What's the Next Move in Venezuela? Last Chance for Healthcare Subsidies. Economic Uncertainty Reigns.

A Surge of Violence and the Fear of What Comes Next

The attack on Bondi Beach in Sydney was a clear act of radical Islamic terror, targeting a Hanukkah celebration and killing multiple people. At nearly the same time, reports emerged of a shooting at Brown University and an arrested plot against a Christmas market in Germany. On their own, each incident is horrifying. Taken together, they raise an uncomfortable question about whether the world is entering another period of elevated, coordinated extremist violence.

What makes this moment especially dangerous is historical memory. The early 2000s were marked by a similar pattern of escalating attacks that culminated in September 11 and reshaped global politics for decades. The aftermath brought wars, surveillance powers, and civil liberties tradeoffs that most Americans now agree went too far. That is why rhetoric matters so much right now. Calls to “globalize the intifada” are not abstract slogans when people with violent religious motivations already see no distinction between Jews in Israel and Jews anywhere else. A pluralistic society depends on understanding that dignity and humanity are not universally shared assumptions, and pretending otherwise leaves us vulnerable.