A few hours after his kosher pizza shop was ransacked at 1708 S. Robertson in Pico-Robertson, Mark Douek reopened it as if nothing had happened.
“I cannot afford to be closed with this economy—taxes are very high, everything is high and I have my employees. I can’t tell them to stay home,” Douek said in a phone interview with the Journal.
At 7 a.m. on Tuesday, March 11, Douek received a call from the owner of the neighboring Robertson Specialty Pharmacy, Bob Eghbali, who told him that both the pharmacy and his pizza shop had been broken into. Douek rushed to his store and found the window smashed, appliances and flooring damaged, the cash register destroyed and money stolen.
Security camera footage revealed what had happened. Three hooded burglars broke in around 4 a.m. After shattering the window, they headed straight for the cash register.
Security camera screenshot
“I left the key in the register, but they decided to destroy the register rather than open it,” said Douek. “The alarm didn’t work for some reason. I forgot to put it on. It took them exactly three and a half minutes to trash the place and leave. I had some money inside the store and they found it.”
“It took them exactly three and a half minutes to trash the place and leave.” – Mark Douek
Douek estimates the damage to be between $15,000 and $20,000. It took the police three hours to arrive, but he doesn’t hold much hope that the burglars will be caught.
“At the pharmacy next door, it happens at least once or twice a year,” he said. “Thank God this was my first time.”
Stores in the area have experienced several break-ins. In September 2024, a large group of teenagers on bikes broke into the 7-Eleven in Pico-Robertson and trashed the place.
“There were maybe 100 of them. They just entered the store while it was open, took everything and left,” said Douek.
Eghbali estimates the damage to his pharmacy at around $15,000. He told the Journalthat break-ins started around the time COVID began, approximately five years ago. Although he keeps high-narcotics locked, burglars continue to break in, likely hoping to find drugs they can sell.
On Tuesday, Douek was bombarded with texts and calls from members of the Jewish community offering their support. Many also posted on his Instagram page.
“I’m grateful that no one was hurt,” he said. “I honestly don’t wish bad on these guys who broke in. I just wish they would fix their lives and become better people.”
“Isn’t it crazy that just expressing such a simple fact about who I am feels like a controversial statement?” asked Gal Gadot, upon accepting the ADL’s International Leadership Award at the annual “Never Is Now” conference in New York City. “But sadly, this is where we’re at today.”
Indeed. The 4,000 attendees, including 800 students, were there for precisely this reason. The two-day conference also featured Billie Jean King, who was honored with the ADL’s 2025 Changemaker Award; Israeli General Yoav Gallant; and actor and producer David Schwimmer.
Last year’s conference, five months after Oct. 7, was both refreshing and reassuring: the ADL finally got it, and CEO and National Director Jonathan Greenblatt got it more than many of us — immediately moving the nonprofit beyond partisan politics. This year’s conference was equally strong and morally clear, hitting back hard against Hellenistic Jews who have said nothing (or worse) after the worst antisemitic massacre since the Holocaust, while the Maccabees do all of the work. A main theme of the conference: normalization is not acceptable, but neither is silence.
As a parent, I wish they had delved further into precisely what created an environment in which college presidents are able to say before Congress that whether global Jewry should be wiped out “depends on the context.” Less of an obsession with “influencers” would also have been appreciated.
But for most of us, this is our first time going through something like this. We’re going to make mistakes; most important is that we learn from them — and quickly. “Because no matter where you stand,” said Greenblatt, “there’s no going back. The ground beneath us has profoundly shifted since Oct. 7.
“We are in a new era. The return of fear.”
Hen Mazzig onstage at the ADL Never Is Now at Javits Center on March 04, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for Anti-Defamation League)
The conference’s main message could be found in the remarks of the dynamic host Hen Mazzig, co-founder of the Tel Aviv Institute: the future of hope. “What brings us together in this room is something stronger than hate: the power of action, the strength of community, and the unwavering belief that we can and must make a difference. As painful as this time has been, we’re not letting fear define us. We are here today not just to talk about the crisis, but to push forward with solutions, with action, and with hope.”
