The Moral Imperative of Fully Supporting Israel

Typical protest message - Free Palestine -End Zionism (Forward)

The more to the left one goes, the more one will see Israel is an Apartheid state that is committing genocide and ought to be dismantled. 

These ‘true believers’ aren’t just reacting to Israel’s war with Hamas. They are stating their devout beliefs that Zionism is Nazism and that the Jews are nothing more than South African type  Apartheid colonialists that enjoy oppressing the indigenous Palestinian population. 

Apartheid was the official policy of the white government of South Africa. It was a truly despicable system that institutionalized segregation. A white colonialist minority marched into that land, and dominated its indigenous majority black population. Both socially and economically. 

Blacks were systematically removed from their homes (sometimes en masse!) and relocated into segregated depressed neighborhoods. They were forbidden to marry whites, disenfranchised (not permitted to vote) and had no representation in government. Resistance was met with brutal government crackdowns resulting in thousands of deaths - and included long prison terms for black anti Apartheid leaders like Nelson Mandela.

Israel’s treatment of its indigenous Arabs is of course nothing like that. They have full social, economic and voting rights and are fully represented in government. Israeli Arabs are generally as prosperous as are Israeli Jews.

Palestinian refugees on the other hand have been pawns of the Arab nations since they all rejected the 2 state solution envisioned by the original UN partition. – which Israel had accepted right away. Had the Arab nations accepted it too, they would have had their state over 76 years ago. And could have lived side by side with Israel in peace and harmony.

Instead the Arabs decided they would attack tiny little Israel and get rid of their pesky little problem right quick. That did not happen. Israel won that war. But in the process many of the indigenous Arabs fled. 

(Whether they fled at the instigation of the Arab nations claiming Israel would be slaughter them… or whether they left because Israel chased them out is almost irrelevant. The point it that Palestinian refugees were created as a result of the Arab nations declaring war against the Jews of Israel.) 

Those fleeing Arabs became refugees and were kept in refugee camps on the West Bank (then under Jordanian jurisdiction) for 19 years with a promise that they would be repatriated to their old homes. That was the case until Israel was again atttacked by their/Arab neighbors. Only this time Israel won big – retaking all of biblical Israel, Gaza, and the Sinai dessert all the way to Egypt. 

This put Palestinian refugees in Gaza and the West Bank into Israeli hands - and that’s pretty much the way its been since then. Until Prime Mister Ariel Sharon decided to give Palestinian refugees the entire  Gaza strip to rule as they chose. The hope was that they would build a city that would be a model for a future Palestinian state. Something many of us hoped for if Israel was going to stay a Jewish majority.

But instead of building a city where its citizens could prosper, their leaders turned Gaza into a system of terror tunnels designed to attack Israel until they got it all back. A policy that was supported almost universally by all Palestinians regardless of where they were located. Thus proving that there was never any serious intent to have a 2 state solution despite the rhetoric coming out of the more ‘moderate’ PA. They see a 2 state solution as an interim step towards the eventual restoration of all of Palestine from the river to the sea. And that is exactly what Hamas has sworn to achieve.by any means necessary.

On  October 7^th of last year we saw exactly how far they are willing to go. That Israel dropped the ball on that day is a serious issue that its government will have to deal with. But for now, these truths are as self evident as is the American credo that all men are created equal. Which is why Hamas was cheered by Palestinians in Gaza and on the West Bank after the October 7^th attack.  

This is why Israel has absolutely no choice but to finish off Hamas no matter how many innocent civilians Hamas throws in its way. No matter the international political cost. If they don’t succeed in doing that Israel will surely be subjected to many more attempts at massacres. Even if Israel beefs up its security apparatus  there is no guarantee that (with the continued help and encouragement of Iran and its proxies) Hamas will not succeed yet again if they are allowed to stay in power. 

Which brings me to the current hostage deal agreed to by Hamas – which has been unanimously rejected by Israel’s cabinet. This has understandably upset many hostage families. And I can’t say that I blame them. The deal would mean that Hamas would release all the remaining hostages in exchange for  Palestinian prisoners being held in  Israeli jails and a permanent cease fire that would leave Hamas in power.

Last time a deal like that was made it resulted releasing the mastermind behind the October 7^th attack. But more importantly, Hamas is not exactly known for  keeping its word. They have broken many cease fires they had promised to keep. Why would they behave any differently now? Especially with Iran backing them up?

Israel has no choice but to proceed with their goal of completely eliminating Hamas. 

That the Biden administration, many Democrats, and the mainstream media keeps talking about the unacceptably high number of Palestinian casualties if Israel goes ahead with its planned attack in Rafah might seem like a humanitarian approach. 

But I do not believe that there is another more humanitarian way to do that. If there was - why wouldn’t Israel do it that way? If for no other reason that to retain full US support.  Even if one believes Netanyahu wants to win the war for his own personal reasons. A win is a wain no matter how you get there. 

