BACKGROUND – TALKING POINTS – ACTIONS – IN MEMORIAM – STORIES
The bond between American and Israeli Jews has deepened – forged by shared challenges since the 10/7 attacks and the rising tide of hatred that followed – targeting not only Israel, but Jews worldwide. Campaigns promoting Jewish pride and resilience have inspired increased solidarity.
The Jewish community enters 2025 with a starkly different Middle East landscape mix of cautious optimism and trepidation – a feature of Jewish history. Positive results and ongoing challenges shape the Jewish narrative as the new year begins.
Positive Trends: Brighter Outlook for American Jews in 2025
While Jewish students still face anti-Jewish incidents and anti-Zionist hostility at universities, visible campus disruptions have sharply declined – about 50% from the spring to fall semesters. Administrators are enforcing new rules created in the aftermath of intimidating and sometimes violent protests targeting Jewish students and their allies. Ohio State Univ. Hillel CEO Naomi Lamb: “I appreciate the response of administrators to ensure that there is as little antisemitic (anti-Jewish) action and rhetoric as possible.” The Univ. of Michigan student government overwhelmingly voted to impeach its student-body president and VP on multiple charges, including incitement to violence.
Despite loud voices of protest, the American Jewish community and Israel continue to receive bipartisan support for major initiatives. Congress restored funding cuts to the Nonprofit Security Grant Program to help safeguard Jewish communities, renewed calls to pass the Antisemitism Awareness Act in the new session and appealed to airlines to restore flights to Israel. Sen. Ted Cruz cited union opposition to the flights that “were motivated solely by pro-Hamas activists” and Rep. Ritchie Torres described the airlines’ position as essentially “a boycott.”
Recently, President Joe Biden notified Congress that his administration was preparing an $8 billion arms package for Israel. President-Elect Donald Trump’s administration is expected to expand its successful Abraham Accords initiative for regional peace and take action against universities failing to protect Jewish students.
Growing Concerns: Radicalization in America
Chants to “Globalize the Intifada,” sermons inciting hatred and the proliferation of online radicalization show how rapidly hate can mutate from words into violence. Anti-Israel protesters in NYC on New Year’s Day chanted, “There is only one solution: Intifada revolution!” Islamist terror incidents targeting Americans increased in 2024.
The deadly terror attack in New Orleans on New Year’s Day happened two weeks after FBI agents arrested an Egyptian citizen and George Mason Univ. student for plotting to attack Jews at the Israeli consulate in NYC. Both pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (ISIS), which praised the truck-ramming attack and called for more violence against Western nations. There were seven other incidents on behalf of ISIS in 2024, including plans to attack Idaho churches, a mass shooting against an NYC Jewish center and a bombing of a Pride parade in Phoenix.
Radicalization within certain U.S. mosques is a growing concern. An imam at a Houston mosque attended by the New Orleans attacker led a sermon in August that described Jews being turned by Allah into “monkeys, pigs and rats,” described Jews as “wreaking havoc across the Earth” and called for Muslims to “defeat the Zionists.” The mosque’s imam praised Hitler in a 2023 sermon.
Online platforms and extremist networks continue to amplify dangerous ideologies. Conspiracy theorists are blaming Jews, Zionists and Americans for the New Orleans attack. On Jan. 2, a former American soldier was indicted for “planning to join Hezbollah and kill Jews.” The Pennsylvania man reportedly researched the location of the prison holding the white supremacist who killed 11 Jews at the Pittsburgh Tree of Life Synagogue in 2018. The Foundation to Combat Antisemitism reported an alarming surge in online antisemitism posts, from 171 million in 2022 to 1.1 billion in 2024.
Anti-Jewish hatred in America continues to infiltrate schools, healthcare settings and public spaces. Two Jewish students attended the “Museum of Terror” hosted by a Columbia Univ. student group. A legal team taught students how to avoid campus surveillance cameras, students praised Hamas terrorist mastermind Yahya Sinwar and a leading anti-Israel agitator called for a “Zionist-free NYC.”
Jewish students also report that anti-Jewish and anti-Zionist hostility has become normalized on campus. Many have been forced to accept this reality to avoid shunning, discrimination and violence. Jewish students have changed the way they interact with other students, where they study or socialize and what they wear to avoid hostility. Some avoid Jewish organizations – Hillel and Chabad – creating a chilling environment for Jewish campus life. These stories are not being reported.
A new ADL survey – Antisemitism in Schools and Support for Holocaust Education – revealed that the children of 71% of Jewish parents and 37% of non-Jewish parents encountered antisemitism in the classroom. About 40% of Jewish medical professionals reported experiencing anti-Jewish hatred and 26% felt unsafe or threatened because of antisemitic incidents.
Positive Trends: Israel Deals Mighty Blow to Iranian Octopus, Possible Hostage Deal Nears
The Iranian axis of terror – Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis – have taken hard hits and suffered severe damage to the infrastructure and capacity to launch attacks. The ousting of Syria’s dictator, Assad – a longtime ally of Iran – can help lead to a peaceful change in a hostile region. The Israeli military took active steps to destroy the Syrian military’s capabilities. These successes weakened Iran and highlighted Israel’s ability to improve its security against overwhelming odds.
