By Shelley Hubal

What connects us? In this moment, we are so divided it is hard to see where the connections remain. I am guilty of this; the headlines move fast and are difficult to consume. It is easy to be tired and angry and forget about our commonalities. 
In her commencement address at Yeshiva University, Rachel Goldberg Polin, mother of slain hostage Hersh Goldberg Polin, said, “We people, we are not what we say, we are not what we think, and we are not even what we believe. In this life, we are what we do.”
The way of the Jewish people is paved with resilience, peace and, above all, kindness. “What we do” is care for one another. When someone is grieving, we make a shiva call. When someone is hungry, we don’t ask questions: we feed them. When one person is suffering, we all feel the pain. Your agony is my agony.
When a single mother working a full-time job comes into the Federation office because she has no way to feed her family and walks out with the means to make ends meet, you, the Jewish community of Greater Binghamton, helped her. You did that with your kindness and your support of the Federation.
“You Belong,” the theme of our Annual Campaign, is a reminder to community members that without you none of the work we do is possible. But its meaning goes deeper: “You Belong” also means the Jewish people are one, under “one tent” where everyone belongs.
We have always had varied opinions on everything from bagels to politics to humor, but ultimately, we are one people. Angry, yes. Divided, yes. Varied in our observance, yes. However, the people I meet every day here in Binghamton are all just searching for fair and compassionate solutions to our contemporary challenges. We want to live in peace and we want to practice our faith freely and safely, and we want that for our friends, loved ones and neighbors. 
It is OK to have discourse, discussion and differences. That is what mature people do. That is what Jewish people do. We recognize that our differences make us stronger: we listen and we sometimes compromise. That is the only way to go forward and to ensure all Jewish people know they “belong.” That is what we need to “do” now more than ever.