“My name is Gal, and I am Jewish.”
“Isn’t it crazy that just expressing such a simple fact about who I am feels like a controversial statement?” asked Gal Gadot, upon accepting the ADL’s International Leadership Award at the annual “Never Is Now” conference in New York City. “But sadly, this is where we’re at today.”
Indeed. The 4,000 attendees, including 800 students, were there for precisely this reason. The two-day conference also featured Billie Jean King, who was honored with the ADL’s 2025 Changemaker Award; Israeli General Yoav Gallant; and actor and producer David Schwimmer.
Last year’s conference, five months after Oct. 7, was both refreshing and reassuring: the ADL finally got it, and CEO and National Director Jonathan Greenblatt got it more than many of us — immediately moving the nonprofit beyond partisan politics. This year’s conference was equally strong and morally clear, hitting back hard against Hellenistic Jews who have said nothing (or worse) after the worst antisemitic massacre since the Holocaust, while the Maccabees do all of the work. A main theme of the conference: normalization is not acceptable, but neither is silence.
As a parent, I wish they had delved further into precisely what created an environment in which college presidents are able to say before Congress that whether global Jewry should be wiped out “depends on the context.” Less of an obsession with “influencers” would also have been appreciated.
But for most of us, this is our first time going through something like this. We’re going to make mistakes; most important is that we learn from them — and quickly. “Because no matter where you stand,” said Greenblatt, “there’s no going back. The ground beneath us has profoundly shifted since Oct. 7.
“We are in a new era. The return of fear.”
The conference’s main message could be found in the remarks of the dynamic host Hen Mazzig, co-founder of the Tel Aviv Institute: the future of hope. “What brings us together in this room is something stronger than hate: the power of action, the strength of community, and the unwavering belief that we can and must make a difference. As painful as this time has been, we’re not letting fear define us. We are here today not just to talk about the crisis, but to push forward with solutions, with action, and with hope.”
“Antisemitism thrives when people look away, when they stay silent. But we are not silent. We are here, we are loud, and we are fighting back.” – Hen Mazzig
Because the future of hope is neither static nor silent. “Antisemitism thrives when people look away, when they stay silent,” Mazzig said. “But we are not silent. We are here, we are loud, and we are fighting back.”
The Return of Fear
“A distinguished historian noted that for the first time since 1948, Jewish Americans are now feeling something our ancestors in Poland, Germany, Tunisia, Iraq or wherever they lived knew far too well: fear,” Greenblatt said in his annual State of Hate address.
In the U.S., the percentage of Americans with “elevated” anti-Semitic attitudes jumped last year to 24%, more than double the 2019 figure and the highest level since 1964. There were more than 10,000 antisemitic incidents in America, the highest number the ADL has ever recorded in any single 12-month period since they started tracking such data in the 1970s. On campuses, more than 83% of Jewish students have witnessed or experienced antisemitism since Oct. 7.
“Beyond our shores, I don’t remember a time when diaspora communities faced more uncertainty,” said Greenblatt. “We are seeing waves of violence in once-safe places like Sydney and Toronto. Synagogues torched, homes defaced, cars vandalized — this is the new norm for Jews in so many liberal democracies.”
“We can’t keep doing the same thing and expect a different result. We must identify what works and what doesn’t deliver results, fix what has fallen short, stop doing what flat-out doesn’t work, and constantly, relentlessly, ruthlessly innovate.”
“We still have self-described ‘progressives’ — in major nonprofits, professional associations, news outlets, and in elected office — who see themselves as the ‘parity police,’ refusing to acknowledge anti-Jewish hate on its own and gaslighting us about what is or is not antisemitic.” – Jonathan Greenblatt
Perhaps the most important step the ADL took was to depoliticize antisemitism last year. Still, many on the left refuse to acknowledge it, even now. “We still have self-described ‘progressives’ — in major nonprofits, professional associations, news outlets, and in elected office — who see themselves as the ‘parity police,’ refusing to acknowledge anti-Jewish hate on its own and gaslighting us about what is or is not antisemitic,” Greenblatt said.
Education
Ambassador-Designate to the United Nations Elise Stefanik delivered a powerful speech, receiving partisan boos only once. “From capitals to campuses, we have watched too many with the power to act, do nothing,” said Stefanik. “But there is hope. In the famous words of Holocaust survivor Simon Wiesenthal, “For evil to flourish, it only requires good men do nothing. … This fight is not just Israel’s fight but the West’s fight, a war between good and evil, civilization and barbarity.”
Speaking about her now famous Congressional hearing, she said that “the question heard around the world” — “Does calling for the genocide of Jews violate your university’s code of conduct?” — wasn’t a prepared question. But she thought it would force them to answer honestly.
“One after the other said ‘it depends on the context.’ And the world heard.” The context-driven Ivy League presidents were forced to resign. “Five down and so many to go,” said Stefanik.
She then discussed Barnard College, where Hamas protesters recently stormed the campus library, assaulted a staffer, and distributed antisemitic propaganda. How did the administration respond? They didn’t call the police, but politely asked the protesters to set up a meeting with the college president “to negotiate.”
