I saw an article above the French swim team winning the Silver in the Olympics, and one of the teammates said he did it for his grandfather who survived the holocaust. On his arm he has a tatoo that says, אני כלום בלעדיהם – “I am nothing without them.”
Another Olympian is also inspired by her grandmother that surived the Holocaust, http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/sports/1.735964.
Jews are recognizable, they have a different way about them, it is not about race, nationality, or culture, because in most parts of the world, there is a Jewish population, and they have traditions, food, and a deep connection that is in all of us.
It’s a culture, it’s a religion, it’s a people, it’s an ethnicity.
It’s complicated; I realize. But it’s also why the Jewish People are called that, it’s why Taye-Sachs is prevalent among us, it’s why the Bene Israel Jews of India can trace their lineage back to the Levant, it’s why so many can feel culturally Jewish without the religion.
It’s so much more than synagogue. Embrace it. Love it.
Judaism is a state of being, and I talk about Israel and Jews so much because I want to inspire my fellow Jews. I am not here to educate anybody, get in fights, or prove anything. If somebody does want to ask questions, I am happy to share because only by communication can we move forward in this world. I will however stick myself into any conversation bashing Jews or Israel, to show other Jews that we will never be silent anymore. Just like my Olympic brother above, I do it for “them,” my ancestors, my family, my history, I am surviving, and will survive, and will be a Jew loud and proud!
Shabbat Shalom,
Coach Yulia