Victim or survivor?
These two words swirl like a dichotomy of existence. Are we victims of our circumstances? Or are we survivors?
Being "victims" implies being harmed or injured or maybe even killed as result of crime, accident, event or action.
Whereas survivors... overcome. They have remained alive when others have met peril.
Although the word "victim" is used as a necessary legal definition within the criminal justice system, "survivor" can be used as a term of empowerment to convey that a person has started the healing process and may have gained a sense of peace in their life.
So yes, we were victims on October 7 when we were mercilessly slaughtered, burned, raped, mutilated...by Hamas terrorists.
But we are also survivors. This, I believe, is the key to the Jewish people's longevity. We are survivors and overcome even the most unfathomable circumstances. We have fallen prey to victim mentality before, but it's up to us as both individuals and as a people to actively work towards honoring our history and becoming survivors.
We have been poisoined in gas chambers.
We have been tortured through inquisitions.
We have been forced to hide our Jewishness over a millenia of hatred.
We have been enslaved.
We have been tokinized as a homogeneous group of big nosed, money grubbing, blood thirsty monsters... over and over again.
We have been indiscriminately targeted for lynchings, stabbings, suicide bombings, and missles.
This Memorial Day, I invite you to remember the people that have fallen while protecting the Jewish people and the nation of Israel. Remember the civilians and soldiers who's lives were taken away prematurely.
Light a candle in rememberance of their ultimate sacrifice.
In thier honor, we must not only remember... we must survive.
You can read the stories from this war's painful losses here: Those We Have Lost
There are stories of the Heroes of October 7 on this Facebook page: Heroes of October 7
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