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The anniversary of the horrific attacks on October 7, 2023, should have been a time of mourning, reflection, and solidarity with the State of Israel. Because we live in an upside down and horrific world, however, it became an excuse for all those who want to see the Jewish state destroyed to march proudly and freely advocating as such, and for Jew-haters to spread their lies and propaganda with impunity. While not the sole perpetrators of this evil, the actions done on the campuses of Queens College and Columbia are especially noteworthy.

Last week, former President Donald Trump made a special trip to the Ohel in Queens on the first anniversary of the October 7 attacks in Israel.  There, he was joined by Ben Shapiro, arguably the most famous non-rabbinical religious Jew in America, so they could say a prayer at the final resting place of the Lubavitcher Rebbe.  

(Oct. 11, 2024 / JNS) On Yom Kippur, there was, as there is every year, a lot of collective breast-beating in the American Jewish community for all that we’ve done wrong. And, then, as usual, we generally go back to doing many of the same things as soon as the fast is broken and our stomachs full. That this will happen is human nature and no different from innumerable times in the past when we have made collective promises.

Early voting has begun, and tens of thousands of ballots have already been cast in the Empire State.  Well before any polls open on October 26, and certainly before election day on November 5, New Yorkers are receiving ballots via mail and filling them out.  Aside from selecting the President, Senator, State Senator, Member of Assembly, or the myriads of judges they may have to face in court someday, New Yorkers are flipping that ballot over and determining if men are allowed to violate women’s species and privacy.

“Ufros alainu succot shlomecha” - spread upon us the sukkah (covering) of your peace. The joyous Yom Tov of Sukkos is rapidly approaching. (If you are reading this on Sukkos, well, it’s already here.) The song “v’samachta, b’chagecha, v’hayita…” is more associated with Sukkos than other Yomim Tovim. This is not a coincidence. Why is it that way?

Oct. 7, 2024, marked one complete year since the Jewish world was turned upside down. The barbaric incursion of hordes of Gazan terrorists butchered more than 1200 Israelis and took hostage 250 people from more than 25 nations. In response, Israel has been involved in a multifront war with enemies determined to destroy it. Make no mistake: This is not a battle aimed at the creation of a Palestinian State. Hamas, in its Charter, and Iran since its founding as a fundamentalist Islamic theocracy in 1979, repeatedly state that their goal is the elimination of the Zionist State. Such rhetoric should not be ignored. On September 16, 1919, Hitler issued his first written comment on Jews. He defined the Jews as a race and not a religious community and characterized Jews as a “race-tuberculosis of the peoples.” Hitler stated that the ultimate goal of the German government should definitely be to remove the Jews altogether.