“Antisemitism thrives when people look away, when they stay silent. But we are not silent. We are here, we are loud, and we are fighting back.” – Hen Mazzig
Because the future of hope is neither static nor silent. “Antisemitism thrives when people look away, when they stay silent,” Mazzig said. “But we are not silent. We are here, we are loud, and we are fighting back.”
The Return of Fear
“A distinguished historian noted that for the first time since 1948, Jewish Americans are now feeling something our ancestors in Poland, Germany, Tunisia, Iraq or wherever they lived knew far too well: fear,” Greenblatt said in his annual State of Hate address.
In the U.S., the percentage of Americans with “elevated” anti-Semitic attitudes jumped last year to 24%, more than double the 2019 figure and the highest level since 1964. There were more than 10,000 antisemitic incidents in America, the highest number the ADL has ever recorded in any single 12-month period since they started tracking such data in the 1970s. On campuses, more than 83% of Jewish students have witnessed or experienced antisemitism since Oct. 7.
ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt speaks onstage ADL’s Never Is Now at Javits Center on March 03, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for Anti-Defamation League)
“Beyond our shores, I don’t remember a time when diaspora communities faced more uncertainty,” said Greenblatt. “We are seeing waves of violence in once-safe places like Sydney and Toronto. Synagogues torched, homes defaced, cars vandalized — this is the new norm for Jews in so many liberal democracies.”
“We can’t keep doing the same thing and expect a different result. We must identify what works and what doesn’t deliver results, fix what has fallen short, stop doing what flat-out doesn’t work, and constantly, relentlessly, ruthlessly innovate.”
“We still have self-described ‘progressives’ — in major nonprofits, professional associations, news outlets, and in elected office — who see themselves as the ‘parity police,’ refusing to acknowledge anti-Jewish hate on its own and gaslighting us about what is or is not antisemitic.” – Jonathan Greenblatt
Perhaps the most important step the ADL took was to depoliticize antisemitism last year. Still, many on the left refuse to acknowledge it, even now. “We still have self-described ‘progressives’ — in major nonprofits, professional associations, news outlets, and in elected office — who see themselves as the ‘parity police,’ refusing to acknowledge anti-Jewish hate on its own and gaslighting us about what is or is not antisemitic,” Greenblatt said.
Education
Ambassador-Designate to the United Nations Elise Stefanik delivered a powerful speech, receiving partisan boos only once. “From capitals to campuses, we have watched too many with the power to act, do nothing,” said Stefanik. “But there is hope. In the famous words of Holocaust survivor Simon Wiesenthal, “For evil to flourish, it only requires good men do nothing. … This fight is not just Israel’s fight but the West’s fight, a war between good and evil, civilization and barbarity.”
Speaking about her now famous Congressional hearing, she said that “the question heard around the world” — “Does calling for the genocide of Jews violate your university’s code of conduct?” — wasn’t a prepared question. But she thought it would force them to answer honestly.
“One after the other said ‘it depends on the context.’ And the world heard.” The context-driven Ivy League presidents were forced to resign. “Five down and so many to go,” said Stefanik.
She then discussed Barnard College, where Hamas protesters recently stormed the campus library, assaulted a staffer, and distributed antisemitic propaganda. How did the administration respond? They didn’t call the police, but politely asked the protesters to set up a meeting with the college president “to negotiate.”
“This is not leadership,” said Stefanik.
It was only after a bomb threat had been called in that the NYPD arrested nine protesters who refused to evacuate.
Stefanik listed the Trump administration’s actions thus far in deporting “students” on visas to dismantling UNRWA. And then: ending $400 million of federal funding to Columbia University. “The university presidents were just a warm-up,” she said. “We will win this fight for all of Western civilization and humanity.”
Greenblatt discussed some positive signs. “After months of allowing the harassment, intimidation, and even violence against Jewish students and faculty, many university presidents, certainly not all, but many have rediscovered the virtues of actually enforcing their policies on encampments and harassment,” said Greenblatt.
