I spent the beginning of the week in Washington DC at the Jewish Federation of North America’s (JFNA) General Assembly (GA). The GA is a gathering of 2,000 Jewish communal professionals and volunteer leaders, networking and addressing the challenges facing the Jewish world. I’ve been to more than I can count and find them both energizing and exhausting. This year’s GA is no exception.

With the ‘end of the war’ and the return of the living hostages, this year has focused on rebuilding and resilence, two key factors not just for Israel but for those of us living in the diaspora. The past two years, since October 7, 2023, have been incredibly challenging, painful, and filled with far too many ups and downs both in Israel and the diaspora.

Having just been in Israel and seeing the difference in the country with the return of the living hostages and the hope that perhaps there will remain a cessession of the war, if not an opportunity for peace, I began to feel some hope for Israel and Israelis. I haven’t felt that way about the diaspora and particularly in America. Here at the GA, I have begun to get a little bit of that. So what is that began to give me this hope?

On Sunday night, at the beginning of the first main session, four former hostages spoke to us. Noa Argamani, Avinatan Or, Evyatar David and Guy Gilboa-Dalal shared not just some of what happened to them but also their incredible gratitude to the IDF soldiers who fought for their freedom. They recognized the soldiers who paid the ultimate sacrifice in order to rescue them and to defend Israel. They recognized the spouses and children of the soldiers who returned to milium (reserves) time after time after time, all to free the hostages and defend Israel. The incredible grace these four people showed was inspiring. I don’t know that I would be filled with gratitude after being held hostage as long as each of them were. I don’t know that I would be able to show grace instead of anger if I went through what they went through. It was an incredible lesson of humanity and I found it inspirational for me to be a better person, a better friend, a better member of society, and somebody who wants to continue to work to do my part in making this a better world for everybody.

I was especially struck by Avinatan as he shared his story. Kept underground, by himself, in the tunnels, for 738 days, more than 2 years. Two years of no sunlight. Two years of no fresh air. Two years of no human companionship, only terrorists beating and harrassing him. He lived in his mind. He told us the story of his escape attempt, digging through the dirt day after day after day. When one day he hit the roots of tree, it was his first proof of life outside the tunnel and the entire audience could imagine that moment. He shared about finally breaking through into the outside and his first breaths of fresh air in well over a year, looking at the stars in the sky at night, and feeling alive, just for a moment, before he was caught and taken back to the tunnels. Bound to a chair and beaten for a week. Yet he wouldn’t lose hope. He wouldn’t lose faith.

We live in a world today that is lacking that hope and that faith. Listening to Avinatan, Noa, Eyatar and Guy was a powerful reminder of community. Of faith. Of hope. These four amazing people somehow managed to keep their faith and hope alive in horrifying circumstances. Just a few days ago, Guy publicly stated that he was sexually abused by Hamas while being held as a hostage. This could break a person’s soul, ruin their faith, and strip hope from them. Yet somehow Guy held on to hope and to faith.

My hope and faith get tested every day. At Park East synagogue in New York, protestors this week chanted antisemitic slogans such as “Death to the IDF” and “Globalize the intifada,” things Mayor-Elect Mamdani has failed to condemn. His spokesperson, Dora Pekec, issued the following statement to the online publication  Jewish Insider:

“The mayor-elect has discouraged the language used at last night’s protest and will continue to do so. He believes every New Yorker should be free to enter a house of worship without intimidation, and that these sacred spaces should not be used to promote activities in violation of international law.”   

So according to Mayor-elect Mamdani, promoting Aliyah (moving to Israel) at a synagogue is a violation of International Law. He doesn’t condemn those who advocate violence against Jews in other houses of worship. He doesn’t want to crack down on those who plan violence against Jews, those who hurl hate messages outside a house of worship, only those who want to talk about emigrating to Israel. It’s hard not to see the antisemitism and Jew hatred in his statement. I wonder what those in the Jewish community who voted for and support him will say and do if he begins to crack down on anything Israel related in a synagogueor in New York. Will there still be an Israel parade? Will Israeli flags be banned in synagogues in New York? Will we see extra taxes and fees place on flights leaving New York to Israel? How far will it go? He hasn’t even been inaugrated and the concern continues to mount.

Yet I remain hopeful. I won’t lose faith. For the last four days I have been in Seattle with Noam from Dror Israel. We spent a lot of time talking with each other. One of the things that he said repeatedly that stuck with me is that he can’t worry about changing the rest of the world. He can only worry about changing Israel. In this crazy world that we live in, it can be overwhelming to think that we have to change the entire world. Instead, if I focus on changing my world, I can have a real impact. Change my community, my city, maybe even my state. I am not responsible for the entire world or even my entire country. But I can work to change my community. That is my responsibility.

I have been on the road for the past week and have heard from a number of people how I have the best job in the world. I agree with them. I have the privilige of working with amazing nonprofit organizations that are changing their communities. They are changing the world by doing so. I get inspired by them every single day. Every day when I wake up, I know that in my small way, I am helping them to change the world. Because of the work that I do, these organizations are improving the lives of people. It fills me with gratitude. It gives me hope and restores my faith. With Thanksgiving just a few days away, there is so much I have to be thankful for. My family. My health. And the fact that every single day, it this crazy and often absurd world that we live in, I get to do my part to make it a little bit better. I don’t have to be the type of heroes that the IDF soldiers have been, risking their lives to save the hostages. All I have to do is my part to make the world a better place. I know when I wake up tomorrow, that’s exactly what I will do. Will you?