A unique experience

I was born in the Ukraine and came to New York when I was seven years old. I grew up hearing stories of antisemitism from my parents and sister; my grandparents escaped Kiev to avoid being massacred in the Holocaust. My grandmother's family did not escape and were all brutally murdered in Babi Yar. Growing up in the US, I did not know or experience antisemitism. I often felt like "the only" at work, when everyone talked about their Christmas traditions, getting together with family to sing carols, and colleagues all wished me a Merry Christmas, without wondering if I was indeed Christian. Even when I casually mentioned, or reminded them of being Jewish, the following year it was "Merry Christmas!" again.

I was fortunate to start a new role in a very Jewish organization on October 10th and got to see the organization's compassion for our Israeli colleagues in Jerusalem as well as our Jewish colleagues in New Jersey. While I did not have to hide my experience or my Jewishness at work, my anger at what happened, or my terror for the growing antisemitism in the US, or the propaganda that misconstrued history and reality, and the brainwashing of young minds, I did hear of many colleagues in other organizations who were hurting and felt alone. No one seemed to remember that they were Jewish, or that they were scared, or may have family who was in Israel and was impacted. They felt isolated and ignored, scared to talk about being Jewish.

Being Jewish was never something I focused on or thought much about. It was a core part of my identity, one I was both proud and protective of. October 7th raised my Jewish identity and brought it to the forefront of who and what I am, and what I am desperate to protect, at home, at work, and for my kids in their educational settings.