Separated by only a few hours, two acts of terrorism, committed by Jewish Israelis, left the entire country begging to know why peace is a notion so far away from us.
The first occurred at Jerusalem’s Gay Pride Parade, where six people were stabbed by a man who had just been released from jail for committing the same crime ten years prior. The man is an Orthodox Jew who was determined to personally end what he believes to be the wrong of homosexuality, trying to end lives because of who someone loves.
Later on Thursday night, a Palestinian family’s house was burned, again by Jewish terrorists, resulting in a dead infant and a family both physically and emotionally devastated. The events led the Palestinians to declare Friday as a “Day of Rage.”
As an American coming to live in Jerusalem, I was all too familiar with the fear of terrorism and the baseless hatred that ran rampant in this beautiful place. What I wasn’t expecting was for it to come from people who identify as I do, as Jewish.
I refuse to call them that, though. They are not true Jews, according to any understanding I know. Jews are not ruled by hate, nor do they look to take life. Jews do not destroy life in an attempt to maintain their own existence, and do not denigrate others to the point of inhumanity because of the lives they live.
For the first time, I truly identify with the millions of Muslim Americans who are forced every day to answer for the atrocities carried out by the tiny minority who use their faith as a rallying cry for destruction. I know the feeling of wanting nothing to do with those who claim to use my God as the excuse for their actions. I know the feeling of embarrassment, of shame at knowing that Jewish people were the ones inflicting suffering on a child, on men and women celebrating the joys of freedom. I know the feeling of wanting to stand up and say “No, they are not like me. They are not what my faith is.” I only hope that we can use that feeling to come together in comfort, rather than to increase the gulf between us.
To not expect this kind of violence is sadly ignorant, though, especially coming from America. This is no different than the life we are leading right now at home. It seems every day we are faced with another act of violence and devastation, committed by individuals who use their own faith and skewed version of morality to destroy the lives of other Americans. Who am I to judge the Israeli conflict when my own country is tearing itself apart?
It is on days like this that it is nearly impossible to see any light in the world. Our own hatred as a global community is suffocating, choking us off from our ability to find the beauty that is all over the place, but we choose to ignore because someone else’s attempts at happiness fill us with discomfort and rage.
But we have no choice. We, as a society, have no choice but to keep moving forward, to keep spreading understanding and love in the world. We have no choice but to use these acts of destruction as the building blocks for change, and the inspiration for new understanding. We have to band together, to publicly denounce even our own people who choose to highjack our faith and our principles for their own hateful means. And we have to use this as an excuse to come together, to not inspire days of rage, but to inspire days of shared love and comfort.
May the shadow of hatred be forced out by the light of love, and may we all come together to better understand one another and pursue true justice and peace.
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