How Resilient Are Jewish Institutions? A roundtable interview
Before October 7, Jews in Israel and the United States had lived for decades in an exceptional period of safety, comfort, and assurance. While 2023 was marked by political upheaval, the long story of the Jewish state seemed to be one of thriving rebirth, with adversaries deterred, increasing regional acceptance, and security for its citizens. Jewish Americans lived in prosperity and freedom in a country that still seemed to be, as it had been for previous generations, di goldene medina.
In both countries, many of our institutions came to shape themselves to this reality, which lasted long enough to appear inviolable. For years, budding threats went unseen, ignored, or unanswered by institutions large and small, from NGOs to the government of Israel. October 7 shattered that reality.
On and after that day, the Jewish people proved resilient even when their institutions had failed, with leadership springing from individuals and grassroots networks. In Israel, citizens coordinated rescue and relief efforts in the absence of government initiative; in the United States, we were faced with building new relationships and alliances as the places that had been our home for so long took heart from Hamas’s barbarism, or looked on with little or nothing to say.
Since then, world Jewry has been tasked with applying our natural resilience to the institutions that represent and lead our community. In a roundtable interview with Sapir Associate Editor Felicia Herman, three leaders — Amy Spitalnick of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, David Cygielman of Moishe House, and Aaron Katler of UpStart — discuss what resilience means to them and the organizations they lead.
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