A year after the attacks on September 11, 2001, Osama bin Laden, the late leader of Al-Qaida, sent a message to his victims purporting to explain his motives. Two decades later, his message is going viral on TikTok as stunned young people gawp at the camera and recommend the letter to their thousands of followers.
“Everyone should read it,” reports one user.
“I will never look at life the same,” says another.
“He was right,” says a third.
There are a few lessons we should draw from this trend.
Number One: it is increasingly impossible to state that the internet has done anything good for us as a society — at least not anything good enough to offset the tremendous harm it has wrought on our culture, our mental health, our politics, and our families. Osama bin Laden becoming a folk hero on a Chinese spy app that is systematically melting American brains should be all the confirmation we need of this fact.
Number Two: Anti-Zionism and Anti-Americanism are intimately connected, both in the minds of American progressives and within terrorist organizations themselves. That said, anti-Zionism will always be more dangerous to Jews than anti-Americanism is to Americans, because no one in the West is seriously calling for the dismantling of America the way people call for the dismantling and the destruction of Israel.
Moreover, while America is obviously the mightier and the more influential country, Israel draws disproportionate ire. Bin Laden’s letter, despite being addressed “to America” displays an obsession with Israel and the Jews, which is no doubt the reason why American progressives, who are equally obsessed with hating Israel, have embraced it.
“Why are we fighting and opposing you?” bin Laden asks. “Because you attacked us and continue to attack us. You attacked us in Palestine … It brings us both laughter and tears to see that you have not yet tired of repeating your fabricated lies that the Jews have a historical right to Palestine, as it was promised to them in the Torah. Anyone who disputes with them on this alleged fact is accused of anti-semitism. This is one of the most fallacious, widely-circulated fabrications in history.”
The letter goes on: “the Jews have taken control of your economy, through which they have then taken control of your media, and now control all aspects of your life making you their servants and achieving their aims at your expense; precisely what Benjamin Franklin warned you against.”
Take a minute to let this sink in. This antisemitic screed is the very thing “opening the eyes” of seemingly normal young people on TikTok. They report crying and a sense of disorientation. They have woken up into a new world defined by a new truth. It is almost like a conversion narrative—but what exactly are they converting to?
In the past month, an entire generation of Americans has been exposed to a wave of slander against Israel in particular and Jews in general. Israel has been accused of genocide for the crime of trying to defend itself against a jihadist terror organization. Israel has been accused of settler colonialism in the very land where Jewish history began. Israel has been demonized as a terror state in the wake of being hit by the third deadliest terror attack worldwide in the past 50 years.
The rhetoric of the past month has primed countless Americans to accept bin Laden’s worldview, which is that “the creation of Israel is a crime which must be erased” and that “each and every person whose hands have become polluted in the contribution towards this crime must pay its price, and pay for it heavily.”
Antisemitism is both a hatred and a conspiracy theory. Because of this, the conversion moment takes the form of a sudden stroke of insight.
Antisemitism is both a hatred and a conspiracy theory. Because of this, the conversion moment takes the form of a sudden stroke of insight. The new acolyte is convinced that they have peered behind the curtain. Now, all the pieces fall together, and all the various strands of world history converge on a single culprit: The Jew.
We see this conspiratorial trope in Alice Walker’s infamous poem: “It Is Our (Frightful) Duty To Study The Talmud.” In the poem, Walker plays the role of a detective. She is confused by the cruelty of the Jews towards the Palestinians and so, eager for answers, she peers into the Talmud.
There she finds a vile manual for oppressing goyim and she realizes, with horror, that this story is much bigger than the Palestinians, who are only one “cruel example of what may be done with impunity, and without conscience, by a Chosen people.” Rather, there is “an ancient history of oppression.”
The people on TikTok are in the throes of a similar revelation. They are realizing that the problem with the Jews is bigger and more all-encompassing than they ever imagined.
Once seen, they believe, it cannot be unseen.
It is the same ancient hate that has chased us around the globe for millenia.
