Police in the UK recently arrested four people chanting “Globalize the Intifada.” The crime: Hate speech inciting violence. To some American Jews, this may sound like justice, but you won’t see similar response in the United States. Whereas British law bans hate speech, U.S. law doesn’t.

In America, those who shout “Gas the Jews” or “Globalize the Intifada” or “From the river to the sea”—which call for death to Jews—are protected by the First Amendment. Unless you can prove that haters’ words call for immediate lawless action, or violate the civil rights of others, they are safe from prosecution.

Lovers of the American Constitution realize the enigmatic power of this sacred document’s double-edge sword: Free speech is protected absolutely . . . but hate speech largely gets a pass.

No doubt hateful, threatening screams can be inciting. “Globalize the Intifada” is a call to unleash Palestinian terrorist violence by which hundreds of Jewish Israelis were ruthlessly murdered. Likewise, “From the river to the sea by any means necessary” calls for violent destruction of the world’s only Jewish state.

Yet it’s also true that most anti-Israel demonstrations don’t reach the point of inciting to immediate lawless violence, as would, “Grab your guns, let’s kill some Jews!”

Nonetheless, hateful antisemitic, anti-Israel slogans do normalize anti-Jewish hatred and the idea of violence, as proven by the incidence of antisemitic violence we see every day on American streets. Violence against Jews has skyrocketed since the October 7^th massacre. That doesn’t mean enemies of Israel and U.S. Jews cannot be stopped or at least deterred.

Five ways American Jews and lovers of Israel can protect themselves. How can we protect our safety and rights to free speech and assembly without being blocked from entry or shouted down by hostile hecklers? Moreover, how can we avoid being assaulted or murdered by Islamist terrorists? Let us consider five practical options—all legal, but not all for the faint hearted or weak-kneed.

In short, the solutions involve armed self-protection of Jews and Jewish institutions; putting sharper teeth into enforcement of existing laws; passing tougher laws against those who violate civil liberties; and ultimately, if the government can’t protect us, leaving for good.

First Amendment offers few protections against violence-related speech, Per Brandenburg vs. Ohio (1969), the Supreme Court ruled free speech is protected unless it’s directed to inciting or producing “imminent lawless action”—likely to incite or produce immediate harm.

The Supreme Court case Virginia vs. Black (2003) confirmed that “true threats” are not protected by the First Amendment—and distinguished them from mere political hyperbole (e.g., false violent statements made without real intent).

In other words, the Constitution says haters can create a threatening atmosphere by vaguely advocating violence (e.g., “Globalize the Intifada”). Even if we can show a correlation—let alone a causal relationship—between hate speech and subsequent violence, we have little recourse. Thus, it holds no constitutional weight that in three months following the October 7 massacre antisemitic incidents surged 361%—or that physical assaults more than doubled.

Thankfully, the U.S. Constitution—and existing laws—provide a solid set of possible protective solutions for Jews and Israel supporters willing to implement them:

#1: Install armed security at all Jewish gatherings. Clearly, arming every Jewish event won’t come cheap. Indeed, the Jewish Federations of North America estimates that the entire American Jewish community—synagogues, day schools, community centers and other organizations—spends about $765 million per year on security. On average, a Jewish institution spends about 14% of its annual budget on security. Rabbis have described this financial strain as an “antisemitism tax”—expensive, but no doubt lifesaving.

#2: Insist on sharper teeth enforcing existing harassment laws. The U.S. and most jurisdictions already have laws to prevent blocking access (assembly), disrupting speech (heckling), trespassing and hate-related vandalism. Laws also exist to punish those who attack Jews, such as the Federal Hate Crime Statutes, making it a federal crime to harm or conspire to harm someone because of their racial, ethnic or religious background. Another statute criminalizes conspiracy to injure, threaten, or intimidate anyone in the free exercise of constitutional rights.

Unfortunately, laws like these are weakly enforced, with few arrested or charged. If they are enforced, many charges are dismissed and some are charged with misdemeanors rather than felonies, making penalties lighter. Last year, 57 pro-Hamas protesters were arrested at an encampment at the University of Texas for blocking pathways, trespassing, and harassing Jewish students, but all charges were quickly dismissed due to insufficient probable cause and lack of evidence linking individuals to specific violations. Law enforcement and justice authorities must be pressured into accountability.

#3: Increase legal penalties for civil violations—preventing assembly, disrupting speech, trespassing and hate-related vandalism. For instance, Michigan recently passed a law that includes steeper felony penalties for hate crimes (up to 10 years) that previously may have been lesser misdemeanors. The road to stiffer penalties runs through our legislators, who must be made to feel the urgency for greater deterrence.

#4: Arm yourself. Understandably, few peace-loving American Jews have exercised their Second Amendment right to bear arms. Indeed, a 2020 Cooperative Election Study found that whereas 32% of all U.S. adults own firearms, just 11% of Jews do. More recent surveys indicate just 9% of American Jews purchased a firearm because of growing antisemitism. Yet, many Jews are availing themselves of such protection—often those who are most vulnerable to street attacks, such as Orthodox Jews.

#5: Move to Israel. The Jewish state boasts a murder rate 600% lower than the U.S. Many American and other Western Jews have already made Aliyah, especially after the October 7^th massacre. Last year, Jacob Licht moved to Israel from the U.S. with his family. He recalls his daughter telling him, “Isn’t it strange that we’re actually sitting in a restaurant in a country that’s at war, and it’s my cousin in America who is afraid?” Indeed, war and terror attacks notwithstanding, everyday life feels safe in Israel, and antisemitism is practically non-existent.

Please make the point when speaking with family, friends, colleagues—or in letters to the editor—that we American Jews cannot wait for someone else to protect us. We’ve made this mistake before with catastrophic consequences. As Jewish activist Shabbos Kestenbaum, recently noted, “No one is coming to protect you except you.”

If you agree we need to spread this truth, please use your email browser to forward this Hotline issue to fellow lovers of Israel—and encourage them to join us by subscribing to the Hotline at no charge.

Best regards,
James Sinkinson, President
Facts and Logic About the Middle East (FLAME)

P.S. Surely you’ve recently read of some celebrity, politician, radical student, politician or media pundit slander Israel with the “Gaza genocide” lie. Many who spread this lie are ignorant, but most are anti-Israel haters. They care nothing for the truth. The tragedy is, when they utter the Gaza genocide falsehood, too few knowledgeable people—and virtually no media—stand up to refute it. Indeed, when you share the simple facts, the genocide lie crumbles. Upon learning that Israel conducts its war against Hamas terrorists with the highest ethical standards—and that nothing Israel does in Gaza fits the definition of genocide—fair-minded people quickly see through the lie. I hope you’ll agree that we supporters of the Israel-U.S. relationship need to speak out. FLAME’s new hasbarah—explanatory message—“Facts Shatter Gaza Genocide Lies”—describes what genocide is and is not and proves factually that Israel’s tactics in the war are ethical and righteous. It also reveals demographic data showing that the Palestinian population in Gaza is actually increasing. Finally, it notes that those who spread the Gaza genocide lie fit the classic definition of antisemites. Please review this convincing, fact-based editorial, which FLAME has been published in leading social media, as well as in the Washington Post, New York Post, Chicago Tribune, Tampa Bay Times, Denver Post, Houston Chronicle, Mercury News and Los Angeles Times. This piece will also be sent to all members of Congress, the President and Vice President. If you agree that this kind of public relations effort on Israel’s behalf is critical, I urge you to support us with a donation.