There are many other supporters of Israel in congress whose moral outrage has led them to criticize the president for not fully supporting Israel in this regard. They have correctly said that the US should be 100% behind what our ally Israel is doing. And that any talk of civilian casualties should be placed exclusively upon Hamas. Blaming Israel is as morally detestable as is calling Zionists Nazis

This holds true for all the college protesters as well. They are either ‘river to the sea’ Palestinians, anti American anarchists, or ignorant fellow students misled by antisemitic, anti American professors who spew their socialist garbage as the as though it was gospel - and their students eat up like it was chocolate cake.

More than a few of those anti Israel - anti American protesters have been pretty violent. (Over 2400 arrested on college campuses all over the US.) I agree with former President Trump who said watching the police clean up the UCLA campus was a beautiful thing. Glad to see America’s finest doing their job and enforcing the law.

It’s just too bad the mainstream media has expressed any sympathy at all for these protesters. As though it was a free speech issue. Committing - or even advocating - violence against the Jewish people is not a free speech right. Their lack of pointing that out often enough is a stain on their supposed objectivity

The More Things Change...

Rav Yitzchak Yosef (Screenshot -YWN)

It pains me to say this - but I do not recall ever seeing such a divide among the Jewish people in my lifetime.  A divide not only between religious and secular or heterodox Jews... a divide not only between Charedi Jews and  religious Zionist Jews. But a divide even among Charedi Jews. with near identical Hashkafos

Maybe I shouldn’t be surprised. Controversy has always dogged  even the most religious Jews among us. Even within a singular subgroup. All we need do is look at the enmity between the two Satmar Rebbes (who are brothers). Or the extreme animosity between the Gerrer Rebbe and a relative he perceives as a potential rival to his leadership.  Or in Israel between the mainstream Yeshiva world and the Jerusalem (Peleg) faction.

But still, I don’t think the divisions have ever reached this point. The reason we seem to have descended to this level of animosity toward each other is the war in Gaza. Army service for Charedim is now a serious consideration. There are two streams of thought about this.. One is that Charedim should never serve for a variety of reasons. The other is that perhaps there is room for moderating that view

I had seen the latter as a sea change in the Charedi attitude. I though that the wall of Charedi opposition  had finally been pierced. That Charedi leaders would acknowledge that the army was not the exclusive ‘social engineering’ agency they had been saying it is. That it actually served its purpose as ‘advertised’. Which is to protect and defend Jewish people.

While there may be some residual social  engineering motivation among a few old guard anti religious army officers, Charedi leaders now realized that this was by far not the purpose of the army. And perhaps they were now taking a second look at all the religious soldiers that  were serving honorably while remaining entirely observant. And that there were indeed sincere attempts by the IDF to accommodate Charedi recruits through special units.

That allowed a few prominent Charedi voices (politicians and pundits) to say that perhaps they should allow some Charedim to serve the military.  

I thought that was huge. An opening that would spur a lot of Charedim to enlist that might not have otherwise. In fact it had already begun happening shortly after October 7^th  when about 1000 Charedim actually enlisted. (if I recall correctly).

That and the manpower shortage in the IDF would - I thought - lead to some sort of meeting of the minds whereby a compromise between the Isaeli government and the Chaedi leadership could be reached. 

Happy ending?  Hardly. Hard core Charedi leadership has doubled down on their opposition to Army service. Adding insult to injury the following happened: 

While delivering his weekly Motzei Shabbos Shiur, Hagaon HaRav Yitzchak Yosef spent a few minutes discussing the Nissim that Klal Yisroel has witnessed the past few months.

Rav Yosef made it clear that these miracles are only due to one thing: Bnei Torah, and Bnei Yeshivos.

“Thirteen thousand rockets have hit our country. There should have been hundreds and thousands of people killed, and Boruch Hashem we have seen incredible miracles. In what Zechus is this? In the Zechus of the IDF Chief of Staff? In whose Zechus? In the Zechus of the Bnei Torah and Bnei Yeshivos, who are sitting and learning Torah! This is the correct Hashkafah.”

“I said this a few weeks ago, and I was attacked in the media by some Hesder Roshei Yeshiva and demanded that I retract what I said. But I said under no circumstances will I back down and retract. I repeat and will say it again, that everything we survived in this war that our enemies rose up against us in the north and the south, all the Hamasnik Arabs and we survived, this is only in the Zechus of the Bnei Yeshivos. They protect all the soldiers and all the people of Israel.”

“Whoever does not believe in this is an Apikores.” 

I have said this before. But it bears repeating in the context of Rav Yosef’s comments. I am certainly not going to dispute the value of Torah study. Or even that it provides protection to our people. But i do want to express my profound disappointment with his lack of appreciation for the ultimate sacrifices of the IDF. Many of whom were actually observant Jews. In fact I believe that their casualty numbers exceed their proportion to the general population

Not only did Rav Yosef not recognize this – he implied their service and sacrifice is irrelevant. That it is  ONLY those who study Torah that protects the Jewish people. And that people who don’t recognize this are heretics!