Look into their faces. There is an exhilaration — the kind that comes from making a new and fascinating discovery. Of course, we Jews know that there is nothing new about it. It is the same ancient hate that has chased us around the globe for millenia.
We also know where such thinking inevitably leads.
Matthew Schultz is a Jewish Journal columnist and rabbinical student at Hebrew College. He is the author of the essay collection “What Came Before” (Tupelo, 2020) and lives in Boston and Jerusalem.
Antisemitism’s New Converts
Matthew Schultz
A year after the attacks on September 11, 2001, Osama bin Laden, the late leader of Al-Qaida, sent a message to his victims purporting to explain his motives. Two decades later, his message is going viral on TikTok as stunned young people gawp at the camera and recommend the letter to their thousands of followers.
“Everyone should read it,” reports one user.
“I will never look at life the same,” says another.
“He was right,” says a third.
There are a few lessons we should draw from this trend.
Number One: it is increasingly impossible to state that the internet has done anything good for us as a society — at least not anything good enough to offset the tremendous harm it has wrought on our culture, our mental health, our politics, and our families. Osama bin Laden becoming a folk hero on a Chinese spy app that is systematically melting American brains should be all the confirmation we need of this fact.
Number Two: Anti-Zionism and Anti-Americanism are intimately connected, both in the minds of American progressives and within terrorist organizations themselves. That said, anti-Zionism will always be more dangerous to Jews than anti-Americanism is to Americans, because no one in the West is seriously calling for the dismantling of America the way people call for the dismantling and the destruction of Israel.
Moreover, while America is obviously the mightier and the more influential country, Israel draws disproportionate ire. Bin Laden’s letter, despite being addressed “to America” displays an obsession with Israel and the Jews, which is no doubt the reason why American progressives, who are equally obsessed with hating Israel, have embraced it.
“Why are we fighting and opposing you?” bin Laden asks. “Because you attacked us and continue to attack us. You attacked us in Palestine … It brings us both laughter and tears to see that you have not yet tired of repeating your fabricated lies that the Jews have a historical right to Palestine, as it was promised to them in the Torah. Anyone who disputes with them on this alleged fact is accused of anti-semitism. This is one of the most fallacious, widely-circulated fabrications in history.”
The letter goes on: “the Jews have taken control of your economy, through which they have then taken control of your media, and now control all aspects of your life making you their servants and achieving their aims at your expense; precisely what Benjamin Franklin warned you against.”
Take a minute to let this sink in. This antisemitic screed is the very thing “opening the eyes” of seemingly normal young people on TikTok. They report crying and a sense of disorientation. They have woken up into a new world defined by a new truth. It is almost like a conversion narrative—but what exactly are they converting to?
In the past month, an entire generation of Americans has been exposed to a wave of slander against Israel in particular and Jews in general. Israel has been accused of genocide for the crime of trying to defend itself against a jihadist terror organization. Israel has been accused of settler colonialism in the very land where Jewish history began. Israel has been demonized as a terror state in the wake of being hit by the third deadliest terror attack worldwide in the past 50 years.
The rhetoric of the past month has primed countless Americans to accept bin Laden’s worldview, which is that “the creation of Israel is a crime which must be erased” and that “each and every person whose hands have become polluted in the contribution towards this crime must pay its price, and pay for it heavily.”
Antisemitism is both a hatred and a conspiracy theory. Because of this, the conversion moment takes the form of a sudden stroke of insight. The new acolyte is convinced that they have peered behind the curtain. Now, all the pieces fall together, and all the various strands of world history converge on a single culprit: The Jew.
We see this conspiratorial trope in Alice Walker’s infamous poem: “It Is Our (Frightful) Duty To Study The Talmud.” In the poem, Walker plays the role of a detective. She is confused by the cruelty of the Jews towards the Palestinians and so, eager for answers, she peers into the Talmud.
There she finds a vile manual for oppressing goyim and she realizes, with horror, that this story is much bigger than the Palestinians, who are only one “cruel example of what may be done with impunity, and without conscience, by a Chosen people.” Rather, there is “an ancient history of oppression.”
