A couple of days ago, I was standing on a podium, addressing a group of about fifty people, talking about the current situation in Israel. I spoke of the very immediate feelings of shock and dismay at the news of the execution of six hostages by Hamas HYD.

Hersh Goldberg-Polin,
Eden Yerushalmi,
Ori Danino,
Alex Lobanov,
Carmel Gat,
and Almog Sarusi

At a time when discussions about a deal had reached a fever pitch, and after seeing the grace and anguish of Hersh Goldberg Polin’s parents throughout, but especially at the DNC in Chicago, this news hit especially hard.

I went on to analyze the current situation In Israel, as it relates to the circles of conflict and decision within which it must move. No adversaries are easy to defeat, no internal strife is easy to heal, no good but demanding friends are easy to accommodate, and no decisions at the highest levels of leadership are without short and long term consequences.

Perhaps for the first time in a long time I was worried that the unity I had begun to see healing the divisions which had weakened us before 10/7 was no longer ascendant. That place of division, strife and weakness is a place we can never return to. Never. It is more dangerous than any Hamas butcher or Iranian puppetmaster. And no one, not an angry protester, or a cornered politician has the right to put us there.

So there I was, thinking of all of the work we have done as a community, all of the funds raised, all of the antisemites challenged, all of the advocacy made to elected officials - and the deflating shadow of doubt began to creep into my vision. Not doubt of the ultimate triumph of the Jewish people over this challenge, or of the righteousness of our work, but rather the question of when, if ever, we will have done enough to overcome all of this.

And ‘all of this’ - it goes far beyond this week’s tragic and terrible news. Our family members are still in Gaza, encountering deadly adversaries at every turn. Our friends and cousins are still mourning the losses of October 7th, and the hundreds who have fallen since. Every one. Every day. There is no single fulcrum upon which this tragedy turns. It affects us all, all of the time.

The truth is that I am content to fight this battle for a very long time. I, and many of you, have been doing so in some way or another for most of our lives. But it tires and exhausts us, drains our energy - and when unwarranted or less well considered criticism comes at us, well, we try and turn it into something positive as I have often done. But truthfully that isn’t always possible.

That is why I was so thankful to hear the voice of a friend and former colleague, just returning from Israel, sharing with those gathered that the unity I value so much is alive and thriving in Israel. Perhaps it is hard to see through the headlines, or the passionate crowds, but it is still there. And the unity we here in America have demonstrated is seen and appreciated. It was a shot in the arm, at just the right time. We all need one, every now and then.

On Sunday, we begin the next chapter of our Rockland story. We start our community campaign. Our event will feature Aleeza Ben Shalom, THE Jewish Matchmaker, and we also now welcome Omri Goren, an incredible young musician with a story to tell about love, connection, and sacrifice. You can register until 2 P.M. today. Click HERE