Michael Balaban's Update on the War in Israel

- Michael Balaban
President & CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia

As we approach the end of the month, we are nearing International Holocaust Remembrance Day on January 27. October 7 was the largest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, and I cannot help but be angered by the misuse of the term “genocide” being thrown at Israel with the Shoah – an intentional destruction of the entire Jewish population – still in living memory.

I am also reminded of another 27 – October 27 and the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting that occurred that morning in 2018. In every generation, in every country, we have been fighting to live freely as Jews. I am exhausted, I am angry and I am deeply mournful.

Last Sunday, a swastika was spray-painted on a building adjacent to the Horwitz-Wasserman Holocaust Memorial Plaza here in Philadelphia. Two days before, an Israeli delegation was defending itself at the United Nations International Court of Justice against South Africa’s charges of genocide. South Africa’s delegation conveniently neglected to mention the violence of October 7 or Hamas’ own abuse of the Palestinian people. 

Now, while the court’s judges undergo deliberations on whether or not to charge Israel with an unfounded crime, the world’s perception of the Jewish people is becoming increasingly warped.

Since the Hamas terrorist attacks of October 7, the Jewish Federation’s partners at Secure Community Network have logged a staggering 2,628 antisemitic incident reports. Those three months had more incidents than the entirety of 2022. This figure is appalling, but it is not surprising. When anti-Jewish hatred rises in one part of the world, it inevitably rises in the rest, and we have felt firsthand its effects in Greater Philadelphia.

However, I am also reminded of the strength and resilience of the Jewish people and the incredible support of our allies. After the shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue, we were “Stronger Than Hate.” In the wake of October 7, our community mobilized instantly to send emergency aid to Israel. On International Holocaust Remembrance Day next Sunday, buildings around Philadelphia, including the Lits Building, PECO, One Liberty Place, Subaru of America, Philadelphia Airport and the Capitol Building will be lighting up yellow to ensure that we may never forget the horrors of the Holocaust. On Wednesday, Pastor Carl Day of Culture Changing Christians and our JCRC Director Jason Holtzman, announced a new initiative, The New Golden Age, that is focused on rebuilding the bridge between Black and Jewish communities in Greater Philadelphia with the goal of creating change and fighting hate in our communities.

Holocaust survivor and esteemed author Elie Wiesel once said, “To forget would be not only dangerous but offensive; to forget the dead would be akin to killing them a second time.” After October 7, when much of the world seems to have forgotten, Wiesel’s words are even more poignant.

As we observe International Holocaust Remembrance Day and commemorate the innocent six million Jews and millions of other people who fell victim to Nazi persecution, may the memories of those who perished in the Shoah and those who continue to fall fighting for our right to live freely as Jews be for a blessing and live on through all of us.

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