Left: The ruins of the Tielshafer Synagogue in Berlin, burnt by the Nazis on ‘Kristallnacht’ in November 1938. (Photo by Fred Ramage/Keystone Features/Getty Images) Right: Destroyed cars and belongings left at the Supernova Music Festival site (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)
Thursday was the 85th anniversary of Kristallnacht, the infamous night when Jewish homes, stores, and schools were ransacked and vandalized while many Jews were beaten and murdered. This happened before WW2 started. German citizens stood by and watched their neighbors and friends being targeted, and did nothing. The next morning, my grandfather who was seven at the time, was forced to clean up the shattered glass from the sidewalks while on his knees. Jewish families apparently assumed that this was as bad as it was going to get and it’ll pass over, not fathoming that over the next seven years, 6 million European Jews will be murdered, including six of my great-grandparents. I grew up hearing these stories and confidently believed that this could only happen in history books …that the world would NEVER let anything like that happen again.
I sit here today with tears in my eyes and a deep pain which is difficult to describe — a combination of helplessness, fear, anger, and sadness. Every day, I’m seeing more and more protests with signs of “Gas the Jews” and “Hitler was right,” Jewish stores vandalized, hate crimes against Jews skyrocketing this last month. Universities are cowardly standing behind the First Amendment when confronted on how they’re allowing hatred and assaults against Jewish students happen on their campuses. I keep on finding myself in disbelief that this is actually happening and the vast majority of people, including my friends, are not only not saying anything, but don’t even see it. I finally understand what I never quite understood before: How did the world see what was happening when the Holocaust occurred and not do anything? It’s because they didn’t even “see” it. They were busy with their own lives and didn’t care because it was not their problem.
“I finally understand what I never quite understood before — How did the world see what was happening when the Holocaust occurred and not do anything? It’s because they didn’t even ‘see’ it.”
The world needs to wake up and see that history is repeating itself. That a terrorist group has hijacked the minds of college students and “well-meaning” people and created a global army to help them achieve their ultimate goal: To eliminate Israel and rid the world of Jews.
Israel was forced into this war because innocent civilians were brutally massacred, tortured, raped and kidnapped from their homes and they have every right, just like any other country, to defend itself and protect its citizens. Any other spin on what is happening is only supporting and justifying terrorism and enabling a landscape for history to repeat itself. Israel did not start this war. But they will make sure that it will NEVER happen again.
The column went from being about a neighborhood to being all over the map. Now, I can’t attend any event, watch any movie, read any essay, discover any story, hear any conversation, see any news item without thinking, “this might be a column.”
Unlike Dana Nessel, most Jews still consider the existence of the Jewish people, and the Jewish state, to be a Jewish value. They’re proud to be Jews—and they’re equally proud of the role Jews have played in human history.
For the authors, that legacy embodies the book’s central message: that even in the face of unbearable loss, compassion, presence and community can help transform grief into an enduring act of care.
This is where the Holocaust story begins – not in the gas chambers of Auschwitz, but earlier, with the Nazi regime’s Aktion T4 program, a state-sponsored campaign to murder people with disabilities.
For the Jewish community, this threat is particularly severe because Jewish life is built around proximity, continuity and intergenerational relationships.
Kristallnacht and Hamas
Karen Porat
Thursday was the 85th anniversary of Kristallnacht, the infamous night when Jewish homes, stores, and schools were ransacked and vandalized while many Jews were beaten and murdered. This happened before WW2 started. German citizens stood by and watched their neighbors and friends being targeted, and did nothing. The next morning, my grandfather who was seven at the time, was forced to clean up the shattered glass from the sidewalks while on his knees. Jewish families apparently assumed that this was as bad as it was going to get and it’ll pass over, not fathoming that over the next seven years, 6 million European Jews will be murdered, including six of my great-grandparents. I grew up hearing these stories and confidently believed that this could only happen in history books …that the world would NEVER let anything like that happen again.
I sit here today with tears in my eyes and a deep pain which is difficult to describe — a combination of helplessness, fear, anger, and sadness. Every day, I’m seeing more and more protests with signs of “Gas the Jews” and “Hitler was right,” Jewish stores vandalized, hate crimes against Jews skyrocketing this last month. Universities are cowardly standing behind the First Amendment when confronted on how they’re allowing hatred and assaults against Jewish students happen on their campuses. I keep on finding myself in disbelief that this is actually happening and the vast majority of people, including my friends, are not only not saying anything, but don’t even see it. I finally understand what I never quite understood before: How did the world see what was happening when the Holocaust occurred and not do anything? It’s because they didn’t even “see” it. They were busy with their own lives and didn’t care because it was not their problem.
