Heritage Florida Jewish News - Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice

I wrote this originally in June of this year...it seems more appropriate now than ever

When the Second Jewish Commonwealth was declared in 1948, there were Jews in America who were not sure whether to cheer or pretend not to care. 1948. What I call the “Sha Still Generation.” It was a time of meekness in the American Jewish psyche.

A time when Jewish parents would take their young daughters to get their noses bobbed so they “wouldn’t look so Jewish.” When families changed their names from Cohen to Kane so they could more easily “fit in.”

It took some time for Jews here to realize the impact and marvel of the rebirth of the Jewish Nation, our Homeland. Slowly, the attitude changed. In 1948 as Israel fought for its very existence, it slowly dawned on American Jews that we were a “People.” A “People” whose very existence had been in danger of being destroyed by the Nazis in the 1930s and 1940s.

To be a “People” you need two things: A nation of your own and a language of your own. We have both. A language called Hebrew and a nation called Israel.

We formed that nation over 2000 years ago. We lost it in a war with the Romans. The Romans lost the nation to the Philistines, who lost it to the Turks. In WWI the Turks lost it to the British and we took it back from the British in 1948.

The Rebirth of Israel slowly changed the attitude of the Diaspora Jews about their heritage, their lives and their pride in who they are.

On the other hand, there are still those within the Jewish community who have their doubts. They speak of the present government in Jerusalem in a negative sense. They do not approve of their “right wing” approach to governance. But, they do not live in the daily fear that their home or car or bus stop will be attacked.

Do I agree with everything the Netanyahu government does? Of course not. But it does not affect my daily life. I do not go to sleep at night wondering if my home will be bombed while I am sleeping or whether my car will be driven into by a suicide bent Arab.

What I worry about is the silence of the American Jewish community. They seem more upset about a fool like George Santos claiming to be “Jewish” than a rocket attack that kills Israeli children.

If there was ever a time for activism it is now. No need to volunteer for the IDF. Do not take to the streets in protest. But you can study what bills are up for a vote in Congress as to whether any of them affect the Jewish Homeland. You can send letters to editors of publications that use Israel as an easy target for hidden antisemitism.

You can speak at available forums to tell the Israeli story. You can support the local Holocaust Museum as it shows what can happen when antisemitism reaches a crescendo.

You can root out those on the political far right who support organizations like “The Proud Boys” or more subtly follow anti-Jewish tropes. “Letters to the editor” still work. I live in a city where there is no platform to directly get the truth out to the public through speeches at Rotary or Kiwanas They say: “Oh no, that’s politics. We don’t talk politics.” The local Jewish Federation remains on the sidelines.

I live in frustration as I see an organized Arab community here promote “The NATION of Palestine,” which never existed except as a synonym for that small sliver of Arabia before the founding of the Second Jewish Commonwealth.

To demonize Israel is a subtle way of conveying antisemitic tropes in print, on the air or in public discourse. If the Jewish Nation is under attack so is every Jew.

Friends, we are at war. A bomb or rocket into a Jewish home in Israel is a bomb into a home of every Jew. No, we do not have to pay for repairs or try to recover from the trauma. But it is our homeland under attack.

This rises above any political discourse that may be taking place. Eventually Israel will figure out its political future. (Jews arguing? Gee, what a shock). You don’t live there? Then you cannot vote or have a voice in Israel’s future.

Our job? To get the truth out to as wide an audience as possible. Here in New Orleans the local newspaper has a page dedicated to international affairs, mostly reprinted national stories and very little about the Middle East. Our voice is the Editorial page. Have you ever written a letter to the editor? Try it, you might even succeed!

In New Orleans we have to do a difficult job. A city of 250,000 people and less than 10,000 Jews. Nobody said it’s easy.