By Harry Kozlovsky
The barbarism post Oct. 7, in Israel, together with the unleashed, rabid, in-your-face antisemitism in the United States, has no parallel in our history. Yet, the unbridled and passionate multiple ways Jews in the U.S. who support Israel show their support in these times is also unparalleled. We all want to do so much. Supporters of Israel from every denomination, whether they be individual volunteers, shuls, temples, schools, The Associated: Jewish Federation of Baltimore, solidarity trips to Israel for those that can afford them — all are not giving into their feelings of helplessness but making a personal difference that matters.
Yet, I feel Baltimore can do so much more to help the whole and keeps missing the boat. Everyone and all organizations are doing a great job individually, yet no one is tying it all together at a time when everyone who cares wants to know and be involved everywhere they can be.
Earlier this week, an anti-Israel protest was held directly in front of Congregation Shomrei Emunah. Word leaked out they were coming, and, in a few days, a counterprotest was put together. The response? There were many Jews who came to loudly try to drown out the sounds of these anti-Israel protesters. Where was everyone else with so much passion and love for Israel? Well, not that many knew of the event as few know of the many wonderfully passionate and impactful events that have and continue to take place weekly since Oct. 7.
Again and again, passion fuels support, and again and again, the “word gets out” as best as each person or group organizing it can do on their own. This is exactly the way Baltimore operated pre-Oct. 7. Organizations did their own thing, got their word out the best they could, maybe at times self-defining their event as a “community” event and even possibly using The Associated’s community calendar to get the word out.
If everyone who loves Israel in Baltimore knew every event taking place, our turn-out for every event would be so much stronger, and that is so vital to counter the numbers of those seeking to destroy Israel and spread antisemitism.
We are now past Oct. 7 and in exceptionally difficult times, with no end in sight. We need to and can do much more as a caring community that loves Israel, and it starts at the top. We need an apolitical central address that can publicize every Israel-loving event in real-time and has the finances to publicize them. That central address must be our wonderful Associated who has come through in so many ways to help struggling Jews here in Baltimore.
The old community calendar that has a long history of community political and organization biases is not that answer, and to date none exists at our unprecedented time where we need a “We are one; we love Israel in Baltimore” central address.
This is very doable, but to succeed, we must, post Oct. 7, create this apolitical central address by eliminating the old political/individual organization-based mindsets so ingrained in our Baltimore Jewish community.
If not now, then when?
Harry Kozlovsky is a Baltimorean who recently made aliyah.
