ByZACHARY MORRISJULY 23, 2026 13:47They say history never repeats itself, but it often rhymes. Recently, I have found myself listening to the rhymes of history, and I despise the poem I am hearing.The horrors of October 7, 2023, some of the most vile and gruesome self-published genocidal atrocities ever committed, echo the horrors of the Holocaust. Those videos, burned into my memory as if they were placed with a branding iron, were cheered on in the streets by “peace advocates” and “intellectuals.” Today, clear evidence is being denied and inverted as a tool to demonize Jews, mirroring the tactics of Holocaust denial.Yet, despite the echoes of the 1940s, the Holocaust is not the event I find most comparable to October 7.For Western Diaspora Jews, particularly in Canada, the aftermath of that day is our personal Dreyfus Affair. It is a chilling reminder that no matter how accommodated or assimilated we believe ourselves to be, some will always see us as “too Jewish” to be accepted.Alfred Dreyfus (credit: Wikimedia Commons)In 1894, Captain Alfred Dreyfus, a Jewish officer in the French artillery, was falsely accused of espionage for the Germans. His trial was a major spark for French anti-Jewish hatred, fueled by forged evidence and state-sanctioned lies. This moment in French-Jewish history served as a wake-up call to Theodor Herzl, then a young assimilated journalist covering the trial.In his early years, Herzl believed that Jews could escape prejudice by keeping their heads down and shedding the cultural practices that set them apart and made them unique. The Dreyfus Affair shattered that illusion. He realized that as long as Jews were a permanent minority everywhere, there could be no safety; they needed a nation where they were the majority.Today, many Western intellectuals still share an opinion similar to young Herzl – that Jews will know peace once we give up what sets us apart and fully assimilate into modern culture.This premise asks the Jewish people to give up what makes us a unique and strong culture, asking us to forget our people and reject our history to be safe.For a long time, Western Jews were lucky to live in an era of relative peace. This false sense of security convinced us that as long as we didn’t rock the boat, we would be allowed to be Jewish freely.This was a lie, and October 7 showed us the truth.Politically homelessOctober 7 showed Jews worldwide not only what terrorists would do given the opportunity to slaughter us; the aftermath showed us just how popular killing Jews really was internationally.By the night of Oct 7, people gathered globally to celebrate the mass murder of innocents and the taking of hostages in the name of “resistance.” Since that day, countless friendships have ended because a Jewish person is “too upset” about their friends or family being killed. To accept Israel as a nation that deserves to exist is seen as socially unacceptable and deserving of harsh consequences.Synagogues are being shot at for having “Israel” in their name. Jews must once again forget their people and reject their historical homeland to be considered acceptable and be granted safety. This time, instead of a French officer, the one Jewish state is on trial in a kangaroo court of student encampments and corrupt United Nations committees.While antisemitism is a hot topic within Western governments, Jews have quickly become a political football. Everyone loves to talk about antisemitism, but no one wants to talk to Jews – just over them.Jewish concerns are often minimized or dismissed. Every shot-up synagogue is followed by a predictable “this isn’t who we are” social media post from leaders, as if that will magically make things better.Political parties are quick to point at their opponents’ bigotry but refuse to look in the mirror at the systemic antisemitism within their own ranks.Jews today feel politically homeless. To ask me whether I prefer the antisemitism of the Right or the Left is to ask if I prefer death by electric chair or by lethal injection.The reaction to October 7 has caused Jews worldwide to have conversations with family about worst-case scenarios. I am a Canadian by birth; I have only ever been proudly Canadian. I have deep roots in this soil.Yet, I find myself coming to the same realization as so many before me: I will always be “too Jewish.” By forcing Jews into political litmus tests to justify their safety, the international community has unknowingly made the best possible case for Zionism.While Jews exist, anti-Jewish hatred will exist, no matter how many hoops the Jews have jumped through to be accepted. Israel is the indigenous Jewish homeland, and Jews will always be accepted there.No amount of “being Jewish” – from hassidic and haredi (ultra-Orthodox) all the way to secular and cultural – will make you less safe in Israel.Herzl’s dream was realized because he woke up to the truth. October 7 was our Dreyfus Affair, but today we have a homeland that protects us. Let us make sure that this time, history does not rhyme.Follow us on Google