Between two blades: Global squeeze on world Jewry

In recent years, it has become increasingly clear that the global Jewish Diaspora is facing an unsettling squeeze, one that is closing in from both ideological extremes.

On the left, an unlikely alliance between progressive activists and Islamist movements has generated a wave of hostility toward Israel and, by extension, Jews worldwide. On the extreme right, a rising tide of isolationist and populist voices—from figures like former Fox News host Tucker Carlson to the openly antisemitic fringes around Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes—have found new ways to target Jews and the Jewish state.

It feels, at times, like a buzz saw inching closer—a convergence of two very different forms of resentment toward the same small people.

At this crossroads, Israel itself faces a historic choice—what might be called a “game of chicken” with history. The key question is whether it can secure peace with its Sunni Arab neighbours before the global climate of antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiment becomes intolerable for diaspora Jews.

The 2020 Abraham Accords showed what was possible. A genuine normalisation with Saudi Arabia and other Arab states could transform the region—and in doing so, pull the rug out from under Israel’s loudest critics. It would be far harder for the Western left to portray Israel as an apartheid state or an imperial aggressor if Israel were visibly integrated into a peaceful Middle East.

At the same time, peace would also reshape the right-wing critique. If Israel were at peace with its Arab neighbours, the United States would have less need for direct involvement in Middle Eastern conflicts, deflating the “America First” argument that Israel is a costly entanglement.

With only around 15 million Jews in the world, this is no small matter. What happens next may well be beyond the control of Diaspora Jewry. History has shown how quickly external circumstances can shift and how rarely Jews have been the ones determining their own destiny when great powers clash.

The most recent example of this powerlessness can be understood through the prism of the New York City mayoral election. Even though Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani is outwardly hostile toward Zionism and those who support Zionism, and despite the fact that New York has the largest population centre of Jewish people of any city in the world, he was still elected. This reflects the fact that New Yorkers are more concerned about housing and “economic equality” than they are about his positions on Israel.

In this seemingly powerless moment, one reality stands out: The State of Israel remains the Jewish people’s best (and perhaps only) long-term guarantee of security, continuity and dignity.

For better or worse, Israel has become the symbolic and practical centre of Jewish existence. While this should provide some consolation to many, there are also certain costs associated with this reality. Jewish communities in Paris, London, Toronto or Melbourne have to bear the social or physical consequences of Israeli military operations around the Middle East. The modern world does not seem to differentiate between Jewish citizens of independent countries and the actions of Israel. Whether through campus protests, social-media campaigns or political rhetoric, Jews everywhere are treated as extensions of a national project many have little or no role in shaping.

In other words, peace is not just a moral imperative. It’s a geopolitical strategy that could disarm both extremes.

The danger, of course, is that the buzz saw moves faster than diplomacy. If antisemitic sentiment continues to rise and Jewish life in the West grows untenable, many may feel compelled to immigrate to Israel not out of Zionist passion but of necessity. That would be a sobering outcome—a forced ingathering born not of inspiration, but of fear

Nobody can say which will happen first: a grand reconciliation between Israel and its Arab neighbours, or a global backlash that drives Jews back to the one place they know will take them in. But one thing is clear: Time is not on our side. The Jewish people must hope—and work—for peace before history makes the choice for us.

Daniel Rosen is the co-chairman and co-founder of Emissary, an organisation dedicated to combating antisemitism on social media.