Almost exactly seven years ago, on June 12, 2014, three Israeli yeshiva boys were kidnapped in Israel. On June 30, 2014, their bodies were discovered, precipitating a 50-day war with Gaza.

I vividly remember that summer, my first months working at UJA. Jews everywhere, across denominational backgrounds, were united in grieving for “our boys.” When rocket fire from Gaza sent Israelis into bomb shelters, American leaders across the political spectrum overwhelmingly did not hesitate to assert Israel’s right to defend itself. Indeed, Congress passed legislation that summer providing Israel with an additional $225 million in military aid for Iron Dome missile defense with a bipartisan 395–8 vote in the House of Representatives and by unanimous consent in the Senate.

In Europe that summer, anti-Israel protests triggered violent antisemitic incidents that worried us from afar, but we felt secure in the knowledge that in America those things didn’t happen. This was, of course, four years before the Tree of Life synagogue massacre, which served as a horrifying wake-up call to the rise in antisemitism here in America.

In the years since 2014, there have been rockets and incendiary balloons from Gaza targeting southern Israel, but no major, extended escalation before this recent 11-day conflict. And while the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel is thankfully holding, the recent conflict and its fallout reveal two disturbing realities that have many American Jews on edge. The first: support for Israel is so diminished in certain American political circles, and within segments of our own Jewish community, that some are unwilling publicly even to condemn rockets targeting civilian neighborhoods. The second: growing antisemitism has made some Jewish New Yorkers think twice before wearing a yarmulke in public.

These are complex challenges long in the making, and UJA is highly focused on responding.

Early in the conflict, when there was a notable silence in some political corners and our own community, we organized a virtual Israel Solidarity Gathering, with 2,000 viewers tuning in. Speakers included Representatives Gregory Meeks and Ritchie Torres, who expressed unequivocal support for Israel defending its citizens.

As I wrote two weeks ago, we also funded a solidarity mission to Israel with 22 prominent New York rabbis representing the denominational spectrum, so they could hear from voices on the ground — from the left to the right — and share these experiences with their congregations. A thousand participants logged on for a post-mission event with five of the rabbis reflecting on the importance of going there to stand with the people of Israel when they needed to know they weren’t alone.

Beyond our response to recent events, for several years, as the narrative around Israel has been shifting, UJA has significantly invested in building bridges with local leaders and progressive influencers, funding trips to Israel where they can gain a more nuanced understanding of complex issues. Looking forward, we’re funding more of these trips and identifying new opportunities to educate our non-Jewish allies and their communities about the relationship between anti-Zionism and antisemitism.

And looking inward, we’re investing in more sophisticated educational resources for members of the Jewish community who want to engage in conversation around anti-Zionism and antisemitism but lack expertise, language, and the confidence to do so. We’re funding the Shalom Hartman Institute, the Jewish Education Project, and the Foundation for Jewish Camp, which will be offering trainings this summer and beyond to local rabbinic leadership, Jewish educators, Hillel professionals, camp counselors, teens and college students and their parents, and our broader community.

Later this month, UJA is also one of the leaders convening a high-level briefing with the seven largest federations, where we’ll be grappling with events of the last month, doing a deep dive into how we got here and what more should be done.

Responding to Antisemitism

Our Community Security Initiative (CSI), which we launched two years ago with the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, now includes five regional directors, a camp security director, and a threat intelligence analyst. In immediate response to antisemitic violence reported in New York, CSI coordinated on a more than daily basis with the NYPD to ensure the security of Jewish institutions.

We also reached out to the mayor and other elected officials, securing statements that strongly condemned antisemitism. Additionally, we took part in a Jewish Federations of North America Virtual Solidarity Rally, part of the Day of Action Against Antisemitism, which convened 20,000 participants online. In Westchester earlier this week, we along with Westchester Jewish Council brought together multiple organizations, community leaders, clergy of all faiths, public officials, and more, for a rally attended by 1,000 people. In the words of Lieutenant Governor Hochul, who spoke: “Enough is enough…You attack any one of us New Yorkers — you attack 20 million of us.”

At the same time, we mobilized a group of diverse community leaders and organizations to condemn antisemitism and put their statement as a full-page ad in The New York Times, New York Post, and The Wall Street Journal — not as an end to itself, but with the hope we’d inspire others to follow suit.

There is no single cure for antisemitism, no silver bullet to counter those who deny Israel’s legitimacy. If there was, we’d put the full weight of our resources behind it and be done. We’re facing complex trends that were years in the making. In the meantime, we will continue to invest in security, advocacy, and education in new and effective ways. We will stand with Israel in crisis, and we will persist in supporting programs that promote coexistence between Israeli Arabs and Jews, and human dignity for all. We will speak out against antisemitism and we will call on others to do the same, and we will provide resources to protect Jewish institutions across New York.

This is how we keep our community strong and thriving. And this is how we ensure the State of Israel endures today — and always.

Shabbat shalom