Antisemites are receiving massive funding, we are losing this war

 Malcolm Hoenlein, the Executive Vice Chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations in the United States, expressed deep concern at the Israel Hayom Conference in New York over the demographic shift working against the Jewish people and the American Jewish community.

Hoenlein, 81, whose involvement in American politics began in the 1950s when he joined the presidential campaign of Adlai Stevenson, has witnessed many incidents of antisemitism throughout his life and in recent years warned that what happened in Europe could also happen in the United States. “Unfortunately,” he said, “this prophecy has come true.”

“For the past twenty years I have been warning about the phenomenon,” Hoenlein said, “but even today people do not want to confront reality. The problem is that we do not have a systematic and comprehensive approach toward the community. We have more than two hundred organizations that were founded in the past two years to fight antisemitism and that have received massive funding, but to be honest we are winning a few battles but losing the war. There is no joint financial effort, and the time has come for the community and its leaders to work together. We saw in the New York elections what is truly at stake. There are more Muslims than Italians, Poles and others in New York and their numbers will continue to grow.”

Hoenlein was asked whether reports that roughly 30 percent of Jews voted for Zohran Mamdani were accurate, and he replied, “They did not vote for him. No one actually measures the Jewish community. They use separate cells for measurement, but it does not matter even if it is 20 percent. We must understand what motivated those people to vote for him. He spoke about the cost of living. He excited them. We are not exciting young people, and it is not only a revolt against Israel, Israel is just a symbol. It is a revolt against their families. We are not growing, and we are not building the future. We are the ones who carry this message we always have and now is the time to focus on the future.”

When asked whether this war can be won, Hoenlein replied, “Ten years ago I said, ‘Don’t run, prepare,’ because you can argue with politics and policy but not with demography. The same thing is happening here…we must create a new generation, better educated and more connected to Israel, but we must do it differently.”