Supporting Israel now means supporting Israelis everywhere.
The mounting pressure on Israelis has moved far beyond the Jewish state's borders.
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Since October 7th, something dangerous has happened far beyond the borders of Israel itself: Being Israeli has increasingly become treated not merely as a nationality, but as a public accusation.
Across universities, entertainment industries, sports arenas, restaurants, academic conferences, and cultural institutions, Israelis abroad have found themselves singled out for harassment, intimidation, boycotts, doxing campaigns, public shaming, ideological loyalty tests, and threats.
Not because of something they personally did, but because they are Israeli — and diaspora Jews must understand what is unfolding before it becomes normalized.
For decades, many Jews outside Israel viewed the Jewish state as a distant cousin — emotionally meaningful perhaps, politically complicated perhaps, but still geographically removed from their own daily lives.
October 7th and its aftermath shattered that illusion. The attack by Hamas did not merely target Israelis physically. It unleashed a global social permission structure not again Israeli policies or the Israeli government, but against all Israelis everywhere. I’m talking about Israeli athletes, musicians, proofessors, chefs, artists, filmmakers, executives, business owners, speakers, students, and everyday civilians. The old fantasy that there was a neat line separating “anti-Zionism” from hostility toward actual Israelis has collapsed in public view.
Consider what has happened just in recent weeks.
Deni Avdija, a player for the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers, has increasingly become a symbol of how Israeli public figures are now treated internationally. In-arena and online antisemitism directed at him has surged since October 7th, and even milestone achievements have become politicized.
When Avdija became the first Israeli NBA All-Star earlier this year, acclaimed filmmaker Spike Lee attended the event wearing overtly “pro-Palestinian” clothing, turning what should have been a celebration of athletic achievement into another stage for political signaling aimed at an Israeli athlete.
During the playoffs recently, tensions escalated further when Avdija clashed with San Antonio’s Stephon Castle during Game 4 of their first-round series after Castle allegedly made anti-Israel remarks, resulting in shoves and double technical fouls. Avdija later described the behavior as “disrespectful.”
What stands out is not merely criticism of Israeli policy, but the growing assumption that Israeli athletes themselves should be treated as political symbols first and human beings second — a pattern that extends far beyond basketball.
Israeli soccer players across Europe have required heightened security. Israeli teams have competed under threats and protests. Fans carrying Israeli flags have been assaulted in cities that proudly market themselves as “inclusive.”
The message Israelis increasingly receive abroad is simple: You may participate publicly, but only if you apologize for existing.
The arts world has become equally hostile.
Israeli musicians and performers have faced concert disruptions, cancellations, and intimidation campaigns. Israeli singer David D’Or was attacked during a performance in Warsaw when a protester stormed the stage waving a Palestinian flag and threw red paint at him mid-performance.
The Eurovision Song Contest, once sold as a celebration of music transcending politics, has become one of the clearest examples of this phenomenon. Tensions over Israel’s participation escalated dramatically over the past two years and reached a peak this year, when five countries withdrew or refused to participate in protest of Israel’s inclusion, the largest political boycott crisis in Eurovision history.
This year’s Israeli contestant, Noam Bettan, was followed by protesters in Vienna and openly discussed rehearsing to the sound of booing in preparation for performing. Eurovision director Martin Green publicly admitted that the contest was going through “challenging times.”
Think about the psychological abnormality of this: A singer now practices performing through hatred because he represents the Jewish state. This is not merely political critique; it is collective targeting.
Israeli professors and academics have experienced similar treatment. Shai Davidai became internationally known after confronting Columbia University administrators over anti-Israel extremism on campus. He was later barred from Columbia’s campus amid massive tensions surrounding October 7th commemorations and anti-Israel demonstrations. More broadly, Israeli academics have reported increasing exclusion, harassment, lecture cancellations, and intimidation at international conferences since October 7th.
Again, notice what is happening beneath the rhetoric: The Israeli passport itself is increasingly being treated as a scarlet letter.
Chefs and restaurateurs have faced boycotts and online targeting campaigns. Israeli-owned restaurants abroad have seen protest mobs outside their businesses. Artists and filmmakers have faced demands to denounce Israel publicly as a condition for professional acceptance.
