I am always honored to lead Hatikvah in UnXeptable Rochester rallies like this one from this past Sunday. (Especially since this grassroots movement was started by Israeli expats!)
On Wednesday Israeli President Isaac Herzog addressed a joint session of Congress. He was well-received but I hoped that he could have been in a position to calm the fears that we in UnXeptable Rochester have been trying to call attention to in these rallies supporting our brothers and sisters in Israel who have been protesting every day about proposed judicial so-called “reforms” that would severely limit the Court’s ability to be a check and balance over proposed legislation. This means that the current right-wing government would have the power to turn Israel’s democracy into a dictatorship and quite possibly a theocracy. Essentially erasing Israel’s Declaration of Independence that declares that the State of Israel will assure equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants, regardless of race, religion or gender.
To better understand the existential crisis in Israel, look at our own Supreme Court: Trump’s appointments to the Supreme Court with a Republican majority in the Senate led to the ultra conservative Supreme Court majority that overturned Roe and Affirmative Action. This is what the majority of Israelis fear. And in Israel that does not have a constitution, the laws pushed through would abolish the rights of minorities and women in Israel. Look into UnXeptable Rochester or UnXeptable in any part of the country or the world to learn how to support democracy in Israel. Stand with Israelis fighting for the country’s democracy.
Bonnie Abrams is the former Director of the Center for Holocaust Awareness & Information (CHAI) of the Jewish Federation of Greater Rochester. The child of two Holocaust Survivors, Bonnie had the honor of bringing her mother, Eva Abrams (z”l) to speak to school and community groups. An award-winning singer-songwriter, with 5 locally produced CDs, Bonnie created an educational program called, “Voice of the 2nd Generation”, in which she presents her parents’ stories with songs she composed and Yiddish music written during the Holocaust.