“This is not leadership,” said Stefanik.
It was only after a bomb threat had been called in that the NYPD arrested nine protesters who refused to evacuate.
Stefanik listed the Trump administration’s actions thus far in deporting “students” on visas to dismantling UNRWA. And then: ending $400 million of federal funding to Columbia University. “The university presidents were just a warm-up,” she said. “We will win this fight for all of Western civilization and humanity.”
Greenblatt discussed some positive signs. “After months of allowing the harassment, intimidation, and even violence against Jewish students and faculty, many university presidents, certainly not all, but many have rediscovered the virtues of actually enforcing their policies on encampments and harassment,” said Greenblatt.
The ADL has filed more lawsuits in the last 12 months than they had done in their first 112 years of existence — litigation against extremist groups, universities, school districts, corporations and “a landmark $4 billion lawsuit that we filed, on behalf of American victims of Oct. 7, against Iran for the Islamic Republic’s role in facilitating the attack.”
“We also realized that it was too difficult for people to get the legal help they needed. So we partnered with the Brandeis Center, Hillel International, the law firm Gibson Dunn and numerous other firms to create and set up CALL, a first-of-its-kind legal hotline for students and staff at colleges and universities who have been victimized by antisemitism, but previously did not know where to go.
In less than 18 months, the CALL system has handled more than 800 individual Title VI complaints.
“And I’m happy to report that, based on its success, we have begun to expand CALL to handle cases of discrimination against students, parents, and teachers in K-12 school districts where the issues also are rampant and virtually unmonitored,” Greenblatt said.
Media
Throughout the conference, the focus was on digital media — how to use it to combat the lies and hate. As we’re living in a digital era, this is of course essential. My one criticism is that this wasn’t paired with a focus on fixing traditional media.
Instead of writing this piece, I could have done a five-minute video after the conference. It certainly would have been easier for me, but my listeners would be deprived of all the facts — and context — I’m writing here.
The truth is, it is not a coincidence that antisemitism exploded just as legacy media has been destroyed by a brazen lack of objectivity. The facts are on our side; we don’t need to go on the defensive. But right now the facts are essentially being stolen from us, used to create a counternarrative that has no basis in history or reality. How do short videos counter this?
As Arab activist Loay Alshareef said at a panel, “The greatest weapon that the Jewish people have is archeology and history — to prove Israel’s legitimacy.” Complex videos can of course show this history in memorable ways, as new media companies like Unpacked have shown. But most “influencers” don’t do complex videos. And many often get the facts wrong.
“The fight against hate isn’t won in a conference hall,” Hen Mazzig said, “it’s won in the everyday moments when we choose courage over silence. Every action matters. Because when we act, we shift the narrative. We change minds.
“Hope is not just a feeling — it’s a choice. A choice to believe in a better future, to work toward it, to never give in to despair. And if there’s one thing history has taught us, it’s that the Jewish people are defined not by their suffering, but by their resilience.
“Being a hero isn’t about being fearless. It’s about acting despite the fear. “
Mazzig announced the launch of a new online series called “And They’re Jewish,” which will explore the unique stories of prominent Jewish figures across industries, highlighting that Jewish identity is just one facet of an individual’s multifaceted life. The idea is to humanize Jews to fight the dehumanization, challenge stereotypes, and show the richness of Jewish culture.
The Future of Hope
“Never did I imagine that we would witness a day of such death and destruction of Jews in our lifetime,” Gadot said in her acceptance speech. “And never did I imagine that on the streets of the United States, and different cities around the world, we would see people not condemning Hamas, but celebrating, justifying and cheering on a massacre of Jews.
“We will confront antisemitism. We will call it out. But we will never let it, not only defeat us, but define us, because our love is stronger than their hate. Because this is who we are and who we will always be: taking responsibility for each other.
“We can’t wait any longer. We can’t hold our breaths, pray or beg for support from people groups or communities that don’t want to be there for us. We need to be there for ourselves.”
“And this is why every single Jew must lean in now, in whatever way we can. Speak up. Learn more about our history. Join a temple. Find your tribe, get connected. And as we support our own community, never stop reaching out to the world.
“And this is why every single Jew must lean in now, in whatever way we can. Speak up. Learn more about our history. Join a temple. Find your tribe, get connected. And as we support our own community, never stop reaching out to the world.” – Gal Gadot
“Rabbi Hillel famously said: ’If I am not for myself then who will be for me? And if I am only for myself, then what am I?’ So even if we don’t hear others speaking up for us, we have to keep speaking up for ourselves and reaching out our hand for everyone to join us.
“That is what I tell my daughters. First, learn to love yourselves, who you are and where you’re from and then the rest will follow. It is time to pass onto our children a love of who they are.
“So who are we? We, the Jewish people, are an ancient people, with an ancient story in an ancient homeland. We are the people that celebrate life. We work to see a better and more peaceful future. We challenge the hate we face but we do it with love, while always striving to make the world a better place.”
And who am I? My name is Gal. And I am Jewish.
Am Yisrael Chai.”
Karen Lehrman Bloch is editor in chief of White Rose Magazine.
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