The Case for Optimism

The 2026 Antisemitism Paranoia Greatest Hits Album is a bestseller, with popular tracks including “Life Is Awful For Jews,” “It’s 1938 Again,” “Everyone Hates Us.” Last weekend on a rainy Sunday in Los Angeles, I had a minor falling-out with another non-Jewish contact. We were emailing about a work matter, and he casually mentioned how Israel– in other words, our family and friends – is committing genocide. In my ignorance, I thought my family and friends were using the day to make honey cake for Rosh Hashanah. Despite this world of craziness and widespread depression, I am optimistic about the Jewish future.

The 2026 Bingo card has a few squares that most people will check, including “you’ve lost a friend over their antizionist social media post,” “you’re scared about what happens next,” “you wonder who would hide you in their attic,” or “you’ve hidden your Jewishness in public.”

There has been very real pain, ongoing tragedy and widespread communal trauma, but the outcomes have been remarkable. Oct. 7, 2023 triggered an unstoppable chain reaction. The Jewish response was to unify, strengthen existing communities and build new ones. More people are engaged than before.

Naysayers offer critiques along the lines of “Jewish unity was short-lived and it was prompted by a traumatic event,” but that is immaterial. You could quote the Talmudic gem that even if you do the right thing for the wrong reason, it eventually becomes the right reason (“lo lishmah, ba lismah”) or better still, you can ignore them and just keep creating.

If you look for positive confirmation bias, there is evidence everywhere. The Trump administration responded to antisemitism on university campuses by taking action against Harvard, including freezing $2.2 billion in federal grants. The U.S. Army collaborated with the IDF on extraordinarily successful missions to cripple the Iranian nuclear threat. We have friends in the highest places. This is not Germany in 1938.

Over in England, the bombing of four Hatzola Jewish ambulances led to an immediate response from the British government as a cabinet minister visited the scene within hours, and the leader of the opposition Kemi Badenoch repeatedly spoke out against London’s antisemitic rallies. King Charles visited Hatzola in Golders Green, during which time a local rabbi said the blessing over seeing a non-Jewish monarch (it’s in your prayerbook, just in case you need it when you next bump into a king).

My biggest realization was profound, and I say that with total humility. It happened at 11.35 a.m. on a rainy Tuesday morning in England, January 2024, and I was rehearsing a play on the Wirral Peninsula just south of the Beatles’ homeland of Liverpool. During the months following Oct. 7, I had been depressed at how the entire world hates us. But as I looked out of the kitchen window at the grey skies of Northern England, comforted by a hot cup of tea and a half-eaten biscuit, I realized that not only does the majority of the world not hate us, but the majority of the world does not even care.  

Here is the kicker: the vast majority of the world is not spending their time thinking about Jewish people. Eight-point-three billion people are not focused on 17.5 million Jews. Many people are living their lives, paying the bills, getting their kids to school and getting by. They might watch biased news report about Israel, possibly believe the propaganda, and then forget it. The majority of the 8.3 billion global citizens are not closet Nazis. It’s possible that some people even like us. 

What if we asked a different question? Instead of “who hates me?” how about “what can I do to improve the world?” If we change our focus, we can see the world differently, and do what Jews do well – make the world better. Or we can choose to be a victim and imagine the worst-case scenario.  

Here is an alternative proposal, although it may ruin some people’s negative worldview. We might go into Rosh Hashanah with a smile on our face, an optimistic outlook, wish our neighbours Shana Tova and a sweet time ahead and say that this is indeed the most wonderful time of the year. 

Marcus J Freed is an actor, writer and teacher. IG: @marcusjfreed www.marcusjfreed.com