Commentary

This article was sponsored by and produced in partnership with Hillel International, the world’s largest Jewish campus organization.

I’ve never felt more like a spy than when I was handed two folders of alien case files at the National Archives in Kansas City. 

In Israel, we use different words for goodbye. In most one-on-one conversations, we just say “bye,” like the wannabe Americans we are. The more common phrase, “yalla bye,” is a true testament to the Israeli nature of direct and hasty goodbyes, very unlike the Midwestern goodbyes I’ve become accustomed to here in Kansas City. 

On Saturday, June 24, as I walked to our synagogue for prayers [in Cobb County, Georgia], I was greeted by the horrific sight of massive swastika flags. There was a group of agitators shouting antisemitic taunts and holding signs that promoted nasty anti-Jewish conspiracy theories.

“La tefila, la tefila” — the Judeo-Spanish call to worship echoed through the cobblestone streets. The caller’s reminder to the faithful mingled with a whispering sea breeze and the first chirps of bird melodies.