September 22, 2023
\u00a0
We are here between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, a time when we\u2019re called to consider who we\u2019ll be in the year ahead \u2014 at a moment when the Jewish community itself is facing existential questions of who we are and what we stand for.
\u00a0
In the U.S. and Israel, democracy is under threat. And in both places, there is no choice\u00a0but\u00a0democracy.
\u00a0
Yet some leaders are taking a page right out of the authoritarian playbook: telling us that the majority of Jews who believe in democracy, in inclusivity, in pluralism \u2014 who believe that our safety is in solidarity with others, not opposition \u2014 are somehow disloyal, somehow threats.
\u00a0
Make no mistake: what threatens Jewish safety, what threatens Jewish values, what threatens the Jewish homeland, is the rising tide of anti-democratic extremism.\u00a0
\u00a0
We in the diaspora have heard loudly and clearly from our Israeli siblings that they\u2019re facing an emergency. That we need to show up before it\u2019s too late \u2014 BECAUSE of our love for Israel. BECAUSE of our history and values. BECAUSE if we care about democracy here, we must care about it there.
\u00a0
So I want to be clear to all of the Israelis standing up for democracy:\u00a0
\u00a0
American Jews are with you.
\u00a0
We\u2019re with you because we know the fight for democracy is our fight too \u2014 that the vast majority of American Jews believe in a Jewish, democratic Israel that lives up to its founding values of equality, freedom, and justice for all.
\u00a0
We\u2019re with you because, if we care about Jewish safety, the future of our homeland and our people, we have no choice but to heed your call and speak out.
\u00a0
This is not an easy moment. It\u2019s precarious and daunting to see democracy under threat in the two countries where Jews have gone to find safety and a home.
\u00a0
My grandparents miraculously survived the Shoah and came here. The few other surviving family went to Israel. All were able to build free, thriving lives \u2014 because of democracy.
\u00a0
So as we consider who we want to be in the year ahead, let\u2019s be clear about who we are as Jews and the values that we not only hold dear \u2014 but that are existential to our safety and our future.
\u00a0
And that gives us no choice: to stand up to extremism. To build inclusive, pluralistic societies. And to fight – tirelessly – for democracy.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
September 22, 2023\u00a0We are here between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, a time when we\u2019re called to consider who we\u2019ll be in the year ahead \u2014 at a moment when the Jewish community itself is facing existential questions of who we are and what we stand for.\u00a0In the U.S. and Israel, democracy is under threat. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8812","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n