The ADL has filed more lawsuits in the last 12 months than they had done in their first 112 years of existence — litigation against extremist groups, universities, school districts, corporations and “a landmark $4 billion lawsuit that we filed, on behalf of American victims of Oct. 7, against Iran for the Islamic Republic’s role in facilitating the attack.”
“We also realized that it was too difficult for people to get the legal help they needed. So we partnered with the Brandeis Center, Hillel International, the law firm Gibson Dunn and numerous other firms to create and set up CALL, a first-of-its-kind legal hotline for students and staff at colleges and universities who have been victimized by antisemitism, but previously did not know where to go.
In less than 18 months, the CALL system has handled more than 800 individual Title VI complaints.
“And I’m happy to report that, based on its success, we have begun to expand CALL to handle cases of discrimination against students, parents, and teachers in K-12 school districts where the issues also are rampant and virtually unmonitored,” Greenblatt said.
Media
Throughout the conference, the focus was on digital media — how to use it to combat the lies and hate. As we’re living in a digital era, this is of course essential. My one criticism is that this wasn’t paired with a focus on fixing traditional media.
Instead of writing this piece, I could have done a five-minute video after the conference. It certainly would have been easier for me, but my listeners would be deprived of all the facts — and context — I’m writing here.
The truth is, it is not a coincidence that antisemitism exploded just as legacy media has been destroyed by a brazen lack of objectivity. The facts are on our side; we don’t need to go on the defensive. But right now the facts are essentially being stolen from us, used to create a counternarrative that has no basis in history or reality. How do short videos counter this?
As Arab activist Loay Alshareef said at a panel, “The greatest weapon that the Jewish people have is archeology and history — to prove Israel’s legitimacy.” Complex videos can of course show this history in memorable ways, as new media companies like Unpacked have shown. But most “influencers” don’t do complex videos. And many often get the facts wrong.
“The fight against hate isn’t won in a conference hall,” Hen Mazzig said, “it’s won in the everyday moments when we choose courage over silence. Every action matters. Because when we act, we shift the narrative. We change minds.
“Hope is not just a feeling — it’s a choice. A choice to believe in a better future, to work toward it, to never give in to despair. And if there’s one thing history has taught us, it’s that the Jewish people are defined not by their suffering, but by their resilience.
“Being a hero isn’t about being fearless. It’s about acting despite the fear. “
Mazzig announced the launch of a new online series called “And They’re Jewish,” which will explore the unique stories of prominent Jewish figures across industries, highlighting that Jewish identity is just one facet of an individual’s multifaceted life. The idea is to humanize Jews to fight the dehumanization, challenge stereotypes, and show the richness of Jewish culture.
The Future of Hope
“Never did I imagine that we would witness a day of such death and destruction of Jews in our lifetime,” Gadot said in her acceptance speech. “And never did I imagine that on the streets of the United States, and different cities around the world, we would see people not condemning Hamas, but celebrating, justifying and cheering on a massacre of Jews.
“We will confront antisemitism. We will call it out. But we will never let it, not only defeat us, but define us, because our love is stronger than their hate. Because this is who we are and who we will always be: taking responsibility for each other.
“We can’t wait any longer. We can’t hold our breaths, pray or beg for support from people groups or communities that don’t want to be there for us. We need to be there for ourselves.”
“And this is why every single Jew must lean in now, in whatever way we can. Speak up. Learn more about our history. Join a temple. Find your tribe, get connected. And as we support our own community, never stop reaching out to the world.
“And this is why every single Jew must lean in now, in whatever way we can. Speak up. Learn more about our history. Join a temple. Find your tribe, get connected. And as we support our own community, never stop reaching out to the world.” – Gal Gadot
“Rabbi Hillel famously said: ’If I am not for myself then who will be for me? And if I am only for myself, then what am I?’ So even if we don’t hear others speaking up for us, we have to keep speaking up for ourselves and reaching out our hand for everyone to join us.
“That is what I tell my daughters. First, learn to love yourselves, who you are and where you’re from and then the rest will follow. It is time to pass onto our children a love of who they are.
“So who are we? We, the Jewish people, are an ancient people, with an ancient story in an ancient homeland. We are the people that celebrate life. We work to see a better and more peaceful future.We challenge the hate we face but we do it with love, while always striving to make the world a better place.”
