Wednesday, 5 Tishrei 5787 [approx. September 16, 2026]
Shock in New York, Equanimity in Jerusalem…
The Jewish world is shaken by difficult sights in the heart of New York—neo-Nazi activists have held an antisemitic demonstration in the city in recent days, wearing armbands bearing swastikas, chanting “Heil Hitler,” and shouting slogans against Jews. The event occurred just a few streets away from where the official memorial ceremony marking the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks was being held, and the protesters continued their activity without intervention from the authorities.
Behind the demonstration stands a neo-Nazi organization that defines itself as “White Socialist,” presenting as part of its goals the preservation of the white person’s status and the struggle against what it defines as Jewish influence. Alongside the Nazi symbols and calls praising Hitler, chants of “Free Palestine” and antisemitic slogans against what the protesters termed “Jewish power” and “Jewish manipulations” were also heard at the scene.
What do you say? Shocking, isn’t it? Brings gloomy thoughts? Illustrates how the ground is shaking beneath the feet of New York’s Jews, when the city with the largest Jewish population in the world is under attack from a Hamas-supporting mayor, and two ends of the political spectrum in the US join hands in a coalition that at first glance seems completely absurd? But in practice, one sees that there is much in common between neo-Nazis and radical Islam, and the main thing in common is the hatred of Israel. The love story between the German Führer and the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem during World War II—who was the only non-German allowed to enter Auschwitz and view the work of extermination—certainly serves as inspiration for the alliance of haters.
And it is already brought in the book Kol HaTor (Part 2, Chapter 2, Letter B)—”The special role of Mashiach ben Yosef is against Eisav (Esau), the Klipah (shell) of the Left, and the special role of Mashiach ben David is against Yishmael (Ishmael), the Klipah of the Right, and both together against Eisav and Yishmael, who are the impure Ox and Donkey. The joining of Eisav and Yishmael occurs through Armilus, the minister of the Erev Rav (Mixed Multitude), and it can destroy Israel and the entire world, Heaven forbid.”
Indeed, it is shocking to see the fulfillment of that coalition of Eisav and Yishmael in the streets of New York. However, before we express our disgust at the phenomenon, it is worth putting things into the proper perspective—not to minimize the danger posed to New York’s Jews, but to point a finger at the far more urgent danger.
In the US, neo-Nazi groups constitute a noisy and vocal minority that, while enjoying the First Amendment to the American Constitution regarding freedom of speech, still stands on the margins of society and receives fierce condemnation from all sides of the political spectrum. In the Land of Israel, on the other hand, stand their Muslim allies, who openly aspire to destroy Israel and enjoy broad international legitimacy—and even among their potential victims, the Jews in Israel, they receive understanding and forgiveness.
The terrible massacre in the Gaza envelope enjoyed massive support from a population that, even when their homes were destroyed and they were forced to evacuate en masse with tens of thousands of dead and wounded, did not prevent them from providing a backing that allowed the murderers to hold the Israeli hostages for two full years. The Arabs of Judea and Samaria also overwhelmingly supported the massacre; according to one survey, about 81% admitted to this openly, and among the rest, it is unclear how many opposed it for reasons of expediency and what negligible minority actually saw a problem with murdering Jews. Israeli Arabs—those holding blue ID cards and enjoying all rights—also vote in droves in Knesset elections for parties that openly call for the erasure of the Jewish state, aside from those who are unwilling to recognize Israel even for political purposes and support the Northern Branch of the Islamic Movement. Yoseph Haddad is a curiosity in the landscape of Israeli Arabs, drawing his support overwhelmingly from the Jewish public.
Are you still worried, dear readers, about those nonentities who salute with raised arms in the streets of New York and spread various strange conspiracy theories about Jewish power in Washington inspired by The Protocols of the Elders of Zion? Indeed, they should not be underestimated, especially if a severe economic crisis pushes many Americans to look for easy solutions and a charismatic leader might arise to direct the arrows of frustration toward the Jews. But I am much more worried about Achmad Tibi and Mansour Abbas, who with their smooth talking become legitimate interlocutors in Israeli political discourse, while in speeches in Arabic they reveal their true aspiration, which is no different from that of the Nazis in New York or anywhere else in the world.
The problem is that in the discourse of political correctness dictated by progressivism, antisemitism and hatred of Israel are forbidden only when they come from the political right. When they come from a place of the struggle of the oppressed against the oppressors, when they serve the “Palestinian” narrative of colonialist Zionism, of the Nakba, of Israel as an apartheid state—it is not only legitimate, but it wins prestigious awards at international festivals. When it is backed by political support from European countries like Britain, Norway, and others—it becomes the ultimate expression of enlightenment, progress, and all good things.
The time has come to strip the mask from the Yishmael-Nazi coalition and relate to the neo-Nazis in our midst exactly as we relate to those marching in the streets of New York. There is no difference between the swastika and the flags of the PLO and Hamas, and Israel’s readiness to negotiate with those murderers instead of wiping them off the face of the earth is nothing less than surrender to the progressive narrative that turns the aggressor into a victim and the victim into an aggressor, light into darkness and darkness into light, good into evil and evil into good, and generally intentionally blurs the entire world of values in order to remove all restraint and deny the Creator of the world.
May the words of Kol HaTor be a lamp to our feet, and may we merit to fulfill the destiny of Mashiach ben Yosef, to break the coalition of Israel’s haters, to eradicate the heirs of Hitler and Haj Amin al-Husseini, and then the scripture will be fulfilled in us—”And saviors shall ascend Mount Zion to judge the mount of Eisav, and to Hashem will be the kingdom!”
This article is a translation of the words of Rabbi Yehuda Epstein, Chairman of Agudat Kedushat Tzion (Zion)