This past Monday night I joined 1100 other Denverites at a solidarity rally for Israel at the Hebrew Education Alliance synagogue. The feeling of common purpose in the room was tangible as rabbis, cantors, community members from every affiliation joined hands in support for Israel. The purpose of the rally was two fold. Firstly it showed Israel that they have friends thousands of miles away here in Colorado who support the war in Gaza, and secondly it helped participants to understand how critical it is for Israel to take military action to defend herself against an ongoing terrorist threat.
Op-Ed: Protestors Awake the Jew Inside
This past Monday night I joined 1100 other Denverites at a solidarity rally for Israel at the Hebrew Education Alliance synagogue. The feeling of common purpose in the room was tangible as rabbis, cantors, community members from every affiliation joined hands in support for Israel. The purpose of the rally was two fold. Firstly it showed Israel that they have friends thousands of miles away here in Colorado who support the war in Gaza, and secondly it helped participants to understand how critical it is for Israel to take military action to defend herself against an ongoing terrorist threat.
After listening to the many speakers including the Israeli deputy consul general Gil Artzyeli of Los Angeles, participants walked away with a greater understanding of the conflict and a resolve to defend Israel in the media war whichis also being waged against Israel,
When the rally was over we were greeted by a crowd of screaming protestors – some dressed in Arab garb waiving Palestinian flags and banners. All pumped up from the rally I had just left, I made a point to walk close by the demonstrators showing them I was unperturbed by their rants.
As I left the scene of the protestors I felt a rush of Jewish pride come over me – one that I had not felt in many years. Here I was in Denver being screamed at only because I was a Jew attending a rally for Israel! For the first time in many years I was being targeted because I am a Jew!
I then realized that I have thankfully lived in communities that have embraced me as a Jew, accepting me for who I am, and perhaps I had become too comfortable as a Jew to the point that I blended in just perfectly. Here in Colorado, even with a beard and fedora that’s not hard, and now after being verbally attacked, my inner Jewish identity was awakened, my Jewish pride kicked in and I experienced a feeling of closeness to my brothers and sisters in Israel.
When I was in Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine as a rabbinical student in the early Nineties, Ukraine had just adopted a new law that did not require Jews to include the word “Jew” in their passport. I remember one particular Jewish community activist was outraged. Now, he said, Jews won’t have that badge of religion to remind them that they are Jewish and they would lose their identity as Jews.
Perhaps it should not be necessary to claim our religion in our passports or walk by an angry crowd of anti Israel demonstrators to shake up our perhaps dormant Jewish pride. But if this is what it takes then perhaps the two minutes of verbal abuse by demonstrators is more than worth it.
Yonatan
My brother is not frum and until recently showed very little interest in his Jewish identity. Lately however, he has been fighting the anti-Israel propaganda on the internet. He is gathering information that he never had an interest in. He has never been to Israel and has no plans to go but we do have extensive and close family there. To him it is no longer a far-off battle but one being waged on his family members. The wave anti-Jewish, anti-Israel violence all over has awakened a feeling that regardless of where we daven or how much we observe, we are all vulnerable.
ari
tell ur brother that we salute to him!
post sem girl
yeah i guess its the same idea of the alter rebbe wanting the czr to win over russia back then…. rather have the jews oppressed cuz it keeps the majority of them more strong rather than having complete freedom of religion would lead to assimilation.