As the sun sets and the Jewish people welcome Rosh Hashanah 5787, we are not simply beginning another year.

We are making a statement.

After thousands of years of exile, persecution, expulsions, pogroms and the Holocaust, the Jewish people are still standing. We still gather around our tables. We still dip the apple into honey. We still pray. We still hear the ancient call of our tradition. We still teach our children who they are.

And we still say, without apology, Am Yisrael Chai.

This Rosh Hashanah comes at a painful moment.

Antisemitism has again become frighteningly visible around the world. Jewish communities are entering the High Holy Days with heightened concerns about hatred and security.

Israel, meanwhile, faces growing international isolation and political pressure. Several governments have announced or are considering restrictions on trade involving Israeli settlements, while political campaigns to boycott Israel continue to generate fierce controversy.

Israel can be criticized. Every democracy can be criticized.

But criticism becomes something darker when facts no longer matter, when the Jewish state alone is treated as uniquely illegitimate, when Israelis are collectively demonized, and when Jews thousands of kilometers away are expected to........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)