Dear Community,

I woke up today with the same feeling of dread that I did 8 years ago. Thoughts of my community, both queer and Jewish, the Palestinian people flashing through my mind. Rage and fear, rage at those who voted to take away my rights, fear that Trump will do the things he says he is going to do. And also, I noticed all the ways generational trauma inherited through ancestors who lived through tumultuous times, flooded in and made me feel afraid. 

This is how fascism works. It taps into the ways we are already afraid. It divides and conquers. It tells lies about who we are, how powerless we are, how alone we are, and points the finger at our most vulnerable members. 

However, that is not who WE are. That is not who we are at the Boston Workers Circle, as progressive Jews, as queers, as immigrants, as people struggling together to create long and lasting change, and as a deeply committed community. Both Ayanna Pressley and Helen Raizen spoke of the discipline of hope at Rosh Hashanah this year. That is where we must land. I believe in the discipline of hope, the hard work of feeling your feelings as you push on and push forward. At BWC, we believe in that discipline and have held onto it for over 100 years. 

We also know that we can fight fascism by holding each other. What better response to this result than to gather, to call each other, to be outside together, to share food together. There is no better way to fight fascism then to love each other as hard as we can. I heard a quote from the late Quincy Jones on the radio the other day that echoed what we heard from BWC member Dan Gelbtuch at Yom Kippur, and it feels exactly fitting. “Every day you had to make a choice, and the choice was between love and fear. And he said, as much as you could, always choose love.”

I choose love with you, today and everyday. 

In solidarity, 

Rachel Hess, Board President