Anti-Israel protesters show true colors by celebrating October 7 attacks

As if commemorating the one year anniversary of the worst single-day massacre of Jews since the Holocaust wasn’t harrowing enough, we American Jews were treated Monday to a reminder that the marauders who want us dead are alive and well in New York City.

There they were, in Times Square and in Grand Central and in Columbus Circle and elsewhere in the greatest city on earth, chanting for Hamas, Hezbollah and other death cults committed to raping, kidnapping and killing Israelis, Americans and Jews.

There they were, on American soil, cheering for the monsters who still hold four American citizens in captivity.

There they were, promising to globalize the Intifada and bring the bloodshed that is their only true passion to these shores as well.

Watching the kaffiyeh-clad thugs, many of my friends felt distraught. How, they wondered, could such hatred flourish here, in America? And why were the bullies permitted to carry on with their intimidation, turning our solemn day of remembrance into one of fear and loathing and expressing their admiration for organizations our government had long ago classified as terrorist groups?

I understand these sentiments, but I do not share them. The sight of masked maniacs calling for my demise did not deter me. In fact, it gave me hope.

It gave me hope, because, an immigrant here myself, I believe in America. I believe in American exceptionalism.

And I believe that the jaunty little jihadists marching down the block are precisely the sort of wake-up call this great but slumbering nation needs to stretch its limbs and leap into the next big fight for freedom.

You hardly need to be Jewish, or a political scientist, to realize that the so-called pro-Palestine crowd isn’t really all that interested in Palestine.

Their main goal is America, that lone bastion of western civilization, which is why they strategically chose all-American events, like the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade or the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting ceremony, as the optimal settings to unleash their mayhem.

Trying to disrupt our favorite national pageants is a very strange way to win friends and influence people, but it’s not really our sympathy that the protesters want.

They want us to know that they hate us and everything we represent, and that, if allowed, they intend to do in Manhattan and Brooklyn and Queens what they’d done in Nir Oz, Kfar Aza, Be’eri and all the other Israeli communities hit hardest one year ago this week.

Now we know.

And now that we know, we won’t let it happen.

Normal Americans are finally realizing just how deep-seated — and how dangerous — this hatred truly is, and, as Americans always do, they’re taking action. It’s why we’ve seen donations to Columbia University, that renowned seat of Jew-hatred and bigotry, drop 30% this past year.

It’s why we’ve seen lawmakers demand that we take our own laws seriously and deport any foreign national who is openly and outwardly expressing support for terrorists.

And it’s why an overwhelming majority of Americans recently told the Pew Research Center that Israel had very valid reasons to keep on fighting until it defeated Hamas and Hezbollah.

Americans, hallelujah, understand that Israel’s fight isn’t Israel’s alone. It’s the western world’s struggle against the so-called Axis of Resistance — Iran, Russia, China and their minions. It’s a civilizational fight, and though it may have started a year ago in some dusty corner of the Middle East, it is now being waged right here in midtown.

The barbarians are at the gates. That’s bad news. But here’s the good news: So are we.

Liel Leibovitz is editor at large for Tablet.