News

A few weeks ago, I was contacted by a student I didn’t know here in New York City who wanted to grab coffee and ask me for some advice. I said of course, and we met at my favorite coffee shop.

He spent much of our time together explaining how much he hated both the United States and Israel. I've had conversations like this before, but lately I've been paying much closer attention to them. These voices seem to be getting louder, gaining influence, winning seats in government, and, at least here in New York City, increasingly dominating parts of the public conversation.

Putting aside the Israel conversation, I asked him about his family history. He told me that one grandfather fled a pogrom in Europe in the early 1900s, and that one of his grandmothers was a Holocaust survivor who lost nearly her entire family before arriving in America as a refugee.

I told him that I also come from immigrants, and that while I don't agree with every decision this country makes, and that has been true regardless of which political party is in power, I remain deeply grateful to live here.

The Jewish story over the last two thousand years has been, in many ways, extraordinary and heartbreaking. We wandered from country to country, often facing persecution, expulsion, violence, and uncertainty. And then our families arrived in this remarkable country called the United States, which offered us something that much of Jewish history did not: the opportunity to live freely as Jews.

Our rabbis taught in Ethics of our Fathers: "Pray for the welfare of the government, for were it not for the fear of it, people would swallow one another alive." I've always found it remarkable that our sages taught us to appreciate and pray for the stability of the countries in which we live, even when those countries are imperfect. They understood something profound: that law, order, religious freedom, and the ability to build Jewish communities openly are blessings that Jews experienced far too rarely throughout our history.

People often ask me whether I am worried about the future of the Jewish community in America.

The answer is yes, I’m worried.

Rising antisemitism concerns me deeply. The growing hostility toward America that I hear from some younger people concerns me, and I’m hearing and talking to our students who having growing anxiety about the uncertainty for our community. For the first time in American history, it feels like the Jewish community doesn't really know what the future holds.

And yet, as America celebrates its 250th birthday this weekend, I find myself feeling something that perhaps too many of us have forgotten: gratitude. Gratitude that my family, and millions of other Jewish families, found refuge here. Gratitude that we have been able to build communities, schools, synagogues, businesses, and lives in freedom. Gratitude that despite all of its imperfections, this country has provided the Jewish people with opportunities and liberties that much of our history denied us.

Here is what I do know: I'm planning on very closely following the Nathan’s Hot Dog contest this July 4th (probably another Joey Chestnut win), barbeque with my family, watch the fireworks, and remind our kids how thankful we have to be to live here. This country remains filled with millions of decent, kind, and principled people and I remain hopeful that the values of religious freedom, pluralism, and opportunity that have defined America at its best will continue to allow the Jewish community, and all communities, to thrive.

For all of its imperfections, I remain profoundly grateful to be an American.

G-d bless America!

Dave