And who am I? My name is Gal. And I am Jewish.
Am Yisrael Chai.”
Karen Lehrman Bloch is editor in chief of White Rose Magazine.
Benjamin Netanyahu has now been reminded – again – that being Donald Trump’s friend can be a double-edged sword.
Netanyahu has lived through both sides of the Trump experience over the last several years, both benefiting from the American’s embrace and struggling under his disdain. Their overlapping beliefs on Middle Eastern geopolitics makes Trump’s support extremely beneficial for Israel’s leader, and the extremely high popularity that Trump enjoys from the Israeli public makes that connection even more valuable. Since Trump returned to office this year, Netanyahu has reaped the benefit of a U.S. president consistently and fervently taking his side. But last week, Netanyahu was confronted with the reality that their interests are similar but not identical, and that Trump can often be an unreliable ally.
Trump renewed his ultimatum against Hamas last week, promising that there will be “hell to pay” if the remaining hostages are not released. But when American negotiator Adam Boehler met with Hamas representatives without informing the Israelis of his plans, Netanyahu was clearly peeved. The Prime Minister’s office issued a statement notable for its terseness, saying only: “During talks with the U.S., Israel expressed its opinion about the issue of direct talks with Hamas.”
Netanyahu advisor Ron Dermer also expressed his unhappiness to Boehler in what was clearly an unpleasant and combative conversation. (Boehler mentioned in a television interview that Dermer had “raised some concerns.”) It’s not clear whether the Netanyahu government is more displeased about the U.S. meeting with Hamas or their failure to inform their Israeli counterparts about it. But in either case, Dermer and his boss obviously saw this as a major breach of trust.
It’s not clear whether the Netanyahu government is more displeased about the U.S. meeting with Hamas or their failure to inform their Israeli counterparts about it. But in either case, Dermer and his boss obviously saw this as a major breach of trust.
Boehler dismissed the imbroglio as a miscommunication between friends, saying that he understands why the Israelis were upset, but “at the same time, we’re the United States. We’re not an agent of Israel. We have specific interests at play.” He also indicated that such conversations were likely to continue despite Netanyahu’s objection. (“You never know. Sometimes, you’re in the area and you drop by.”)
Boehler’s comments are a stark reminder that while Israel and U.S. interests track closely, there are important differences that will become more visible and less avoidable in the coming months. The challenges of the hostage negotiations and wind-down of the Gaza war are relatively straightforward compared to the potential disagreements that the two partners will face when it comes time for Israel to normalize its relations with Saudi Arabia. Since October 7, the Saudis have considerably raised their price for such an agreement, vowing that they will only sign off once Israel is willing to support the creation of a Palestinian state.
Boehler may have been hinting at another way for the U.S. to bridge the gap between the Saudis and Israelis when he indicated that the U.S. would be willing to team up with Israel to attack Iran’s nuclear program. The American negotiator recalled Trump’s authorization of the killing of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani and said, “It’s not so hard for us to partner with Israel and take out that nuclear capability, which we probably should do.”
These comments could certainly represent a message to the leaders of both countries (and to the Palestinians and Iran) that while Trump’s recent comments about negotiating with Iran are legitimate, the president is willing to not only green-light an Israeli attack on Iran but to involve the U.S. military as well. That would allow a much greater penetration of missiles against Iran’s best protected facilities, and would presumably satisfy Saudi Arabia’s leaders so they would no longer maintain their current insistence for a two-state solution. That’s a long and complicated road ahead for even the most trusting of partners to navigate together, and both Trump and Netanyahu have no shortage of reasons to doubt the reliability of the other.
In the 1980s, when two other world leaders were deciding whether to commit to potentially risky negotiations over mutual nuclear disarmament, Ronald Reagan cited an old Russian proverb to Mikhail Gorbachev. The words “trust but verify” should still resonate today, both in Israel and America.
