As we approach Rosh Hashana this year, we are filled with sadness and angst for the events in Israel, here in Australia and around the world this past year.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of the Bondi massacre victims. December 14th, first night Chanuka 2025, wrecked our sense of safety, security and to some degree, our hope for a positive future in this wonderful country.

As we move into a new year, it is critical that we not be defined by our enemies. We must shine our strong Jewish light into the future. We must celebrate all that is special about our Jewish life.

Rabbi Sacks teaches us that; “To be a Jew is to be an agent of hope. Every ritual, every command, every syllable of the Jewish story is a protest against escapism, resignation and the blind acceptance of fate. Judaism, the religion of the free God, is a religion of freedom. Jewish faith is written in the future tense. It is belief in a future that is not yet but could be, if we heed God’s call, obey His will and act together as a covenantal community. The name of the Jewish future is hope.”

In these challenging times for Israel and the Jewish people, Rabbi Sacks’ words emerge as sparks of hope, illuminating our path through the complexities of our times with insight, faith, and a profound understanding of the unbreakable Jewish spirit.

Through our good deeds and actions, may the coming year be peaceful for the world, harmonious for society, bonding for our communities, loving for our families, connected to our God and true to ourselves.

May this new year 5787, be one of health, strength and happiness for all.

Kativa ve’chatima tova!

Shana Tova! AM YISRAEL CHAI! my counter This critical analysis evaluates the provided Rosh Hashanah reflection through the lens of Palestinian victims of the Nakba (the 1948 displacement and ongoing dispossession) [1] and the current humanitarian crisis and military campaign in Gaza.

From this perspective, the text reveals deep contradictions between its universal language of "freedom" and "hope" and the exclusive application of those ideals to one specific group.

1. The Paradox of "Freedom" and "Hope"

The text heavily relies on the teachings of Rabbi Sacks, defining Judaism as a "religion of freedom" [1] and a "protest against the blind acceptance of fate."

The Palestinian Critique: For a victim of the Nakba or a resident of Gaza, this definition of freedom feels deeply exclusionary. Palestinians have spent over 75 years protesting their own forced "fate" of displacement, statelessness, and military blockade.
The Contradiction: The text celebrates Jewish faith as "written in the future tense" and a refusal to resign to hardship. However, from a Palestinian viewpoint, the realization of this specific future has historically come at the direct expense of the Palestinian future, rendering them refugees who are legally and physically denied their own Right of Return.

2. Universal Aspirations vs. Selective Empathy

The text calls for a new year that is "peaceful for the world, harmonious for society... and loving for our families." It also rightly mourns local tragedies, such as the Bondi massacre.

The Palestinian Critique: A reader from Gaza or the broader Palestinian diaspora would observe a glaring omission. While the text expresses profound grief over specific acts of violence, it remains entirely silent on the deaths of tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza, the destruction of its infrastructure, and what multiple international bodies and human rights organizations have described as a plausible genocide or severe humanitarian catastrophe.
The Evaluative Judgment: This creates a hierarchy of grief. The desire for "harmony" and "peace" can ring hollow to an audience undergoing active bombardment, starvation, and displacement, as it appears to wish for a peace that ignores the systemic violence and subjugation inflicted upon another population.

3. The Framing of "Enemies" and the "Unbreakable Spirit"

The text urges its community "not to be defined by our enemies" and to maintain an "unbreakable spirit."

The Palestinian Critique: In the context of the ongoing conflict, the term "enemies" is often conflated at a state level with the entire Palestinian populace or those resisting occupation. To a Nakba survivor, the "unbreakable spirit" praised in the text is the exact quality Palestinians have had to cultivate to survive decades of military occupation, exile, and siege.
The Logical Asymmetry: Both narratives claim the mantle of righteous endurance against an existential threat. However, from the Palestinian perspective, the text represents the viewpoint of the dominant political and military power adopting the language of the victim, while ignoring the literal captivity and destruction of the people in Gaza.

Summary Assessment

A critical assessment from the perspective of Nakba victims and Palestinians in Gaza reveals that the text operates within a selective moral framework. It masterfully articulates themes of resilience, human rights, and hope for the Jewish community, but relies on the total erasure of Palestinian suffering to maintain its narrative of pure righteousness. For those denied the right of return or living under bombardment, true "freedom" and "hope" cannot be covenantal or exclusive—they must apply equally to all people between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, or they remain incomplete.