How much has the world learned since Islamist terrorists murdered Wall Street Journal journalist Daniel Pearl in 2002? According to JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin, in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks there was a consensus that Islamist terrorism was beyond the pale. But the surge of support for Israel’s destruction after the Hamas-led Palestinian Arab terror attack on the Jewish state on Oct. 7, 2023 demonstrates that many Americans have forgotten that basic lesson.

 

He’s joined in this week’s episode of Think Twice by Daniel Pearl’s father, UCLA computer scientist Judea Pearl, who became a leading voice for Israel and Jewish identity in the years since his son’s death and the author of the recently published Coexistence and Other Fighting Words: Selected Writings of Judea Pearl 2002-2025.

 

Pearl says that in the last 24 years he’s “wised up” about the prospects for peace in the Middle East. A longtime advocate for a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians, he now believes that any agreement to end the conflict is currently impossible. That’s because even most “moderate” Arabs and Muslims are committed to the eradication of Israel. He says this unalterable demand should not be confused with traditional ideas about antisemitism. Instead, he labels this hatred of Jews and their state as “Zionphobia.”

 

Zionism is, he says, “a Jewish quest for normalcy” in their own homeland. But in the aftermath of the surge of hatred for Jews rooted in intolerance for Jewish self-determination, since Oct. 7, the West has not internalized this basic truth. According to Pearl, denial that Jews are the indigenous people of the land of Israel isn’t just wrong, rooted in the myths of settler-colonialism theory is enabling Zionphobia and an atmosphere of hate against all Jews who will not betray their own people. Denying Jewish history is the short path to erasing Jewish rights.

 

He says Jews, such as those who advocate against Israel or who voted for a rabid anti-Zionist like New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani are seeking to gain acceptance in society. What American Jews need is leadership that is strong enough to ostracize such people.

 

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