As Americans and as Jews, we are horrified by the attacks in Israel, specifically targeting civilians.

The scale is unprecedented and the carnage virtually unimaginable. And almost immediately in the cesspool of social media, trolls and ill-informed apologists characterize these attacks as Israel’s (and Jews in general) comeuppance.

So we are clear, the equivocation of the Palestinian plight as pretext to this most inhumane invasion, the murder of young concert-goers, the abduction of toddlers, of the elderly, the torture, mutilation and parading of corpses as trophies — is, by any decent measure, invalid.

Recently, the 23andMe database was hacked, and the profiles of 999,999 Jews — specifically Jews — have been offered for sale on the dark web. During our holidays and other gatherings, we now must rely on armed security forces to help keep us safer from what seems like a never-ending escalation of anti-Semitic attacks.

These events and more have put Jews everywhere on an even higher sense of alert. History has taught us to be ever vigilant, to recognize hate, bias and ignorance — wherever and whenever it may occur. And today, it feels as though it surrounds us, suffocating us.

We hope that peace will eventually be restored. We hope that we can eventually feel safer in our houses of worship and even our own homes.

But that is not our world today. Today, we feel isolated, and feel that sense of other-ness. We listen helplessly to each news report that features the celebration of death and destruction of our ancestral families. We shudder at the unimaginable torment of fear, and of the faces of unadulterated hate. And we bristle at the suggestion that this was somehow deserved.

Today, we need our friends to stand up, to speak out, and to recognize our anguish.

Today, we need our friends to stand up and be counted.

Scott Nussinow is a lifelong resident of the Lewiston-Auburn area, and who has been active in social, religious and civic activities for decades.