Like most of us, I’m obviously very worried about the situation in Israel. But I believe in the justice of our path and I believe Israel will hopefully overcome this latest incarnation of the conflict. I’m terribly worried about the cost in human life it will G-d forbid exact. This is what keeps many of us up at night. I worry for the soldiers and pray they won’t have to enter Gaza and that Israel can secure the situation via air strikes. I am grateful as we see the Iron Dome do its magic, yet mindful that without it, Israel would be a bloodbath.
We know who Hamas terrorists are. We know their intention to destroy Israel. Sadly, Israel has been refining its methods to vanquish this terrorist organization which provoked, yet again, another round of deadly rocket attacks aimed at innocent Israeli citizens.
But there is one aspect of this conflict that is growing like a cancer and seems out of our control: the bitterly poisonous anti-Israel bias.The script of Israel the “oppressors,” of evil occupiers, of perpetrators of the “ethnic cleansing” of innocents, unprovoked. The warped narrative about Israel has taken hold and spread like wildfire, easily crossing the line into anti-Semitism.
Some of us might be more left-wing and some of us more right-wing in Israeli politics. These are fair and healthy disagreements in a democratic society. None of us, I think, regard Israel as a perfect utopian state, that’s for sure. I think the hope is that with each point of view pushing the envelope a bit, from each more extreme position a roughly golden middle ground will hold sway.
Most if not all of us with different opinions on Israeli politics are not consumed with questioning Israel’s right to exist, or challenging her obligation to defend herself and her citizens. It’s a given we all understand. We perceive the justice of history in having a small Jewish state in the world. We all hope that the current security situation will morph into a more peaceful reality one day. The Abraham Accords allowed us a glimpse into what could be. The relationship between peoples in the Middle East can be different.
I feel deeply grateful to the many countries and governments who have publically supported Israel when it is under lethal rocket bombardments, among them: Austria, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Hungary, Poland and Japan.
But I see what is transpiring on social media in popular culture. It’s horrifying and obscene. Straight up Israel hate like you wouldn’t believe. It’s appalling and reflects profound ignorance of the facts of this conflict, and seems to be straight out of another decade. Yet it’s here. Right here. Right now. It’s a scripted radicalized progressive pop culture that seems almost fascist in its expectation of what its adherents must parrot; otherwise, they are branded racists. Horrifying.
There is dangerous power in what sweeps people in pop culture. Sometimes, perhaps, it is as influential as a dangerous government.
How many times can someone start explaining that no, Israel does not occupy Gaza, that in fact Israel left Gaza in 2005 and there is not a Jew in sight there? And endless more facts that inform the ignorant of the falsehoods peddled by these social justice social media warriors?
I’m not here to sugarcoat how complex a conflict this is. But I’m also not confused about the basic truths of the conflict, either.
As usual, in war, the ones who pay the worst price are the innocents caught in the crossfire; the people who simply want to live a normal life and go to sleep at night in safety and wake up for another tomorrow to work, live and love with their family and friends.
If the hate and vitriol would remain on social media, that would be one thing. But it never works that way. The poison spills over to real life. We saw it on the streets of London. Cars blaring obscene messages against Jews on microphones through Jewish neighborhoods.
These same warriors are, of course, one-cause warriors, aka anti-Semites. Somehow they are absent from caring about any other cause. Somehow, the real injustices around the world never seem to move them to action or to hate. But when it comes to Israel, the obsession and hate is so strong, you can almost feel the computer screen levitating with emotion.
It seems the tide has turned in this tsunami of hate. I’m not sure how we can roll it back. It’s like a monster out of control.
I still believe we must try to educate those people who haven’t yet quite crossed over, who are not beyond any willingness to listen and understand. We must engage the many people who are simply truly ignorant of the situation. We have a task in front of us. We must each try and do our best to speak up. Many of us are already informally doing this, but now more than ever we must step it up. The chorus of our differing voices and views on Israel is a healthy beautiful thing. Because we all know how precious and important Israel’s existence is. We appreciate what a world without its existence would mean, even if we never had to live through this.
Of course, it will all be worthless if at the same time we do not refine our listening capacity and hear other points of view.
But to everything there is a season, and right now the season is to stand with Israel and speak up for Israel in her vulnerable hour of need.
Copyright © 2021 by the Intermountain Jewish News
