By Howie Silbiger
I have lived long enough in the diaspora to recognize a pattern that many of us did not want to see.
It is not just that antiJewism is back. It is that it is becoming normal again. It is becoming ambient. It shows up in public spaces, in schools, on transit, online, and in the way people speak about Jews as if we are a collective problem that can be blamed, pressured, or targeted. When that shift happens, the distance between words and violence gets shorter.
Look at Australia. A Jewish Chanukah celebration at Bondi Beach became the scene of a terror attack. Murder charges followed. Funerals followed. Jewish businesses closed afterward because owners said they could no longer guarantee safety. That is what it looks like when a community begins to retreat from public life, not because of law, but because of fear. This did not happen in a failed state. It happened in a Western democracy that prides itself on tolerance.
And because the diaspora is a network, not a set of isolated islands, what happens there does not stay there.
Anyone who thinks North America is immune is fooling themselves.
Since the October 7th genocidal attack on Israel, Jewish schools in Toronto and Montreal have been shot at. Synagogues in New York, New Jersey, and California have faced repeated bomb threats. In New York City, antiJewish assaults, such as yesterday’s stabbing in Crown Heights, have become so routine they often barely make the news unless someone ends up seriously injured. In Montreal, Jewish parents quietly debate whether it is smart for their children to wear visible Jewish symbols on public transit. That conversation alone should set off alarms.
This is not about panic. It is about pattern recognition.
What we are seeing is the normalization of antiJewism as an acceptable way of thinking. Jews are spoken about as a collective obstacle. Jewish institutions are treated as legitimate pressure points. Jewish visibility is framed as provocation. And when you hear that language often enough, someone eventually decides to act on it.
People argue endlessly about what sparked this moment. They point to wars, politics, and global tensions. Jews have heard all of this before. History teaches us that when societies are stressed or angry, Jews become symbolic stand-ins. It rarely matters what Jews actually do. What matters is what others need us to represent.
Even the arguments themselves are telling. After anti Jewish scenes erupted at a rally at the Sydney Opera House in October 2023, the public debate quickly shifted to whether specific words were used or misheard. That debate missed the point entirely. Jews were being openly targeted in a public square, in front of a national symbol, and large numbers of people felt comfortable doing it. The technicalities became a distraction from the reality.
The distance between rhetoric and action is shrinking. So I will answer the question people are asking quietly. Do I believe there will be an attack on the Jewish community in North America in the near future.
Yes.
I do not know where or when. Anyone who claims they can predict that is guessing. But when threat assessments describe an attack as a realistic possibility, when Jewish institutions operate under permanent security protocols, and when lone actors are radicalized online every single day, pretending this is just background noise is irresponsible.
This is not fear. It is awareness.
The future of the Jewish people in the diaspora is not about whether we will survive. We always do. The real question is whether Jews will be allowed to live normal public lives as Jews, without shrinking ourselves, hiding symbols, or calculating risk every time we gather.
Right now, that future is under pressure. So what do we do?
First, security must be treated as infrastructure, not as an emergency expense. Synagogues, schools, community centers, and events need layered protection. Trained personnel. Controlled access. Cameras that work. Clear procedures that are practiced, not filed away.
Second, we stop confusing goodwill with protection. Relationships matter, but they must be operational. Jewish institutions need real coordination with law enforcement, not just symbolic meetings. Staff need training in threat recognition and response. Medical response planning matters because the first minutes of an attack are often the most important.
Third, online threats must be taken seriously. Much of the targeting starts digitally. Threats should be documented, reported, and treated as intelligence, not dismissed as trolling. Ignoring threats does not make them disappear. It makes them easier to carry out.
Fourth, we protect our children without teaching them that being Jewish is inherently dangerous. That balance is difficult, but it is non negotiable. Jewish life cannot continue if the next generation grows up believing visibility is recklessness and pride is a liability.
And now the part that needs to be said plainly and continuously out loud.
Governments in Canada and the United States are failing Jews when they treat antiJewism as a social issue instead of a security issue.
Condemnations after attacks are cheap. Statements without enforcement are meaningless. Hate crime laws already exist. They need to be enforced early and aggressively. Threats need to be prosecuted before they turn into funerals. Security funding for vulnerable institutions should be automatic, not something communities have to beg for or wait months to receive.
If Jewish families need armed guards to attend a Chanukah celebration, that is not a community failure. That is a state failure.
This is not about special treatment. It is about equal protection.
The future of the Jewish people in the diaspora will not be decided by how quietly we live, how much we explain ourselves, or how carefully we try not to offend. It will be decided by whether Jews insist on living openly as Jews, and whether governments have the courage to defend that right with action instead of platitudes.
Never again should not be a hollow slogan. We all know that history has already shown us what happens when they do not. We would be foolish to pretend it can’t happen again.
Howie Silbiger is the host of The Howie Silbiger Show on truetalkradio.com and Political Hitman on Israel News Talk Radio. He is the Editor-in-Chief of The Montreal Jewish News
