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OCTOBER 26 • 2023 | 7
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W

e are living through 
an excruciating 
reality. The brutal 
and inhuman attacks on men, 
women and children in villages 
and towns near the Gaza border 
will remain a trauma in our 
nation’s collective memory for 
generations. The 
Simchat Torah 
massacre shall nei-
ther be forgotten 
nor forgiven. To 
quote President 
Biden’s address last 
week: “This attack 
has brought to the 
surface painful memories and 
the scars left by a millennia of 
antisemitism and genocide of the 
Jewish people.
” 
 His words are a reminder to 
us all that the ruthless attack 
against the Jewish state is an 
attack against Jewish people 
everywhere. The unthinkable 
cruelty we are witnessing is a 
manifestation of antisemitism at 
its most sickening.
President Biden chose his 
words carefully. The uncompro-
mising support he has expressed 
for Israel following the horrific 
events of Oct. 7 draws first and 
foremost from the value-based 
alliance that the American 
nation has with the Jewish peo-
ple and the State of Israel. This 
alliance is rooted in and nur-
tured by the nature and cumula-
tive actions of millions of North 
American Jews. 
Normally, Jewish Peoplehood 
is not perceived as a value in and 
of itself, but rather a means for 
strengthening the bonds between 

Jewish communities world-
wide. Today, however, Jewish 
Peoplehood is imbued with a 
much deeper strategic meaning. 
Jewish Peoplehood means taking 
part in our country’s national 
resilience.
You may be asking yourselves 
what you can do or how you can 
help. Brothers and sisters in the 
diaspora, please know that you 
are a vital and inseparable part of 
our strength. Your commitment 
to support Israel, even during 
recent internal Israeli strife and 
polarization, is bearing fruit as 
we speak. 
Only three months ago, 
the House of Representatives 
approved a resolution that 
declared support for Israel and 
condemned antisemitism. The 
resolution was passed by an 
outstanding majority of 412 to 9, 
despite the strained relationship 
between the current American 
administration and the Israeli 
government. Resolutions of 
this kind are a testimony to the 
power and importance of the 

Jewish American lobby, which 
should be upheld and bolstered 
at this crucial moment in time.
When we speak of another 
“Never Again” moment, we are 
not only referring to the need 
to back the State of Israel while 
defending itself and its citizens. 
We are also referring to the right 
of the Jewish people to defend 
themselves wherever they may 
be.
We are at the beginning of a 
long and exhausting war. We do 
not know if it will last weeks or 
even months. But what we do 
know is that every act of support 
is essential and serves as another 
building block in reinforcing our 
people’s resilience.
As we pray that the worst is 
behind us and hope for better 
days, we seek comfort in the 
words of Jeremiah: “… it is the 
time of Jacob’s distress, but he 
will be saved from it.
” (Jeremiah 
30:7). 

Tani Frank is the director of the 

Judaism and State Policy Center 

(JSPC) at the Shalom Hartman Institute.

Tani Frank
Times of 
Israel 

opinion

Brothers and Sisters in 
the Diaspora: You Are a 
Vital Part of Our Strength

COURTESY YAEL PORAT MOSENCO

A rally in solidarity with Israel in Philadelphia on Friday, Oct. 13

from the south. Throughout 
the country, people wait 
for hours in line to donate 
blood. In our neighborhood, 
there are offers of free 
babysitting and grocery 
shopping for anyone who 
needs it. My daughter tells 
me of a man who stood in 
a coffee shop and bought 
coffee for any soldier who 
walked through the door. 
But even with this feeling 
of unity, there’s no escaping 
the deep pain that we are all 
facing. I paid a shivah call to 
a former business colleague 
whose younger brother was 
one of the first of the war’s 
fallen soldiers. When I speak 
with my friend, she tells me 
that the family is grateful 
that her brother was able to 
receive a military funeral 
with full honors. 
There are too many dead 
now, she says; the funerals 
now have to be much 
shorter. And indeed, the 
people sitting next to me 
relate that they will be going 
straight from the shivah to a 
funeral nearby.
One day, I drive in nearby 
Modiin and see dozens of 
people lining the street, 
holding Israeli flags. I 
think, can people possibly 
be protesting the judicial 
upheaval during wartime? 
But then it dawns on me. It’s 
not a protest; it’s a funeral. 
No doubt, they are all using 
the same flags they used just 
a few weeks ago when our 
worst problem was a threat 
to democracy. Today, they 
stand with these same flags, 
and today, we face a threat to 
our existence. 

Yaffa Klugerman made aliyah from 

Southfield in 2016.

