The year just ending certainly presented its share of challenges. From the unsettling changes brought by the election of President Donald Trump, to the desecration of the Chesed Shel Emeth cemetery in University City, to the neo-Nazi protest in Charlottesville, Va., to relentless acts of terrorism worldwide, people were inexorably drawn to the news but often felt they had to peek through barely opened fingers.

Events like the solar eclipse helped unite humanity, standing in awe of the majesty of nature, only to be horrified when the weather turned violent as Hurricanes Harvey and Irma smashed into the Gulf Coast and Florida, causing billions of dollars in damage as well as heartbreak and dislocation that will last for years.

Some stories never change. The stalemate in the search for Middle East peace continues, with no solution in sight. 

The United Nations Security Council passed a harshly anti-Israel resolution criticizing an Israeli settlement, while the United States failed to block the one-sided measure.  Months later, Nikki Haley, the former governor of South Carolina, became the U.S. ambassador to the U.N. and immediately made it clear that the United States would use its veto power to kill any one-sided anti-Israel resolution brought before the Security Council. 

That welcome new policy bodes well for better relations between Washington and Jerusalem in the year ahead, even as leaders of both nations face increasing problems at home.

The unexpected election of Trump drastically altered the American political landscape.  Most polls showed that once again, about 70 percent of Jewish voters cast their ballots for the Democratic candidate, Hillary Clinton. Trump became the first U.S. president to have a Jewish daughter, Ivanka, and she, along with son-in-law Jared Kushner and key advisers, bring a fresh perspective to the White House that ideally will turn out to be a positive one.

The Israeli government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which had a frosty and sometimes outright hostile relationship with former President Barack Obama, welcomed the election of Trump, whose first overseas trip as president was to Israel and moderate Arab states.  Trump has tapped Kushner to lead attempts to restart the stalled talks between Israel and the weakened Palestinian Authority headed by the doddering Mahmoud Abbas. 

Most disturbing over the past year was the sharp rise in blatant anti-Jewish actions and protests, especially the horrific confrontation involving neo-Nazis, Ku Klux Klan members and other white supremacists that exploded in fury on the streets of Charlottesville. Trump’s equivocal statements on the rise in such incidents were extremely disturbing; far more work must be done in this area to allay the concerns of Jews and other minority communities.

The vandalism at the Chesed Shel Emeth Cemetery, where more than 150 gravestones were toppled, left a horrifying image of targeted destruction. But it also led to a heartening show of broad-based support.

The Jewish Federation, the Jewish Community Relations Council, the ADL and AJC, along with Christian, Muslim, Hindu and other faith communities, rallied and, with the support of the Rosenbloom Monument Co., they fully restored the cemetery. The event drew leaders of all streams of Judaism as well as Gov. Eric Greitens, the first Jew to be elected governor of Missouri, and Vice President Mike Pence.

But as the year drew to a close, a judge’s ruling exonerating former police Officer Jason Stockley in the death of Anthony Lamar Smith led to both peaceful and violent protests that rocked the area in yet another reminder of the failure to bridge racial and other divides locally and nationwide.

No matter what your view of the outcome of the case, violent dissent solves nothing. But it does highlight the widening gap between groups and the desperate need to develop more trust and understanding so that disputes can be resolved peacefully instead of driving antagonists further apart.

Healing such hatred should be the top item on the to-do list for the coming year. Fighting injustice is a never-ending battle, one that will be won not with violence but with patience and understanding and trust. In the words of Elie Wiesel, a passionate and sensitive voice that the world lost this past year:

“The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference. There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest.”

Just as the bright sunlight blazed forth after the solar eclipse, our collective darkness can be lifted by the good will of our own community, our strong organizations, synagogues, schools and other institutions. The hope for such an outpouring can light the way to a happy, healthy and meaningful new year.  

That is our wish for 5778.