Ronald Lauder stood before the World Jewish Congress gala audience. He declared that the “only” ways to fight antisemitism are education and public relations, as if this is not a diatribe that falls flat on its failures of the past. This was a polished line for a black-tie crowd—or elitist — and the most evident proof of a worldview that has failed. And Ron represents that failure more than most.
For decades, the Jewish establishment’s response to danger has been predictable: when Jews are attacked, release a statement; when hatred spikes, launch a campaign; when darkness spreads, brighten the stage lights. They believed hatred could be corrected through messaging, that evil could be softened by branding. That illusion defined an era—and is precisely why that era is ending.
Lauder’s remark was intentional. It reflects a generation that confused acceptance with actual progress. After the Holocaust, they sought security through civility. They built institutions for dialogue, education, and diplomacy—structures designed for calm rather than conflict. For a few decades, it seemed effective. Western liberalism appeared to suppress antisemitism. But the stability they mistaken for permanence had nothing to do with their strategies. The postwar West was strong; Jews were tolerated as long as they asked for nothing more than acceptance. When that world began to fall apart, their worldview did too. To their credit, they preserved memory. For that, they deserve respect—but not obedience. Because history has shifted beneath their feet, and the threats must now be faced. Proximity is not power.
The modern Jewish establishment confuses access with strength. Lauder and his peers forged relationships with presidents and popes—but not with Hebrew teachers, synagogue volunteers, or teenage Jews facing hostility on campus. The World Jewish Congress can reserve the Waldorf ballroom and meet foreign ministers, but it cannot protect a single Jewish student at Columbia or Penn. The Lauder schools across Europe produce graduates fluent in diplomacy, not Hebrew. Their ideal Jew is articulate and cosmopolitan—and totally unprepared. This class hosts “Combating Hate” panels while ignoring the ideological machinery fueling modern antisemitism. Their “We Remember” campaigns trend for a week, yet their own communities lack basic security standards.
Jewish institutions now operate like corporations with donor bases, not communities with moral obligations. Their focus is on programming, not protection. They spend billions on “public diplomacy” and “tolerance initiatives” while Hebrew schools close and synagogues go unguarded. They create the illusion of action while ignoring its real effects. The evidence is clear. In 2024, the ADL recorded 9,354 antisemitic incidents, the highest in American history. Jews make up 2 percent of the population but suffer about 70 percent of all religion-based hate crimes. This isn’t due to establishment efforts—it’s because those efforts were based on falsehoods. They fostered a generation skilled in advocacy but ignorant of identity. Their failure isn’t just strategic; it’s civilizational. We cannot revise their system. We must rebuild it—based on three pillars: language, readiness, and renewal. Language is the software of sovereignty. To speak Hebrew is to think like a builder, not a beggar. Every Hebrew-speaking child acts as a firewall against amnesia and erasure. Language—not lobbying—sustains civilization. Strength is not extremism; it is responsibility. Every synagogue, school, and campus must adopt standards of lawful, disciplined, communal security. Readiness is not militarization; it is citizenship. Real education fosters loyalty, not slogans. Hebrew immersion, Torah without transliteration, study connected to service—these shape identity. Holocaust education that ends in pity fails; education that ends in pride endures. A civilization is what it invests in. Jewish institutions pour fortunes into PR while investing almost nothing in continuity. Money that could build Hebrew preschools, prepare communities, and endow teachers is instead spent on galas and branding. Meanwhile, the establishment will host another conference and release another report. But caring is not constructing. The choice before us is not between compassion and courage—it is between relevance and disappearance.
Lauder’s worldview represents the final breath of a generation that believed reputation equals protection. They came of age in a moment of Western stability that no longer exists. That world—of American dominance, predictable politics, and polite antisemitism—is gone. The new antisemitism is ideological and institutional. It is fluent in academic language. It spreads through social movements and tech platforms. And it is often subsidized by the very foundations that now claim shock at its rise. This is the cost of mistaking philanthropy for philosophy. This is not a call to vilify the old guard. It is a mandate to surpass them. They built institutions that preserved memory; we must build institutions that preserve life. They believed hatred could be argued away; we understand it must be resisted and defeated. They built monuments to yesterday’s bravery. We must build the infrastructure for tomorrow’s survival.
The next Jewish century must be Hebrew, or it will be nothing. Hebrew is not nostalgia—it is nationhood. It is how a people turns trauma into continuity, and continuity into sovereignty. We are not seeking the world’s love. We are reclaiming our own coherence. We will speak in our own language, defend by our own standards, and be educated by our own values. The Jewish people are not a marketing campaign. We are a civilization. This is not arrogance. It is a responsibility.
Ivri Anochi—I am a Hebrew. A Hebrew: one who crosses rivers, refuses exile, rebuilds while others mourn. They mistook peace for permanence. We know better. The Hebrews have returned—and this time, we intend to stay.
Adam Scott Bellos is the founder and CEO of The Israel Innovation Fund (TIIF), creator of Wine on the Vine, Project Maccabi, and Herzl AI. He is the author of the upcoming book Never Again Is Not Enough: Why Hebraization Is the Only Way to Save the Diaspora.