Dear friends,

I am a proud Zionist.

Professor Gil Troy wrote about the power, struggle and emotion he felt in reclaiming the word Zionist: “From a full-time American historian, I became a Zionist activist too, trying to trigger a broader communal conversation about what Zionism can mean in the twenty-first century. Central to my message — then and now — was that if Political Zionism’s great twentieth-century success was establishing a functional, democratic Jewish State, today’s great opportunity for Identity Zionism is finding meaning from connecting to that State and to our people, wherever Jews live.”
In a recent article of the Ottawa Jewish E-Bulletin, Ella Dagan, Vered Israel Cultural and Educational Program Manager, beautifully captured the transition between Yom Hazikaron and Yom Ha’atzmaut: “Both Yom Hazikaron and Ha’atzmaut are powerful days, but the fast transition from the sadness of the first into the euphoria of the second makes them even more special and significant,” she said. “Freedom is not free, and the joy of independence always reminds us of all the sacrifices, challenges, and losses we have suffered along the way.”

Let me conclude with a personal reflection. My first trip to Israel was as a 14-year-old teenager, where, in the interest of full disclosure, I was mostly interested in the cute Israeli soldiers. But unbeknownst to me at the time, a spark was lit and a life-long love affair with the Jewish state began.

I have now been to Israel over 25 times on everything from a gap year volunteering to solidarity missions when Israel was at war to serving as a madricha on the first-ever Birthright Israel trip. Each trip adds layers and depth of understanding. Each trip offers new experiences and cherished memories.

As I mentally sift through the vivid and lasting images in my mind from these trips, there is a palpable tension between sorrow and joy. So much tragedy and hardship in the span of just 73 years, and yet this does not, and should not, define the nation.

There is a reason why Israel’s national anthem is Hatikvah, literally The Hope. Moments when hope feels most elusive, are the exact moments when it is most needed.

Shabbat Shalom,

Andrea
Climate action is part of our Jewish responsibility

Earth Day is an annual event held on April 22 to demonstrate support for environmental protection and there’s a lot to do as a Jewish community to help our planet.