Can we agree to come together as a strong community?

I am grateful for the community we have here in little Rhody.

We are a group of individuals who hold each other together and keep each other going when we need to.

I am grateful for those who submit ideas and articles for each issue of Jewish Rhode Island. I am grateful to the advertisers who support our pages with their investment in advertising. I am grateful to those of you who choose to support our patron campaign with a contribution and those of you who take the time to write to the editor whether you like our content or feel it doesn’t hit the mark.

I am grateful to the Jewish Federation Foundation, which continues to support our mission to cover the community with a yearly grant. I am grateful to my colleagues at the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island, who contribute their words and expertise on any number of subjects from the Alliance to our Alliance partners to Israel and beyond.

I am grateful to the rabbis of our community, who take the time to write and offer their expertise to the paper.

Jewish Rhode Island is what we call a niche newspaper. We don’t cover topics unless they have a “J Factor.” And if there is relevance to the Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts communities, so much the better.

Jewish journalism is alive and well in the United States. But Jewish newspapers face the same challenges as newspapers everywhere. Advertising is down and reader skepticism is up. That is why we are so lucky to have both involved advertisers and readers.

As a small Jewish community in Rhode Island, we are diverse. We are secular and religious. We are Reform, Conservative, Orthodox and ultra-Orthodox. And we are unaffiliated. We are left, right and center and of all political affiliations. And, yes, we have a variety of feelings about global politics and Israel.

But we need to remember we are one people, and we are stronger when we are together. This has been true throughout our history. Let’s recognize our differences for what they are – minor in the scheme of our broader community’s bonds – and not condemn others in our own community.

Let’s remember that no matter how much we disagree, our common goals, experience and Jewish values far outweigh what separates us. How about if we don’t quibble about who doesn’t support our causes and instead focus on the fellow members of our community who do support us. Within our community, there is and should be support for a wide range of causes and viewpoints that are often different and even in opposition to our own. How about not giving in to the temptation to attack each other for not being “good enough” or “right” when our faith and our community ask us to accept one another, differences and all.

Each voice in our community is important. Each insight inspires us to move forward or reflect. We don’t need to agree on everything when we already agree on most things. Together our voices make a strong and vibrant community. And that has kept us together as Jews for thousands of years.

Fran Ostendorf,

Editor