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Thanksgiving always seems to come early, no matter what the calendar or the weather shows. There’s always that mad rush of grocery shopping and preparations, airport pickups, busy kitchens, and then, finally, that peaceful moment when everyone is sitting together.
In the middle of all that chaos, I hope you’re able to find small pockets of calm and gratitude. I know I’ll be trying to do the same. Some years it takes a little more effort to find those moments, to dig deeper for the light of gratitude. But it is always there, even in these turbulent and often difficult times.
I am grateful to lead JAC with an extraordinary staff: Allison Shaewitz, Danielle Schoenberg, and Denise Young; a devoted board under the leadership of Susan Berk and Amy Small; and, most of all, committed members like you. Every day we ask something of you — donate, Zoom, attend a program, donate to a candidate.
Thank you for reading the emails, taking the calls, and showing up. Thank you for walking this path with us, for supporting our mission, and for staying engaged when so many others are turning away. JAC members show up with loud, passionate voices, demonstrating time and again the strength of JAC. We are deeply grateful for that.
This week, JAC visited the Nova exhibit in Chicago, and I can still feel the weight of the emotions that stay with me, especially the fear from each scene and the unimaginable horror faced by those young people simply trying to celebrate life.
October 7th could have shattered Israel. It could have broken the Jewish spirit and destroyed our sense of community. But it didn’t. We are still here, resilient, strong, and determined that no enemy, abroad or at home, will ever extinguish who we are. For that strength, we all must be grateful.
Our democracy has been weakened and attacked. But we are finding the strength to fight back to protect our rights, and that determination is sweeping the nation. We all should feel grateful for that as well.
For the first time in a long while, I feel a spark of optimism. Recent wins in Virginia and New Jersey, court decisions striking down unfair maps, and the growing realization that the GOP is out of step with the American public all give us hope. That hope should fill us with gratitude and energy.
This Thanksgiving, find your own personal gratitude and let it surround you. Share your thanks with your family and friends. Keep the spirit going.
Thank you for your continued support of JAC.
Happy Thanksgiving from our JAC family to yours.
Hollis Wein, Executive Director
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