For centuries, Jews have debated who belongs to our community. While embracing a more inclusive Jewish world is an important and worthwhile conversation, more immediately, our efforts should be focused on the current existential threat facing our community: antisemitism.

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This debate is, ironically, driving Jews further apart, undermining the legitimacy of Israel and affecting the security of US Jews.

The far-right exemplify historical antisemitism, characterized by white supremacists and fringe groups that will always exist. The creeping antisemitism on the far-left, meanwhile, entails a fundamental misunderstanding of the Arab-Israeli conflict and looks at that conflict in a naive, cartoonish way. On both sides of the political aisle, analogies have degraded the memory of the Holocaust while pointing to issues on the opposing side.

Antisemitism is an age-old phenomenon not beholden to any political movement. And while it existed well before 1948, the establishment of modern-day Israel has introduced a new and insidious form of Jew-hatred. This is why a partisan debate on antisemitism is misguided, especially when the current situation is so dire.

While the connection between antisemitism and anti-Zionism was historically a blurred one, today it is becoming more in focus. The latest round of violence between Israel and Hamas brought Jew-haters out of the woodwork and virtually gave a green light for antisemitism to enter the mainstream. The latest effort by certain Congress members to defund the Iron Dome air-defense system is an example of how the extreme left, which labels itself as pro-Palestinian, can exhibit antisemitism. Not funding this purely defensive military-grade equipment won't save the lives of Palestinians; rather, it will only result in the death of Jews and Palestinians as well.

Moreover, violent extremists are weaponizing Israel as an excuse to attack Jews in the United States. When attackers stormed into a restaurant in Los Angeles last May, they did not shout, "Where are the Israelis?" They exclaimed, "Who here is a Jew?"

Since 2014, we have seen a dramatic shift regarding the discourse around Israel. In a nation that celebrates free speech, almost any conversation is encouraged. But when that conversation borders on incitement and causes Jews to feel unsafe, then there is a serious problem. The US State Department upholds the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's working definition of antisemitism, which posits that it can and does entail attempts to delegitimize Israel.

As for both Jews and non-Jews who want to criticize Israel and flinch every time they are accused of being antisemitic or a self-hating Jew, I would say this: We can have a whole discussion about the standards that Israel is held up to, as well as its policies. However, Israel is held to a different standard than any other country in the world when defending its citizens.

A misguided and simplified narrative that looks at the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a powerful aggressor and an innocent underdog fails to understand that there are two sides to this complex situation, with people across Israel's border in the Middle East all too often committed to the country's demise. Moreover, an obsessed and myopic view on what the one Jewish state in the world does or does not do? That is antisemitic.

No matter what political affiliation we have, we are Jews first and foremost. It is crucial to come together on this issue before we splinter off into partisan leanings.

Across the Atlantic, for Israelis who think this is exclusively a problem for American Jews, they must understand that the broader erosion of support for Israel may very well lead to diminishing bipartisan support for the Jewish state, which will have a detrimental effect on Israel's own security.

On a macro level, though, antisemitism has historically been the canary in a coal mine. Any society that actively embraced Jew-hatred has shown acceptance for discrimination and prejudice that far extends beyond Jews. It may start with us, but it never ends with us.

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To that end, I call on communal and world leaders to call out antisemitism when they see it and advocate for schools to actively teach about this complex phenomenon and what constitutes it (while also explaining that criticism of Israel is legitimate and valid). Meanwhile, politicians must cease using antisemitism as a political tool. Too often, we see politicians blame the opposing party of having anti-Jewish members for the sake of accruing political capital. Jews are not political pawns. We are active, contributing citizens of the United States who deserve protection and security amid this growing crisis.

As for our community, right now it is imperative for global Jewry to come together. It should not have to reach a point where we all speak out against antisemitism only when violence breaks out. We do not need another Pittsburgh or Poway. What we need is unity.

Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.

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For the 24 members of Israel's baseball team at the upcoming Olympic Games in Tokyo, their 25th player is – in their own words – the Jewish people.

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That sentiment reflects how this team is actualizing the potential of sports as the latest platform for strengthening the relationship between Israel and the American Jewish community. "We're united by this one goal, this one passion, this one shared identity," said Eric Brodkowitz, a Maryland native on the Israeli squad.

All of the players on the team are proud to represent the historical Jewish homeland, which positions them as a bridge for American Jewry and Israel. They are directly representing their Jewish heritage, which includes their role as de facto ambassadors who spread awareness about the true character of Israel.

"I feel it's my duty and obligation to be some sort of informer of what Israel is about," says team member Tal Erel. "We're about loving, we're about caring. We just want to unite everyone and give everyone a little more hope."

The team is made up of a diverse, eclectic group of players – including former Major League second baseman Ian Kinsler, a four-time All-Star. They are hardly the first baseball players to contribute to a broader sense of Jewish pride and peoplehood, as famously, Sandy Koufax and Hank Greenberg both declined to play on Yom Kippur.

