Sometimes in the US, it feels as if real change is not possible. Sometimes it seems things are the way they are and there’s not much one person can do.
But being here has made it clear to me that is absolutely not true. When people can be herded from their homes and murdered and dumped into the river despite having spent hundreds of years living here, as Hungarian as the people pulling the triggers, clearly change is possible. When a major world power can fall like an old brick wall to usher in a new era of liberal openness, clearly change is possible.
Today we met with Linda Ban, who has helped usher in amazing changes since 1990 for the Jewish community here. She has initiated growth like the founding of Hungary’s BBYO that people just a few years prior would have proclaimed impossible.
It just doesn’t seem feasible that one person alone can really make an impact on people’s lives. But then you learn about Raoul Wallenberg, who served as the Swedish Ambassador during World War Two here in Budapest and is credited with saving tens of thousands of lives. One person!
I always tell my students that very few people remember who won last year’s Nobel Peace Prize. But truly help someone in need and they will remember you forever.
But this isn’t about being remembered. This is realizing that the world is large and often cruel, yet one person’s ratzon can change everything.
I look at Alan Reinitz and how he teamed up with Glynis Smith to create SOS International. This organization strives not only to renew Jewish life in central Europe but to transform people’s existences. People like me.
Theodor Herzl said, “If you will it, it is no dream.” Need evidence? Come to Budapest.
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