A Few Words About Allies

There has been a lot of talk about the friendships lost, including myself on my own platform. But what about the flip side of that? I'd like to share my personal experience.

Like all of us, I've lost friends over the last few months. However, after speaking with countless other Jewish folks, I'm realizing that my experience has been slightly different than most. I have had more shows of support than the other way around. I think this needs to be highlighted.

ONLINE AND IRL...

Since October 7, I have received and continue to receive countless messages of support and appreciation from people that are not Jewish and/or have no ties to Israel and/or the Middle East.

I don't live in my hometown. I moved to Toronto in 2008 with my son Liam. My family and Jewish peeps I grew up with are all in Montreal.

My Toronto friends have become my adoptive family. Most of them are not Jewish.

MY BESTIE

My best friend's name is Voula. She is Greek Orthodox. We met in 2016 and it was platonic love at first sight. We had an instant very intense connection. We say all the time we must have been sisters in a past life. We are definitely connected somehow.

Since we met, part of our friendship has been about sharing in each other's culture. We have kitchen dance parties consisting of belly dancing to both Bouzouki and Arabic music. We revel in the joint culture of the Greek and Sephardic People. Voula's husband Albert - also a very close friend - is a chef. He is half Italian, half Jewish. A lot of our celebration of culture - often shared - is through food. A lot of food.

When October 7 happened, Voula's immediate response was "I love you, I'm here, what do you need?". Did she know what to do or how? Did she grasp every single aspect of the conflict? Was she fully educated about Antisemitism? Fuck no, how could she? However, she didn't cower. She didn't go quiet. She didn't vanish. She didn't abandon me.

As time passed and my activism took centre stage in my life, her message has continued to be "How do I support you on your journey?" She has educated herself, she has kept herself informed so that we can have conversations. She has spent countless hours listening to me, she has cried with me, she shared in my pain and allowed me to lean on her heavily when I had a hard time standing alone.

Every day since October 7, she has looked me straight in the eyes and said, both verbally and in her actions since, "I am here with you and I am not going anywhere".

Period.

Allyship can take many forms. Of course it would be wonderful to have allies standing shoulder to shoulder with us every step of the way in our fight and journey. At rallies and events, signing petitions and taking action, advocating and being vocal.

But it doesn't have to be only this.

I have had many conversations on this with non-Jewish people who want to show support but don't know how. Many folks freeze in the fear of not knowing what to do and do nothing as a result. And the silence is deafening.

Others follow their heart and find a way forward.

You don't need to be an expert in Geo-politics or even have an opinion about the war. Standing up against Antisemitism is not political and is not complicated. You can start with "I see you, I'm proud of you, I love you". I can't begin to tell you what it means to be seen. Your support matters.

You would be surprised how grateful your Jewish friends would be to hear you say those words.

Trust me on this.