As I was putting the flags back into my truck after this week’s walk, something unexpected happened. A woman came out of a house I’ve parked in front of every week for the last two years. The house was covered in Christmas decorations. She asked if I wanted to come inside for a cup of hot cocoa.
I politely declined, telling her I had coffee waiting at home. But then she said something that stayed with me.
She told me she isn’t Jewish, but she deeply supports what we are doing. She said she sees the group gathering there each week and wanted me to know that if we ever need anything, her home is a friendly one.
It was a powerful reminder that even when Jewish visibility can feel heavy, we are never truly standing alone. Allies are drawn to a people who are willing to stand proudly for themselves.
Zionism is not only Jewish self-determination in our ancestral homeland. It is Jewish agency over our future wherever Jews live. We may live in the Diaspora, but we are no longer a people defined by exile. We are a sovereign people, and sovereignty is not just political — it is psychological, cultural, and spiritual. It is something we carry, something we model, and something we pass to our children.
Jewish identity has never survived through convenience. It survived because generation after generation refused to sever themselves from the traditions, texts, and shared memory that carried us across centuries. The moment we begin separating parts of that identity from one another, we weaken the very continuity that sustained us.
Engaging with Judaism is not about perfection or performance. It is about participation in the ongoing Jewish story — a story that is still unfolding, and one that demands Jewish confidence, Jewish continuity, and Jewish responsibility.
AM YISRAEL CHAI!! 🇺🇸 🇮🇱
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