There is a dissonance between the Jewish story and the way we tell that narrative. We are a people who have demonstrated an inverse relationship between numbers and impact for thousands of years. We represent an unparalleled catalyst for curiosity and growth. As we celebrate the 71st year since its rebirth, the State of Israel has achieved mind-boggling feats, against seemingly insurmountable odds, and this is just part of the incredible story we have to tell.
Still, this is not the story we tell. Instead, victimization and crisis are deeply ingrained within our narrative as a people. We are all too focused on reactively extinguishing fires rather than proactively sowing seeds and planting trees.
To a certain degree, this makes sense. We are living through a time of rising anti-Semitism, which has ascended heights unseen for generations.
But it's not just this recent spate of white nationalist attacks. Having grown up in Sydney, Australia, where so many in the community are descendants of survivors, the Holocaust has always been a core component of the community's Jewish identity. The Gen17 Australian Jewish Community Survey found that 95% of participants saw remembering the Holocaust as important to their personal Jewish identity, marking it as the highest factor.
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