The Blogs: This Rosh Hashanah, Jewish Unity Is Our Answer

As the sun sets and the Jewish people welcome Rosh Hashanah 5787, we are not simply beginning another year.

We are making a statement.

We are still here.

After thousands of years of exile, persecution, expulsions, pogroms and the Holocaust, the Jewish people are still standing. We still gather around our tables. We still dip the apple into honey. We still pray. We still hear the ancient call of our tradition. We still teach our children who they are.

And we still say, without apology, Am Yisrael Chai.

This Rosh Hashanah comes at a painful moment.

Antisemitism has again become frighteningly visible around the world. Jewish communities are entering the High Holy Days with heightened concerns about hatred and security.

Israel, meanwhile, faces growing international isolation and political pressure. Several governments have announced or are considering restrictions on trade involving Israeli settlements, while political campaigns to boycott Israel continue to generate fierce controversy.

Israel can be criticized. Every democracy can be criticized.

But criticism becomes something darker when facts no longer matter, when the Jewish state alone is treated as uniquely illegitimate, when Israelis are collectively demonized, and when Jews thousands of kilometers away are expected to answer for the actions of a government simply because they are Jewish.

History teaches us to recognize where dehumanization can lead.

We should be careful with comparisons to the Nazi era because the Holocaust was a unique catastrophe in human history. But we should also refuse to forget one of its most important lessons.

Hatred does not begin with gas chambers.

It begins when hatred becomes socially acceptable.

It begins when an entire people is reduced to a stereotype.

It begins when people decide that Jewish suffering matters less than the suffering of others.

It begins when the world becomes comfortable looking away.

That is why Jewish unity matters so much now.

We Jews argue about everything.

Religious and secular. Left and right. Ashkenazi and Sephardi. Israeli and Diaspora. Orthodox, Conservative, Reform and Jews who enter a synagogue only once a year.

We can disagree passionately about governments, policies and politics.

But we must never allow those disagreements to make us forget that we are one people.

Our enemies rarely ask which synagogue we attend before deciding that they hate us.

So why should we allow our differences to separate us?

Look around the Middle East and see what sectarian hatred has done. Sunni and Shia communities have been drawn into devastating conflicts. Rival ideologies, ethnic divisions and political struggles have torn societies apart.

The Jewish people cannot afford that path.

Our strength has never come from numbers. We are a tiny people.

Our strength comes from memory.

From family.

From faith.

From education.

From responsibility for one another.

From Israel.

And above all, from unity.

Israel is not merely another country on a map. For the Jewish people, it represents something extraordinary. After centuries in which Jews depended upon kings, governments and strangers for protection, the Jewish people once again possess a homeland capable of defending Jewish life.

That does not mean Israel is perfect.

It means Israel is precious.

There is an enormous difference.

This Rosh Hashanah, celebrating Jewish life itself becomes an act of defiance against those who would prefer Jews to hide.

Light the candles proudly.

Go to synagogue proudly.

Teach your children Jewish history.

Tell them about Jerusalem.

Tell them about the generations who came before them.

Tell them that being Jewish is not something to whisper.

And stand with Israel without being frightened into silence.

We must also remember that Jewish strength does not require hatred of another people. We can defend Israel fiercely while recognizing the humanity and dignity of Palestinians, Muslims, Christians and every innocent person who wants to live in peace.

Our answer to hatred cannot be more hatred.

Our answer must be strength with humanity.

Truth with courage.

And unity with purpose.

This year, when we taste the honey, let us pray not only for a sweet year.

Let us pray for a stronger Jewish people.

For the safety of Jews everywhere.

For the people of Israel.

For the soldiers protecting their families.

For every family carrying grief.

For peace.

For truth to overcome propaganda.