10/30/2023
I have been wrestling, struggling, and contending with this topic for quite a while now. I often speak from the pulpit, but I cannot be silent in any way. I must speak, and I must write, at least a little.
Speaking of wrestling, struggling, and contending--Israel. The English translation of the word Israel is to wrestle, struggle, or contend with God. In today’s world, the word Zionism or Zionist is one that immediately makes ears perk up. If one is truly interested in delving into Zionist ideals in depth, I would highly recommend reading Gil Troy’s update of Theodor Herzl’s original volume. Zionism simply refers to the movement to create a Jewish presence in Israel. Theodor Herzl is widely considered the father of modern Zionism. Herzl theorized that the Jewish people needed a land of their own in order to ultimately survive, and he believed that the area that was known in his time as Palestine was the proper place for this to occur. Many people believe that the horrors of the Holocaust catalyzed the creation of Israel in 1948, but the Zionist movement had already been set in motion decades prior to the Shoah. Theodor Herzl actually organized the First Zionist Congress in 1897, and died in 1904, many years before the Holocaust shook the world. The ancient homeland of the Jewish people, dating back thousands of years, was to become a reality in the modern world. The afforestation of what was largely desert and kibbutz-living transformed into MeDinat Yisrael, the modern State of Israel.
October 7th. The atrocities committed by the terrorist group, Hamas, killed the most Jews in one day since the Holocaust. If this were not horrifying and disturbing enough, the behavior of individuals, and perhaps even more disturbingly, the rhetoric (or lack thereof) coming from institutions of higher learning has been staggering. As Jews, we have had the constant ringing of “never forget” in our ears ever since the Shoah. It seemed impossible that anyone could ever forget the Shoah. Perhaps people have not forgotten. I sense something much more insidious…victim-blaming. There have always existed groups of people who feel as if Israel is an illegitimate state that has occupied Arab land, and commits human rights violations against the Arab or Palestinian people on a regular basis. I have realized more and more as time has gone on that the opposition to the Jewish State appears to be much more unsophisticated in nature. Some people hate Jews, and they want them dead. These following questions were commonly asked before October 7th: Is anti-Zionism synonymous with antisemitism? Is it Jewishly responsible to openly criticize Israel?
I am not convinced that these questions are valid or relevant anymore, at least not now. The Jewish people have been the subjects of antisemitism over the course of thousands of years. Jews have commonly been scapegoated whenever social or economic problems arise. Just quickly gaze back to the not-too-distant past at Hitler’s Germany. In a post World War I German society that was mandated by the Treaty of Versailles to limit military power and pay damage reparations, the German people were attracted to a leader who homed in on a particular target of blame--the Jews. Fast forward to the thought of the Jews not just surviving, but having their own land…their own state? Does this innately bother some who still view Jews as the stereotypical people who wander as vagabonds of no nation?
At the time of this writing, I firmly believe that anti-Zionism is a form of antisemitism. If one does not even believe in the right of Israel to exist, we will likely have a difficult time finding common ground for discussion. Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East. Why is the only country in the Middle East that is democratic and free the subject of so much widespread and open criticism in terms of its very right to even exist? What other democratic countries’ rights to existence are even called into question in such a fashion? Again, does the idea of a Jewish state somehow grind the gears of those who are historically more comfortable with the idea of a marginalized Jewish population?
As Jews, it seems like a bad time to criticize Israel, perhaps even if we do not agree with the government itself. Jews must be careful, as there are those who would gladly cling to any word uttered by a Jew that could be used in the case against Israel. I did formerly believe it acceptable to criticize the particular and specific policies of the Israeli government without criticizing the state itself. Perhaps even that is no longer relevant. Using words like “apartheid” and “occupation” seem irresponsible and counterproductive to any Jewish cause. Actually, they are misguided and downright dangerous. Comparing Israel to apartheid South Africa, wherein the white minority systematically put into place governmental policies to repress the black majority, is simply inaccurate and irresponsible. The Israeli Declaration of Independence was written to garner equal rights to all of its citizens. I simply ask: does Israel have the right to safety, and to protect itself from those who would rather the state, and thus the Jews, not exist? There has always existed a victim-blaming of Israel whenever it has been attacked. Using a term such as “disproportionate response” in reaction to Israel’s defense of its nation has been a popular one. Is it disproportionate to respond to murder, kidnapping and r**e with the desire to remove as neighbors those whose sole purpose is to kill Jews?
I have certainly posed many questions in this post, and there is no satisfactory solution right now. I know that these issues are not simple, and many will not remotely agree with what I have written here. I welcome respectful discussion, and I believe that the fate of Israel is important not only to Jews, but also to Americans in general, and anyone interested in the spread of democracy and equal rights throughout the world. Jews around the world need your voice now more than ever before. In a world that has groups cheering and celebrating the slaughter of Jews, even in America, what voices will pierce through this dark night and be left to echo through history?
Thanks for letting me have the floor for a moment. More to come.
L’Shalom,
Rabbi Josh
