Federation mission to India ‘refreshing’ and broadening

By Heidi Gantwerk in San Diego

It’s hard to believe that two weeks ago today, I was celebrating Shabbat with the Jewish community of Mumbai and a group of Federation’s most generous supporters as part of our “Jews of the Raj” Mission to India.

Early in our trip, during a meeting with top U.S. Embassy staff in Delhi, we asked what we should be looking for. Two things they shared stayed with me. First, India is just more. With 1.4 billion people comes more energy, chaos, color, industry, temples, cows, traffic, beauty, poverty, food, smog, and flowers. Just more. Second, they told us to look for the love. That may sound trite, but everywhere we turned we saw it and felt it.

For two weeks, we were transported into a place more “foreign” than anywhere else I have visited, yet every encounter was positive, welcoming, and gracious. Through our modern Western lens, we kept asking about antisemitism, historically or today. It simply isn’t there, and I cannot express how refreshing that was to hear.

People sometimes ask me how traveling with a group of Jews from San Diego to the far corners of the world strengthens our community back in San Diego. This India trip did just that. We formed close friendships, sang Mi Shebeirach for loved ones while in a synagogue in Kochi, dug into the Israel-India relationship in a private discussion with the Israeli ambassador to India, and shared a beautiful Havdalah with an Indian Jewish family.

Over dinners and bus rides and boat rides, we talked about what mattered to us most about being Jewish. These immersive experiences pay dividends to our Jewish community for decades as people step up their leadership and philanthropy, and deepen their connection and commitment to Jewish life.

You can read more about our time in India and the Jewish communities we encountered in our recent blog.

I came back from India changed; my worldview expanded, my spiritual boundaries pushed, and my connection to the Jewish people around the world now layered with more colorful and personal stories and ties. Sharing that experience with 23 caring, committed, and curious fellow Jews from San Diego was a gift, and one we will all cherish forever.

Then, a week ago, just a few hours after we returned to San Diego, our phones were buzzing with the news of the U.S. and Israeli military strike on Iran and the Iranian response. Once again, Israelis, including my own son, were running to shelters, dozens of times in just the first few days. U.S. service members, IDF soldiers, and reservists were – and continue to be – bravely serving while in harm’s way. After two weeks in a country where antisemitism simply did not figure, we returned to a 24-hour news cycle filled with new levels of antisemitic hatred and a regional war threatening tens of millions. The contrast was intense. Our time in India felt like a distant, albeit vibrant and colorful, dream.

Since the new round of fighting began, we have been in close touch with our overseas partners. the team at Jewish Federations of North America and our friends in Sha’ar HaNegev. As I write, things are somewhat calmer and Israelis are beginning to return from overseas. But hundreds have been displaced, people have been injured or killed, homes and businesses damaged, and school and community life interrupted. And once again, the families of reservists are being called upon to sacrifice.

Investments made by the Federation system since October 7th have made a huge difference. Within hours, our partners were providing medical, evacuation, and relocation support. The Israel Trauma Coalition mobilized to provide mental health services, and victims of the war are receiving help much faster than before. The need for trauma support, recovery, and resilience was already great, and now it will only intensify. We will continue to show up for them, and we hope you will join us in this critical and lifesaving work.

We hope for a swift and decisive end to this conflict, and for a safer world for us all. Last night, our Shabbat prayers for peace, for our own country and for the State of Israel, took on heightened meaning. Along with all that hope and worry, I also want to bring some of the love, the powerful spiritual connection, and the expanded sense of community we felt in India into this Shabbat. It is all part of the tapestry of being a Jew in the modern world, and I’m here for it; every bit.

Namaste and Shabbat Shalom,

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Heidi Gantwerk is president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of San Diego.