Dan Schnur is the U.S. Politics Editor for the Jewish Journal. He teaches courses in politics, communications, and leadership at UC Berkeley, USC and Pepperdine. He hosts the monthly webinar “The Dan Schnur Political Report” for the Los Angeles World Affairs Council & Town Hall. Follow Dan’s work at www.danschnurpolitics.com.
This week marks the five-year anniversary of the COVID-19 lockdowns. On March 19, 2020, Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a statewide stay-at-home order for California, and, like generations before, we were irreversibly touched by a pandemic that upended all areas of life and killed millions worldwide.
Thanks to COVID, we threw ourselves (though some were dragged) into the realms of online classes and working remotely; perhaps we still remember the carefully-managed lines to enter supermarkets in small groups, or the angst of attempting to reach medical professionals to ask about our loved ones’ well-being. And, lest we forget, we are effectively a generation that will always be a little uncomfortable at the sight of store shelves containing only a few rolls of toilet paper or water bottles.
In hindsight, how did we survive the pain and panic of that first unbearable year?
Seemingly involuntarily, I still hold my breath as if I’m under water if someone has the audacity to cough or sneeze near me. Since 2021, I have contracted COVID three times, and my short-term memory and executive functioning are charmingly pathetic. In fact, I can still recite Marc Antony’s speech in Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar,” which I learned in eighth grade Honors English in 1997, but I currently cannot recall what I ate for breakfast this morning.
As a writer, I still remember how journalism, including Jewish journalism, was altered. When this paper took a print hiatus, I lost a precious Shabbat morning ritual: namely, sitting down with a warm cup of Persian tea each Saturday morning and lovingly reading each page, feeling the delicate paper on my fingertips and making pieces I especially enjoyed dog-eared. I was so appreciative and excited when we came back to print.
For this week’s column, I asked an array of people, whether physicians, small business owners, or young mothers, to reflect on the five-year anniversary of the week in 2020 when everything changed. I am grateful to them for their candor and compassion. The following has been edited for clarity and length.
The Hospital Chaplain
Reflecting on the experience of COVID-19 in the hospital remains deeply traumatic for me. It was an extraordinarily difficult and uncertain time in the hospital, marked by profound suffering and painful challenges. Witnessing the isolation of patients, enduring their illness without the presence of loved ones, was particularly tragic. The abnormally high death toll led to our morgue overflowing, a heartbreaking reality that underscored the gravity of the crisis.
Standing outside the overflow morgue, reciting Psalms, was an experience that was both tragic and deeply meaningful, as was posting signs on the doors of ICU patients during the first wave of COVID, letting them know that it was Passover, and striving to communicate with them and comfort them. It was a privilege to provide care for patients who were completely alone, offering them a measure of support and human connection during those uncertain days.
Rabbi Dr. Jason Weiner blows a shofar during the 2020 High Holy Days. Photo Courtesy of Rabbi Dr. Jason Weiner.
The bioethical dilemmas we confronted during that time were exceptionally challenging, forcing us to navigate difficult decisions with profound moral weight. Yet, as always, it was inspiring to see how timeless Jewish values provided guidance and wisdom in facing these complex contemporary dilemmas.
-Rabbi Dr. Jason Weiner, BCC Senior Rabbi & Executive Director, Spiritual Care Department, Cedars-Sinai
The Small Business Owners
COVID felt like a never-ending nightmare, destroying everything we built. My husband’s catering business had grown from a few events a month to fully booked weekends for the entire year of 2020. He worked very hard and tirelessly. The start of 2020 was the first year that he was booked for the entire year (and several events for 2021). He had finally made it.
Then, overnight, it all collapsed. Strict regulations made events impossible. For months, we had no income. At the time, it felt devastating and scary, especially with three children and one on the way. Due to no income, Ben changed careers.
In hindsight, it was the greatest thing that happened to our marriage — we finally had time as a family, instead of never seeing each other due to the demands of being in the food industry. I was due in June 2020, and for the first time, my husband’s schedule allowed him to enjoy our baby. What once felt like a disaster turned into a blessing, giving us the gift of time together. Although losing everything financially, we gained each other again and found a new way for financial success. We decided to leave California and move to Florida to live in a state that aligned with our family values. We would have never moved, nor would my husband ever have given up his catering business had it not been for COVID We are happier now in Florida, although we greatly miss our beautiful Los Angeles Jewish community.
