From 9/11 until the murder of Charlie Kirk on September 19, 2025, there are far too many examples of a steady decline of the morals within our global society over the past quarter of a century. Many of us back then hoped that what we saw back then would be the worst thing we would ever see in our lifetime. We hoped that it would be the beginning of a positive progression towards a better world. We hoped society might wake up. And yet, if we are to be honest, evil is not diminishing at all. On the contrary. It is growing at an alarming pace.

As a proud Jew and son of Holocaust survivors, I have always been deeply connected to the horrors the Jewish people have endured. Because of my upbringing, I have known that true evil exists for as long as I can remember, and while it creates a burden in one’s life to spend a lifetime with this realization, like any other disease, acknowledging it and confronting it is the only viable approach. After October 7th I was devastated and furious at the same time. But I held hope, as I always do, that there will be better days ahead. Sadly, evil is not only increasing at a frightening rate, because of technology, specifically social media, it is more on display than ever before.

From 9/11 until the murder of Charlie Kirk on September 19, 2025, there are far too many examples of a steady decline in morals within our global society over the past quarter of a century. Many of us back then hoped that what we saw would be the worst thing we would ever experience in our lifetime. We hoped it would be the beginning of a positive progression toward a better world. We hoped society might wake up. And yet, if we are honest, evil is not diminishing at all. On the contrary, it is growing at an alarming pace.

As a proud Jew and son of Holocaust survivors, I have always been deeply connected to the horrors the Jewish people have endured. Because of my upbringing, I have known that true evil exists for as long as I can remember. While it creates a burden in one’s life to live with this realization, like any other disease, acknowledging it and confronting it is the only viable approach. After October 7th, I was devastated and furious at the same time. But I held hope, as I always do, that there would be better days ahead. Sadly, evil is not only increasing at a frightening rate—because of technology, specifically social media—it is more on display than ever before.

As I have been every year since 2001, I am very aware as September 11th approaches. Coming into the 24th anniversary of a day I will never forget, I planned to acknowledge it, as I do every year, with respect and reverence. But unfortunately, what I have seen in just a matter of a few days has crystallized not only the significance of the day—it has also magnified the fact that, as a global society, we are in bigger trouble today than we were 24 years ago.

The first incident was the shooting of six innocent civilians—five men and one woman—all of whom were Orthodox Jews, shot at a bus stop in Jerusalem. As has been the case long before I was born, and for as long as I can remember, these were people killed for what many perpetrators of evil see as the ultimate crime: the crime of being Jewish. I have no doubt there were more evil people out there celebrating the death of what they would refer to as “occupiers” and “colonizers.”

The second incident was the vicious murder of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska. Although this happened on August 22, the footage surfaced only this week. The attack took place in Charlotte, NC, on mass transit, and the video showed a deranged and evil psychopath stabbing the young woman in the neck. The attack itself was horrifying enough, but what you see afterward only compounds the focus on our society’s demise. People did nothing to help her. The attack happened very quickly, and the perpetrator looked terrifying, so I understand why no one tried to intervene. But as Iryna lay bleeding to death, and the attacker had fled, people sitting near her simply got off the train. Not one lifted a hand to help her. Hard to fathom, but it is there for everyone to see.

The third incident was the assassination today of Conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Regardless of your political views, having a high-profile husband and father of two—someone who welcomed and encouraged debate with people who differed from him on political and religious ideologies—assassinated while doing nothing other than speaking to a willing crowd, is one more black mark on our society. Charlie Kirk was a 31-year-old man who openly welcomed people with opinions he disagreed with. Regardless of anyone’s political opinions, even if you disliked him for how he thought, if you believe he deserved what happened to him today, you need to take a good look at yourself and wonder which direction you are going on the scale of good and evil.

Optimism might be the last thing anyone would feel after a week like this on the eve of the anniversary of the worst attacks ever on American soil. Well then, let me show you where we can indeed find a way forward that makes our future look brighter. One of the things I felt more clearly than ever before, after seeing reactions to the assassination of Charlie Kirk, is that our battles are not about politics or even ideologies. This was evident in the number of people who condemned his murder and expressed condolences and prayers for his family. The biggest battle our society faces is not a battle between two sides that disagree on the best course of action. The biggest battle is the same one it has always been: the battle of good against evil. And if we look at history, evil and the devastation it causes have always made far more noise—but good has ultimately, always been victorious.

As important as these, and other awful incidents may be, in many ways the reaction of the populace is equally important. After October 7th, proud Jews and Zionists like myself witnessed masses of people siding with terrorists over murdered, raped, and tortured innocent men, women, and children. But we also saw supporters in places we never expected, and non-Jewish voices shouting at least as loudly as Jewish ones. True evil attracts evil, while true good will never be altered by evil. All of these incidents make the battle lines between good and evil more clear—something we need to see if evil is ever to be wiped from the earth.

As we remember 9/11 and all other victims of evil, if we all use whatever tools we have at our disposal to be forces of good, I believe good will do what it has done since the beginning of time: win.

Am Yisrael Chai

Never Again is Now!

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