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How Public Talk of Terror Strengthens Our Enemies

by Ram ben Ze'ev


How Public Talk of Terror Strengthens Our Enemies
How Public Talk of Terror Strengthens Our Enemies

In times of terror and tragedy, good people often struggle to know how to respond. The natural instinct — particularly in an age of relentless media and instant communication — is to speak: to share, to bear witness, to denounce evil aloud. Yet in doing so, many unintentionally serve the very purposes of those who commit such heinous acts.


This truth must be confronted, particularly by those who seek to live in accordance with Torah and Halakhah. Speaking publicly, graphically, and repeatedly about the horrors of a terror attack does not honour the victims. It spreads the evil. It empowers the enemies of civilisation. And, as I will show, it violates both the wisdom of our sages and the laws of decency commanded by G-D.



The Misguided and the Malicious

It is important to understand that there are two categories of people who spread such messages in the wake of a terror attack.


First, there are the well-meaning but misguided — Jews and non-Jews alike — who genuinely believe that by speaking out, by sharing graphic reports and images, they are "raising awareness," "honouring the victims," or "combating hatred." They do not realise that by repeatedly broadcasting and regurgitating these horrors — especially online — they are giving strength to the enemy, spreading fear, and energising those who hate us.


Second, there are those among the nations who know exactly what they are doing. Cloaked in false sympathy for the Jewish people, they knowingly fan the flames of hatred. They understand that each repetition of the horror, each public image of Jewish blood spilled, becomes a rallying point for enemies of Israel and the Jewish people. Under the guise of caring, they ensure that more evil follows.


The evidence is plain: more than 80 years after the Shoah, with thousands — if not tens of thousands — of organisations and hundreds of thousands of individuals who claim to be "fighting antisemitism," what do we see? Not less hatred, but more. Not fewer attacks, but a global resurgence of violence against Jews — worse than before the Second World War. The supposed "awareness campaigns" and public displays of grief have not stopped the tide. If anything, they have fuelled it.


Spreading Evil is Forbidden

Our Torah is clear: one must not spread speech that incites harm, hatred, or fear.


"לא תלך רכיל בעמך"

"You shall not go about as a talebearer among your people." (ויקרא Vayikra 19:16)


The Chafetz Chayim teaches that even when the words are true, if they cause damage or spread fear and hatred, they are forbidden. Recounting the graphic suffering of victims falls squarely into this category.


Furthermore, Mishlei teaches:

"ומוציא דיבה הוא כסיל"

"And he who spreads slander is a fool." (משלי Mishlei 10:18)


Even if not slander in the technical sense, publicising horror and evil feeds public panic and gives terrorists a platform. This is foolishness — and it must stop.


Honouring the Dead and the Community

Broadcasting images and details of the injuries suffered violates kavod haMet — the dignity of the dead — and kavod haTzibur — the dignity of the community.


Our sages teach:"כבוד המת" — Sanhedrin 46b — the dead must be treated with honour.


Publicly dissecting their suffering and broadcasting their final moments is a profound violation of this principle.



Likewise, the dignity of the Jewish people, kavod haTzibur, is damaged when we are shown as helpless victims before the eyes of the nations — especially when survivors of the Shoah are once again confronted with images that echo the horrors of their past.


Do Not Cause Needless Harm

The Halakhic principle of bal tashchit (בל תשחית) forbids needless destruction — not only of property but of emotional well-being.

"כי האדם עץ השדה" — דברים

Devarim 20:19 — and as Gemara teaches, this extends to the mental and spiritual harm we may inflict on others.


Forcing survivors, children, and the vulnerable to see and hear repeated images of brutality is needless destruction of their peace of mind. It serves no legitimate purpose and violates this commandment.


The Power of Silence

Finally, there is wisdom in restraint. As Pirkei Avot teaches:


"כל ימיי גדלתי בין החכמים, ולא מצאתי לגוף טוב משתיקה"

"All my days I grew up among the wise, and I have found nothing better for the body than silence." (אבות Avot 1:17)


In the face of terror, the Jewish response must be one of dignity, not sensationalism. Of unity, not division. Of strengthening life and goodness — not amplifying death and hatred.


A Reminder and A Call to Action

We must remind ourselves — and teach our communities — that in the aftermath of a terror attack, our sacred duty is not to perform online gestures, to issue public statements of grief for the sake of being seen, or to spread endless retellings of the horror.


Our duty is to honour the victims through direct action:


  • To directly support their families with deeds, not words.

  • To strengthen our personal resolve to build a world of greater goodness.

  • To pray directly to G-D, not to publicise our prayers for public approval or for social media performance.


Publicising the evil — recounting horrors to a hungry media or to the world online — does none of these things. It only spreads darkness. It feeds the very forces we oppose.



We must stop allowing our instinct for public speech to be mistaken for righteousness. The Jewish path — the path of Torah — is to act with modesty and dignity. Tefillah (תפלה, prayer) should be sincere and private, rising upward to G-D — not broadcast as spectacle.


Chesed (חסד, acts of loving-kindness) should be performed for the good of others — not for the attention of the world.


The enemies of good thrive on spectacle. Let us deny them that spectacle.


Instead, let us respond with real action:


  • With private, heartfelt tefillah to the Holy One, Blessed be He.

  • With tangible chesed to the survivors and families.

  • With the fortification of our communities in strength and unity.

  • And with a clear refusal to allow the media or the enemies of Israel to use Jewish pain for their purposes.


And let us not be naïve: those who cloak their hatred in feigned sympathy, who amplify our tragedies for the world to see, know exactly what they are doing. We must name this behaviour for what it is — and teach others to recognise it as well.


I call on my readers — and on all people of conscience — to adopt this path of dignity and truth. The next time tragedy strikes, let us not run to the microphone or the camera. Let us not post public lamentations for the eyes of the nations. Let us turn to G-D with sincerity. Let us turn to one another with deeds. Let us build, not perform. Let us silence the enemy with strength, not feed him with words.


This is the way of Torah. This is the path that honours the victims and fortifies life.


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