Who we are
Inspired by tikkun olam and wanting to give back to countries that have given to us, we are driven to make a difference and help others.
There are two characteristics in particular that define Jews.
One is we make an outsized contribution to the societies in which we live. Inspired by tikkun olam and wanting to give back to countries that have given to us, we are driven to make a difference and help others.
On that note, we salute those recognised in this year’s King’s Birthday Honours.
This year’s recipients span the law and arbitration, science, several fields of medicine, psychology, LGBTIQA+ advocacy, local government, education and more.
They are excellent ambassadors for our community – especially in these current times – and we wish them all a hearty mazal tov.
The second thing is that we Jews are a global family.
As such, the people of Israel are our brothers and sisters, and especially since October 7, we have felt their pain and grieved with them, often viscerally. We have pined for the hostages in Gaza like they are our own daughters and sons, our own siblings, our own mothers and fathers. Our joy was therefore just as visceral on Saturday night with the news that four hostages, including Noa Argamani, had been rescued by the IDF. While many more remain captured, for a brief moment it illuminated the darkness we have all been living in for eight months.
We shouldn’t be surprised that certain sections of the media along with the Greens tried to take that one moment of happiness from us by turning the Hamas terrorists and their co-conspirators, who held innocent hostages captive, into the victims. And let us brush off that yet again Hamas escaped their blame for any innocent deaths resulting from the rescue operation.
Because getting back to our first point, our contribution to the betterment of society will always outweigh that of poorly run media outlets or a band of despicable elected extremists that cynically seek to divide.
Similarly, many of the brave IDF soldiers currently fighting to keep the family of Israel safe will, when the war ends, go back to their civilian fields in high-tech, science, medical research, agtech and more, where they will get back to helping make the world a better place.
Because that is simply who we Jews are.
comments