Shalom All,

It's a small Jewish world, and when push comes to shove it's all we have. Remarkably enough, sometimes you can see the entire Jewish story in a focused, intense nutshell. So intense, that it has taken me 2 weeks to be able to put it down in writing.

A couple of weeks ago I attended the general assembly of the European Jewish communities in Budapest. Listening to our family in Europe talking about the expressions of their Jewish identity, some talking about the rising anti-Semitism and some denying it, talking about assimilation and emancipation was enlightening. Talk about deja-vu.

A group of Israeli officers from the IDF and the Israeli police force was on an educational trip, and we all ended up in Budapest during the same weekend. Accompanied by Holocaust survivors and by bereaved parents, I joined the group one afternoon for a visit to the largest synagogue in eastern Europe, for a memorial ceremony in honor of the Holocaust.
To say it was a moving experience won't do it justice. There we stood, in the middle of the Ghetto, a large group of Jews in uniform. In honor of the ceremony, the Hungarian army sent a troop of soldiers to salute the ceremony. It wasn't easy watching them, in brown uniforms, high boots, all blond and blue eyed, saluting the memory of the horror that their parents and grandparents inflicted on us. The only consolation was the handsome Israeli uniforms that stood in front of them.Talk about wheels turning.

I was standing next to an Israeli man who, very quietly, told me he was there because of his son. Over a year ago, during a terror attack on a school, his son held fast to a door that led to a large group of students, physically preventing the terrorists from entering and killing them all. His son was murdered during the attack, and his life was the price that saved the rest. Talk about moments when you are left speechless, with a strong storm gushing inside you.
A tall Israeli soldier led the ceremony. A pilot in the IDF, he made Aliya on his own at the age of 16 from Budapest, where his family still lives. He walked us through the scenes of his childhood and his decision to tie his life with ours. "It is here, specifically here, that I, a general in the Israeli army, would like to have the honor of saluting you, an officer in the Israeli army, for your decision to live in our homeland, the state of Israel." said Israeli General Benny Gantz, and in front of us all, including the names of more than 100,000 Hungarian Jews who perished in the Holocaust, saluted the young soldier. Talk about soaring emotions.

If ever I felt it before, that was the moment I felt it more than ever: It was time to go home.

Shabbat Shalom,
Liat