Born and raised in the US, I have lived in Jerusalem for over 51 years. For many years, I have been involved in inter-religious and inter-cultural dialogue, and in the Jewish religious peace movement. Israelis – and, I’m told, Jews throughout the world – are still reeling from the brutal atrocities of October 7th. The horrifying, nihilistic attacks were reminiscent of the worst, most painful periods of Jewish history. I would add to that something that has been of grave concern to me, personally, and that is the resurgence of antisemitism in the West, including and perhaps especially on the campuses of North America. I used to have great faith…

When the attack by Hamas occurred on October 7th, I was leading a service for the festival of Simchat Torah, the Rejoicing in the Torah, a particularly joyful day in the Jewish calendar. I had heard there was an attack, and mentioned in the service that we were thinking of those who had been killed, but we had no idea of the full extent or horror of the events of that day.  Details emerged over the following days, and then Israel began its attack on Gaza and our television screens were dominated by pictures of the terrible suffering there. Like many of my colleagues and friends, I found myself close…