Tonight is the 85th anniversary of Krystallnacht, the Night of Broken Glass in Germany on November 9, 1938. On that terrible night hundreds of Jewish businesses, synagogues, schools, and homes were vandalized and torched. Ninety-one Jewish people died. It marked a turning point in the growing persecution of and eventual murder of six million Jews.

In historic terms, 1938 wasn’t very long ago. And yet it feels incredibly distant. We remember WWII in black and white. We can’t imagine something like that happening again today, in our ultra-modern world of living color. 

But just one month ago the world’s Jewish community experienced the worst mass murder since the Holocaust, when Hamas terrorists attacked Israeli homes and murdered 1,400 men, women, and children, most of whom were civilians.

We have tended to conflate the two events. I hope we are wrong. There are significant differences, not least of which is that the German people turned on their own citizens, and the October 7 attack came from outside terrorists who have long sought the demise of Israel. 

What frightens me the most today is the virulent support of the Palestinians without regard to Jewish lives and trauma. In this latest iteration of “let’s hate the Jews” it feels as if thousands of people across America are gleefully jumping on the antisemitism bandwagon. Simply because Israel struck back.

This is why I am joining thousands of others on the Mall in Washington, D.C. next Tuesday (November 14) to show my love and support of Israel. I’ve never gone to a gigantic, national event in support of an issue that I hold dear. 

But this time is different. This time I am willing to make a financial and personal commitment. I’ve paid the airfare, made the arrangements, and am ready to do something that makes me incredibly uncomfortable, being in large crowds.

Because this time, it’s not about me. It’s about the 240 Israelis who were kidnapped by Hamas and are still in custody in Gaza. It’s about the unwarranted Jew-hatred that has infected our college campuses. It’s about the people who are willing to hate Israel for attacking Hamas in retaliation. 

Please understand: I am not happy that innocents are being caught in the crossfire of this war. Every life is precious, Palestinian and Israeli. There is a long and bloody history between our two peoples, and both sides feel wronged. Truth is viewed differently from opposite sides of a border, and nothing is simply black and white. Gray areas abound. 

The rally in D.C. has three simple messages for the country and the world: We support Israel’s right to exist. We seek freedom for the hostages. We stand against antisemitism. Yes, gray areas abound, but I hope that all people of good will can agree with these three messages. 

For me, there is a fourth message that is worth standing up for: Never again. No one should ever again try to wipe a group of people off the face of the earth. Not yesterday, not now, not ever.