I wish we knew that by losing everything financially, we would be gaining everything else. That losing the catering business was okay and something better was waiting. That things may seem very dark, but the beautiful light does come, and it shines bright.
-Ben and Shirine Amar, former owners of Capers
The Medical Student
At the start of COVID in 2020, there were a lot of missed milestones, and so many compromises. Many events were canceled or postponed, but little did we know how many lives would be lost and how many ways the post-COVID era would be vastly different from the pre-COVID era. Having been a resident physician at Tel Aviv University’s Sackler School of Medicine during COVID, I answered phone calls every day from my patients’ spouses and family members, asking me whether their loved one was still alive.
I often struggled to answer the question because everything was so unpredictable at the time and patients would change on a second-by-second basis. Patients improving and doing well would flatline in a moment, demonstrating, like a slap in the face, how little control we had and how unpredictable COVID was.
Looking back, missing my medical school graduation because it was canceled was nothing compared to the losses my patients and my community suffered. I’m forever grateful to have been able to treat patients, and to have been a first responder during this pandemic.
-Jessica M. Rabbany, M.D., psychiatrist in Los Angeles and founder of Mindspace MD.
The New Mother
I want to be honest: What I remember the most from that time is how I was pregnant with our first son when COVID broke out; how he was born in April 2020 and neither my own parents and siblings, and none of my in-laws, were even able to leave the lobby of the hospital to see me and the baby upstairs, and my husband and I felt so alone; how I was so paranoid that I looked at every doctor and nurse in the delivery room and prayed they weren’t exposed to COVID; how my husband and I had done several rounds of IVF to have been blessed with our baby, but no one could even see him for so long; how the only people at his brit [milah] were me, my husband, and the mohel, and everyone else tried to watch it on Zoom; how my mom was hospitalized a few weeks after he was born and she told me that she wanted to see her first grandchild before anything happened to her; and how she and my dad finally got to see him for the first time from 10 feet away on the sidewalk.
That’s mostly what I remember. That, and how one year later, when we tried to throw him his first birthday party, we had to cancel it because a lot of our relatives got COVID in April 2021. I don’t want to complain. He’s the biggest miracle of our lives. But if there’s a tornado in LA on his fifth birthday this year, I don’t think I’ll be surprised.
-Shayna (name changed at her request)
The Concerned Doctor
Looking back, the COVID-19 era was not just a public health crisis — it was a test of leadership, ethics and resilience. I will never forget how science was politicized, and how decisions made by a single figure, Dr. Fauci, led to unnecessary suffering. The forced masking and vaccination of healthy children were a travesty. Meanwhile, elderly patients died alone in hospitals, stripped of dignity and the comfort of their families. We are still healing from these traumas.
At the same time, I am deeply proud of the role I played in warning people early about the harm of prolonged closures and fear-driven policies.
Before COVID was even on most people’s radar, I predicted that schools and workplaces would shut down, and that lockdowns would be imposed — at first, people dismissed it. Later, when I predicted that COVID was rapidly weakening and that our reaction would ultimately be worse than the virus itself, many found reassurance in my words. Because of these predictions, my voice reached a wider audience, particularly in the Jewish community, where people were seeking clarity amid the chaos.
Though I live in Los Angeles, the observant Jewish community in New York started following me closely, and we held multiple Zoom sessions where they sought my guidance. This created a deep bond, and I was later invited to visit Chabad of Lake Success, where I met many in person, shared conversations, and exchanged hugs.
Five years later, are we “okay”? I don’t think we fully are. The scars remain. But if there is one thing I’ve learned, it’s that truth must be spoken — even when it’s unpopular. And when fear takes hold of the world, the greatest gift we can give each other is calm, reason, and faith in the future.