Iranian-backed Hamas terrorists are holding 101 Israelis in captivity. The families of each hostage have had to live in a personal hell for more than a year without knowing whether or not their loved ones are alive and in what condition. The terror regime recently released a propaganda video of 19-year-old Liri Albag. Her parents described her condition: “This is not the Liri we know.” Israelis are determined to bring all the captives home either through military operations or even trading hundreds of terrorists, some convicted of heinous crimes. News of a possible release of 34 hostages – alive and deceased – shines another beacon of hope.
Growing Concerns: Iranian Nuclear Threat Remains
Despite Israel’s significant military achievements in 2024, Iran remains intent on destroying the world’s only Jewish state. The Islamic Republic is on the threshold of developing nuclear weapons – and is threatening to accelerate its program – that would serve as an umbrella of protection for its terrorist proxies.
Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen continued launching missiles into Israel during Hanukkah, forcing Israelis into bomb shelters during the Jewish holiday, usually in the middle of the night. The attacks by the group whose slogan is “God is the Greatest, Death to America, Death to Israel, A curse upon the Jews, Victory to Islam,” received little press coverage in the U.S., leaving Americans unaware of the ongoing violence.
Recently, Hamas terrorists began launching rockets again from Gaza while the group continues to support the destruction of the Palestinian citizens it governs – proving that Hamas has not been defeated. One rocket hit an Israeli rabbi’s home for the third time. Palestinian terrorists killed three Israelis and wounded eight more in a West Bank shooting attack on a bus and cars.
Israel foiled 1,040 major terror attacks in the West Bank and Jerusalem in 2024. A new Hamas militant leader called on supporters to “go and besiege Israeli and American embassies.”
The mistreatment of hostages by Hamas remains a stain on humanity, with survivors recounting harrowing abuse and exploitation. Israel’s Ministry of Health submitted a report to the UN: Mental and Physical State of Hostages Released from Hamas Captivity. It revealed new details about how terrorists have burned, beaten and starved Israeli hostages, and that teens were forced to perform sexual acts on each other.
The phrase “New Orleans” was used 171,000 times in conversations regarding topics of antisemitism following the terrorist attack in New Orleans on the night crossing into New Year’s Day. The phrase was used to share concerns after the attacker’s connections to ISIS and other antisemitic ideologies were revealed. The FCAS Command Center also tracked numerous conspiratorial posts that claimed Jews/Zionists/Israel were responsible for the attack in New Orleans.
Data courtesy of the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism, which publishes a weekly newsletter related to its campaign #StandUpToJewishHate 🟦 at https://www.fcas.org/newsletter/
Christian Friend of the Jewish People and Israel Mourned by the Jewish Community
The Focus Project mourns the passing of Olga Meshoe Washington, a friend and colleague who supported Israel and the Jewish people as CEO of DEISI International (Defend, Embrace, Invest In and Support Israel) and through our partner, Institute for Black Solidarity with Israel. As a devout Christian and “daughter of Africa,” Olga, a brilliant attorney, defended Israel wherever she traveled, from speaking to teen organizations to the United Nations. She died Monday, Jan. 6, at the age of 43.
‘Wonder Woman’ Ágnes Klein Keleti: Holocaust Survivor Won 10 Olympic Gymnastics Medals
Ágnes Keleti – a Holocaust survivor and Olympic gymnastics legend – recently passed away, one week short of her 104th birthday. Born in Budapest, Hungary, she survived World War II by assuming a false identity. After the war, she became Hungary’s most decorated Olympian, winning 10 medals – including five golds – at the 1952 and 1956 Games, competing against athletes 10 years younger.
Ágnes later immigrated to Israel and founded the country’s gymnastics program, inspiring generations with her triumph over adversity. Keleti was with Israel’s Olympic team in 1972, but was away from the nation’s dorm rooms when Palestinian terrorists killed 11 team members. Her remarkable legacy endures as a testament to perseverance and the power of the human spirit.
Former President Jimmy Carter Dies at 100
Carter led the historic Camp David Accords peace agreement between Egypt and Israel during his presidency in 1978 – fostering peace between two enemies of 30 years.
Growing Concerns: Attacks Against Jews Around the World Continue
Attacks against Jews in other countries remain at alarming levels. Protesters in Toronto marked the 5th anniversary of the U.S. killing of an Iranian terrorist leader by burning American, Marine Corps and Israeli flags, and chanting: “Death to America! Death to Israel!”
On Dec. 24, a Dutch court sentenced five men who took part in Amsterdam’s Jew hunt. Sentences ranged from 100 hours of community service to six months of jail time. The perpetrators actions included kicking someone in the face, stating “I might never get this chance to beat up f*cking Jews again,” asking individuals to share the location of Jews, sending information about hotels where Israeli football fans were staying and messaging about “hunting Jews.” Another perpetrator faces an attempted murder charge, but his case was postponed so he can undergo a psychiatric assessment. This may allow him to be released without a trial.
Stories Impacting the U.S. and Israel
Stories From Around the World
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This content is developed by The Focus Project in partnership with MERCAZ USA. The Focus Project distributes weekly news and talking points on timely issues concerning Israel and the Jewish people, including antisemitism, anti-Zionism and the delegitimization of Israel. It represents a consensus view across a spectrum of major American Jewish organizations. MERCAZ USA recognizes and respects the diversity of views on these issues among its readers and the community at large.