I cannot image the pain Rav Yosef must have caused to parents, husbands, wives and children  that have lost  loved ones in battle. I cannot imagine the damage he caused to the fabric of the Jewish people who - since October 7 must be living in a perpetual state of anxiety

He has surely poured gasoline into the open wound of a nation by refusing to recognize those ultimate sacrifices. 

There is no question in my mind that without an actual military, Israel would be lost. No less a Charedi Gadol than Rav Chaim Shmulevitz, ZTL  made that observation. In the aftermath a war and in a very public way he thanked both those who study the Torah and the IDF for protecting the Jewish people. Was he a heretic for recognizing the IDF contribution?

If Rav Yosef believes that the Torah study of the tens of thousands of Yeshiva students alone - is what saves the Jewish people from disasters, where were they on October 7^th? Mars?

I don’t know. Maybe he thinks they should have been learning instead of celebrating Simchas Torah that day!

I guess the more things change the more they stay the same. Or maybe even worse!

Why is Israeli Suffering Almost Completely Ignored?

Anti Netanyahu protest in Israel last night (Euronews)

Last night there was a huge anti Netanyahu protest in Israel, The largest since the October Hamas massacre. It was led by angry hostage family members demanding he make any deal with Hamas that will free the hostages. Including a permanent cease fire. While they were at it - they demanded that Netanyahu  resign as prime minister - accusing him of prolonging the war at the expense of the hostages in order to save his own skin

Fortunately the majority of the Israeli public disagree and support his goal of destroying Hamas. One might think that all of the hostage families and families of massacred victims agree with last night's protest. But that would not be true. This is not to say that they would vote for Netanyahu in the next election. It is to say that on this one issue they are one with him.

This was made evident by the mother of a young woman slaughtered by Hamas on that October day. She was interviewed by CBS reporter Martha Teichner during a tour of a new October 7^th museum located near the 911 memorial in Manhattan. 

During that interview Teichner asked her about this very issue: Should Israel continue the war against Hamas until they destroy them - regardless of the human cost? Something the US and the entire world is against. 

Her response was crystal clear. The Israeli people must be protected. Hamas must be destroyed. They must not be allowed to survive another day to do again what they did on October 7^th . Which was exactly what they promised to do over and over again until they get all of Palestine back!

This was followed by the obvious question: What about all of the civilian Palestinian casualties that will surely result  if Israel proceeds with its goal? Her response there was just as clear and just as right. She regrets any loss of life on either side. But what is Israel supposed to do when Hamas uses its own people as human shields? 

If Israel is going to protect its people, it has no choice but to eliminate an implacable mortal enemy. (Obviously Israel tries to avoid civilian casualties ...contrary to the claims of many of the rabid anti Israel protestors.)  But they will not stop until their goal is achieved no matter what Hamas throws in their way.

This is what’s missing from the media. Their focus is almost exclusively on Palestinian suffering. Precious little focus is on Israeli suffering - with the exception of an occasional piece like this one on an obscure Sunday morning magazine type show. 

To the casual observer the almost exclusive media focus on Palestinian suffering combined with their visceral hate of Israel’s prime minister will surely influence the Americans who are not keenly attuned to the abovementioned details. It then become easy to see why they sympathize with Palestinians without thinking about what Israelis have -  and still are - going through. Without being reminded what this war is all about it should not surprise anyone that Palestinians are getting the lion’s share of sympathy while Israel gets thee lion’s share of the blame.

This is also what’s missing from the student protests on college campuses all over the country. But that is more a function of the participants being influenced by charismatic anti establishment leftist professors dripping with anti Israel and anti American sentiment. Not to mention the fact that many of those protesters are not students at all but infiltrators with ulterior motives.

This is also why there are many young Jews involved in these protests. They have little respect for their own Jewish heritage (about which they know very little) and have replaced it with  enormous respect for their ‘brave’ charismatic professors whose ideology they so  admiringly imbibe in.. 

I only wish the mainstream media would feature Israeli suffering to at least the same extent they do Palestinian suffering. But that would take a degree of integrity that seems to no longer exist in the mainstream media. 

Useful Jewish Idiots

Police Arrest a Dartmouth Professor at a crackdown (JTA)

The arrest of the former chair of Dartmouth’s Jewish Studies program, Annelise Orleck really upset me. Not because she was arrested. But because of why and how. 

Ms. Orleck decided to join Dartmouth’s pro Palestinian student protests after being warned by the school not to do so. Protesters were breaking the law and would be arrested - along with anyone joining them. Faculty included. The police showed up. Violence ensued and this is what happened to her: 

In footage circulating on social media, historian Annelise Orleck can be seen being dragged to the ground by police and handcuffed following a harsh exchange of words. Ninety protesters were arrested in total as Dartmouth joined dozens of other colleges and universities across the United States in cracking down on their encampments.

