In football, Manchester United fans chant the famous words, “Glory, glory Man United.” The entire stadium erupts into chorus. Supporters across the world sing with pride and passion, willing their team forward. This season, they’ll be hoping it inspires a top four finish – an impressive feat given how the season began.
Sitting on a United Airlines flight from New York City back to Cape Town, I found myself reflecting: What if we change the words ever so slightly? ‘Glory, glory, Jews United.’
Fresh from the ADL Never Is Now Summit, I can say with conviction: this sentiment rings true across the Jewish world.
Over two days, our chairperson, Simone Sulcas, and I, engaged with Jewish leaders from across the globe. We compared challenges, shared experiences, and explored solutions. One thing became abundantly clear: we stand together as one global Jewish community – united in our pain, united in our identity, united against a common threat, and united in our determination to confront hatred and live proudly as Jews.
Outside, the temperatures were well below freezing – each step into the cold felt like a slap from an ice brick. Yet inside the Javits Center, there was a palpable warmth. In one-on-one conversations, I sensed both relief and reassurance – but also something deeper: hope, resilience, and renewed energy.
As South African Jews, we have faced significant challenges since October 7. Many of us still carry the scars of that trauma. Yet we continue to live our Jewish lives – proudly and unapologetically. Security has increased, and communal events are largely held within Jewish spaces, but we remain, for the most part, safe and protected. That sense of cautious stability was echoed – and even strengthened – through my conversations at the summit.
From Bondi to Manchester, from Washington to Toronto, and across Belgium, Amsterdam and beyond, the list of recent violent attacks targeting Jewish communities is long and deeply troubling.
In my initial conversations with counterparts – from Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, the Netherlands, and Belgium I felt compelled to begin with condolences and solidarity. These gestures were met with genuine appreciation. On the final day, we heard from the parents of a young Sarah Milgrim who was tragically murdered outside the Jewish Museum in Washington DC last year after the attacker yelled “Free Palestine!”. The pain is raw. The grief is immediate. Words often feel insufficient.
And yet, something remarkable happened.
Conversations that began in darkness did not remain there. Within moments, they shifted – to light. To hope. To strength. To unity. As leaders, we understand our responsibility: not to dwell in despair, but to be a source of resilience. To bring light where there is darkness. To offer our communities a message of courage and continuity.
For an upcoming edition of ED Talks, I interviewed Jewish leaders from Australia, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Argentina, Colombia, Chile, the United States, the Czech Republic, and the Dominican Republic. Despite the diversity of geography and experience, their message was strikingly consistent: “We will not be defined by hatred. We will not retreat.”
We will continue to live proudly as Jews – celebrating our identity, embracing our traditions, and standing tall in the face of adversity.
That is how we endure.
That is how we prevail.
Glory, glory, Jews United.
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