I have always felt an incredible sense of pride in being Jewish. Whether it was ingrained in me by my parents and family, or the community I grew up in, I am extremely thankful for it.

I have been thinking a lot about this, following an incredible opportunity I had this past Sunday. Although I have been in my position as our Jewish Federation’s Executive Director for almost 18 years, I am still amazed and humbled by the experiences I have had, representing our local Jewish community. Two days ago, I, along with our board president, Jeanine Borland Mann, and more than 25 other key Jewish leaders from across Southern California, had the privilege and honor of meeting and hearing from Israel's Foreign Minister, Gideon Sa’ar, during a special briefing coordinated by the Consul General of Israel, Israel Bachar.

During this meeting, FM Sa’ar provided an overview and current update on Israel and specifically about Israel’s involvement in the war against Iran and Hezbollah. As I sat and listened to the information being shared, it was clearly evident to me that Israel acted when and how it did, with the US, because they perceived an imminent existential threat from Iran, based on the comprehensive and thorough intelligence it had received. And while he shared a lot, two comments and ideas he briefly brought up stuck with me. The first is that Jews outside of Israel have nothing to do with the conflict in the Middle East, and yet we are collectively under attack, which clearly illustrates that the animosity and hatred that continues to target the Jewish community illustrates that there is something far deeper than just the actions taken by Israel. And second, that Israel is not planning on putting energy into efforts in countries that have growing support for the Palestinian cause because, as he put it, it is more prudent for Israel to expend its limited resources in areas where it can realistically affect change.

My takeaway from this last comment was not so much that Israel is just going to ignore the problems and the growing animosity towards Israel, but rather, they are going to put the vast majority of their effort, energy, and focus in areas where they can be successful.

This last comment, supported my the ongoing feeling and perspective, suggests that rather than put energy into things that may be difficult to change, we should focus on taking control of what we can. And one of the things we do have control over is feeling pride in being Jewish. In the midst of all of this turmoil, chaos, and animosity targeting our collective Jewish community, we have struggled to effectively push these efforts back. And yet, I believe we have forgotten one important thing…. No one can take away from us the pride we feel for being Jewish unless we let them.

The popular phrase, "Am Yisrael Chai," is more than a call for support for the State of Israel. As you may remember, shortly after Jacob wrestled with the angel, Jacob’s name was changed to Israel. And being that we are descendants of Jacob, Am Yisrael Chai can also mean the people/children of Jacob live!

Now is the moment for all of us to focus and reflect inwardly on what makes us proud to be Jewish, remembering it is part of us, and no one can ever take that away.