Texas Jewish groups said International Holocaust Remembrance Day matters more than ever this year after a documented rise in antisemitic incidents in the United States since the October 7 terrorist attacks against Israel.
International Holocaust Remembrance Day was established in 2005 by the UN General Assembly. It is held annually on January 27 in honor of the six million Jews who were murdered by Nazi Germany in the 1930s and 1940s.
Joy Nathan, the executive director of the Texas Holocaust, Genocide, and Antisemitism Advisory Commission, noted that October 7 marked the single largest attack on Jews since the Holocaust and was followed by the highest number of antisemitic incidents in any two months since the Anti-Defamation League began tracking them in the 1970s.
“Instead of standing by the world’s Jewish community, we have seen people blaming Israel — and Jews everywhere — for the war in Gaza,” Nathan told The Dallas Express. “It’s happening on city streets, college campuses, and through social media.”
The Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel on October 7 killed 1,139 people, including 695 Israeli civilians, 36 of whom were children.
Benji Gershon, the president of Dallas Jewish Conservatives, said there is a clear connection between Hamas and Nazi Germany.
“We say ‘never forget’ for a reason, and we say also ‘never again is now’ because of what happened on October 7,” he told The Dallas Express. “What happened in Israel was, in fact, like a modern-day pogrom. We’re dealing with Hamas, who are modern-day Nazis.”
The October 7 attacks by Hamas sparked a series of anti-Israel protests across the country. Three organizations that orchestrated the protests in Dallas publicly praised Hamas for their attacks on Israel as they were being carried out, as reported by The Dallas Express.
Gershon said Jews in the United States have grown fearful of the alleged hatred spread by these protesters. He said his group scheduled several counter-protests in Dallas to spread a more positive message of unity.
“The rallies across the country, even here in Texas, and Dallas specifically, have been very disturbing and unsettling,” Gershon told The Dallas Express. “I know a lot of Jewish friends of mine feel unsafe [wearing] a yamaka or [flying] an Israeli flag in their home or to even walk on college campuses. They’re in fear of retaliation from people who are sympathizing with Hamas.”
Nathan said American Jews must continue to raise awareness about the rise in antisemitism.
“Sometimes antisemitism is obvious, like swastikas at schools, anti-Jewish banners, or attacks on synagogues,” she told The Dallas Express. “Other episodes are more subtle and rely on hateful tropes about Jews controlling the world or on demonizing Israel, the world’s only Jewish state. It’s important to report these episodes when you see them so educators, security professionals, and advocates can support you, respond effectively, and push back against antisemitism.”
Gershon said the past few months have been difficult for the Jewish community, but that victory lies ahead.
“The Jewish people are God’s chosen people,” he told The Dallas Express. “We’ve defeated every enemy in the past, just look at history and the Torah. Hamas will be another enemy we’ll end up defeating.”