October 6th: The Day Joy Turns to Rage

Some days, peace in the Middle East seems like a fantasy. We tell ourselves it’s possible, hope for it, pray for it, and yet we look around and don’t see anything that resembles coexistence in harmony.

Living in Israel for a year, I was excited to learn more about the complications of this region, and to learn more about what kinds of peace are possible. Unfortunately, I’m learning more and more about how easy it is for animosity and hatred to fester, and how hard it is to have anything that resembles lasting calm within the walls of the city.

This week, Jewish Israelis continued to enjoy the season of celebration that is this time of year. As Sukkot was wrapping up and preparations for Simchat Torah were coming to an end, horror struck. Two separate stabbings occurred in or near the Old City of Jerusalem, leaving two dead. In both cases, Israelis were killed at the hands of Palestinian extremists, adding to a mountain of tension that has come boiling up in recent weeks, seemingly culminating at a time that is supposed to be reserved for joy and celebration.

To make matters worse, a few days ago, a Jewish couple was killed in front of their four young children by Palestinians. A few hours after the incident, Hamas spokesman Husam Badran tweeted “Congratulations heroic operation carried out by elements in the West Bank, killing two settlers and wounding others…” The anger burns inside me as I read this. A man and woman were murdered in front of their own children, and leaders are praising the action? That is the lowest form of humanity. The fact that Palestinians choose to allow Hamas to represent them in any way is indicative of the willingness to find peace.

I know that Israel is not blameless. I know that there are injustices and oppression going on all over the country, and that hatred is flowing in overwhelming quantities in both directions. But we can’t keep track of the score anymore. We can’t keep trying to figure out who started it, who’s turn it is to be angry, who is the one responsible for breaking the stalemate. Peace is only possible if two different parties are willing to come together and invest just a little bit of trust in one another in the hopes of bringing one another toward a better future together. That trust simply doesn’t exist right now, as much as we may want it to, and any hopes for peace in the future is contingent not on one side but BOTH sides being willing to come to the table.

The saddest part of all this is that the Jews and Palestinians are both faith-based communities. These are people who identify so strongly with their beliefs, who have foundations in God and scripture, who create communities and cultures based on a love and respect for what is in someone’s heart. How can we live in a world where faith brings some together but drives us to hate others? How can our faith be genuine when we use it as an excuse for why we persecute, the way we justify killing one another?

I live in Jerusalem. I learn about my people and my faith in Jerusalem only a few miles away from the Old City. I can feel the tension going on around me, and can see the way the entire city walks around with heavy hearts and heavy minds. How can we allow this to continue? How can we have such little faith in one another, and continuously allow the country we all work so hard to create be consumed by it’s own hatred?

I don’t have answers to these questions. I don’t know what the future holds for these two peoples, struggling so hard to share this space. All I know is that what currently exists is not acceptable. I know that something has to change. I continue to search for the day that we find a way to change it without continuing to kill one another.

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August 2nd: Baseless Hatred

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.

If you enjoy the work of the Zoot Perspective, please visit my GoFundMe page, to help support me on my journey. Thank you very much.

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August 4th: Long Road to Peace

In the seven weeks since I went to camp, the world seems to have broken. Thousands of rockets have been hurtling back and forth between Israel and the Gaza strip, and everyone wants to know why.

There is a boiling point for everyone. Mine came as I read what must have been the hundredth article about “picking sides.” I finally hit the point where I could no longer sit quietly and take in all of the information and “facts” that have been given out by the media and the public at large.

The first “fact” that I can’t possibly tolerate is the fallacy that this is a conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians. Is there conflict between these two groups in Israel? Sure. But this isn’t it. This is a conflict between Israel and Hamas, a terrorist organization. While many describe themselves as ‘pro-palestinian,’ no rational people would identify as pro-Hamas. Hamas is single-mindedly looking to destroy, to wreak havoc, and to kill and maim as many innocent people as possible to push their agenda. Let’s not confuse that for a government seeking recognition or a people looking for rights. These people want death and destruction. Nothing more.

This is paramount in understanding the most inappropriate statistic that is being shared on a daily basis by nearly every news outlet in this country: the death tolls of the two sides. The number of Arabs killed during this period of conflict is measured in the thousands. The number of murdered Israelis is in the 50s. Does this mean that Israel is doing more to hurt others? Does this make Israel the less humane participant?

Not in the slightest. The death toll, as a raw statistic, fails to carry the weight of knowing that Israel has done everything possible to protect it’s own citizens (as well as, in most cases, the innocent in Gaza), while Hamas has done everything in it’s power to use the innocents of Gaza as shields, as tools to manipulate the media hailstorm that is raining down on Israel.

Israel has gone so far as to drop leaflets, send “dummy” rockets, and even go out into Gaza to help warn innocent citizens about impending attacks. Israel has done everything reasonable to save innocent lives. The ruling powers of Hamas, however, have prevented these aids from getting through, and thus put people’s lives further at risk.

This, more than ever I’ve ever seen before, is a war being fought in the news just as much as it is in the Middle East. One of the challenges, though, is that we don’t even know what is real. Multiple times, powerful speeches have been “given” by world leaders, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, that have been proven to be a hoax. Even comedians like Dennis Miller have been credited with making bold statements that are, for lack of a better term, fan fiction.

With all of this mis-information, Americans have an incredible challenge on their hands. On one side, we have a country that has served as our primary ally for years, a country that both our government and theirs has spoken about as a partnership of good-faith. On another level, we are being fed information that suggests that Israel is oppressing, abusing, and killing innocent people on a daily basis.

Let’s get one thing straight, though. The double standard that the world sets on Israel has to stop. Hamas, as a terrorist organization, does not deserve the same rights that any nation would enjoy, despite the many opportunities for them to be treated better than they deserve. You see, every cease-fire Israel has offered has been greeted by a maelstrom of rockets. No other country in the world would stand for that. No other country would be asked to. If so much as a thrown rock were to land in America, the culprit would have hell to pay. Yet, Israel is asked to demonstrate patience, even to share their technology with Hamas. Israel has been chastised for having a low death rate.

There is so much that makes up this conflict. There is more than any one of us will ever understand. But the biggest tragedy of all is the need to pick sides. This ridiculous notion that it is even possible to decide who is “more right” in a death match is what proves just how far away we are from peace.

When my family went to synagogue this past Friday night, we prayed for peace. We prayed for the safety of all of those involved in the situation. We said the Mi Shebeirach, the prayer for healing, for all of those who have been injured. We said the Kaddish, the prayer of mourning, for all of those who have died. This was not solely for the Israelis or for the Jews. This was for all people. We prayed, at it’s purest form, for peace.

May it be God’s will, that peace not be far from our grasp.