The people on TikTok are in the throes of a similar revelation. They are realizing that the problem with the Jews is bigger and more all-encompassing than they ever imagined.
Once seen, they believe, it cannot be unseen.
Look into their faces. There is an exhilaration — the kind that comes from making a new and fascinating discovery. Of course, we Jews know that there is nothing new about it. It is the same ancient hate that has chased us around the globe for millenia.
We also know where such thinking inevitably leads.
Matthew Schultz is a Jewish Journal columnist and rabbinical student at Hebrew College. He is the author of the essay collection “What Came Before” (Tupelo, 2020) and lives in Boston and Jerusalem.
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
Marquee Sparks Anger of Jewish Community: Theater Near Portland posted “Before the Jews, There Was the Odyssey,’
A Boy, Busts and Bulls
Rabbis of LA | Rabbi Schuldenfrei’s Path to the Pulpit
Temple Beth Am-Pressman Academy Gala, Bubbela Party at Venice Beach
When a Faculty Union Turns Against Its Students
“You Say Genocide, I Say War:” Dissecting the Genius of Boy George’s New Song
Boy George Stands with the Jews — And the Jewish People Will Never Forget It
At a moment of frightening abandonment, he has given Jews something precious—the knowledge that we are not completely alone.
Because — A poem for Parsha Eikev
because, because, because …
Democratic Socialists of America Are Coming for America
The master of this subterfuge is the savvy Mamdani, who makes socialism look as sweet and innocent as a community library.
The Blessings of a Broken World
Without the longing and passion that come with failures and mistakes, without the introspection required by repentance, one cannot become the best possible version of themselves.
When Everything Goes Wrong Abroad: Why I Never Let a Client Skip Travel Insurance.
A Bisl Torah — Never Care Less
In a world that often tells us to care less in order to hurt less, Judaism offers another path: never care less.
Taking Flight
Lazy, Hazy, Crazy
Print Issue: Troubled Marriage | July 31, 2026
As Netanyahu visits Trump, Israelis look to Washington with wearier eyes. What does the future hold for the relationship?
Chicken With a Lemony Twist
The huge plus is that a super, simple sheet pan recipe results in a dish that looks so impressive and sophisticated.
Delicious Plant-Based Treats for Wellness Month
With summer produce at its peak – and the heat so hard to beat – it’s a great time to add more light, healthy treats to your rotation.
Table for Five: Eikev
Counting Our Blessings
Troubled Marriage
As Netanyahu visits Trump, Israelis look to Washington with wearier eyes. What does the future hold for the relationship?
A Rabbi Explains What’s Jewish About ‘The Odyssey’
In both, there’s sacrifices, there’s tribal identity, there’s a concern for honor and dignity. And then there are these huge, glaring differences
Tu b’Av and Redemption
On Tu b’Av, the full moon rises. The same people who mourned begin to dance. The same nation who splintered begins to seek one another out again in the vineyards, in the fields, in the moments of vulnerability and return.
Mission to the Jewish Community of Ethiopia
I didn’t even know that there were still Jews left in Ethiopia, but what I encountered there firsthand was a thriving Jewish community, with some very significant struggles.
LA28: Inside the Race to Host One of the World’s Biggest Sporting Events
The Myth of the Marxist Mishpacha
The Jewish immigrant who organized for a 40-hour work week did not do so to give his grandchildren a politics that asks them to feel guilty for their education, their professional success or their attachment to a Jewish state.
Professors Should Fight Campus Jew-Hatred as Educators, Not Bureaucrats
These are educational institutions. But most universities have allowed bureaucrats – in Washington and on campus – to hijack what could be “teachable moments.”
Framing the Faith of Maimonides
In this enriching new edition of the classic code of Jewish law, readers can delve deeply into the mind of Maimonides, from his analysis of the commandments to the controversies that have accompanied his writings, offering a window into the wisdom of one of our tradition’s preeminent thinkers.
More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.