“Those cops were brutal to me,” Orleck wrote on the social network X following her arrest. “I promise I did absolutely nothing wrong…

She promised. I guess it must be true then.

I have no way of knowing this for sure, but her involvement in any way with these protests strongly suggests that Ms. Orleck is what I would call a JINO – a Jew In Name Only. Trouble is she headed the Jewish studies department and that makes it seem as though she is a knowledgeable practicing Jew honoring the time honored ‘Jewish tradition’ of free speech. 

Dollars to doughnuts – I’ll bet her knowledge of Judaism is not based on any substantial knowledge of Judaism at all - despite her former lofty title in that regard. For one thing Judaism does not believe in free speech. Speech is very restricted in Judaism along ethical and moral guidelines. 

But even leaving that aside, it seems to me that her version of Judaism is based entirely on Tikun Olam that she thinks means social justice. Which in this case means Justice for Palestine and the right of students to therefore demand the their school divest from Apartheid Israel - who denies them that. She might even consider herself to be some kind of hero for standing up for students and faculty to scream  ‘Palestine - from the river to the sea’.

Well, I’m sure she is a hero to her fellow anti Zionist progressives. The fact that she is Jewish and recognized as some sort of expert in Judaism gives cover to those claiming that being anti Zionist does not mean being antisemitic. I’ll bet she feels good about that. Which makes her a useful idiot for Palestinian protestors

The truth is that Ms. Orleck is not a hero. She is in fact an embarrassment to the Jewish people and the very Judaism she is supposed to have credentials for. I don’t know where she got her ‘knowledge’ of Judaism from. (I don’t know. Maybe she got it from ‘Jews for Palestine’.) But it was surely not from any believing or practicing Jewish educator.  Her actions on the Dartmouth campus tell us a different story. 

But even if she knows what our foundational document demands of all the Jewish people, I doubt she observes too many - if any of those demands. And yet, if asked about her participation in the protests to the point of being arrested and dragged through the streets by the police - she would probably say that she was acting in the best tradition of Judaism.

And that makes me sick.

Protesters, Police, the Media, and Saudi Arabia

Police on the UCLA campus this morning (NBC)

The unmitigated bias of the mainstream media is breathtaking in both its scope and its deception of objectivity. 

I used to defend the media against accusations of bias for at least attempting to be objective even if they didn’t always succeed. At least they tried. Or so I thought.

The benefit of the doubt I once gave them has completely disappeared since they began reporting on Israel’s war against Hamas. I am not going to rehash all that, even though it continues to this day. I do however want to discuss the current journalistic travesty they are trying to pass off as objective reporting. This is a description of events that took place this morning at the UCLA campus:

Police removed barricades and began dismantling pro-Palestinian demonstrators’ fortified encampment early Thursday at the University of California, Los Angeles, after hundreds of protesters defied orders to leave, some of them forming human chains as police fired flash-bangs to break up the crowds. Some people were detained, their hands bound with zip ties.

The action came after officers spent hours threatening arrests over loudspeakers if people did not disperse. A crowd of more than 1,000 had gathered on campus, both inside a barricaded tent encampment and outside it, in support. Protesters and police shoved and scuffled as officers encountered resistance. Video showed police pulling off helmets and goggles worn by some protesters as they were being detained.

With police helicopters hovering, the sound of flash-bangs, which produce a bright light and a loud noise to disorient and stun people, pierced the air. 

As I watched a live broadcast of that event this morning it was made clear to me who the good guys were and who the bad guys were. The optics made the police look like Nazi Storm Troopers. Those optics were helped along by reporters on the scene describing the heavy handed tactics used by heavily armed police in riot gear imposing their heavy-handed tactics on unarmed students protesting an unjust war.  

Nary a word about the police trying to enforce the law. Protester's were breaking the law.  After being asked multiple times (first by university officials and then by the police) to stop and disperse, the police were called in.

But reporters o the scene allowed the misleading optics accompanied by their  descriptions of  police enforcing the law speak for itself. It looked like the police riots of the 68 Democratic convention. So without uttering a word of blame, (and thereby divining the appearance of objectivity) the media succeeded in allowing the opitcs make the police look bad. 

This is what happened in every instance where police clashed with protestors ever since these protests began at Columbia.  The police are always portrayed as the villains in any interaction with civilians involved in – or suspected of - criminal activity.

It’s true that sometimes police overreact to tragic consequences. But more often than not they are either doing their job protecting the public or are defending themselves against a lethal attack. 

The latter of which happened in Chicago a few weeks ago. A black suspect who was pulled over started shooting at the police officer who was approaching him. The officer returned fire along with fellow officers at the scene - each firing multiple times until he was shot dead. Protests are still going on and there is going to be an investigation of those officers who have been placed on paid leave.. 

