A powerful piece. While we have a few differences, you touch on the critical issue. At the end of the day, it doesn't matter if you are Zionist, anti Zionist, post Zionist, a secular or religious Jew or just some chap who looks a bit "Jewy" like that poor Uzbek in Dagestan- they will come for you. The murderous rage of HAMAS killed Bedouin Arabs, Thais and a host of others for just being there too. Hate crimes against Jews in the US lead Hate crime stats per capita on FBI data for decades. Killing Jews is just about a sport in France. In Australia, where I live, they chant gas the Jews. And we all know what River to the Sea means.

What comes now is all so predictable. HAMAS launch some rockets that mostly get shot down, a few air strikes in return. HAMAS go on a pogrom against Jews with over 1000 dead and make it as brutal and sick as possible- exceptional brutality was always going to get an exceptional response. Not just a few air strikes.

Netanyahu had protests against his power grab for months. Now he has a country united. HAMAS did that. Jews everywhere have woken from our slumber to realise the right cheer us on in some wild clash of civilizations scenario or some apocalyptic religious thing and hardly something we can feel comfortable associating with, and the left who many in the diaspora align with(including myself) essentially want us dead too. What a choice. The meek Jew, the assimilated Jew who will probably not raise their kids Jewish- thousands of years of struggle and survival to have the next generation disappear- these can be tolerating, just, in the West. Until the economy sours, Israel does something, it is a day ending in Y or whatever...we don't want the JDL days. The truth is, we are the remnant of a remnant throughout history and we can only trust ourselves to survive, not rely on anyone else. Stay safe achi. And I am also a Jew who believes Jews and Palestinians can get along- let's face it, only families fight like this. But a lot of things have to change.