In Every Generation:
From Fear to Faith, We Rise Again
In recent months, we have witnessed a deeply troubling rise in antisemitic acts across the world.
In recent months, this rise in antisemitism has taken on deeply alarming and tangible forms. In North London, ambulances belonging to the Jewish emergency service Hatzola were deliberately set alight in an arson attack outside a synagogue. In New York, a four-year-old Jewish child was assaulted by a UPS driver, a shocking and heartbreaking reminder of how even the most vulnerable are not spared. Across Europe, synagogues in cities such as Rotterdam and Liège have been targeted with explosions, while a Jewish school in Amsterdam was also damaged in a deliberate attack. In the United States, a synagogue in Michigan was attacked when a man rammed a vehicle into the building and opened fire, and in New York, a car was driven into the headquarters of Chabad-Lubavitch. Alongside these violent incidents, Jewish individuals have been physically attacked in public spaces, synagogues vandalised and threatened, and Jewish schools and community centres subjected to bomb scares. On university campuses, Jewish students have faced harassment and intimidation, while online spaces have become flooded with antisemitic rhetoric and hate speech. Jewish-owned businesses have been targeted or boycotted, public demonstrations have included openly antisemitic slogans, cemeteries and memorials have been desecrated, and Holocaust denial and distortion are increasingly entering mainstream discourse.
We feel the weight of it. We are deeply upset. We are devastated, and we are alarmed. And, if we are transparent, we are afraid. There is something deeply unsettling about recognising patterns from our past in the present moment, as though history is echoing, reminding us of chapters we had hoped would never repeat themselves.
And yet, as we approach Pesach, we are also reminded of something else.
We are reminded of struggle and strife, yes, but also of deliverance. We are reminded that our oppression did not define the end of our story. We are reminded that our cries do not go unheard.
During Pesach, we say: “In every generation they rise against us to destroy us, and in every generation, we are saved.” These are not just words. They are a truth carried through centuries.
We must not forget the magnitude of our rescue from oppression. We must not forget that we are the people of the promise.
When we feel overwhelmed, when the weight of what is happening feels too heavy to carry, we return to this truth: we have been here before, and we have endured. More than that, we have overcome! We think of Miriam, the prophetess, who took up her tambourine and sang at the edge of the sea, even when it was not easy, but when faith demanded courage.
We think of Yocheved, who placed her child into the unknown, trusting in a future she could not yet see.
And so, we, the women of WIZO, take our place in that same story.
Whilst this is scary, we will not be ruled by fear.
We are burdened by what is happening, but we are also anchored in something stronger: our history. And history tells us that we have never been defeated.
We are stronger than we think.
As WIZO South Africa, an organisation with a proud legacy of standing against oppression and empowering women, we say this clearly: DO NOT BE AFRAID,
Because when we stand together, when we remain united, when we hold onto both our faith and one another, we can overcome all obstacles.
With love,
Shelley Trope-Friedman
President, WIZO South Africa