Matisyahu’s recent show in Chicago was canceled due to the threat of anti-Israel protests. The Jewish American singer’s music has evolved alongside his Jewish identity. But one thing has always been clear: He believes in Israel's right to exist.
In the aftermath of the Oct. 7 Hamas-led terrorist attack and massacre in Israel, American Jews were engulfed in a maelstrom of grief, anger and alienation. Now, five months into the Israel-Hamas war, Jewish New Yorkers stand at the forefront of an escalating societal crisis.
Antisemitism is not a Jewish problem. It’s a societal problem. And just like we wouldn’t ask the AAPI community, for example, to solve anti-Asian hate on its own, we can’t expect the Jewish community to tackle antisemitism by itself. However, according to AJC, 47% of American Jews feel that antisemitism is taken less seriously than other forms of bigotry.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has declared that the southern Gaza city of Rafah is Israel’s next military objective and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) will develop a strategy to evacuate Rafah’s residents.
Like most American Jews, I tense up when I hear calls for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas War currently raging in Gaza. I do not recoil because I crave war – far from it. It is undeniable that the situation in Gaza is dire, with thousands of lives lost and many more displaced. I reject calls for a ceasefire because most of such calls for the last 150 days have been for Israel to lay down its arms and accept a genocidal terrorist organization which promises to deliver death and destruction on every Jew in the world to remain in power on its border.