My Daughter’s Israel
Today my daughter turns two years old. She is a young and innocent child like all of our children. She loves when I pick her up and play superman. She gets excited when Kermit the Frog comes on the TV or iPad. And she eats her vegetables when she knows there is a cookie involved for dessert. She is truly the love of my life; no questions asked she means the world to me. While we are 30 years apart in age, one thing we have in common is that we have never, firsthand, known a world without a Jewish State of Israel. We have both had the luxury of living in a world where Jews have freedom and rights, a world where Israel’s existence is obvious to us and a reality to all.
I have lived a fairly robust Jewish life, one that has led me to the Rabbinate without fear or doubt. My daughter also lives in such a world where she can run up to the Bimah without a care in the world. I have dreams of taking my child to Israel, something I wish I had done already, to experience the ease in which being Jewish can be, the resilience of our people, and to celebrate the raw emotional awe of our homeland. Yet, because of my daughter’s age her Judaism is blind to what is going on in the world right now. As uprisings all over the world are not only continuing but are escalating, I begin to worry, not for my safety but for a world that again turns to hating the Jewish people. How could it be that Berlin, the United States, and France have forgotten the pogroms and the Holocaust? How could it be that any part of the world does not see the need and vitality of a Jewish State? How can people across the world want to hurt the innocent, burn establishments and for one minute think Israel does not have the right to defend itself?
My daughter is turning two and I am afraid. While I am afraid for Israel’s safety, and always will be, that is not my only concern. Today for the first time I am crying while I write because I am afraid that my daughter will live in a world that hates her because she is Jewish. The scary nature of what is the reality of the world right now is beyond comprehension to me. I truly hope my generation of assimilated Jews, who distance themselves from Judaism, ritual, and tradition understands what is happening. The truth is this could easily be a world that is different for our children. When the Nazis knocked on a door they did not ask sect or denomination, they took you because you were a Jew. The chants in Europe are not just about Israel, they are about Jews. The attacks from Hamas are not about protecting Palestinians, they are about killing Jews. The slander in the media is not about the truth, it is about hurting Jews.
I am praying for Israel with every fiber of my being. I am reading and learning about the situation. I am coming together with colleagues and congregants to show solidarity to the State of Israel. But I am now worried for my daughter’s safety as a Jew. An innocent young child who could do no wrong and yet people hate her because of religion. Today we will go shopping for a birth day present. She will smile and I will probably cry because the purity in the world that she sees is not so pure anymore. May the world wake up to realize the terror caused by hatred and disregard for the Jewish people. May America show its allegiance to its sister in the Middle East. May we all be safe from the evil that haunts this world. And may my daughters two feet get to experience the freedom of religion and the holiness that is the Jewish State of Israel.
JJ Inside The Print
I have a friend who hates President Donald Trump. But when he looks at the policies of some Democratic candidates — like open borders, abolishing...
The best recipes are those that come with stories, or at least, context. Persian food has variations of “peasant food,” as well as more intricate...
President Donald Trump’s reactions to the recent massacre by a white nationalist in El Paso came to mind the other night at my local minyan....
It’s hard to be a human, especially right now. During a time like this, we need to touch base with core spiritual principles. Here are...
“You know, a lot of sexual harassment stuff is in the news of late,” said “Curb Your Enthusiasm” creator Larry David during his 2017 “Saturday...
This week, the Jewish calendar presents us with a powerful emotional contrast from which I hope we can all find deep meaning and renewed inspiration. ...
The more exotic the better. That was my philosophy about traveling. Anything that might sound the least bit familiar wasn’t on my list of destinations....
On the night of Aug. 11, 2017, hundreds of white supremacists descended on the streets of Charlottesville, Va., for a torchlit rally at the University...
On the Temple Mount sits the foundation stone — the navel of the world — a hunk of rock from which the universe spilled forth...
Maya Orabi’s voice raises an octave as she describes the wedding gowns she will wear for her upcoming nuptials. “The first is a very modest dress...
Mid-August is a bad time for politics. Mid-August is a bad time for work. And yet, here we are, working and thinking about politics. To...
I love to take taxis in Israel. I love to move from city to city, through the hills, across the plains, stuck in snarling traffic or...
We ask Eikhah? We ask how and why and by whom? For the children who cannot understand why their parents won’t come in the night...
One verse, five voices. Edited by Salvador Litvak, Accidental Talmudist What is Tu b’Av and how do we make it meaningful? Leah Abergel Hebrew Discovery Center...
Have you noticed that the fancier the restaurant, the larger the plates and the smaller the food? In recent years, if the lighting is subtle...
Jewish summer camp is intended to be a space of Jewish and personal exploration. Many of today’s Jewish adults fell in love or had their...
Hundreds of Jewish community members convened on Aug. 11 outside the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in downtown Los Angeles for a Tisha b’Av prayer service...
At USC’s Keck School of Medicine’s HEAL (Humanities, Ethics/Economics, Arts and the Law) program, Director Pam Schaff and artist-in-residence Ted Meyer are forging a quiet...
Manning Haskal is an experienced swimmer but even he might have a hard time treading water while gripping all his medals from the Pan American...
The Santa Clarita Aquatic Center, GlowZone, Sky High, Scooter’s Jungle, Boomers and Knott’s Berry Farm. These were just some of the locations 45 local Jewish...
When Carolyn Kangavari was 13 and visiting the senior home where she regularly volunteered, one of the residents started having difficulty breathing. Kangavari immediately called...
When Matthew Nouriel was 15, he would hang out at a club in Hollywood that was open to all ages and had a drag show...
His prolific musical output has won awards and spanned every conceivable genre. He has produced orchestral compositions, chamber and choral works, collaborated with film composers...
The evocative title of “At the Narrow Waist of the World: A Memoir” by Marlena Maduro Baraf (She Writes Press) is a reference to a familiar...
Helen gail Katz, a fixture in the Los Angeles volunteer community, died on Aug. 5 at the age of 79. Katz spent every day committed...
David Meyer Appelbaum died Dec. 27 at 70. Survived by daughter Shoshawnah; son Aaron (Sasha); 3 grandchildren; sister Debra Manlove. Chevra Kadisha Alan Barbakow died July...
Clothespins are so handy to have around, and it seems like they’re used for practically everything except hanging clothes out to dry. Now that it’s...
You can find Olivia Cohen-Cutler most Wednesdays at the Van Nuys County Courthouse. There, clad in her law school graduation robe, she serves the state...
The Guardians of the Los Angeles Jewish Home, which provides financial support for elderly and needy members of the L.A. Jewish community, has named Zane...
FRI AUG 16 “Kidz, Kibbitz & Cocktailz Join families at Mishkon Tephilo’s child-friendly “Kidz, Kibbitz and Cocktailz,” held every third Friday at the Santa Monica...
