10/11/2024
Rabbi's Weekly Teaching
October 11, 2024
Dear Friend,
You asked me to explain to you why Jews feel so threatened by the anti-Israel protests. You told me that you think it is “just an expressed concern for the loss of innocents that is a result of the Gaza War.”
I wanted to respond to you and help you understand why Jews are so upset and why we feel that there has been an allowance for Jew-hatred that would not be tolerated if others were similarly targeted. (Think of people of color or sexual orientation.)
The Gaza War did not start in a vacuum. On October 7, 2023, Hamas terrorists attacked the State of Israel. They murdered 1400 human beings, along with their multiple acts of torture and r**e, and took men, women, and children as hostages. The Hamas brutality was savage, and one would think unimaginable. But, unfortunately, in Jewish history, it is quite imaginable.
During WWII, the N***s and their willing collaborators murdered half of European Jewry, one-third of World Jewry. Built upon the historical foundation of Jew-Hatred, the world did little to help the Jewish victims. Every Jew knows this historical fact, and what we also know is that there was no Jewish army to protect Jews. If not a Zionist before WWII, logic would dictate that most Jews would become Zionists after the war.
The term Zionist should possess a clear definition: a person who desires and supports the establishment of a Jewish State in the Land of Israel. Why the Land of Israel? -- Because the Jewish people have retained an unbreakable link to the Land of Israel throughout their history.
Before 1948, Zionism was a dream; now, it is a reality. Approximately half of the world’s Jewry lives in Israel. Like every other self-autonomous nation, the citizens of the Jewish State must create a secure country and protect its citizens. Jews will no longer tolerate not having the appropriate national means by which to defend themselves.
If the Arabs had accepted the partition plan in 1947, the State of Israel would have defined U.N. partition borders. However, from the beginning, the “Two-State” partition was rejected, and immediately upon Israel’s May 14, 1948 Declaration of Independence, the fledgling Jewish State was attacked by its Arab country neighbors. The Arab-Israeli conflict remains unresolved. Many people hold different solutions.
As a Zionist, fair debate can begin when the other side recognizes Israel’s right to exist as a secure nation that can ensure its peace. The Two-State solution is complex and probably, in present circumstances, not viable. However, if each side recognizes the “right to exist” of the other, then there can be appropriate discussions.
Hamas and Hezbollah do not recognize Israel’s right to exist, and along with their Iranian national sponsor, they are all dedicated to wiping “Israel off the Map.” “From the River to the Sea” is the historical declaration of this genocidal intent.
To be pro-Palestinian is not unethical unless accompanied by the desire to see the elimination of the Jewish State. If one is pro-Palestinian and wants to see two nations living side by side as democratic, peaceful nations, then there is much to discuss. However, sadly, this is highly uncommon amongst the protesters.
As long as Palestinian interests allow for the anti-Zionists to lead their national aspirations, Israel would be foolish and morally irresponsible not to defend themselves as best they can, even when their enemy commonly utilizes human shields. Every anti-Zionist protester wishes to “wipe Israel off the map,” and there should be no accommodations for supporting them. It would be similar to supporting and accommodating N***s or the K*K.
The Boycott, Divest, and Sanction (BDS) movement is dominated by a leadership that is opposed to Israel’s continued existence as a Jewish State, and no support or accommodation should be made to BDS.
As a Jew, I feel how the world continues to threaten us. The trick of saying, “I don’t hate Jews; I just hate Zionists” is absurd. Hating Zionists is hating the right of Jews to possess the same rights granted to all other nations. Applying double standards to Israel is Jew-Hatred because Israel is the Jewish State.
Someone saying, “Israel has the right to defend itself,” but then thinks Israel shouldn’t fight the enemy threatening them as best they can and, like any other moral democratic nation would fight, is either a hypocrite or an anti-Zionist. Either way, no sane Jew will ever give up their right to ensure their collective safety.
October 7 is now horrifyingly etched into the Jewish collective memory. It reminded Jews that the darkness of hatred and violence towards the Jewish people remains and is still capable of surfacing in the most horrifying ways.
The atrocities committed by Hamas terrorists need to be combatted by moral people who reject that hatred and evil acts are ever morally justified. Never again is a call to action, not a call to prayer.
So, my friend, you asked me to explain to you why Jews feel so threatened by the anti-Israel protests. I hope this helps you to understand, and we can count on your support!
Gemar Chatimah Tovah and Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Mitch
