The time has come for an honest reckoning.

In the wake of tragedies like the attack at Bondi Beach, and as antisemitism grows louder, more public, and more brazen by the day, Jews must stop asking the same exhausted question: *How do we get them to like us?*

History has already answered this.

Jews have been hated for centuries. Across continents, cultures, and eras, the reason shifts but the outcome remains the same. Antisemitism adapts; it does not disappear. And if hatred has never depended on our behavior, then neither should our identity.

We were never meant to live as a people constantly auditioning for acceptance. We were meant to live with purpose.

The Torah does not instruct us to be liked. It instructs us to be **a light among the nations**. A light does not ask permission to shine. A light does not dim itself so others feel comfortable. A light simply fulfills what it was created to do.

So why are we bending ourselves into shapes that were never ours? Why are we desperate to prove our morality, our humanity, our right to exist—when our very existence is rooted in Hashem?

If people reject us because we live by Torah, so be it. This is how we live.

If they accuse us while ignoring context, history, and reality, that is their blindness, not our failure.

If they attack Jews for celebrating Chanukah, praying, or defending ourselves—then let it be clear: Jewish blood is not ownerless. We defend life.

We are done apologizing for survival.

When Israel defends itself, we will not grovel.

When Jews are blamed for the world’s problems, we will not shrink.

When hatred is disguised as moral superiority, we will not beg for understanding.

We live by Hashem’s guidance. And hatred of the Jewish people is, at its core, hatred of the God who chose us for a purpose.

This is the moment to stop trying to be like everyone else—and to start being who we actually are.

Turn inward.

Strengthen your Judaism.

Learn Torah—not sound bites, not social‑media history, but truth.

Observe Shabbat—not as nostalgia, but as spiritual armor.

Build Jewish community—because isolation has never protected us.

Learn self‑defense—because Jewish lives matter.

Stand with Israel—because Jewish destiny and Jewish land are inseparable.

Confidence in who we are is no longer optional. It is survival.

If someone excludes you because you are Jewish, let them go. Those who abandon us in calm will not stand with us in crisis.

If someone screams accusations rooted in ignorance, let them expose themselves.

If someone believes ancient libels about Jewish power, let them confront their own lack of understanding instead of projecting envy and resentment.

And to those Jews who publicly disassociate from their people in the hope of safety or approval: history has already written this chapter. Those who turn their backs on their own are never fully embraced by those who hate us anyway. Antisemitism does not distinguish between the “good Jew” and the rest.

This is not said with hatred—it is said with sorrow.

The forces that seek to pull Jews away from Torah, from Hashem, and from our people are relentless. Confusion is being sold as morality. Disconnection is being marketed as enlightenment.

The response is not assimilation.

The response is **return**.

Return to Torah.

Return to Hashem.

Return to Jewish strength, pride, and purpose.

This is your wake‑up call.

Release the need to be loved by those who will never love you.

Stop reshaping yourself to fit spaces that were never meant to hold you.

Walk the path that has already been laid out for you.

We do not survive by erasing ourselves.

We survive by remembering exactly who we are.