I’m done with Jewish silence

This isn’t the time to be silent.

I’m done pretending it is. I didn’t grow up thinking Israel was some political argument you could mute when it got messy.

I grew up watching what real Jewish responsibility looks like. My mother became religious later in life, but she didn’t do it for the synagogue photos or the lifestyle. She did it because she believed being Jewish meant showing up for people you know and for people you will never meet. She went to Russia to help sneak Jews out. She raised money for Ethiopian Jews whose children became my best friends in the army, some of the strongest, funniest, most loyal people in my life.

And it wasn’t just them.

Growing up, many of the people who truly had my back were Black. Friends who didn’t need a full lecture on Jewish history to understand loyalty. Friends who didn’t disappear when things got hard. Friends who would take a punch for you without needing to make a speech about it first. That’s what solidarity looks like. Courage. Community. Showing up. So forgive me if I’m done with Jewish silence right now.

Done with the people who treat Israel like a subscription they can cancel when it gets uncomfortable.

Done with the ones who say “it’s complicated” as a way to avoid being counted.

Done with the ones who think silence keeps them safe.

It doesn’t. And it never has. My mom didn’t risk her life in Soviet Russia so I could grow up watching Jews zip their mouths to stay socially comfortable.

The parents of my Ethiopian friends didn’t walk across deserts and escape persecution so their kids could build new lives in Israel only for other Jews to shrug and say, “Not my issue.” And the non Jewish friends who showed up for me my entire life didn’t model loyalty so I could turn around and accept silence from my own people. I love my community. I love my friends. But silence right now isn’t neutral. It isn’t innocent. It’s anti. And it betrays everything previous generations fought for.

This is not the moment for shrinking. This is not the moment for dodging. This is not the moment for staying out of it. We are one people, whether we act like it or not. And if this message upsets someone, that means they finally heard it. My mother taught me something simple. You show up for your people. Especially when the world is against them. And right now, silence isn’t just disappointing. It’s dangerous. I’m done with it and you should be too.