-Afshine Ash Emrani, M.D., F.A.C.C. Assistant Clinical Professor, UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine
The Young Mother
When COVID started, a different side of my husband came out. I don’t know if it was because he hated working from home and we had a baby and a toddler in the apartment all day and he couldn’t focus, or if he was stressed from all the anxiety, and he felt out of control because he couldn’t manage his employees as well online as he did in person. He became so angry and yelled at us all the time.
The worst part was that in the beginning, it was hard for me and the kids to leave the house to get away from him because so many places were closed. I tried taking them to a botanical garden and someone who worked there kicked us out because my two-year-old wouldn’t wear a mask. I wasn’t working at that time, and the kids were still young, but I called a friend who’s a family law attorney and I said that the kids and I couldn’t take my husband’s abuse and anger anymore. I filed for divorce five months later.
My ex-husband and I still keep in touch, and he is in therapy to help him with his anger and anxiety. I don’t really blame COVID for my divorce; his problems probably would have come out one way or another later, and maybe it was better that I found out sooner.
-Hannah (name changed upon request)
The Hopeful Rabbi
In January of 2020, I had the opportunity to spend an afternoon with an epidemiologist named Larry Brilliant who has had significant experience with pandemics. He explained step-by-step what would unfold in the coming months and his prediction was chillingly accurate. I remember a moment of utter terror as it began to sink in just how disruptive this event would be for our world.
One piece of wisdom that I realized early on was that while the pandemic was unprecedented for us, it certainly wasn’t unprecedented in human history. My own grandmother, Julia L. Davis, survived the Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918. It helps when you’re in the middle of a crisis to remember that just as previous generations somehow got through those tough times, so will we.
One interesting outcome of it all has been the tremendous increase in online participation, which continues to grow. We have literally thousands of viewers on our Friday night services. Our in-person attendance has largely returned, but we’re noticing a type of “hybrid” approach for many members: they continue to come in person for holidays, yahrzeits, and other special occasions. In addition, they will attend online from home or while traveling with some degree of regularity. One member of our board of directors told me recently that since the pandemic, his attendance has tripled because, now, even if traffic is bad or he’s feeling tired, he’ll join our stream, listen to the music, hear the sermon, and be inspired.
-Rabbi Yoshi Zweiback, Senior Rabbi, Stephen Wise Temple
The Adolescent Anxiety Expert
As a child and adolescent therapist, COVID catapulted me into uncharted waters. How do I reach through a screen to connect with kids as young as three years old who were dysregulated, anxious, and screen weary? How do I support the anxious parents of these little ones while simultaneously dealing with my own uncertainty? COVID taught me to reach deep. To become an expert at regulating myself so I can co-regulate with my clients.
Five years later, every time I do an intake with a new family, I still hear the words, “Oh, that was his/her COVID year.” While we certainly can’t fully appreciate the global developmental impact COVID has had on young people, I can say that mental health professionals are still seeing the aftereffects in their clients. Illness Anxiety and Emetophobia (phobia of vomiting) are two of the more common anxiety disorders I see in my practice. I can’t help but wonder if this is coincidence or COVID-related.
We are also seeing the effects of screens being introduced en masse to young children: iPads and computers that were handed over to kids and teens during COVID for educational purposes (or entertainment) have stayed around and have continued to play a big, and often unhelpful, role in kids’ lives. Many parents have found it difficult to impossible to dial back on screen-use post-COVID.
Overall, I think it’s still too early to fully appreciate the mental health impact of COVID on youth. Perhaps at the decade mark, we will have a greater understanding of what it meant for a generation of youth to have lived through a global pandemic.
– Suri Nowosiolski, LCSW, MSpEd. Lead Therapist and Owner, Hearts and Minds Psychotherapy Group www.surimsw.com
In the year 2120, mankind will undoubtedly research the stories and sagas related to the 100-year anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic, just as our generation gained renewed interest on the 100th anniversary of the Spanish Flu outbreak in 1918. Perhaps a few centenarians who were children in 2020 will offer reflections on that painful time. Perhaps the only words they will be able to remember about having survived the pandemic will be, “How much longer do I have to stay in the Zoom waiting room?”
Tabby Refael is an award-winning writer, speaker and weekly columnist for The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles. Follow her on X and Instagram @TabbyRefael
