In recent months, a very close friend from high school has been sharing his personal views on the Israel-Hamas war over social media. I have watched as this close friend has become increasingly upset about the war in Gaza and the loss of Palestinian life. In his most recent post, he inferred that he was having a hard time watching the Super Bowl while the IDF “was bombing Rafah”. One of the comments on his post states that “Israel is a US/European joint colonial project and the genocidal violence it has undertaken against its indigenous population has ALWAYS been supported by our tax dollars.”
I’ll be honest. Seeing close friends share posts that attack Israel is hurtful – especially when these posts never mention anything about hostages nor October 7th nor the ongoing existential threats that Israelis face each and every day; especially when these posts include comments about Israel being nothing more than an illegitimate “creation of the west.”
To me, it feels as though my friend has simply determined that Israel is an evil empire and that the only narrative one can make of the current situation is the ways in which that empire is murdering innocent people.
To be clear—we are all troubled by the loss of life in Gaza. We rightly question Israel’s tactics in the war and we speak out about the need to protect innocent lives. But to castigate Israel as a villain without understanding what is at stake in its war against Hamas is to misunderstand this entire conflict.
I fear that too many people in our world today base their understanding of Israel solely on what they hear in the news or online. Few if any of the critics that I continue to hear from have actually been to Israel or to the Palestinian territories. They base their judgement on information provided to them and not on witnessing what is truly on the ground. They seek to simplify the conflict by quickly defining Israel as a western colonial villain instead of spending time with Israelis and hearing their story.
Having lived in Israel and gone back numerous times, I have come to learn that there is nothing as important as being there – nothing as important as speaking with the people there, nothing as important as spending time there.
As a rabbi, I feel it is my obligation to go to Israel now.
In late March, thanks to the support of our Kavod funders, I will be traveling to Israel alongside fifteen other rabbis on a mission to witness the aftermath of the atrocities that took place on October 7th, to speak with the families of hostages and to volunteer with organizations. The goal of this trip is to broaden my own understanding of what is happening and to bring back that information to you, our congregants.
To be clear, this is not a pleasant time to be in Israel. But it is a vital time nonetheless. As the Jewish state fights for its very survival, rabbis must have the ability to speak to their congregations with a sense of knowledge about what is happening on the ground. It is not enough for us to depend on information we read about or hear about or information that we get from others who are there.
In the days ahead, as I prepare for this mission, I will share with you my itinerary and my continuing thoughts.
In the meantime, I want to again thank the members of Kavod for making this trip possible. Kavod has done so much to allow our synagogue to move forward to the future. They have demonstrated the importance of giving time and again and have truly been one of the cornerstones of why we will thrive in the future.
In recent days, we learned of two hostages being rescued and brought home.
May the days ahead see the rest of the hostages released, see a true end to violence and the empowerment of leaders who care about partnership.
Wishing all of you a Shabbat of peace.
RBL
