For weeks, I had been wanting to talk with Aviva Klompas. She is the guest on my latest Q&A podcast: here. Ms. Klompas is the co-founder and CEO of Boundless Israel, an outfit dedicated to fighting antisemitism and educating people about Israel. Ms. Klompas was once the director of speechwriting for Israel’s permanent mission to the United Nations.
Since October 7, many of us have been following Ms. Klompas on Twitter (now “X”). We have come to rely on her — for information about that day’s attack. And about the hostages still being held. And about outbreaks of antisemitism around the world. (Her X account is here.) Ms. Klompas faces the darkest things, without flinching. She shines a light upon the darkness, so to speak. And this is very unpleasant work. She circulates videos and the like that many people would like to turn away from.
In my view: One does not have to look at every picture or every video. But one should at least be aware of the savagery — including the sexual violence — that Hamas has inflicted on Israelis, and is still inflicting on Israelis.
I say the same about Ukraine: One does not have to know every detail of Russian atrocities in that country — every rape, every mutilation, every murder. But one should not have one’s head in the sand about them.
As we podcast, I tell Aviva Klompas that, while I appreciate her immensely, I don’t envy her. Let me give her reply (edited or paraphrased just slightly):
I think we don’t really grasp the magnitude of what we’re living through. I think that what took place on October 7 is beyond what we’re capable of understanding. And that we’ll get a sense of it only in hindsight, years from now.
I’m quite certain that one day our children and our grandchildren are going to ask us about this time in history. They will hear that Hamas murdered 1,200 people in a single day. They will hear that Hamas took 240 people hostage. They will hear about the atrocities that Hamas committed: murder, torture, rape — absolute brutality.
Given the magnitude of what has happened, I do feel personally responsible to tell these stories, because there were so many times in Jewish history where there was nobody to do so.
Our children and grandchildren will ask us, “How did the world respond? Did international organizations such as the United Nations jump to condemn the terrorists and speak out for the victims? What about human-rights groups?” And we’re going to have to tell them, “No, they did not.”
They will ask, “Well, did ordinary people go out into the streets of capital cities all over the world and denounce Hamas and demand that the hostages be released?” And we’re going to have to tell them that some people did — but most people, appallingly, went out to demonstrate for the terrorists.
Then they will ask, “What did you do?” And that’s the question on my mind every day.
While Ms. Klompas is the target of much hate on social media, there are many, many who appreciate her — silent or reluctant people, who appreciate her boldness in truth-telling, and fact-reporting.
Do you know who is the biggest provider of information about Hamas atrocities? The biggest provider of evidence? Hamas. They revel in their atrocities. They film them, circulate them, celebrate them.
I ask Aviva Klompas a question I have asked several others: In these massive and vitriolic anti-Israel demonstrations, how many people are antisemites and how many are simply going with the political flow? How many are authentic Jew-haters and how many are simply . . . well, “progressives,” caught up in an ideology? Also: Does it matter?
Ms. Klompas answers, in part,
I think there’s a large degree of sheer ignorance. People have swallowed a David-and-Goliath narrative, where Israel is Goliath. Israel is strong and the Palestinians are weak. Therefore, the Palestinians must be in the right.
Ms. Klompas notes that the Soviets waged a far-reaching propaganda campaign against Zionism and Israel — because Israel was backed by the United States. The effects of this campaign are felt yet today.
Many American college students have swallowed an anti-Israel line. Many sound like antisemites. Will they grow out of it?
We can’t just hope that that will happen. There has to be an intentional effort to make antisemitism unacceptable once again. Antisemitism can never be eliminated altogether. But ten, twenty years ago, it was far less acceptable, and far less overt, than it is right now. A reversion to lower levels will not happen by chance. It’s up to every person in every field to participate in making this possible.
Many Jewish Americans are made terribly uncomfortable on campus. They’re made to defend, or speak for, or be accountable for, Israel. Russian students aren’t interrogated about Ukraine, Ms. Klompas points out. Chinese students aren’t interrogated about the genocide of the Uyghurs. Iranian students aren’t interrogated about the crimes of the Islamic Republic. But Jews?
They are singled out. And why? You can make yourself dizzy asking why. Antisemitism is irrational, says Ms. Klompas. An irrational hate. My advice (if anyone seeks it) is: Don’t waste too much time asking why.
We have seen the harassment of Jewish-owned businesses in America. We have seen, in response, support of Jewish-owned businesses. Which is great. In my opinion, however, it’s creepy even to speak of “Jewish-owned businesses.” Why should businesses be known as “Jewish-owned,” negatively or positively? Is that not . . . illiberal and un-American?
Aviva Klompas appreciates my sentiment. And she agrees with me “absolutely,” she says. But:
Your Jewish neighbors and your Jewish friends are not okay. They are not feeling okay. It’s not just that some are hiding their identity. You hear stories about students on campus who won’t leave their dorm room for fear of their physical safety.
This is a time for solidarity, in concrete, visible ways.
Again, to listen to this Q&A, go here. Summing up, Ms. Klompas says,
I really think each of us has to do some soul-searching and understand where we’re going to stand in this moment. We are all on record, somehow. And someday people will ask how we responded. Were you a perpetrator? Were you a bystander? Were you an upstander? Let us choose to be upstanders.