As Hanukkah comes to a close today, I can't help but think that this has to be the most horrific Hanukkah that many Jewish people in America and around the world have experienced in generations, perhaps since World War II and its aftermath.
Not only did they have to suffer through the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust on October 7, but since then they have had to endure the most vile antisemitism they could imagine. All over the world, people tearing down posters of their loved ones being held hostage, the media repeating propaganda from Hamas terrorists with no questions asked, college campuses becoming hotbeds of antisemitic hate, and establishment leaders (yes, I mean you, Claudine Gay) refusing to condemn that hate.
Yesterday, near the end of Hanukkah, Breitbart's Joel Pollack -- a visibly upset and emotional Joel Pollak -- recorded a video to share his thoughts on all of this horror.
A personal message. pic.twitter.com/pgsDgBMIdw
— Joel Pollak (@joelpollak) December 14, 2023
'We're suffering because we feel isolated, because we feel ignored, and we feel marginalized, I think, or disregarded.'
Wow. There is no worse feeling than feeling alone. Stephen King once wrote, in his younger days:
'Alone. Yes, that's the key word, the most awful word in the English tongue. Murder doesn't hold a candle to it and hell is only a poor synonym.'
- Salem's Lot
Pollak, a Harvard alumnus, describes the pain of seeing the Harvard Alumni Association defending the indefensible Claudine Gay, how they don't understand the hatred, how calls for a ceasefire are only aimed at Israel, not Hamas, and understandably how, when Israel is threatened, he feels threatened. He recalls back to the beginning of the United States when George Washington himself personally promised Jews that they would be safe in this country, and how religious liberty was a God-given right.
Pollack concludes with an emotional message of hope. Despite all of the bad news this Hanukkah season, and not just for Jews, he is assured by the people in America who still believe in our founding principles, and he is grateful for all of them. And it doesn't matter how many are against that. In Pollak's defiant words, 'When you start with the truth, you are small, but by the time you are finished, you can illuminate anything.'
OK, so I am getting a little emotional myself right now, so I am just going to let Twitter take it from here.
Thank you,Joel. Your thoughtful, appreciative, historical message needs to be heard by all this holiday season. God bless. https://t.co/6h9nxRP0eo
— Dan Ditzler (@longgonedaddy) December 14, 2023
This is my dear friend Joel. My family and I love him & his beautiful family.
— Defend the US Constitution (@hispanicmom) December 14, 2023
Joel is a man of integrity & love for God, family, country. The pain he expresses here is similar to what many who are not Jewish have felt.
Thankfully, “… the LORD says…you are mine.” —Isaiah 43:1 https://t.co/aBIhLL2Rlq
THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT MESSAGE OF THE SEASON. NOT JUST FOR JEWS BUT FOR EVERYONE PLZ RT @RonColeman @LenGrunstein @ymenken @MarinaMedvin @HilzFuld @chiIIum @JewishWarrior13 https://t.co/Wlhb4ZUsrB
— KohanimKnows4.0 (@kohanimknows4) December 15, 2023
Thank you for sharing your message and light. https://t.co/3etNlCSGVT
— mrsbrightly (@mrsbrightly) December 14, 2023
Many more chimed in to offer the most important encouragement:
That's so sweet 😋 of you. The mouth speaks from the heart, and you're not alone by a long shot. Happy Hanukkah 🕎
— irishnfree (@irishnfree3) December 14, 2023
We Christians stand with you, and would fight beside you in any battle wherever you need us.
— Revelation Six (@omegashock1) December 14, 2023
May the Lord God of Heaven and Earth give blessing, protection and peace to the people and land that we both love.
We grieve over every loss and seek redemption for all.
Not only are we not alone, we are fortified with the power to overcome any and all obstacles. We aren’t going anywhere!
— Bob Dylon (@backupvariousd1) December 14, 2023
Spread the light! Spread the joy of living a meaningful and connected life!
Am Yisrael Chai!!!
You are most certainly not alone. https://t.co/SmSVZYLKER
— Jeffrey Wilcox (@JeffreyWil60280) December 14, 2023
Pollak most definitely is not alone. Nor is any Jewish person.
I thank Joel Pollak for this essential message in a dark time. Hanukkah, like Christmas, is a season of hope, and of joy, and of light. No one should have to feel the way Jews have been made to feel during this Hanukkah. So I, a lifelong Catholic, also want to say Happy Hanukkah and, 'Am Yisrael Chai.'
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