It’s been six months – 183 days - but every day since 10/7, it feels like it just happened.
That weekend we saw excited rallies on Canada’s streets of protestors celebrating the rape, torture and murder of Israeli civilians. Those celebrations have not let up.
It remains impossible to accept the lack of outrage for that same rape, torture, murder, and the inhumane treatment of innocent civilians - women, children, babies, elderly, and Holocaust survivors. Though we could not have imagined 183 days ago that they would still be held in captivity, today, the silence by our friends and neighbours about the remaining 133 hostages in Gaza is deafening. Every day I wake up hoping that today the kidnapped – those alive or dead – will be sent home.
Israel
It also remains impossible to forget the images we’ve seen and the stories we have been told over the last half-year. What I choose to remember, however, are the faces, names, and stories of the victims - who they were and what their lives were like pre-10/7.
I often think of Amit Mann, a paramedic who was murdered by Hamas terrorists when they stormed the medical clinic in Kibbutz Be’eri where she was treating wounded civilians who had been attacked earlier that day. I prefer to think of Amit as the 22-year-old singer/actress with the most beautiful voice who sang covers of popular Israeli songs as well Paramore’s “The Only Exception,” which I listen to often.
I think of Savyon Chen Kipper, murdered at the Nova Music Festival, near Kibbutz Re’im. I fondly remember Savyon, who joined a Birthright trip I led in 2012. She was smart, fun, and beautiful and left a lasting impact on all of us. While I am left wishing I had been in better contact with Savyon over the years, I will share that Savyon liked the John Lennon quote: “When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy.’ They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life.” While Savyon’s life was taken at a tragically early age, I hope leading up to her murder, while enjoying a music festival, that she was happy.
May the memories of Amit and Savyon forever be a blessing.
Toronto
Since 10/7 in the GTA, and in my own neighbourhood, there have been several hundred protests calling for violence towards Jews.
Antisemitism has risen to horrifying levels: 56% of the hate crimes committed in Toronto in 2024 targeted members of the Jewish community, despite Jews making up less that 1% of the population. Just this week there was a call for violence “…on the street…at work, or…your place of worship — it could be at a synagogue…”
News outlets, influencers, educators, and social justice warriors have continued to make up or distort facts, inciting hate, and violence. Globalized antisemitism is on the rise and is felt in every Jewish community.
There has also been some light in the darkness. If not for 10/7, I may not have met new friends on their visits to Toronto. I have had the pleasure of meeting Harel Oren and Ilan Cohen, heroes, who saved many while defending Kibbutz Re’im on 10/7. I have also had the good fortune of meeting and making pizza with Caroline D’Amore (aka Pizza Girl), who has been a strong voice advocating for Israel and the Jewish people.
October April 7th
For most people in this world, the earth’s last trip half-way around the sun has been uneventful. For others however, there has been no such movement or rotation, and time has stopped, standing still, each day since 10/7.
Some things have not changed: the world remains quick to judge Israel and slow to condemn their attackers. Jewish life worldwide remains under continued threat. We count our enemies on several hands, and sometimes our friends on just one. All this does however is give us reason to find motivation, and refuse to be complacent. We must continue to demand that Hamas release all hostages and surrender. Everyone wants a ceasefire and end to this war. But for that, the hostages must be released, and Gaza, Israel, and the rest of the world must be free from Hamas.
Why?
While it is often hard to find the words and, at times, uncomfortable to leave oneself vulnerable, I’m inspired by the “I’m That Jew” campaign, started by Eitan Chitayat.
So, why do I continue to share my thoughts in post like this, and when we marked Shloshim? Because I’m That Jew. I’m That Jew who understands how important it is to stand up for ourselves and against antisemitism. I’m that Jew who spends hours each day speaking with other Jews, planning, reading, educating, and learning myself about how to tackle the challenges of our time. I’m that Jew who responds to lies online, even if others won’t read it, because I believe in the virtue of the truth, and I’m that Jew who spends countless nights thinking abou how to make our future better for our children. I’m that Jew because my son, and other Jewish children, are watching. I’m that Jew because our parents and grandparents are watching, expecting us to carry the torch they kindled forward. I’m that Jew because that’s just what Jews do.
Understanding what antisemitism is, is crucial to identifying it, countering it, and outsmarting it. To Learn more please visit outsmartingantisemitism.com.
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