The world needs to wake up and see that history is repeating itself. That a terrorist group has hijacked the minds of college students and “well-meaning” people and created a global army to help them achieve their ultimate goal: To eliminate Israel and rid the world of Jews.
Israel was forced into this war because innocent civilians were brutally massacred, tortured, raped and kidnapped from their homes and they have every right, just like any other country, to defend itself and protect its citizens. Any other spin on what is happening is only supporting and justifying terrorism and enabling a landscape for history to repeat itself. Israel did not start this war. But they will make sure that it will NEVER happen again.
Did you enjoy this article?
You'll love our roundtable.
Editor's Picks
Israel and the Internet Wars – A Professional Social Media Review
The Invisible Student: A Tale of Homelessness at UCLA and USC
What Ever Happened to the LA Times?
Who Are the Jews On Joe Biden’s Cabinet?
You’re Not a Bad Jewish Mom If Your Kid Wants Santa Claus to Come to Your House
No Labels: The Group Fighting for the Political Center
Latest Articles
Deuteronomy’s Directions for America
A New Borscht Belt?
Judaism as a Covenant for the Ages
A Summit to Remember
Old-Guard Dems Pushing Back
What Will Life Ask of Us This New Year?
Why I Write
The column went from being about a neighborhood to being all over the map. Now, I can’t attend any event, watch any movie, read any essay, discover any story, hear any conversation, see any news item without thinking, “this might be a column.”
Assassinating Reinhard Heydrich Was the Bravest Act of World War II
Operation Anthropoid, the destruction of Lidice, and why Jan Kubiš and Jozef Gabčík belong among the greatest heroes of the Second World War
Tovah Feldshuh on Israel’s Critics, Her Career and ‘Tovah,’ a New Documentary
Feldshuh said the documentary has provided an opportunity to look back on a career she has never been particularly interested in viewing as finished.
Does Jewish Existence Conflict with Human Survival?
Unlike Dana Nessel, most Jews still consider the existence of the Jewish people, and the Jewish state, to be a Jewish value. They’re proud to be Jews—and they’re equally proud of the role Jews have played in human history.
Michigan Rabbi Says El-Sayed’s Apology is a Non-Apology
Michigan Rabbi Asher Lopatin recently spoke about how while he usually voted for Democrats, he will not be voting for Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed.
The Jewish Agency’s Campers2Gether Program Brings Israeli Teens to Jewish Summer Camps in LA
Campers2Gether sends more than 700 Israeli teens from communities that have been impacted by the war to 34 Jewish overnight camps in North America.
Payback Against Palestinian Terrorists
Terrorism is of such an extraordinary nature that it requires little moral justification to apply the death penalty.
Rabbis of LA | The Making of a Social Justice Rabbi
Second of two parts
L.A. Educators Visit Israel with JNF-USA, Camp Alonim’s ’Wine and Song,’ Shabbat in the Park
Notable people and events in the Jewish LA community.
When You Come (to dinner) — A poem for Parsha Ki Tavo
We went to dinner the other night, and when we asked if we could bring anything, they said no, but if you want, you could bring dessert or fruit…
A Moment in Time: Showing Up
Erroneous: That Israel has Renewed an Eye for an Eye
A Bisl Torah — Season of Renewal
What is it that we want to renew within ourselves, strengthen, embolden, and what characteristics and traits should ultimately be discarded?
Mark Ruffalo, Meet Dolly Parton
Instead of the arrogance of cynicism, Parton embodied the innocence of humility. We could all use some of that humility.
Print Issue: Debunking the Lie of the Century | August 28, 2026
An investigative journalist offers a primer to debunk the “genocide” libel against Israel.
Sinai Rabbis Publish Guide to Help Clergy Navigate Unimaginable Loss
For the authors, that legacy embodies the book’s central message: that even in the face of unbearable loss, compassion, presence and community can help transform grief into an enduring act of care.
Before Auschwitz: The Forgotten Nazi Program That Paved the Way for the Holocaust
This is where the Holocaust story begins – not in the gas chambers of Auschwitz, but earlier, with the Nazi regime’s Aktion T4 program, a state-sponsored campaign to murder people with disabilities.
When Renting Beats Buying, Los Angeles Risks Losing Its Jewish Future
For the Jewish community, this threat is particularly severe because Jewish life is built around proximity, continuity and intergenerational relationships.
Rabbis of LA | Justice, Justice Rabbi Simonds Pursues
First of two parts
Birthright Israel Summer Event, New Interim Rabbi, NLP Hike
Notable people and events in the Jewish LA community.
More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.