An incident of obvious self defencse is now being investigated as a case of police misconduct. No one denies that the suspect fired first. And yet these officers are being investigated for simply defending their lives. 

Ever since the George Floyd incident, the police have been in the cross hairs of media scrutiny. Almost always looking at the police as guilty until proven innocent.

(This has hampered law enforcement in untold ways. Surely this has had a negative impact on crime prevention. Chicago seems to have a drive-by shooting every day where an innocent bystander – often a child - gets in the way of a bullet intended for someone else. But I digress.)

It is with this mindset that the media sees any police activity When violence ensues the police are blamed albeit ever so subtly. As they did today on the UCLA campus. Adding to the subte bias is media focus on a faculty member being handuffed and arrested. They are the so-called adults in the room. . That just adds to the Nazilike optics the media chooses to focus on. They don’t say anything. They let the image of a ‘resepcted’ and perhaps even tenured professor being handcuffed and arrested speak for itself. If the arrestee is female - even better.  

I am sickened by the insidious way in which the mainstream media has been reporting these protests. They are not journalists. They are left wing advocates in journalist ‘clothing’. Instead of reporting facts without bias they report facts with obvious bias about which they may not even be aware

And they are are overwhelmingly the primary source for all information on anything they wish to report on.

About the student protestors themselves. Are their motives really all that idealistic? Are their anti Israel views really based on idealism?  

Let us for a moment grant that they have a point about the tens of thousands of Palestinian casuaties in Gaza at the  hands of the Israeli military. Let us ignore the fact that thousands of the casulaitues were actually Hamas terrorists that were not identified as such by Hamas.. And let us ignore the fact that the vast majority of Palestinian casualties were orchestrated by Hamas for purposes of generating world sympathy for their cause (which they have succeeded in doing magnificently!).

OK. But where were these socially conscientious protesters after Hamas massacred 1200 Jews on that  October 7^th day… the worst and most sadistic brutal mass murder of Jews since the Holocaust? Where were the protests against the Hamas brutal rape, sexual mutilation, and murder of Jewish women on that day? Why has there not been a single protest demanding Hamas release the hostages Hamas is still holding captive... and still raping hostage families in some cases? I have not seen a single protest by a single student about any of that. 

I guess mass murdering Jews and raping Jewish women doesn’t concern these ‘altruistic’ students so much. Nor has the mainstream  media mentioned a word about that ethical lapse.  Nope. All the moral outrage is at the colonialist Jews and their imperialist provider - the US.

On a more positive note (if one can truly find anything positive about current realities both here and in the Middle East) there is the following. One might think that the 30,000 Hamas reported ‘innocent’ Palestinian casualties at the hands of Israel’s military would have scuttled any chance about expanding the Trump era Abraham Accords. That would certainly be the conventional thinking. But that is not the case. From JNS: 

Saudi Arabia has decided to normalize relations with Israel and is debating the timing of the announcement, a foreign diplomat familiar with the details told Haaretz on Monday.

According to the source cited in the article by the daily’s diplomatic correspondent Jonathan Lis, Riyadh is discussing whether to make the move in the coming weeks or after the U.S. presidential election this November, in which either Democrat Joe Biden will continue to lead the country or his challenger Republican Donald Trump will return to the White House. 

Wow! Stranger things may have happened. But not many as counterintuitive as this. 

Light at the end if the tunnel? We shall see.

The Truth About the Protestors

NYPD officers in riot gear (National Review)

I have been a fan of New York Mayor Eric Adams ever since he ran for the position a few years ago. And shortly after October 7^th, my admiration for him skyrocketed. His keen perception of reality was demonstrated by his reaction to the horrific events of that day. He knows how to cut through the noise and get to the heart of the matter.

This happened again today. Mayor Adams was interviewed on CBS this morning about sending NYPD riot police to the campuses of Columbia University and CUNY.

To the casual observer it might seem like throwing gasoline onto a fire. After all don’t students have a right to passionately and vigorously express their views about injustices in the world? ...and to get the people in power to do something about that? Weren’t they simply exercising  their inherent free speech rights? That they may have broken a rule about setting up tent encampments on the college campus hardly seems worthy of sending in the ‘storm trooper’ police in full riot gear!.

Ordinarily I might agree that sending riot police to a protest rally for what seems like minor and insignificant rule infractions is a bad idea. But the facts say something entirely different than what the optics suggest. That is where Mayor Adams comes in. He authorized the police to go there full force and and arrest the troublemakers at the behest of university officials. These ‘students’ actually occupied a building. (Kind of like the ‘protesters’  who occupied the Capital building on January 6^th.)

There were violent clashes between – on the one hand  students and a few faculty members.. and on the other hand the police. It was reminiscent of the protests on college campuses of the Viet Nam War era.

