The Eternal Nation Does Not Fear – We Live

Once again, our greatest nightmare became reality: More innocent Jews murdered.

Two innocent Israeli Embassy staff, HY”D, were shot dead on a street by a man who yelled “Free Palestine.” 

And this time it really could have been me. It happened outside an event hosted by my company. My colleagues were there, and this hits too close to home.

As a proud American, Jew, and Zionist who dedicates her life to advocating for the Jewish people, I am here to tell you that ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. We need a call to action. 

1. “Free Palestine” and similar slogans must be unequivocally rejected– if a murderer is yelling this phrase to justify gunning down Jews in public, then any society with moral clarity must distance itself from this terror-linked ideology before it is too late. A cyclist recently yelled this phrase at a visibly Jewish friend and me on the street in New York.  It is a camouflaged way to target and demonize Jews without saying so.  It must not be allowed any longer.
2. Jews need more security— In America, in Israel, and around the world. We need our governments to provide it. We also need to train and protect ourselves. Jews must feel safe walking on the street and living our lives. Full stop.
3. We need our allies to speak out against antisemitism— Antisemitism is not a Jewish problem, so it is not ours to solve, though we can and must advocate for ourselves. We need to strengthen our relationships with our allies and share with them how an attack on any Jew is an attack on every Jew. We are one nation with one heart, it is a blessing and a curse that we feel everything so deeply.  

Tonight I will go to sleep (or at least try) with a broken heart and a rare feeling of blood-boiling anger. We must mourn this loss.

But tomorrow, G-d willing, I will wake up and I will rededicate myself to advocating for the people I am most honored to be a part of. And I will wear my yellow pin on my chest, and I will have my Magen David necklace out, and the Israeli-American flag pin on my backpack.

I will walk in the streets of America with a sense of purpose and pride because I am a Jew and, despite everything, I am still here. We are still here, the miracle of miracles. 

I will bring more love, light, and mitzvot into this world that so desperately needs it, and I urge you to do one more act of kindness after you read this.

Because we deserve better. Our children deserve better. And the eternal nation doesn’t fear.
We live.