Jewish American Heritage Month is a time for pride and reflection

I have always felt a great sense of pride to have grown up as part of the small but prominent Jewish community in Birmingham, Alabama. I still encounter people who are shocked that there are Jews in Alabama, and I explain that there is something special about being connected to a close-knit Jewish community, while being part of a larger community at the same time.

There are, in fact, Jews everywhere, speaking dozens of languages, and with many different accents — including Southern. We may be small in numbers, some 15.3 million worldwide, but with a passionate commitment to our heritage and to improving the communities in which we live.

We don’t do it alone. South Florida is a prime example. In a region that is more than 70% Latino, we have built strong relationships with leaders from this diverse community, aided in no small part by Jews who are themselves from Latin America. As I said, we’re everywhere, and have been for a while.

The American Jewish community dates back to 1654, when a group of 23 Jews fled persecution at the hands of the Portuguese Inquisition in Brazil and found refuge — if not exactly open arms — in New Amsterdam, now New York. From that tiny group, the American Jewish community has grown to approximately seven million, about 2.4% of the U.S. population.

Jews have always been grateful for the safe harbor provided by America, so we actively contribute to what makes this nation great. That’s part of what’s behind Jewish American Heritage Month, celebrated in May when our friends in the Haitian American and Asian American communities also celebrate their heritages.

By celebrating heritage months, we honor the richness of our diverse nation and those who strengthen the fabric of American society. Jewish Americans have served in government and the military —750,000 in World War II alone. They have won Nobel prizes, become paragons of the law as Supreme Court justices, headed universities and corporations, advanced medicine, created and performed enduring works of art, written novels and traveled to space.

Jews today know the history of oppression that befell their ancestors. It is why we place the highest premium on pluralism and democracy at a time when those core values are threatened. It is why Jews were early champions of civil rights. We know our fate is inextricably linked to those of other minorities.

The same goes when it comes to fighting antisemitism. More pluralism can mean more understanding and empathy through engagement. More engagement means more knowledge about anti-Jewish hate, which puts us all in a better position to recognize antisemitism, respond and stop it before it happens.

Jews know they cannot fight the scourge of antisemitism alone. Fortunately, we don’t have to.

I recently participated in the relaunch of the LatinoJewish Congressional Caucus in Washington, which is devoted to fostering collaboration between both communities in the fight against hate and forging closer ties between the United States, Latin America and Israel. Reps. Mario Diaz-Balart and Debbie Wasserman Schultz are two of the co-chairs. Both communities have shown they will stand up to extremism and intolerance in whatever form it takes.

As antisemitism and other types of bigotry rise in South Florida and around the world, it is easy to become pessimistic about our collective future. Nine out of 10 Jews recently surveyed by American

Jewish Committee believe antisemitism is a problem. And more than eight in 10 say it is a problem that has worsened in the last five years.

It is easy to despair when you read those numbers. But the survey also found that nine out of 10 American Jews, as well as the general public, agree that antisemitism is not just a problem for Jews to solve. And it’s in times like these that I am forever grateful that our friends and neighbors from other ethnic groups have our back.

Together, we must reaffirm our values and reimagine what the future will be and what is possible.

For Jews in South Florida and beyond, there is no better time than Jewish American Heritage Month to take pride in our accomplishments and renew our commitment to the enterprise of building a more just and inclusive America and a more peaceful world.

Brian Siegal is regional director in Miami and Broward counties for American Jewish Committee.

NDSS Mattel and the National Down Syndrome Society create a Barbie doll, fourth from left, for children, ‘who for the first time can play with a Barbie doll that looks like them.’

BRIAN BAER Special to the Bee Jews have always been grateful for the safe harbor America provided, says American Jewish Committee’s regional director in Miami and Broward counties.