A Thanksgiving Message for Hope

 Dear Friends,


As we think about our Thanksgiving rituals I am indebted to a friend who suggested that at their Thanksgiving table, they will have an empty chair  to remind them of a hostage in Gaza whose family has no idea if they are alive.  As I write this there are negotiations to free some of the hostages but none of us knows how or if this will  happen at this time.

In thinking about this empty chair to remind us about the hostages, I hope that none of us will become hostage to social media sites and other news reports that lead us deeper and deeper into echo chambers.  I believe that all who are reading this believe that terrorism is horrible and that the acts that occurred on Oct. 7 were tragic.

I also believe that all those reading this article believe in the value of the dignity  of every human being.  None of us want innocent people to die and my fervent prayer is that civilians will not continue to pay  the price for leaders who practice terror and mistreat others.

It is time to not be held hostage to beliefs that keep  us from being able to talk to our friends and families about the events in the Middle East.  I have devoted much of my  class time at George Mason University to open dialogue where we have created a safe space to talk about events in the Middle East.  I hope that we recognize that although we may disagree about what is antisemitism, what is critique of the Israeli government, and what is the way forward, we can only make progress if we can listen to each other and learn from each other.  In this way, we can make our world a more tolerant place where we are free from the "isms" that threaten all of us in today's world.

At George Mason, we will have a teach-in the week after Thanksgiving to provide information and an opportunity  for what we hope will be honest sharing with each other.  I hope that this will provide a model for creating dialogue and lessening the tensions that are being created by extreme views that threaten all of us.

May we be able to give thanks for opportunities for open conversations with each other where we learn from each other and appreciate the various narratives which people have experienced.

May our conversations during our Thanksgiving time together lead us on the path of peace in our homes, our communities, and to the Middle East.  And...may the hostages be free so that we can all give thanks that they are alive and safe.

And to paraphrase what has become a symbol of intolerance and hatred, may we say,

"From the river to the sea, may there be peace for us to see."

Happy Thanksgiving,

Rabbi Bruce Aft   



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