The Wake Up Call

[Want even more content from FPM? Sign up for FPM+ to unlock exclusive series, virtual town-halls with our authors, and more—now for just $3.99/month. Click here to sign up.]

Israel Ellis’s most recent book, The Wake Up Call: Global Jihad and the Rise of Antisemitism in a World Gone Mad, provides an examination of the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, highlighting its implications for global jihad and the sharp rise of antisemitism.

For Ellis, this attack is the culmination of decades of rising jihadist sentiment, a movement dangerously creeping its way into virtually every part of the world, including Western liberal democracies.

Ellis shares his personal reaction, especially as his son, Eitan, an IDF reservist, was called to duty that fateful morning. This connection intensifies his examination of the attack’s causes and consequences. During his visit to Israel in the aftermath, Ellis engages with those affected, listening to their stories and grappling with the broader questions of how and why October 7 could happen.

The book outlines seven critical observations that Ellis believes contributed to the attack: the East-West power struggle, the rise of non-state terror proxies backed by Iran, the misuse of international aid by Hamas, the perpetuation of the Palestinian refugee crisis by UNRWA, the spread of anti-Israel and antisemitic rhetoric in the West, the flaws in Israel’s political system, and the disunity among Jews. He argues that these factors, combined with hostility towards Israel, created a perfect storm leading to the October 7 attack.

To protect justice and peace, society must do all it can to push back against Jihadism, he believes, to protect the values of life, justice, freedom and peace for all peoples.

Interview with Israel Ellis below:

Why did you decide to write this book?

I wanted to do something to make a difference, after the horrible events of Oct. 7. The book is not something I decided to write, but it’s rather something that came to me as a result of speaking to people, and hearing the same question over and over again: “how did this happen?” The most important thing for me was to find a way to educate people who are ignorant of the situation, so that they can understand the impossible situation Israel is in, and to give some context, and some historical perspective, to how this tragedy came to be.

How has your politics changed since Oct. 7, and why?

I recognize now more than ever that reasonable situations require reasonable resolutions, from reasonable people. But we live in a world that lacks reasoning. I recognize that too many world leaders are not taking a moral stand. As somebody who is so connected to Israel, it is hard not to arrive at the inevitable conclusion that they have to do everything they can to defend themselves. And elsewhere in the world, we have to do everything we can do push back against Jihadist influence and their enablers. The radical left, unfortunately, doesn’t understand that their bedfellows will destroy our freedoms, if given a chance.

Who is the intended audience of the book?

People who do not really understand the context of the conflict, or the historical perspective of what is going on in the Middle East, and do not understand how this can affect them. I wanted to educate, to give them a balanced perspective, in as objective way as possible, using truths, facts and evidence.

What do you want to achieve through the book?

I want to move the needle when it comes to the cause and consequence of indiscriminate hatred. We must change our syllabus of education; we must define the rhetoric of hate that makes people feel unsafe, or lead to violence. This applies to all people, and cannot be for just one population, and not another.

Do you see any prospect for peace in the Middle East, and what shape would it take?

I think that the prospect for peace in the Middle East is going to be based on Israel’s strong security, so long as extremists like Hamas are funded and supported.

What are the most relevant points of concern for policymakers and diplomats dealing with the region today?

They must understand where the correct news is coming from out of the region, and not jump to conclusions. The default position should not be vilifying Israel, but rather determining facts on the ground. One of the most important things with policy is that you have to understand that the ideas of the West, when it comes to negotiations, do not necessarily jive with the ideas of the East. In Israel, they love life, and their entire idea and concept is survival is their highest priority. They seek to create a just and good society. But in terms of their enemies, this is not foremost in their minds. They are the lovers of death. Their motivation is very different. One has to understand what global jihad is really about, and one needs to separate the jihadists from the genuine Muslims. Jihadists are not partners in peace, because they see everything as a goal to conquer and destroy what the West stands for.

What were some of the most surprising or illuminating discoveries you made, as you were researching the book?

The people of Israel want to be heard. Everyone has been personally affected by the events of October 7. Everyone has something to say. I understood more clearly just how impossible the situation Israel is in now, how the world is working against it, and yet, how well the country manages to continue everyday life and move forward. The most difficult and disturbing realization is the idea that even though we live in a world that values life, and understands reasonableness, all of this goes out the door when it comes to Israel’s right to defend itself. There is little support for the Jewish people’s right to live in a free and just world, to be not hated and discriminated against. The most powerful impact that we’ve all experienced is the fact that people at the highest level of our political framework have become the useful idiots of the most extreme and dangerous terrorists of this world. They cannot seem to find the agency to protect society that they’ve been sworn to protect. They seem to continually cater to the extremists, which is very scary indeed.

What is your political background?

I am a graduate of Political Science from York University, and was a candidate for a member of parliament in 1993 for the New Democrat Party. At heart, I always had a sensitivity for socialist thought and equality. I certainly believed that liberal values complimented my idealism. But today, the extreme leftist ideology manipulated and corrupted our liberal values, that forced me to the right. I am a political scientist, and someone who participated as the youngest working member in Canada’s 1990 Royal Commission on Electoral Reform and Party Financing or RCERPF. It was established to investigate changes to Canadian election laws. So I have a pretty good understanding of systems of democracy and electoral process.

How can we maintain hope in this dangerous time?

By knowing of the need to change the narrative of our educational syllabus, and to become more actively involved. I want to believe that humanity will prevail. I want to believe that life is beautiful, and that we have a world that is a gift. But we must understand that we must risk certain liberties in order to achieve that. We must be realistic about the motivation behind those with extreme ideologies, and face that threat head on, and use whatever legislative and authority powers that we have within society to counter it, and to fight it at the at the highest the level, with the most moral of convictions.

What can the ordinary person do to fight antisemitism?

Recognize it for what it is. Do not turn a blind eye to something just because it affects somebody else. Educate yourself. Do not buy into the rhetoric, and be manipulated. Do not get dragged into the popular dissonance that is leading us away from our moral compass. We’ve seen in history what happens when antisemitism is left unchecked. We have to recognize the reality of how real it is, and we need to fight it. Because it’s not only antisemitism that this is about. It is anti-Christian, it is anti-Muslim, anti-freedoms, anti-LGBTQ. Because this extreme radical ideology taking hold, won’t stop with the Jewish people. It has an evil intent of subjugating and taking over the world. It’s like a parasite of the worst extreme.

What are some ideas to support the state of Israel?

We have to trust that Israel is the lighthouse of democracy in a region where there is no democracy. Israel is the first line of defense to a free world. It means we have to fight against the radical hatred movements like BDS. We really need to stand for Israel. We need to continue to support its army. We need to support its economy, its tourism, its people. By doing so, we are supporting ourselves. We are supporting freedom, the right of self-determination, sovereignty and the right to live life on our own terms. If that is jeopardized, our own freedoms become jeopardized.

How has Jihadism crept into North American society, and how do we stop it?

Jihadism has made its way into North American society because most people don’t understand jihadism. We have been duped and tricked into thinking the people who came to our democratic countries wanted a better life, but they instead have declared war on us. They planned it that way. We must get involved in the educational syllabus on all levels. We must be very clear about what rhetoric promotes hate, and we must counter that rhetoric. There are more embedded in our societies than we might think, who will, at any cost, infiltrate their ideology to the unwitting, and use everything that we stand for, against us.

Dave Gordon is a freelance writer whose work has appeared in the National Post, Globe and Mail, New York Times, BBC News, and many others. He is the author of three books and editor of sixteen. His website is DaveGordonWrites.com