Yesterday, our hearts trembled once again.

At Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, Michigan, a Jewish house of worship became the target of a horrific terrorist attack. A place meant for prayer, peace, and community was turned into a scene of terror simply because it is Jewish.

This wasn’t just another “act of violence,” as some news outlets have casually described it. It was yet another act of pure, evil, disgusting, and intolerable antisemitism, and a chilling reminder that we are in the midst of a global war, courageously led by Israel and the US, between good and evil, a terrorist regime and seekers of liberty, truth and lies, moral clarity and moral blindness.

And yet, we are a nation of action, not of feelings. In the face of destruction, we build even more. Against darkness, we shine even brighter. Confronting evil, we spread even greater goodness.

At this very moment, Israel, together with our courageous United States forces, is confronting the Iranian regime, the mother-source of terrorism that has fueled so much hatred, violence, and instability across our world. And while we cannot always reason or understand, we can, and must, learn and respond. And so, here are seven humble lessons:

VERBAL VIOLENCE FUELS PHYSICAL TERROR

This attack did not begin yesterday.

It was preceded by years of antisemitic and poisonous rhetoric on news programs, podcasts, campuses, and social media outlets. Just here in the United States, antisemites on both the radical left and the radical right spread their venom daily, demonizing Jews, justifying hatred, and normalizing the unthinkable.

Even recently, conspiracy theories blaming Jewish organizations such as Chabad for global conflicts, including the war against the Iranian regime – the mother-source of terrorism responsible for so much evil and destruction in our world – have been irresponsibly promoted in major media spaces, fueling ancient hatred with modern microphones.

Yet, words create climates, and climates produce actions. And when the climate is one of hatred, violence, and terror, it eventually follows. In the words of a wise man: “Watch your thoughts, they become your words; watch your words, they become your actions; watch your actions, they become your habits; watch your habits, they become your character; watch your character, it becomes your destiny.”

EVIL HAPPENS WHEN GOOD PEOPLE REMAIN SILENT

We have seen this too many times before: when good people stay silent, evil triumphs. 

Today’s silence is no less deafening. Where are the protests for Jews attacked in their synagogues? And where are the “human rights activists” marching for the tens of thousands of innocent Iranians tortured and butchered for standing up to their evil regime? 

Silence is not neutral. It is a side. And history will remember which side we were on.

ANTI-ZIONISM IS ANTISEMITISM. PERIOD.

Criticizing Israel’s policies is legitimate. Denying Israel’s right to exist is not. It is vile hatred. It is genocidal. It is antisemitism in its ugliest modern form.

Slogans like “From the river to the sea” and “Free Palestine” are calls for the extermination of Jews and their eradication from their ancestral homeland.

When we chant them, support them, or excuse them, we do not stand with peace-loving people.

We stand with Nazis in a new uniform.

JEWISH BLOOD IS NOT CHEAP

Every time we treat Jewish death as “understandable” or antisemitism as “depending on context,” we desecrate humanity. Every time we excuse terrorism because of politics, we betray the truth.

Jewish blood is not more sacred than any other. But it is not less. And we must stop apologizing for demanding justice, security, and dignity, for ourselves and for our brothers and sisters across the globe.

THIS FIGHT IS FOR ALL OF US

This is not just a Jewish fight. This is a human fight, for truth, for light, for freedom, for civilization itself.

And if we allow one group to be targeted, demonized, and hunted down with impunity, then no one is safe. Not our children. Not our neighbors. Not our future. Because, as history has proven repeatedly, the hate that begins with Jews never ends with Jews. 

Legislation that protects Jews on campuses and in schools must be passed. Students and faculty who glorify terror must be expelled. Chants and protests that call for genocide must be banned.

As the Ethics of our Fathers teaches: “If not now, when?”

SECURITY IS A MORAL OBLIGATION… AND IT MUST BE FUNDED

Unfortunately, in our day and age, protecting Jewish life is not optional.

Every synagogue, school, community center, and Jewish institution must immediately strengthen security. And all branches of government – local, state, and federal along with federations and philanthropic institutions – must fully fund it.

This is not fear. It is vigilance and responsibility. And as the security forces of Temple Israel proved yesterday, it saves lives. 

WE MUST BECOME AGENTS OF LIGHT

This war is not just physical. It is also spiritual.

Each mitzvah we do, each act of kindness, each moment of prayer, each embrace of our Judaism is a protest of light.

Indeed, when Jews are attacked – in Michigan, in Australia, in Israel, or anywhere in the world – the most powerful answer is not retreat. It is light. More light. Louder light. Brighter light. There is no more Jewish response to terror than that.

And thus, please join me with the following immediate actions of light:

Take upon yourself a new mitzvah to increase holiness and banish this darkness. You can choose your mitzvah here: onemitzvah.org

Light Shabbat candles today and every Friday afternoon (Shabbat candle lighting time in Scottsdale today is 6:16pm), and encourage women in your circle, young and old, to light them too.

Let us respond to this horrible terrorist attack not by retreating, but by rising – proudly and unapologetically Jewish – and by adding more and more light to our world, with determination and conviction.

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)