Horror
Contributors and others speak out
What a horrific week. I am so tired of this senseless violence. Bondi. Brown. The Brentwood patricide. Now an MIT professor?! All since… Saturday, right? It’s only Tuesday! How? How can the brain make sense of all this gasp-worthy evil over and over again? Mine can’t.
When it comes to the Jew-hatred, I’m just so tired. I’m tired of the constant onslaught, the sleights large and small, the betrayals, the vitriol. I’m tired of looking for solutions and finding roadblocks. I’m tired of mourning. I’m tired of knowing people in Australia spoke out and weren’t listened to. And yet, I know how essential it is to have and to inspire hope. I wish I had the words to get us through this painful time, but I’m at a loss.
Instead, here are some thoughtful essays and posts from contributors to the On Being Jewish Now anthology, a group of 75 warriors that continues to speak out and help us all, plus other essays and posts I’ve found helpful the past few days. If you’re up for it, please share what’s helped you, too.
Then, after we’ve all had a moment to process, let’s get our collective acts together and do something. Make it stop. Formulate a new plan. I have ideas. Let’s do this.
From Contributors and Friends:
Australian Jewish author Rachelle Unreich in the Times of Israel: “Quintessential Sydney: The Beach Made Us Smile.”
Rabbi Sharon Brous in the New York Times: “The Humanity and the Horrow at Bondi Beach”
Rabbi Steve Leder on CNN and Instagram:
Lisa Barr on Instagram from an On Being Jewish Now event with Dara Levan, Talia Carner, and Debbie Reid Fischer. (Dara Levan posted from the same event here.)
Samantha Ettus in The Jewsletter: “It’s Hunting Season and Jews Are The Target.”
Jewish author and founder of Modern Loss Rebecca Soffer (not an anthology contributor but a dear friend) wrote “On Fury, Heartbreak and Holding On.”
I was one of 10 “Women to Watch” at Jewish Women International in Washington, D.C. On Sunday night, a group of young women lit the Hanukkah candles and we all sang the blessings. It meant so much. Lindsay Pinchuk captured the video. We will shine our light.
If you want a glance at what life was like pre-Bondi in Australia, listen to my podcast with the co-editors of the anthology Ruptured: Jewish Women in Australia Reflect on Life Post-October 7 Lee Kofman and Tamar Paluch. They were all calling for help. No one listened. Read the book.
And here was my video on Instagram the other night as I sat, reeling. And that was before learning about Rob and Michele Reiner.
But I’m not sitting around crying. I’m doing. I’m speaking on panels and interviewing authors and lighting the Hanukkah candles. I’m finding joy in family, colleagues, home, rituals, and food. Because I’m not going to let these evil people ruin my life. I’ll be extra joyful to spite them. An angry, sad, scared, frustrated, devastated, confused, social-media-fatigued joy. But joy.
Shining my light. That’s all any of us can do, right? Shine, shine, shine.
The ADL suggests we all post menorahs with #TogetherWeLight. Here’s mine. Let’s find ways for us all to light the way through this gruesome time and pray that this is end of it. May we all find peace, connection, and community. And may their memories be a blessing. Amen.
Thank you for this, Zibby, and to all who keep posting, speaking up, and speaking out.
I'm right there with you, Zibby... horrified and determined to shine my light.