A Prophecy from an Expert
Yoram Hamizrachi East was a decorated Israeli officer, war journalist, terrorism scholar, and my father. After immigrating to Canada, he advised foreign ministers on counterterrorism and even co-directed a Winnipeg counter-terrorism center.
In the early 2000s, he warned that mass immigration from Muslim-majority countries would bring growing antisemitism and anti-Western sentiment into the West, not blowing up on distant battlefields but erupting in our own cities.
By his account, the coming conflict would be fought as a kind of low-level war on the streets of Europe and North America. His credentials as a former IDF colonel and counterterrorism expert lend weight to this stark prediction.
Rising Antisemitism and Extremism
Today, Hamizrachi’s warning is supported by alarming data. In surveys of European Jews, roughly nine out of ten say antisemitism is rising in their countries, and over a third are even considering emigrating because they no longer feel safe.
Officials note that much of this new hostility is coming from immigrant communities.
A European Parliament report cited an American Jewish Committee study finding that “anti-Semitic attitudes are much more prevalent among Muslims,” with majorities of European Muslims agreeing with antisemitic stereotypes.
54% agreed that Jews exploit their victim status, 49% that Jews have too much economic power, etc. By contrast, such figures are far lower in the general population. In short, regions with rising Muslim immigration are also showing spikes in anti-Jewish prejudice.
At the same time, Western governments report a resurgence of homegrown Islamist radicalization.
As the FBI noted, the post–9/11 era has seen Western countries grapple with a growing tide of “homegrown Islamist terrorism,” radicals among us inspired by extremist ideology against Western values.
In Europe and North America, we have already witnessed a series of deadly jihadist attacks and failed plots in recent years. These trends, rising antisemitism and Islamist radicalism, align uncannily with Hamizrachi’s decades-old forecast of a looming ideological clash.
From Campuses to City Streets
Across Europe and North America, Hamizrachi’s “war in the streets” is unfolding. Pro-Palestinian rallies have become flashpoints for antisemitic hostility.
In a new report on universities across eight European countries, B’nai B’rith International and allied groups found that since October 2023, “antisemitic narratives and attitudes were regularly being normalized” at campus protests.
Many university officials have hesitated to act, leaving Jewish students feeling intimidated.
For example, surveys of Jewish students in Vienna and elsewhere reported fear and social isolation amid chants of “From the river to the sea” and other anti-Jewish slogans. This chilling scene, campus activists openly invoking intifada, directly mirrors Hamizrachi’s warnings.
And these clashes are not confined to classrooms.
Major Western cities have seen massive street demonstrations against Israel, often blending anti-Israel rhetoric with broader anti-Western vitriol.
In July 2025, pro-Palestinian marchers in London held placards declaring “Stop the slaughter” and blasting Western governments’ support of Israel.
In many cases, these marches have escalated into violence, scuffles between pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian crowds, attacks on Jewish businesses or synagogues, and assaults on bystanders.
These urban flashpoints, from Paris to Los Angeles, look like the very “battle lines” on city streets that Hamizrachi foresaw.
While some critics argue that not all immigrants hold extremist views and that Europe’s secular culture will ultimately prevail, the scale of recent incidents, hate-crime spikes, canceled community events, and shuttered synagogues suggests a crisis beyond isolated cases.
Preparing for the Storm
If these trends continue over the next decade, Hamizrachi’s grim scenario may become reality. Demographic forecasts show European Muslim populations growing, and younger generations in these communities often report higher levels of radical political attitudes than their parents.
Meanwhile, antisemitic incidents continue to climb.
Last year, for example, the European Commission and human-rights organizations documented double-digit percentage increases in anti-Jewish violence in multiple EU countries. In North America, too, Jewish communities have endured historic waves of vandalism and assault tied to Middle East politics.
In the face of this, Hamizrachi’s voice is a call to action, not pessimism.
He always urged vigilance and firmness: he taught that societies must confront hate abroad and at home. His prophecy was intended as a warning.
Today, we must heed it by enforcing hate-crime laws, integrating immigrant communities with strong civic education, and bolstering security for threatened minorities.
Denial or delay would only allow his forecast to play out.
Hamizrachi believed clear-eyed realism was the Zionist and democratic duty. If we ignore his warning of a “street war,” we risk finding ourselves unprepared when that war arrives on our very sidewalks.
The opinions and facts presented in this article are those of the author, and neither TheJ.Ca nor its partners assume any responsibility for them.
Born in Jerusalem, Yoram Hamizrachi was a seventh-generation Jerusalemite on his father’s side. He was, by turn, a journalist and author, soldier and counter-terrorism expert, lecturer and community activist, restaurateur, artist, and fortune teller.