We All Have Our Own Version of Unity

I heard a woman say something very insightful today. She said everyone in Israel is talking about unity these days, but they each mean something else.

"Everyone in Israel is talking about unity these days, but they each mean something else."

We have our brave soldiers talking about the unity that was achieved in the field.

We have our amazing volunteers like Swords of Iron who are still bringing thousands of people together to do incredible things for the soldiers. It's really beautiful to see how this group became so connected because they have such a clear purpose and values that others are attracted to. People from all parts of Israeli society are involved in this initiative including support from American Jews.

A huge focus of achieving unity in Israel has always been about bringing together the secular and the religious - we've seen everyone come out of their corners over the past few months when it comes to serving a higher purpose - suddenly we remember and uphold our common values - and especially to love our neighbors like ourselves.

Not these days, but normally there's all kinds of initiatives around bringing the Jews and the Arabs closer together here in Israel.

We're always trying to integrate minorities into society but without tremendous success - unless it has to do with making a better living.

The families of the hostages have their tragedy and pain uniting them.

The most powerful example was seeing former activists (the people who protested on Kaplan street all year) uniting with religious groups and right-leaning groups that they've always been against. I think most of the progress that was made at the beginning of the war has already been erased by new waves of protests.

Genuine unity is something that shifts within us. Once that shift has happened and we've experienced it emotionally - it's etched in our hearts forever.

I think we can all safely agree - that if our version of unity doesn't hold up against the test of time - it's probably not genuine unity.

Genuine unity is something that shifts within us. Once that shift has happened and we've experienced it emotionally - it's etched in our hearts forever. And then we stop seeing all these external differences separating us. Then we gradually start to understand how it's all a very well orchestrated illusion to make us believe that we're different.

That's why we see so much energy at the beginning of a group being formed. But if there is not some genuine / positive / meaningful / uplifting human feelings to glue people together - then the group will eventually come apart. Even if they had amazing things happening at the beginning - if it's not genuine unity that has been built - it won't hold at the tiniest bump in the road. And when it comes to bringing people together for the most challenging feat of uniting - there will always be bumps in the road. We need to learn to navigate and overcome them together. By understanding that it's a natural part of the process.

My wish for the people of Israel especially is to start experiencing what genuine unity fees like. And to understand how important it is to hold onto it and not take it for granted.