Even silence is no longer sufficient. Israelis are increasingly expected to perform ideological repentance rituals simply to participate in normal public life.
And perhaps most disturbing of all is the rise of organized doxing efforts.
In both Australia and Canada, lists identifying Jews and Israelis — including professionals, activists, business owners, and community members — have circulated online alongside accusations, intimidation campaigns, and calls for ostracization. Australia in particular has seen explosive public testimony about rising antisemitism, harassment, exclusion, and doxing since October 7th.
Historically, Jews should recognize the danger here immediately: Societies become dangerous for Jews long before they become physically violent toward Jews. The process usually begins socially: isolation, humiliation, economic targeting, public marking, moral delegitimization, professional exclusion, and the normalization of collective guilt.
The frightening part is not merely that extremists engage in this behavior; it’s how many educated institutions increasingly tolerate it. Universities tolerate it. Cultural organizations rationalize it. Media outlets soften it. Activist movements excuse it. Professional circles normalize it.
And Israelis abroad are increasingly left absorbing the consequences alone. This is precisely why diaspora Jews must support Israelis now more than ever — because no Jew should accept a world in which Israelis are collectively targeted.
Diaspora Jews cannot outsource this responsibility to Israeli diplomats, public relations campaigns, or security organizations. This is a civilizational moment for the Jewish world itself. Indeed, what is happening to Israelis today rarely stays confined to Israelis.
History repeatedly shows that hostility toward the Jewish state often becomes hostility toward Jews who refuse to sufficiently distance themselves from it. The demand placed upon diaspora Jews quietly evolves condemning more, apologizing louder, separating yourself further, and proving your moral worthiness. And eventually, even that is not enough.
October 7th exposed something many Jews desperately wanted to believe had disappeared: the speed at which Jews can again become socially unsafe in supposedly enlightened societies. Israelis are simply standing at the front edge of that storm, which means diaspora Jews face a choice: Treat Israelis as an embarrassment to distance from, or treat them as family to stand beside.
This is not merely about politics anymore. It is about whether Jews will allow the public dehumanization of Israelis to become an accepted feature of Western life, and whether Jewish solidarity still means something when it becomes inconvenient.
For generations, diaspora Jews supported Israel primarily from afar. They planted trees through various organizations. They donated money during wars and emergencies. They bought Israel Bonds. They visited Jerusalem, floated in the Dead Sea, sent their children on Birthright trips, and filled synagogue campaigns with blue-and-white flags and fundraising appeals.
Israel was something many Jews loved deeply, but often at a geographic distance. Support meant helping Israelis over there. That model is no longer sufficient for this moment, because Israelis are no longer only under pressure in Israel. They are under pressure in New York, London, Toronto, Sydney, Paris, Los Angeles, and campuses and cultural institutions across the West.
Jewish solidarity must become local, visible, and woven into everyday life. Supporting Israelis today means deliberately showing up for Israeli people, businesses, culture, and creativity wherever they are. Eat at more Israeli restaurants more often. Buy more Israeli products at the supermarket. Attend more Israeli film screenings. Purchase more Israeli books and other publications. Stream more Israeli musicians. Invite more Israeli speakers. Support more Israeli-owned businesses. Promote more Israeli artists.
The point is not performative politics; it is refusing to allow Israelis to become socially isolated in Western societies and elsewhere.
In many ways, this is a return to something historically Jewish: economic, communal, and cultural solidarity. Jews survived for centuries not only because of belief, but because they built networks of mutual support strong enough to withstand hostile environments.
Israelis abroad increasingly need that same ecosystem now — not abstract sympathy, not occasional statements after crises, but real participation, real presence, and real friendship even when it carries social cost.
As much as anything else, diaspora Jews must internalize that there is no distinction between Israeli Jews and them. That support for Israel is a mandatory aspect of being a Jew and that no Jew should ever make common cause with our enemies. Ever. Criticism must remain in house. External solidarity mandatory. And any Jew that refuses to do this has exommunicated themselves from the Jewish people.
This dreadful situation is anathema!
I always support Israelis and will continue to do so with passion