April is National Stress Awareness Month. I have been struggling with stress and anxiety since October 7th. There is the shock, horror, and grief at the October 7 Hamas atrocities as well as the ongoing anxiety and concern of the war in Gaza and the possibility of a wider war. And in this time of uncertainty, I needed to make a decision whether to travel to Israel to attend my nephew’s wedding. I am glad I did.
This trip was like no other before. In the immediate aftermath of Hamas terror attack on October 7 that sparked the current war in Gaza, most airlines suspended flights to and from Israel. Accommodations availability is also limited due to evacuees from the north under Hezbollah attacks. Although the war is ongoing in the south, and the Hezbollah daily rocket barrage along Israel’s northern border, within the center of Israel, life seems somewhat normal. Israelis are a resilient group of people. Israel has always had enemies bent on its destruction dragging it into a permanent state of war, making resilience a necessity. Israel is a start-up nation and a stand-up nation where resilience is a key ingredient.
Despite my fears, I visited the Old City of Jerusalem. There’s nothing quite like the feeling of the cobblestones whispering centuries of yearnings beneath your feet. These stones seemed to be speaking the words of Psalms 122:6-7 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May those who love you be secure. May there be peace within your walls and security within your citadels.”. Jerusalem is the center of Jewish identity and culture for millions of Jews worldwide. It is a symbol of Jewish resilience. Whereas most Jews and Israelis yearn for peaceful co-existence and brotherhood on earth, Hamas covenant calls for the destruction of Israel and the slaughter of Jews.
In the worldwide propaganda war against Israel, it can be hard to remember the truth of the Jews as a people, and Israel as a nation created by the same historical forces that have created nations since civilization began. Anti-Israel propaganda depends on ignorance. People chanting “From the river to the sea” can identify neither the river nor the sea in question. Others yelling for Israelis to “go back to where they came from” have no clue as to the origins of the Jews as a Semitic tribe living as the indigenous people of the land of Canaan in the bible. The Jews have been persecuted throughout history as a small religious and racial minority. The holocaust was the culmination of thousands of years of antisemitism. Nowadays, the Jewish population is estimated at 15 million, or 0.2% of the worldwide population. In contrast, there are about two billion Muslims in the world.
And so, the Jihadist propaganda uses social media to push the rhetoric of Israel as an "apartheid, settler-colonial state" practicing "ethnic cleansing" and "genocide" against the Palestinians. The liberals of the world are buying into the narrative of Israelis as European and white colonizers and Palestinians as people of color who are oppressed and colonized. Israel needs the help of the hundreds of millions of Christians, Hindus, and non-religious people around the world, who recognize the danger posed by Fundamentalist Islam. Israel is a thriving democracy. Gaza, on the other hand, is depravingly poor. No other region in the world has received so much aid money for so many decades. Hamas has spent $Billions on building tunnels and developing offensive weapons in the name of Jihad, which brings nothing but death and destruction to Gaza, Israel, the region, and the world. Why is there a fence around Gaza on both the Israeli and Egyptian side? Because the Palestinians voted Hamas into power, and Hamas boldly declares its genocidal ideology, which is the complete destruction of Israel, with the end justifying the means, using its own people as human shields and committing unspeakable atrocities.
This visit was timely, right before Passover, the holiday commemorating the Israelites’ Exodus from slavery in Egypt to freedom. In the Book of Exodus, Moses leads the Israelites out of slavery and oppression in Egypt with a promise to take them back to the land of Israel. The story is captured in the movie The Prince of Egypt by DreamWorks. Since my return home, the song from the movie “When You Believe” keeps playing in my head:
When You Believe
There can be miracles
When you believe
Though hope is frail
It's hard to kill
Who knows what miracles
You can achieve
When you believe somehow you will
Now, you will
You will when you
Believe
The holiday of Passover is an annual reminder of the privilege and responsibility to stay resilient, to ignite hope and exercise the freedom of choice to find the strength to rise above adversity. The concluding words of Israel’s national anthem, ‘HaTikvah’ (‘The Hope’) express this idea: “The hope of 2000 years:/ To live as a free people/ In our own land/ The land of Zion and Jerusalem.”
The concept of freedom is the ability to live freely without fear of oppression and persecution. To be truly free is to be able to live in peace. Yet, peace requires two to tango. No group of people can live beside a terror group that wishes to annihilate them. It takes two willing parties who genuinely seek to create peace. Unless the Palestinians have a leadership that establishes solid social and political structures and work to promote tolerance and peace, both the Palestinians and Israelis will continue to pay the heavy price of the ongoing conflict.
What is different this Passover? Israel is facing a growing threat from jihadist Islam. Jews are facing a surge of antisemitism worldwide. It’s personal. Now is the time to tap into the heart’s resilience.
So, whatever struggles you are facing, when dealing with stress and anxiety, choose hope and work to build resilience.
Resilience is being larger than the obstacles, not only hoping things will be better, but finding creative ways to make them so. It doesn’t make the troubles go away, and not necessarily solve any problems, but it is a great way to empower yourself to proactively and skillfully respond to difficulty. To get through a crisis is to focus on the things within your control. Focus on the choices that are available to you, the way forward instead of your worries. Here’s how:
Live authentically staying true to your values.
Take responsibility for choices and actions.
Build resilience to triumph over adversity.
To build resilience, prioritize action. Accept that there are no easy solutions. When things aren’t what you want then to be, look for the possibilities to be an agent of positive change. The are no easy solutions, but there are simple ways to do the right thing.
The Key: Commit to One Thing
Stop waiting until the time is right and the conditions are perfect. Commit to doing at least one thing, taking one action, every day to create a positive impact and to help you get through this season of hardship.
Don’t give into despair. Through tough times, choose to hold onto hope. Od Lo Avdah Tikvatenu, Our Hope is Not Yet Lost. Remember that you have the gift of freedom of choice, that you have agency to apply the resources available to you to act on your choices. Exercise your freedom to make choices and do all that you are capable of doing to make a positive impact and be a better human. Fill your days with intention and purpose to overcome adversity and thrive during hard times.
And let me end with a prayer for peace and healing between Israel and the Palestinians and worldwide. And may all the hostages be released and retuned home before Passover, the holiday of freedom and liberation.
