This has been one of the hardest weeks.

I was in tears as I spoke with family and friends in Israel as they hid in bomb shelters and could hear the sirens and explosions in the background.

These aren’t foreign sounds to me. I’ve experienced them myself.

It’s terrifying.

What has made this week so much harder than just the barrage of rockets, is the barrage of lies, misinformation, and outright antisemitism spreading on social media that has only incited more violence- both in the middle east and even here in the US and in Europe.

The infographics and headlines being shared have borrowed on antisemitic tropes that have been used for centuries. What’s out there now is no different than the propaganda that Hitler relied on.

It’s beyond heartbreaking to see artists, influencers, and organizations that I otherwise align with fall victim to propaganda from a terrorist organization and to black & white thinking that leaves no room for context or the  complexity of this conflict.

At its core, this conflict is the result of different narratives of different peoples with ancestral, religious and cultural ties to the same land. Saying one narrative is true and the other is false does nothing to lead to peace and coexistence. There has to be room for both.

I had to take a break from my normal activity this week.

Part of me felt hopeless.

Part of me thought- how could I possibly promote my services and business at a time like this?

Then I remembered why I do what I do.

I am an impact coach exactly for these reasons and for times like this. I work with people in the music industry exactly because of this.

We see how dangerous misinformation can spread by people with large audiences. We see how powerful the arts & entertainment industries are for mobilizing movements. 

We need to make sure it’s the movements that actually work towards positive impact and social change. NOT that perpetuate more hate, division and violence.

We need the people who are leading the charge to be in integrity with themselves and their core values, and not get burnt out by all of the hate.

That’s where so much of my work comes in. And that’s why I can’t let hate keep me from it.