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David Decolongon in Israel (photo submitted)<\/p>\nI\u00a0never expected\u00a0to be working\u00a0on\u00a0combatting\u00a0antisemitism or\u00a0Jewish\u00a0community advocacy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nearly ten\u00a0years ago, I travelled to Israel as a recent political science graduate, interested\u00a0mainly in\u00a0the region\u2019s politics. As someone who grew up attending Filipino churches, the trip also carried spiritual significance.\u00a0<\/p>\n
However, what I saw on the ground was different\u202ffrom what I read in the\u00a0news\u00a0or on social media:\u00a0Diverse\u202fcultures and religions,\u202fliving side-by-side with a thriving modern society and a\u202fcutting-edge\u202ftech industry.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was a complex place where many were\u202fstruggling to\u202fbuild\u202fa\u202fbetter,\u202fmore peaceful\u202ffuture.\u202fAt the time, we had many tough conversations, but\u202fI walked away\u202fwith an appreciation for\u202fhonest, respectful dialogue\u202fabout hard topics.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n
When I returned to Canada,\u00a0leaders and families in the Jewish community welcomed me into their homes for Shabbat dinners and holidays. I listened far more than I spoke.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Over time, I\u00a0learned that we\u202fcan\u202fhonour\u202feach other\u2019s differences, bond over our common humanity, and support\u202fone\u202fanother\u202fin times of need.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n
That understanding became more concrete during the COVID-19 pandemic.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Like many in the Asian community\u00a0at this time, I experienced a hate incident.\u00a0I found myself reaching out to Jewish colleagues and friends, asking how their community had navigated similar moments.\u00a0<\/p>\n
What I\u00a0encountered\u00a0was\u00a0practical advice:\u00a0take a collaborative approach to addressing hate,\u00a0partner with communities facing similar threats, and engage others with patience to help them understand lived experiences different from their own.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That exchange shaped how I think about allyship.\u00a0When communities and people show up for each other, as allies,\u00a0we\u2019re\u00a0stronger than\u00a0our differences.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
After the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attacks, I watched this same principle play out again, this time directed toward the Jewish community itself.<\/p>\n
Places I had visited in northern Israel, like Misgav Am, were no longer tranquil communities, but were\u202fevacuated or\u202ftargeted by\u00a0Hezbollah\u00a0rockets,\u00a0drones\u00a0and missiles.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I also\u202fobserved\u00a0a worrying trend that I noticed\u202fduring the COVID-19 pandemic:\u00a0Foreign\u00a0events leading to the targeting of diasporas\u00a0here\u00a0in Canada.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n
In the months after\u00a0Oct.\u00a07,\u202fVancouver Police Department cars in front of synagogues, schools,\u202fand community institutions\u202fbecame\u202fa\u202fcommon\u202fsight.\u202fLarger gatherings had metal detectors,\u202farmed police officers, and heightened security.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n
The thought of attending\u202fschool,\u202fa\u202fplace of worship, or a\u202fclass\u202fat a community\u202fcentre\u202funder the threat of violence\u202fis unconscionable to many in Canada.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n
Yet\u202fit\u202fwas a reality I\u202fsaw\u202fmy Jewish friends\u00a0and family\u202fexperience daily.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n
I also\u202fsaw\u202fthe resolve and strength of a community that is not willing to see the repetition of past waves of antisemitism.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n
David Decolongon in Israel (photo submitted)<\/p>\n
This is why,\u202fdespite how hard some\u202fdays have been, I\u202fam proud of the work\u202fI have done with\u00a0the Jewish community\u202fin B.C. to see mandatory Holocaust education included in the K-12 curriculum,\u202fto secure\u202fadditional resources for hate crimes units, and\u202fto\u202fadvocate for security funding for communities targeted by hate.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n
Soon after, in Vancouver,\u00a0I found that all those years of allyship\u00a0were tested\u00a0following the deadly attack at the Lapu-Lapu festival.\u00a0Jewish\u00a0communities\u00a0in Vancouver and\u00a0Winnipeg\u00a0launched emergency fundraising efforts to support victims and their families.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For many Filipinos, the response resonated deeply with\u00a0kapwa\u2014the cultural value of shared identity and collective responsibility.\u00a0There was no expectation of reciprocity, no political calculation,\u00a0just communities showing up for one another in grief.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Moments like that clarify what allyship\u00a0actually looks\u00a0like in practice.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A decade after my trip, my professional path has evolved in ways I\u00a0didn\u2019t\u00a0anticipate.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But the core lesson I took from those early relationships\u00a0hasn\u2019t\u00a0changed:\u00a0we are stronger when we work together.\u00a0<\/p>\n
David Decolongon is the Associate Director, Policy and Communications with the\u00a0Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, Pacific Region. Previously, he worked for more than six years at the BC Legislature, where he focused on combating hate.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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