Shlomo Lipetz, one of the team's Israeli-born players, describes baseball as "a common denominator between Jews and Israel" and expresses hope that the sport known as America's Pastime will give Americans "another reason to come to Israel." Israelis, in turn, will have a reason to root for a team playing such a traditional American sport during the July 23 - August 8 Olympics. This mutual opportunity for solidarity can only benefit the Israel-American Jewry relationship.

The narrative surrounding the team is also a powerful case study in resilience, based on how the players navigated and overcame the mental health challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Amid the delay of the Tokyo Olympics, originally scheduled to be held in 2020, the players could not see each other for 20 months – a time in which the pandemic took a toll on their mental health due to the requirements of isolation and social distancing.

Yet the Olympics continuously gave them something that they could look forward to – and the so-called light at the end of the tunnel was a future (and now present) period when they could reunite. They continued to build camaraderie as best as they could through Zoom, and now as what they describe as a "brotherhood" is back together in person while they prepare for Tokyo, it is as if they were never apart.

More broadly, this summer's Olympics will represent a large-scale global event that enables the world to essentially push through the pandemic and into a new era. Indeed, in these times, sports can be a more important outlet for unity, recovery, and resilience than the average person realizes.

Aiming to amplify the Israeli team's unique and inspiring journey, the Ruderman Family Foundation has produced and is currently promoting a series of short videos that tell the team's story. The narrative surrounding the team illustrates how, especially at a time when American Jews are increasingly divided over Israel from a political perspective, there is so much more to our relationship than politics and what we do not agree on

It is our hope that this campaign can contribute hopeful energy and shape positive attitudes surrounding the relationship between Israel and American Jewry. Israel's baseball team puts a human face on that relationship – something that everyone can relate to, regardless of their opinions on a range of issues. The videos also show that American Jews can take pride in the relationship between the world's two largest Jewish communities, through the vehicle of sports. This serves as an important paradigm for greater closeness in the Israel-American Jewry relationship.

Accordingly, regardless of the Israeli team's performance on the field in Tokyo, the Jewish people can only stand to win.

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During the Holocaust, Jewish rebellion was not only limited to violence; many put their lives on the line in order to instill Jewish education and pride when the world was falling apart. As Jews in the United States, it is important for us to shine a light on the bravery of the American Jewish soldiers who fought in World War II and ended up first in line to help those who survived hell on earth.

The number of Jews serving in the US military during World War II was disproportionate to their size in American society. In 1942, there were 135 million citizens in the United States. Only 3%, some 4.3 million, were Jewish. However, between 1939 and 1945, slightly more than 12.2 million Americans served in the Army, Navy, Marines and Coast Guard. And some 550,000 soldiers, about 4.5% of them, were Jewish.

When looking at these numbers, we must remember that during this time, the United States still had significant discrimination against the Jewish community, including restrictions on Jewish doctors in hospitals and Jewish students in universities. These restrictions are what pushed for the founding of Jewish institutions, such as Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City and Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass., among other facilities and educational institutions. Despite this, Jews volunteered to serve.

For many Jews who did so, it wasn't merely about fulfilling their duty; it was also about fighting for something bigger than themselves. For some, their sacrifices were properly memorialized, even decades later. For example, in February 2020, a number of crosses in the US military cemetery in Manila in the Philippines were removed and replaced with Stars of David, honoring the Jewish soldiers buried there. Not only is this an important anecdote, but a reminder of the some 38,000 American Jews who were killed in action during the war, in addition to the many thousands more injured.

Of course, dying in defense of one's country, freedom and values is not the only way to show courage. More than 52,000 Jewish soldiers – almost 10% of enlisted Jews – were decorated for bravery. Three American Jews, Ben Salomon, Isadore S. Jachman and Raymond Zussman, received the highest distinction possible: the Congressional Medal of Honor. These little known facts are what prompted US Gen. Douglas MacArthur to state: "I am proud to join in saluting the memory of fallen American heroes of the Jewish faith."

For many Jewish soldiers serving in Europe, the end of the Allied fighting was just the beginning of another mission. As the war ended, the horrors of the Nazis came to light. Tens of thousands of American Jewish soldiers, alongside Jewish soldiers from the Red Army and numerous non-Jews, did what they could to help the survivors they liberated from concentration, labor and death camps across Europe. These soldiers later came home, and their memories and experiences shaped the American Jewish community for years to come.

For instance, the 2013 Pew Survey found that 73% of American Jews viewed "Remembering the Holocaust" is an essential part of being Jewish. The fact that many of today's Jews remember the Holocaust as seen through the eyes of their grandparents who fought the Nazis is key to understanding why it is so important in our community's DNA.

However, the American Jewish community's identity cannot be based exclusively on the past; it must work to build a common future in which all members of the community have a place and a voice, regardless of their background, age or whether they have a disability.

Israel chose the anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising as the annual date for Yom Hashoah, thereby entwining g'vurah ("bravery") with the memory of the Holocaust. It's a day on which we remember the 6 million Jews brutally murdered, as well as the many who stood up to evil. At the same time, it presents our community an opportunity to reflect on the role played by many brave Jewish American soldiers who died so that we could live as free Americans and as free Jews. With that in mind, we must keep striving to build a more just and inclusive community – one worthy of the sacrifices made to get us here.

Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.

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