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Rosh Hashanah 2025: The World Won’t Defend Us, So We Must Lead

Yuval David

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Jewish Americans and supporters of Israel gather at the National Mall in Washington, DC on Nov. 14, 2023 for the “March for Israel” rally. Photo: Dion J. Pierre/The Algemeiner

The world is not coming to save us. The world is not defending us. Lies about Jews and Israel dominate headlines, classrooms, social media, and government halls. Antisemites broadcast hatred openly. Too many movements that claim to fight oppression look the other way. Too many who say “justice” abandon Jews in our hour of need.

If we sit quietly, we fail our ancestors, betray our children, and erase our future. The shofar is sounding. And it is demanding action.

We are 0.2% of humanity — fewer than 16 million Jews on a planet of 8 billion. Tiny in number. Vast in responsibility. History proves that one Jewish voice can change the course of the world. One Jewish community can spark revolutions of morality. One Jewish action can protect life and defend truth. We are small, but we are unstoppable.

I have spent my life standing up for Jews in spaces where many said, “this is not your fight.” I have represented our people in civil rights, social justice, and human rights movements, and I have built bridges with Christians, Hindus, Druze, Jains, and Zoroastrians. From the arts, entertainment, and media spaces, to the LGBT, progressive, and Woke movements — to a diverse array of political and social movements on the right and the left — I have fought to ensure Jewish voices are heard where morality is debated and where the oppressed gather.

And I have also witnessed so much betrayal: many civil rights, social justice, and human rights organizations have turned their backs on Jews, normalized antisemitism, and excused attacks on us in the name of anti-Israel and anti-Zionist ideology.

Betrayal is not new — but it must not define us. It must define our response.

I don’t fight back. I fight forward. I act on purpose and with purpose. Every day, in government, in broadcast and print media, in workshops and speaking engagements, in interfaith initiatives, social media, and online, I work to motivate, educate, inform, inspire, and activate Jews and allies.

And the truth is simple: action begets action. Silence feeds the lies. Complacency fuels hatred.

But this is not my fight alone. There are many of us taking action. And, yet, I still see too many staying quiet. If I preach to the choir, I also help develop other preachers, and I also sing solo outside of the choir. Our echo-chamber is flimsy, so I work to empower and strengthen it, and also exist outside of it. 

Join me.

Join me politically — raise your voice, advocate for policies that protect Jews and Israel, confront antisemitism at every level, and hold leaders accountable.

Join me socially — create, build, and strengthen Jewish and cross-cultural initiatives that stand for truth and justice.

Join me digitally — counter propaganda, amplify Jewish voices, challenge lies, and flood social platforms with fact and presence.

Join me in real life — speak in your communities, schools, workplaces, campuses, and houses of worship. Make your Jewish identity and advocacy unavoidable.

We are a small people — but we are fierce. We are resilient, determined, and unbreakable. We fight forward, not backward. We thrive where others would bow. We lead where others hesitate. Am Israel Chai is not a slogan. It is a charge.

The shofar is blasting. The world will not wait. It will not defend us. It is up to us.

On Rosh Hashanah, let this call awaken your courage. Let it ignite action. Let it remind you: Jews do not survive by shrinking. Jews survive — and Jews thrive — because we rise, speak, organize, and act. Not tomorrow. Not when it is convenient. Now.

The future of our people is not in the hands of strangers, institutions, or those passing by. It is in ours.

Act now. Lead. Fight forward. Make Jewish presence and advocacy impossible to ignore — in politics, society, and everywhere our people’s truth is at stake.

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Yuval David is an Emmy Award–winning journalist, filmmaker, and actor. An internationally recognized advocate for Jewish and LGBT rights, he is a strategic advisor to diplomatic missions and NGOs, and a contributor to global news outlets in broadcast and print news. He focuses on combating antisemitism, extremism, and promoting democratic values and human dignity. Learn more at YuvalDavid.com, instagram.com/Yuval_David_, x.com/yuvaldavid, youtube.com/yuvaldavid, and across social media.

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