the “middle path”: not too proud, but not too humble; not too angry, but not too passive — a life of thoughtful action and restraint. Jewish tradition teaches that even good intentions, taken to an extreme, can become harmful.
This isn’t just personal advice. It’s a blueprint for a healthy society. Great societies aren’t built on rage. They’re built on common ground, nuance — and moral clarity.
And this doesn’t mean staying silent in the face of injustice. It means resisting the urge to dehumanize those we disagree with. It means pushing back on antisemitism — boldly and loudly — without becoming hateful ourselves. It means standing firm in our values while remembering that democracies can only function when disagreement doesn’t lead to destruction.
In a world shouting from the edges, choosing the middle path may seem old-fashioned. But it is also the path of wisdom. Of moral clarity. Of strength. And, ultimately, of peace.
Now more than ever, we need people — Jewish and not — to defend the center — to push back against the dangers of extremism from both the far right and far left. Not because it’s easy. But because it’s essential.
Laurence Milstein is Director of AJC Palm Beach.
