HATE WORDS MATTER May 8, 2026

A few days ago, a swastika was sprayed on the Rego Park Jewish Center, my childhood synagogue in Queens.

Some people accept the old saw that “Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words (or images) can never harm me.” Jews cannot.

A university professor in Europe emailed about my post, “Artemis II and Iran.” He  taught for years in the Middle East and has visited Iran often. He considers Iranian chants of “Death to America” and “Death to Israel” as “empty words, a rallying cry for the regime and nothing more.”

He says Iran has not attacked another country. Granted, Iran sent missiles into Israel in response to Israeli attacks on Iranian air defenses preparatory to attacks on Iran’s nuclear sites. This doesn’t tell the story.

To make war on Israel, Iran finances and trains militias in Gaza (Hamas), Lebanon (Hezbollah), Syria, Iraq and Yemen. Iranian “advisors” serve with them

Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel was expansive and vicious but hardly the first. Critically, Iran-proxy attacks don’t seek to force a political settlement with the Palestinians but to weaken and ultimately terminate Israel as a Jewish state.

Do words matter? As the late Rabbi Jonathan Sacks writes, “Words can injure and inspire. Words can bless or curse.” 

Tehran’s words spur on their militias and stoke antisemitism worldwide. Antisemitism starts with words—spoken, written in social media and spraypainted on Jewish homes, community buildings and synagogues. 

Hate symbols and words lead to Jews being assaulted and even murdered. The Anti-Defamation Leaguereports that the U.S. experienced 6,274 antisemitic incidents in 2025. Of 203 assaults, 32 involved a deadly weapon, up from 23 in 2024. Three people were murdered.

Despite tensions in the Middle East, the perpetrators do not have to be Muslim. Hate words also are used as weapons by white supremacists and others who hold baseless Jew-hate in their hearts. 

Ignorance-produced hate words travel at digital speed propelled by an array of falsehoods. They can, as the ADL reports, become bullets. Jews have been murdered at synagogues in Pittsburgh and San Diego, and at last year’s Chanukah celebration in Sydney, Australia. 

Antisemitism and ignorance go hand in hand.

New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin, a daughter and granddaughter of holocaust survivors, responded to the recent spate of swastikas throughout central Queens. Menin said, “studies show that 34% of young people believe the holocaust was a myth. Or was exaggerated.” A lack of historical perspective makes it easier to tag a synagogue and, perhaps, move on to physical violence against people whose humanity is denied.

My synagogue in San Francisco employs armed security. The police make their presence known on the High Holy Days. We continually update our security system.

We’re not naïve. The more hate words that are spewed online and at one-sided protests denying Israel’s right to exist, the greater the odds that violence will be directed our way.

Or at any Jewish organization or individual in San Francisco or anywhere in the world.

It’s easy to dismiss hate words when they’re directed at others. A people who have suffered from hatred as long and painfully as we Jews have is not about to shrug off verbal threats. We know who pays the price when governments and individuals take hate words lightly.

Us.

To understand the background of today’s far-right, authoritarian descent, read my new novel, RIDE THE TYGER. Order from Amazon, barnesandnoble.com, iuniverse.com, or your favorite bookstore.