The truth crept up on us so slowly that, at first, it was easy to ignore or dismiss the swastikas scrawled across synagogues and cemeteries, the barring of Stars of David from demonstrations, the ugly epithets hurled at Jews on the street.
But since October 7, 2023, the reality that antisemitism is alive, well and increasingly dangerous has become impossible to brush off.
After the murders of Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim in Washington, DC, it became clear that we were on the brink of an emergency. And the attempted assassinations at a peaceful Jewish vigil in Boulder, Colorado, suggested that we have already crossed over it.
How did we arrive at this grim moment in American Jewish life and why did we deny it so long? Why is the entire nation not in an uproar about the clear danger? As Jews, can we continue to pretend that the time has not yet come to go into crisis mode? If we do, what should that look like?
We need to talk candidly and openly about these dilemmas, and we welcome Representative Ritchie Torres, Senator Chuck Schumer and Bret Stephens for a conversation to kick off such a discussion, moderated by Abe Foxman.
A former New York City Council member, Representative Ritchie Torres proudly serves New York’s 15th congressional district and is a firm and active ally of Israel and the US Jewish community. The American Jewish Committee recently presented him with the inaugural Nita M. Lowey Congressional Leadership Award.
A Brooklyn native, Chuck Schumer served in the NY State Assembly for three terms before being elected to the US House of Representatives and, in 1998, to the US Senate. He was chosen minority leader in 2017 and rose to the position of majority leader in 2021. He is the longest-serving US senator from New York.
Bret Stephens is an opinion columnist for The New York Times and the founder and editor in chief of SAPIR, a quarterly devoted to issues of Jewish concern.
Bianna Golodryga is a senior global affairs analyst and anchor for CNN. Prior to joining CNN, Golodryga served as co-anchor for CBS This Morning and Good Morning America's weekend edition, as well as serving as ABC News' Business Correspondent.