By: Sam Yudin
Dear fellow American friends, Less than half of my child’s classmates showed up for school in October 2023 because their parents thought they would be attacked and murdered in school.
You might be able to ignore this, but my friends and family are facing this reality daily in our country.
Jews afraid to go in public because of large ravenous crowds
calling for their murder is something we have seen before.
I hope you’re not okay with this. I know many of you served alongside me to ensure this nation stayed free.
It is not free for me.
My ancestors fled the pogroms in Eastern Europe. Some did not make it out. In significant part, I chose to serve as gratitude to a nation which provides shelter. I have been attacked, luckily ineffectively, three times in my life by Arabs, not for being an Israeli but for being a Jew. Those pogroms and massacres are still with us and it is sickening to see.
“The Father of mercy who dwells on high in His great mercy will remember with compassion the pious, upright and blameless the holy communities, who laid down their lives for the sanctification of His name… May our Lord remember them for good together with the other righteous of the world… and may He redress the spilled blood of His servants…”
…אָב הָרַחֲמִים שׁוֹכֵן מְרוֹמִים בְּרַחֲמָיו הָעֲצוּמִים הוּא יִפְקוד בְּרַחֲמִים הַחֲסִידִים וְהַיְשָׁרִים וְהַתְּמִימִים. קְהִלּוֹת הַקּדֶשׁ שֶׁמָּסְרוּ נַפְשָׁם עַל קְדֻשַּׁת הַשֵּׁם… יִזְכְּרֵם אֱלהֵינוּ לְטובָה עִם שְׁאָר צַדִּיקֵי עולָם… יִוָּדַע בַּגּויִם לְעֵינֵינוּ נִקְמַת דַּם עֲבָדֶיךָ הַשָּׁפוּךְ
By CH (MAJ) Menachem Stern, USA
I am a Jew.
This simple statement carries with it the weight of thousands of years of history and the resilience of a people who have faced trials and tribulations throughout the ages. It is a cry that echoes through time, from the desperate voices of those who stood at Masada, to the brave proclamation of Bar Kochba. It has been our call in dark hours and moments of trial through empires like the Romans, the Crusaders, from Granada to the Rhineland, the Khmelnytskyi pogroms to Hebron, and through the horrors of the Nazis.
In the harrowing silence of extermination camps like Auschwitz and Treblinka, this cry persisted. It was the last defiant utterance of reporter Daniel Pearl before his life was tragically taken.
“Hashem Yikom Damam—May G-d avenge their blood!”
As the grandson of Holocaust survivors, I’ve often pondered: How did such hatred and evil prevail? Who saw the signs and remained silent, justifying the actions of the enemy? Now, the answer is becoming clear.
It was those who stood silently, those who sought neutrality, those who equivocated before taking a stand. It was these individuals who enabled the Holocaust to unfold. In the words of Elie Wiesel, may his memory be a blessing, “We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” In every generation, there are those who seek to destroy us. Even today, we witness the terror of Hamas and Hezbollah, not just in distant lands but on our own soil in the holy land of Israel. There are still those who try to = justify this terror.
The hate that begins with Jews never ends with Jews; this is what we must understand.
It wasn’t only Jews who suffered under Hitler or Stalin. It isn’t only Jews who suffer under the shadow of Hamas or Hezbollah. Antisemitism is not a threat solely to our community; it is a threat to the very foundations of our country and the hard-won freedoms of centuries.
It wasn’t only Jews who suffered under Hitler or Stalin. It isn’t only Jews who suffer under the shadow of Hamas or Hezbollah. Antisemitism is not a threat solely to our community; it is a threat to the very foundations of our country and the hard-won freedoms of centuries.
But we are not alone in this struggle. We find solace in the words of Tehillim:
“ה’ אוֹרִי וְיִשְׁעִי מִמִּי אִירָא ה’ מָעוֹז חַיַּי מִמִּי אֶפְחָד” (Psalms 27:1). “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”
We draw strength from our faith, believing that G-d is our light and salvation, our stronghold. We will not fear, for we are not alone in this battle.
”ֵאֵל תּיָרא, כּי עְּמך אִנִי” —“Do not fear, for I am with you.”
Just as the High Priest declared to our soldiers before battle, “Shema Yisroel Adona Eloheinu, Adonai Echad—Hear O Israel, the Lord our G-d, the Lord is one.” And he assured them, “You are going to war today, do not fear, for G-d has gone with you to compose them with your enemies to save you.”
This message of unwavering faith, spiritual strength, and unity has been passed down through generations. It guides us in times of challenge and reminds us that we are the people of Israel. We must be strong and united.
I am a Jew!
May Hashem bless and protect you in body and spirit. Remember always that – הִנֵּה לֹא יָנוּם וְלֹא יִישָׁן שׁוֹמֵר יִשְׂרָאֵל: “The guardian of Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps” (Psalms 121:4).
Am Yisrael Chai
Originally published in the Chanukah/Purim 5784 issue of the Jewish American Warrior.
