Erik Arnold

Jacob Sharon

Phyllis Apple

Tzachi Gadish

Lawrence A. Gottfried

Jason A. Wach

Erik Arnold

Anna A. Solomina

Rucha Laya

In 1906, the Yiddish author I.M. Weissenberg published a short story entitled, "A Shtetl." The plot revolves around the conflict that erupts when angry workers revolt against the imposition of a Passover flour monopoly by the town elders. The ensuing confrontation leads to the destruction of the town's social order and the subsequent helplessness of the townsmen when confronted with Russian governmental interference. Never in fiction has the disunity of the Jewish people nor their lack of a unified stance in the face of outside adversity been more clearly and dramatically presented. Only too often, from the time of the first war with Rome until today, has this said lack of unity harmed the Jews internally while leaving them easy pickings for outsiders.The holiday of Passover can in a sense be considered an example of Jewish success when operating under a more or less unified will (Namely, that of Moses, religious considerations aside.) The current crises of political and religious division and the erosion of identity affect Israel and Diaspora alike. While no one solution to such problems exist, it is in the best interest of all that the various bickering groups put aside their differences in the name of the common good.Problems of party politics or theological minutiae should not be used to obscure the fact that the Jews are one people who share a common past, present, and future. As such, communal leaders, as
well as all individuals of good will, need to develop this idea in depth.Perhaps an international committee of some sort could be formed for this purpose, holding meetings and forming organizations to implement a plan that would take into consideration the various needs and shades of Jewry. In short, a unified people is a strong people, much more capable of sustaining itself and resisting the eroding principles of contemporary atomized society. An individual with a sense of self is far healthier than the rootless ghosts who populate the globe today.