Mayor Adams explained that most of those arrested were outside agitators from various terrorist groups around the country and all over the world. These young people were being unduly influenced by these infiltrators. Then he cited a statistic that showed only 18% of American youth loved their country.

That - to me - is shocking and at the same time quite revealing. It helps identify who it is exactly that hates Israel. The same people that hate America. People influenced by radical progressives (both on and off campus) whose rhetoric is dripping with antisemitism disguised as anti Zionism. That many of these students are asking their schools to divest from Israel is not new. That demand was being made  long ago by student councils all over the country supporting BDS. (The D in BDS)

There are those who might reject this idea and suggest that most of these protests are about the way Israel is conducting the war. Although I would strongly disagree with them, that would be a legitimate protest. That may even be true in a few cases. But as noted many of these students have been anti Israel long before Israel's war with Hamas. Influenced to ignorantly claim that Israel is committing genocide and that they have been occupying Palestine for 76 years.

I believe the New York mayor got it right. Problem is that these protests have a life of their own and are expanding. The attention given by the media to these protests have had a subliminal message of justifying them.  To the casual observer these protests are indeed only about Israel's conduct in the war. And just like the Viet Nam war era protests. -  the media paints the police as near storm troopers descending on  innocent young students for simply voicing their opinions on an unjust war. .

I fear that public sentiment may turn in their direction if nothing is done. I would like to see a lot mote Jewish students in peaceful counter protests. I emphasize peacefull because if they get violent, they will be counterproductive. 

We need to get the message out that there is another, more legitimate side to this story, and to make our case to the public. I'm glad to see that local and federal governments seem to be on the right side of the issue right now, But I still think we ought to be doing more to present out case. Especially where the media can mostly be found. Which is at the expanding number of campus protests all over the country.

A Ray of Sunshine From Among the Clouds

Jewish Chicago Editor, Cindy Sher

It isn’t all doom and gloom. Although it does kind of seem like it these days if you are a Jew.  I have to admit that almost all the news affecting the Jewish people has been pretty depressing since  October 7^th. I need not rehash why. Life for the Jewish people has changed on that day on a scale not seen since the Holocaust. This is not to say that the two are comparable. It is to say that we have not felt such trauma - continuing trauma -  as a people since then. 

The anti Israel sentiment on campuses all over the county is but the latest manifestation of that. If one watches the news. one might get the feeling that we are back in the 1930s Germany.  

But perception is not always reality.  The protests are taking place almost exclusively by students on campuses infested with BDS supporting academics with outsized influences on those young minds full of mush. Along with Palestinian students and infiltrators - they are the ones making all the noise.

Outside of college campuses one will not see any media focus. That’s because there is nothing to focus on there. Most Americas are not focused on a war 7000 miles away where not a single American is participating. If anything disruptive protests that have taken place have had the opposite of their intended effect. They have not been popular with the American masses at all - to say the least!

The US government fully rejects antisemitism in all ts manifestations, Full stop. Doesn’t matter which  side of the political aisle one is on. While there surely are pockets of antisemitism all over the US, they remain on the fringes of society. Except on BDS infested college campuses.

There is some more good news to report here as well. It is rather well known that 90% of non Orthodox Jews in America are assimilating out of Judaism - one way or another. (That is not of course the good news.) The good news is the 10% that are not assimilating out - are more engaged in their Judaism than I once thought. This was the impression I got after reading stories in The JUF’s Jewish Chicago Magazine. 

Shortly after the events of October 7^th, Charedi magazines reported that there was a renewed interest in Judaism by secular Jews in their heritage.  

I must admit that the skeptic in me wondered if that was just a bit of wishful thinking based on some anecdotal evidence that didn’t reflect any significant overall change. And that in any case it wouldn’t las too long But when Cindy.Sher, the heterodox editor of JUF’s Jewish Chicago Magazine said the same thing many months later and backed it up with statistics – well, I think that is significant.

The 10 percenters are not secular Jews that don’t care about Judaism. They care a lot and always have. These are  Jews who take their Judaism seriously enough to observe at least some of the Torah’s Mitzvos and recognize that the Torah is in fact our foundational document. When tragedy struck they decided to become even more serious about observance. That might be the reason why there has been an uptick in Jewish day school enrollment. (Although the perception of an increase in antisemitism maybe part of the reason for that too) But there has also been an uptick in synagogue participation and in other areas of Jewish life.. 

It appears there has been a reawakening of one’s Judaism even among some of the 90%  as well.

I don’t know what to make of all this. My hope is that it isn’t a ‘flash in the pan’ that will disappear once things calm down in the Middle East. But in the meantime, it is good to know that secular  Jewry might be taking a step back from their exit out of Judaism. 

If that is indeed the case it should give us hope for a better future for American Jews than I had recently imagined. 

