Current Time.
Eleven days ago, I celebrated my 44 birthday. Due to life's obligations, it wasn’t a fancy celebration, and I spent my day working; however, it wasn’t working at the office but at a conference, so the alcohol was free. Thanks to the birthday reminders on social media, friends, family, and colleagues from various periods in my life sent me birthday wishes on all platforms. The momentary attention warms the heart, but after it fades, people return to their lives until next year's birthday.
A birthday is usually a time to reflect on the previous year and set goals and resolutions for the next one. Reflecting on the last year made me realize how fragile life is and appreciate the price of freedom we take for granted until it is taken from us. The enormous gap between my previous year’s resolutions and how the year ended emphasized how things beyond our control impact our lives.
Last year's birthday began with a lot of hope and energy to dive back into the deep water. I was thrilled and worked hard to build a strategic partnership with a prospect. It looked very promising, and after several months of work, I saw its sprouts, which made me feel that I was on the right track to do something impactful. However, then came October 7, which changed many people's lives and, as a result, also changed mine and put all the work I had done down the drain.
Starting over has never deterred me; however, the attack on October 7, the war in Gaza, the protests on US university campuses, and the drastic rise in antisemitic incidents around the world indicate that Jews, who are a minority group, are not safe. Millions still believe in prejudices and want to harm us without having ever met a Jew or an Israeli.
I am a descendant of Jewish communities from Algeria and Morocco that have suffered centuries of deep oppression and injustice from the Muslim public and authorities in these countries. In this injustice, Jewish communities have suffered over hundreds of years in North African and Arab countries from oppression, inequality, exploitation, and abuse, and they were subject to riots and violence, which was backed and supported by the local regimes.
Therefore, my birthday resolution for this year includes converting my newsletter texts into videos when sharing my family stories with a broader audience and revealing the injustice we have endured. Jews from North African and Arab countries were subject to discrimination and racism more than any Jewish community in the world, and more people need to know about it. To fight this injustice, I can only describe my feelings and memories through my words. Writing about my family history in the diaspora and sharing how living in Israel feels is the only thing I can do to dismantle the pile of lies about us. However, words are not enough, so I want to convert my stories to videos and initiate a weekly class to learn about Israeli culture.
In this class, I’ll share my family stories and my memories since childhood. I’ll tell you how music saved my life and can foster global peace. I’ll introduce you to Israeli music culture and how it bonds, inspires, and helps us heal from the atrocities we have been through for generations. I’ll show you how the melting pot of Jewish communities from around the world created rich Israeli cuisine, which stands out uniquely because of the blend of flavors from various countries in the diaspora. I’ll give you tips on the best tourist sites to visit and which events you shouldn’t miss. I’ll share with you how it is to live in Israel, the impossible reality of daily terror attacks, and the stress levels we need to deal with. I’ll share with you the success stories of entrepreneurs who did the impossible and built successful global companies against all odds. I’ll show you how we make the impossible possible every day.
I’m inviting you to my home and the most intimate places in my heart. I believe that getting people to know me will reduce their fear of the unknown and allow them to learn who I am. The only way to fight the darkness is by spreading more light. Each story I share changes the world and reaches the hearts of more people I want to meet in person or virtually. To make this possible, I need your support and help to convert this newsletter to videos by contributing to this initiative. Your support will allow me to use paid software to create videos and broadcast the weekly class.
To launch this initiative, we need to sell 180 tickets, priced between $1 and $8. Contributions can be made via Substack and Patreon. As the sole creator of this initiative, I am also looking for founding members to support this journey through Substack. Please reach out if you can help in additional ways or if you have creative ideas on how to bring this initiative to life.
I can’t do this without you. So, I invite you to join me and experience firsthand what it's like to be a Jew living in the US today. Together, we can pursue justice and cultivate a more optimistic future filled with love and tolerance.
With all my love and gratitude,
Liat
Unlock my potential to write the next great chapter in the most extraordinary story ever told. Your support on Substack or Patreon would make a big difference in taking this journey to the next level.
Follow me on My Journey to Infinity to find out. It will be more beautiful than you could ever imagine.
Liat