The bodies of people, some of them elderly, lie on a street after they were killed during a mass-infiltration by Hamas gunmen from the Gaza Strip, in Sderot, southern Israel, Oct. 7, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Ammar Awad

My great-grandmother’s grave was desecrated last week. Her name was Gitale Bernhold. She was a Holocaust survivor from Charleroi, Belgium, and her headstone was one of 85 in the Jewish section of a Marcinelle cemetery that had their Stars of David wrenched off and thrown in the trash.

I didn’t have the chance to know her, but I will share her story. She came to Belgium from Poland in the early 1920s to escape the pogroms — violent antisemitic riots to which the authorities turned a blind eye.

Once she arrived, she considered Belgium her home country. She was proud to learn French and integrate into her new nation’s culture. She was grateful to Belgium for providing refuge from the dangers she faced in Poland.

Her life could begin again; others were not so lucky. The Nazis arrested two of my great-grandfathers in Charleroi and sent them to Auschwitz-Birkenau. They never returned.

My grandmother survived the Holocaust thanks to a family that hid her, putting their own lives at risk to do the right thing. In 1995, they were honored as Righteous Among the Nations by Yad Vashem.

My grandfather was saved by an entire village, along with his brother and their mother, whose grave was also desecrated last week. He often speaks about how — even though everyone in his village knew he was Jewish — he was not afraid when the Nazis came, because he knew no one would reveal him. And across three years of occupation, no one did.

These stories reinforce my belief that local leaders are key to fighting antisemitism, especially in terms of building resilience against hatred over the long term. These stories also show the importance of being on the right side of history; the people who saved my family chose to be Upstanders rather than Bystanders, and we remember their names.

Two months after the October 7 massacre, with antisemitism rising and Hamas still holding approximately 130 Israelis hostage, we all — individuals, organizations, and elected leaders — find ourselves asking questions: Where did we fail? What is our responsibility? What have we missed?

We have the duty to pause and review our strategy, adapt to this new reality, and ensure that “never again” really is now. That’s only possible if we put our differences aside and protect our democracies from hatred and bigotry — after all, persecution that starts by targeting Jews inevitably targets others.

Along with many other Jews, I hoped that antisemitic atrocities like those perpetrated by Hamas belonged to the past. If we can’t vow to prevent such brutality in the future, we have forgotten the lessons of the past, and failed as a society.

We cannot afford to fail, and that requires us to confront uncomfortable realities.

When Hitler shared his vision for the Jews, the world didn’t listen. When Hamas shared its vision, we didn’t listen. We hoped slogans like “From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free” were just campaign rhetoric, not declarations of intent. Many thought the Hamas charter was so cartoonishly hateful that no one could really support it. We were wrong.

My children — Ari, 4, and Daniella, 2 — live between the river and the sea. What do you think Hamas has planned for them?

Ari and Daniella spent the past eight weeks running to our bomb shelter every day, several times a day. Each grabs their favorite toy and runs to the bomb shelter. That’s what it is to be a Jewish child these days.

From now on, we will listen — and act.

Jewish businesses, schools, synagogues, and institutions are under threat. My Holocaust survivor grandfather, who is my personal hero, had to witness the events of October 7 and accompanying antisemitic demonstrations in the streets of Europe and America.

By not preventing it, I feel that I failed him personally, and it tears me apart. Never again.

Our world has failed Jews on many occasions, yet the righteous have always won out in the end. We can build a world of respect and acceptance by fighting antisemitism and extremism. This demands leadership, not just nationally but locally, driven by leaders who have a daily connection to their constituents.

If you are a local leader, don’t underestimate your power. If you are a national leader, choose to use it for good. If you are a person who is willing to stand up for your Jewish neighbors, you belong in our movement.

History will remember. Please join us in this fight.

Sacha Roytman Dratwa is Chief Executive Director of the Combat Antisemitism Movement.