Now, let us get the people being held hostage by Hamas released. And may God grant us the permanent peace for which we pray every single day

Woke Jewish Professors

USC Professor Jonathan Cohen

One of the things that upsets me the most about all of the anti Israel protests is when I see a Jew involved. Especially one who plays the Holocaust card. This was the case with Jonathan Cohen, a professor of of public health at the University of Southern California (USC). When someone like this criticizes Israel it lends their views an aura of credence they do not deserve.

Cohen is yet another woke progressive that refuses to recognize context and sees only the here and now of a conflict. Which in my view is a very immoral way of looking at anything. To the uninformed masses criticism of Israel is enhanced by use of that card.. Which is not only immoral, it is unethical, too.

 Professor Cohen is upset at the following:

One of the applicants was Asna Tabassum, the 2024 class valedictorian whose invitation to speak at commencement was rescinded by the university April 15, after pro-Israel groups complained about a pro-Palestinian viewpoint she had shared on social media.  

As if to underscore his credentials with respect to genocide he offered this: 

I am a grandchild of the Holocaust, born to a refugee mother whose family fled the Nazi occupation of Poland and immigrated to Canada in 1948…

When I began my career in health and human rights, my understanding of safety evolved. I came to see how governments abridge all kinds of human freedoms — the freedom to speak, assemble, even move — in the name of “public safety.” 

And then - the coup de grâce:

In this context, it was as natural to criticize Israel’s policies toward Palestinians as it was to criticize Burma’s policies toward Rohingya Muslims, China’s policies toward Uyghurs, or Russia’s policies toward Chechens… 

I’m surprised he didn't include Nazi Germany’s policies toward the Jews in that list. Professor Cohen completely ignores the security context that makes that treatment a necessity. His non contextual implication is that Israel has nothing but nefarious motives for it’s polices towards Palestinians. Cohen might have a PhD in public health, But he is willfully ignorant of Israel’s security needs.

Where, one may ask, does Cohen get his information from.  The following might shed some light on that question: 

When criticism of Israel took a sharper turn, alleging crimes of apartheid and genocide against Palestinians, I knew better than to feel threatened as a Jew. By then, multiple trips to the West Bank with my husband, a Jewish anti-occupation activist, had taught me that Jews’ right to self-determination could not come at the expense of Palestinians’ rights and safety. And growing condemnation of Israel’s policies toward Palestinians by Israeli and Jewish human rights defenders showed me that many Jews saw their safety bound up in that of Palestinians. 

This article by a woke progressive Jewish professor explains a lot. It tells you what kind of Jew sees Israel as only an aggressor nation and Palestinians as their eternal victims. It also tells you why there are so many Jewish students (who are themselves ignorant) joining anti Israel protests. 

So next time a pro Palestinian Jewish student is interviewed by the media, it will be easier to understand where they got those ideas. Jonathan Cohen is not alone. There are probably a lot more woke Jews like him. 

The Anti War Protests

Pre October 7 Anti Israel student protest (TOI)

I am watching with dismay the increasing number of anti war protests taking place on college campuses right now. Protests that are fueled with the righteous indignation of students over civilian casualties that seem to outnumber terrorist casualties by orders of magnitude.

Indeed. Over 30,000 civilian casualties is a very disturbing number of innocent people dying in a war. Even if that war is just. It should therefore not be a surprise that students are expressing anger and outrage at those they see as responsible: Israel.

But what if they are protesting the wrong people? What if those really responsible are among the casualties themselves. Terrorists in civilian clothing hiding in plain sight? What if it is the Palestinian leadership in Gaza (Hamas) that is responsible for those numbers as a tactic to gain world sympathy? Problem is that these protestors either don't know it or don't believe it possible that any nation would do that to their people. 

What these students must surmise is what hey have been indoctrinated to believe about Israel, from intellectual Palestinian professors and their progressive colleagues who mentor many of these students,. Filling their heads about the evils of Zionism - the foundational principle of the Jewish state. These mentors define Zionism as nothing more than a colonialist enterprise designed to take land away from its indigenous peoples; to subjugate them and to mistreat them. 

And that for its entire 76 year existence Zionist Israel has been an Apartheid state where Palestinians have been ruled with an iron  military fist - subjected to harassment, humiliation, and poverty.  

Some of these leftist academics are quite mainstream  and their message is quite subtle, often cleverly stated in the context of tepidly condemning antisemitism.

Problem with that false narrative is that it’s working. This narrative is what is led UN Secretary-General António Guterres to say that October 7^th did not happen in a vacuum. While he did condemn what Hamas did,  he ended up partially justifying it with that comment. 

Anti Israel protests by students on college campuses didn’t start on October 7^th. They have been going on for quite some time. That they have increased in intensity now is because they see Hamas’s claim of Israeli Apartheid as true and a justification for what they did on that day.

In my view these protests are more about being anti Israel than they are about protesting the casualties of war and its attendant starvation. The war is just the precipitating factor of a long simmering animosity toward the Zionist Apartheid state 

(On this last point, It was quite telling to hear what Pope Francis said about starving Palestinians in answer to a question asked by a mainstream US network news anchor.  Based on direct reports from Gazans he said that food was coming in but there has been a distribution problem. That people there are fighting over the food.  

