Dov Wilker's 2021 Rosh Hashanah Message

I believe that 5782 will be a year of disruption.

Disruption has both positive and negative connotations to it, and I believe we should be looking to positively disrupt our lives.

We will see further disruption in the way we work as questions of a hybrid work environment continue.

We will see disruption in the fight against antisemitism through the development of new strategies and by tweaking existing tools.

And most importantly, we will see disruption in how we demonstrate our Jewish pride.

According to an American Jewish Committee survey on the “State of Antisemitism,” in 2020 of those surveyed, 31% avoid certain places, events, or situations out of concern for safety or comfort as a Jew, and 24% have avoided publicly wearing, carrying, or displaying things that might help people identify them as a Jew.

These are just some of the statistics that should both frighten us and give us hope for the future.

The numbers reveal a growing opportunity for how we think about our Jewish community and for who will define our future.

My hope is that 5782 will help us reimagine what’s possible for the Jewish people, in the United States, Israel and around the world.

Dov Wilker is regional director at the AJC Atlanta.