Wake Up. Step Out. Take Action.
As Rosh Hashana rises with the first light of a new Jewish year, I stand with my people, hearts heavy from a year of relentless challenge, war, and trauma. Not the aftermath of trauma, but its very presence — the Jewish people are experiencing collective trauma. It is not PTSD, it is CTSD, current traumatic stress disorder. The terrorists and their supporters are not giving us a chance to move on from the ongoing nightmare of hatred and violence. It has been perhaps the hardest year in my lifetime as a Jew. For many years, I have been a Jewish activist, I have represented and fought for our people, our values, our future. And for so long, I felt like the person who woke up in the middle of night, while everyone else was asleep, while far too many ignored the danger growing and spreading.
The silent majority. The complacent. Those who looked away, unwilling or unable to recognize the rising tide of antisemitism, of anti-Jewish racism, of hatred disguised in the false clothing of anti-Zionism and anti-Israel rhetoric. Those of us who took action, who raised our voices, maybe we were prepared. And yet, as prepared as we were, the scale of what we are now seeing is devastating. I have repeatedly said that I am shocked but not surprised.
But now the world begins to stir. Slowly, painfully, people are waking up—waking to the hatred that has festered for too long. It is no longer hidden in dark corners or whispered in secret; it has erupted into the open, undeniable and grotesque. We see it in the streets, on campuses, online, on social media, in the media, and in public forums. The hatred of Jews, hiding behind thinly veiled attacks on Israel and Zionism, has found new life and new excuses. But we know the truth: anti-Zionism, is simply a code for antisemitism. It is the same old hate, recycled and rebranded. And we can no longer afford to ignore it.
Here we are, at the dawn of a new year. With the privilege of another day—a new day to live, to fight, to protect our future, and the future of all who stand with us. Yet, this past year has wounded us deeply. It has shaken our foundations, tested our spirit, and pushed us to our limits. But as Jews, we have always risen from the ashes. Our history is one of survival, of resilience, of finding strength in the face of despair.
The world has thrown its worst at us, time and time again, and each time we have emerged stronger, more united, more determined. We are a people defined by our refusal to be broken. We have endured millennia of hatred, persecution, and violence, but we have never allowed it to define us. Instead, we have allowed it to strengthen us, to deepen our resolve, to remind us of what we are fighting for.
As we look to the future, we know the path ahead is steep and treacherous. It will not be easy. But this is a path we must walk—not just for ourselves, but for all who believe in unity, in diversity, in democracy, in progress, in security, and in freedom. This is our mission. We are at war. Not just a war of bullets and bombs, but a war of ideas, of narratives, of truth versus lies. A war for the very soul of our people and the values we hold dear.
This Rosh Hashana is more than a time for reflection. It is a call to arms. We are in a moment of “all hands on deck.” The days of complacency are over. We need every Jew and every true ally to step forward, to take action, to stand with us. We must gather strength from our faith, our culture, our ethnicity, our peoplehood. We are the descendants of those who fought and struggled to survive, and they won. We are here because they refused to be silenced, because they refused to be erased. And now it is our turn to rise.
We must rise as we have always risen—together, as one people. With our true allies at our side, we will carry the torch of light, justice, and hope into the darkest corners of the world. We will not be silenced. We will not be erased. We will not allow hatred to define us or dictate our future.
We stand at a crossroads. One path leads to complacency, to inaction, to the slow erosion of our rights, our safety, our future. The other leads to action, to unity, to a fierce and unyielding defense of who we are and what we stand for. The choice is clear. We must choose action. We must choose resilience. We must choose life.
We will fight because we must. We will stand because we cannot fall. And we will win because the truth is on our side. Our future, and the future of all who share our values, depends on it.
This Rosh Hashana, let us remember that we are not alone. We stand with generations of Jews who have fought before us, and we stand and fight for our future, together with our allies alongside us now. Together, we will move forward. Together, we will ensure that Am Israel Chai—our people, our spirit, our future—lives.
Am Israel Chai.
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Yuval David is a Jewish and LGBTQ+ activist and advisor. He is an Emmy Award-Winning actor, filmmaker, and journalist. Follow him on Instagram, X, Youtube, and Facebook, and TikTok.