To me that says that Israel is not at fault. They are in fact letting food into Gaza. However, those distributing it (the UN?) are not doing a good job. There have also been reports that Hamas has been commandeering the food for themselves and selling it to civilians at exorbitant prices. But I digress.)

If you look at the protest signs and listen to the chants of the students it is mostly anti Zionism (i.e. anti Israel) . Not too much about a cease fire anymore. Zionism is the problem and it must be eradicated so that Palestinians can get their land back.

Sadly there are some Jews are among these protesters who have been chanting the same slogans. It should not be surprising that they are not aware that Zionism - which is about the Jewish people returning to the promised land - is and has always been part of our Jewish identity since ancient times. Not knowing that (or not even caring) is a common error made by much of our Jewish youth bereft of any kind of quality Jewish education.

To many (most) of these people, justice in Palestine means dismantling the Zionist Jewish state. They  agree with the Hamas goal if not entirely with their methods (resulting from decades of frustration at the oppression by Zionists).  

That there is a leftist bias indoctrinated into these student protestors was exposed by the reaction Columbia students had to House Speaker Mike Johnson - widely known as a conservative  Republican.  Before he could open his mouth he was booed by the crowd. Without knowing what he was going to say.

There is an eerie similarity between the current protests and the anti Viet Nam War protests of the late 60s - early70s. Back then college campuses were taken over by students. And just like today, some of those protests turned violent and some protestors were arrested. The idealistic students of that time persisted. They considered the Viet Nam War immoral. Just as today’s protestors consider Israel’s war against Hamas immoral

Although they refuse to recognize the truth, there are major differences between this war and the Viet Nam War. Starting with the fact that Hamas first attacked Israel, killing 1200 Jews in the most brutal way imaginable -  and took hostages. Israel had no choice but to conduct a war to eliminate that scourge.  Doing so with the blessing of the US government, its people, and the rest of the free world. Even now the US still supports Israel’s right to do so albeit now disagreeing with their methods.. Point being that unlike these protestors they do not see Israel as an Apartheid state that needs to be dismantled and given to the Palestinians.

Complicating matters is the fact that there are still over 100 hostages being held by Hamas. Hostage families and Anti Netanyahu protestors are demanding that he make any deal that would that would free them. Hamas has said the only way it will do that is if there is a permanent cease fire. Which of course will only be permanent until the next time they want to perpetrate an October 7^th. Israel cannot afford to make that deal. So they are basically caught between a rock and a hard place.

I am not feeling very confident right now about where this is going. Which seems to be in the opposite direction of justice for the Jewish people. 

We’ve been here before. I just wish I knew how to instill the truth into these young minds filled with the progressive mush they are being fed so successfully by their morally bankrupt  professors.

May This Pesach Bring an End to War and Bring Peace to Our People

This has been a tough year. Israel is going through one of it's most challenging periods since its founding in 1948. They are fighting for their very lives. with an enemy determined to annihilate them. Even though Israel's military is clearly capable of defending itself, it has come - and will unfortunately continue come at great cost  in both blood and treasure.

The Jewish people have not been under such  assault since the Holocaust. Although obviously not anywhere near the same level. And just as obviously not by - either our benevolent government or the vast majority of it people. Still, the assault from the few is still greater in number and more vocal than at any time in American history.

The war against Hamas has brought out into the open in very strident ways the latent antisemitism in a lot of people.  Thankfully, unlike Europe of the 30s  the  American government and its people do not  tolerate it. 

It is for tis reason that this year's celebration of Pesach has taken on deeper meaning. We are a lot closer to the persecution our ancestors had in ancient Egypt than we have ever been in this country (obviously of course not anywhere near its intensity).

As we are about to celebrate our liberation from slavery in Egypt - a liberation that included our formation as a nation at Sinai through the reception of the Torah - culminating with our entry into the promised land, I pray that just like our ancestors were given salvation by the Lord, so too will the Jewish people - their offspring many generations later - be given theirs. 

With that in mind, I want to wish everyone a happy and Kosher Pesach. May God protect and save the Jewish people. May He bring peace to his people and to the entire world.

The Tenth Plague

Pour Out Your Wrath

Exodus

The Four Cups

Why are Women Required to Recite the Haggadah

Sinas Chinam and Pesach

The Fifth Cup

The Torah is Not in Heaven

L'fichach

Pesach, Matza, Marror

Yochel MeRosh Chodesh

Amen

Maschil B'Gnus U'Mesayem B'Shvach

Heseibah L'ikuva

Kol Difchin

Baruch Shomer Haftechaso

The Haggadah and Kriyas Yam Suf

Kriyas Yam Suf

Torah Thoughts for the Seder