| Dear {{first_name}},
Whenever I have arrived in Israel I’ve always been transformed. Part of me becomes something different from who I was before I arrived at the airport. Perhaps it’s the mezuzah at the gateway of the ramp leading to the arrival hall. Maybe it’s all the Hebrew on full display. The reality is, it’s both of those things and all they stand for, but so much more. As an American Jew, a part of me always feels as if my feet are walking towards Israel. As a Jewish person living in the Diaspora, I am always aware that my heart might very well beat in my chest, but it’s housed in Jerusalem at the same time. Israel is quintessentially Jewish in every single way. We are never fully at “home” unless we are in our homeland.
Israel, as a modern nation state, is a place that causes us to shed tears of joy and tears of sadness. It provokes us to joy and fear all at once. Israel is the place we all “fit in” and yet, all too often, we feel like outsiders as well. It’s a country of dichotomies and of struggles, both big and small. But it’s our country of dichotomies and struggles and we love her for all this and more.
For weeks and weeks we have been following two storylines from the Holy Land. The first was the election and the formation of a governing coalition. This was the fourth time in two years that Israelis had gone to the polls to elect their leaders. Those who support Prime Minister Netanyahu were joyful to see his Likud party receive a majority of the votes, and those who vehemently oppose him were ecstatic to see his prospects of forming a coalition become almost impossible. In the weeks following the elections, he failed to put together a coalition and thus the mandate was handed to his rivals. Those rivals were on the brink of forming a governing coalition and breaking the stalemate that’s been ongoing for years. They were about to form the first government that would include Arab parties in it.
Then the other storyline came to a head. For weeks and months and indeed years, there has been an ongoing battle over houses in Jerusalem. While the impending evictions of Arabs from houses were not being led by the government, they were indeed being supported by a law from the 1970s and were on the brink of being approved by the Supreme Court. That decision has been delayed as just this week the nation descended into chaos and violence.
Israel has a need and a right to protect all its citizens, Jews and Arabs, and all others. When rockets are being fired indiscriminately at Israel by terrorists in Gaza, there is no way for Israel to ignore them and not act to end the terror. While we always hold the IDF up as a moral army that does all they can to prevent deaths and injuries to the innocent, we also know it’s impossible to do just that. Innocent Palestinians have been injured and indeed have been killed. We must mourn their senseless loss of life as we mourn the losses on our side as well. But blame must be placed where it belongs and that is solidly at the feet of the terrorists.
Hamas has been seeking the destruction of Israel since its inception. Hamas is determined to use all means it has to kill Jews and destroy the State of Israel. Hamas has been looking for excuses to begin a new round of attacks on Israel and they have seized on this opportunity to do just that. The cowardly and morally bankrupt idea of firing missiles from population centers at population centers is the definition of cowardice and terror. All people of conscience must reject Hamas and their actions. All must condemn them and not conflate what they are doing with any other things happening in Israel at this time.
As Jews in the Diaspora, we have a strong connection to, and affinity for, the State of Israel. Many of us have more nuanced viewpoints than to think Israel is flawless and her enemies are evil. We need to make room to talk more about those nuances and to be willing to understand that those nuances don’t make us bad or less Jewish or less supportive of the State of Israel. This latest period of violence will come to an end. A cease fire will be brokered and things will return to some sort of status quo.
The reality is that many of us argue the status quo in broken and untenable. Our love of Israel needs to push us to want a better future for Israel. A future founded on security and peace and quiet. A future rooted in a negotiated ending to the ongoing conflict that has claimed too many lives and wasted too many years. When calm is restored, we need to continue to be aware of events in Israel and continue to support the State of Israel in her pursuit of a peaceful settlement with all of her enemies. We hope one day Israeli children won’t need to worry about becoming parents and having to worry about their children the same way their own parents have worried about them.
It is not enough to think about and pray for Israel. All of us need to constantly be better informed about the nuanced issues that are happening. All of us need to look for ways to advocate for and support Israel from afar. Each of us needs to become more and more educated to be able to better promote our cause. Often times we take Israel for granted because we know it’s there when we want to visit. But Israel is not a guarantee. In order to maintain our national homeland, we need to do our part. I wrote letters to both of our senators and my representative today asking that they publicly condemn Hamas for being the terrorists that they are. Each of us needs to step forward and call on our leaders to condemn this latest round of terror so that we can help make Hamas alienated rather than emboldened. We do indeed pray for a return to calm and an end to this period of violence. Once those prayers are answered, we will then continue to pray for a better tomorrow for all.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Hearshen |
