Today marks the anniversary of the devastating anti-Jewish Nazi rampage of Kristallnacht. As we see anti-Semitic hate crimes rising both here in America and abroad, we have to ask ourselves — could Kristallnacht happen again? And are we ready to stand with our Jewish friends and neighbors (as we must) if it does?
Kristallnacht (“Crystal Night” or “Night of Broken Glass”) happened on Nov. 9 and 10 in 1938 in Nazi Germany. The rioting Nazis “torched synagogues, vandalized Jewish homes, schools and businesses, and murdered close to 100 Jews,” according to History.com.
Of course, tragically, the Nazi hatred for Jews led to the Holocaust, in which between 5.8 million and 6.6 million Jews were murdered. “Never again,” was the slogan that museums used about the Holocaust. But it’s starting to happen again, both in the heinous Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack on Israel and in the pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel protests around the world.
Hamas, its funders in the Palestinian Authority (PA), and multiple Muslim countries that back it (including Iran and Qatar) are just as determined to commit genocide against the Jews as ever the Nazis were. The thousands in America and other countries who marched cheering the “martyrs” (i.e. terrorists) and endorsing the violent and unjust seizing of Israel’s land (“from the river to the sea…”) are in sympathy with that bloody anti-Semitism.
Related: It Must Be a 'Coincidence' That Nazis Picked Kristallnacht for Pro-Hamas U.S. School Protests
As we see anti-Semitic hate crimes on the rise, we have to wonder if Kristallnacht could happen right here in America. And if it does, we must be ready to take a stand against it, even at risk to ourselves. The global Jewish population never recovered from the Holocaust. We cannot allow such a staggering massacre to happen a second time.
I already reported in October on the stunning 1350% increase in anti-Semitic crimes in London after the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war. Unfortunately, across the Atlantic, New York is also seeing a similar crisis. On Nov. 9, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency cited data from the New York Police Department (NYPD) to announce 69 anti-Jewish crimes in October. “The number of antisemitic crimes in October marked a 214% increase over the same month last year,” JTA explained. In fact, it was the “highest single month total since October 2021.”
In Australia, anti-Israel protestors chanted, “Gas the Jews.” We are perilously close to a second Kristallnacht and even a second Holocaust. The Oct. 7 massacre was the worst single slaughter of Jews since the Holocaust. Whether Jewish, Christian, or otherwise religiously affiliated, we all need to take a public stand against this dangerous anti-Semitism. The new Nazis must know that they cannot target Jews without resistance.
