THE language of Jihad is confined to the spreading of terror. It is not an invitation to a debate or civil discourse of any kind. It forsakes the presentation of ideas in favor of mob veto, the silence of intimidation.

Desperate times call for degenerate measures. For American Jews, this would be a good time to call upon Phillip Roth.

In an ordinary year, this week, specifically the days November 9 and 10, would call to mind Kristallnacht—the night of the broken glass. Given the grotesque carnage in southern Israel on October 7, global Jewry is today mindful of a brokenness far worse than glass—the confidence of their place in the world, which far too many had believed was secured.