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The Daily Cardinal Est. 1892
Thursday, October 31, 2024

Recognition of faults needed for secure Mideast

In September 2000, my father, a rabbi, struggled over what sermon to deliver for Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year. He had in mind an uplifting message to honor the Jewish tradition of forgiveness. But the morning paper that day reported a visit made by Ariel Sharon, accompanied by more than 1,000 Israeli armed guards, to a Muslim mosque in the occupied territories, where many believe is the site of the Temple Mount.  

 

 

 

My father changed his sermon. He knew that Sharon, the architect of the brutal 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon, was not paying a religious visit but inciting an angry reaction from the Palestinians. My father warned of the consequences of Sharon's visit and implored his congregants to reflect on the Jewish community's role in fueling the hatred and profound mistrust in the region.  

 

 

 

Sadly, the situation has become even worse than my dad imagined. (He died just before the next Rosh Hashana.) Not only did the second Intifada break out, but Sharon was overwhelmingly elected prime minister in 2001. The result has been an increasingly brutal military crackdown by the U.S.-financed Israeli army, culminating in a full-scale invasion of the West Bank. Although the Israeli Army has excluded reporters, human rights monitors and humanitarian groups from the area, we know the invasion has, at minimum, killed hundreds of civilians, displaced thousands more and devastated the economic infrastructure. Moreover, life within Israel proper has become more dangerous than ever as members of an increasingly desperate Palestinian population resort to murdering innocent Israelis. And so, the cycle of hate and extremism escalates.  

 

 

 

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It is all too easy in these dangerous times for Jews to respond with a besieged us-versus-them mentality. Indeed, many American Jewish organizations have done so through so-called \solidarity"" rallies and petitions proclaiming unconditional support for the Israeli government and placing all blame on Palestinians. Such a chauvinistic attitude may be emotionally satisfying and reflective of an attitude often taken by distinct ethnic groups. Yet it commits a deep disservice to the Jewish community.  

 

 

 

Those of us who care deeply about the Jewish community and what takes place in Israel must raise our voices now for a humane vision. I belong to a student group, Jewish Voices Against the Occupation, that supports, in conjunction with Jewish peace groups throughout the world, a just solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. We coalesce around a few basic values: 

 

 

 

u Opposing the Occupation and the systematic deprivation of Palestinian human rights. 

 

 

 

u Offering a committed Jewish perspective for criticizing Israeli policies. We reject the repeated efforts by many Jewish organizations to dismiss gentile critics of Israeli policies as anti-Semitic and Jewish critics as ""self-haters.""  

 

 

 

u Promoting dialogue and solidarity with Palestinian groups in supporting policies that further the status and dignity of both Palestinian Arabs and Israeli Jews. 

 

 

 

My work with Jewish Voices reflects a deep attachment to the Jewish community, including repeated visits to Israel. I seek a state of Israel that upholds the highest ethical standards. I was sickened by the election of Ariel Sharon. He belongs in the Hague as a war criminal, not as the head of the Israeli government.  

 

 

 

Of course, I condemn Palestinian terrorism such as the pizzeria bombing in Jerusalem. Some years ago, in fact, my uncle'also a rabbi'was shot by a Palestinian while returning home from praying at the Western Wall. Such actions are morally reprehensible and fuel dangerous extremism from the Israeli side. It is important, however, to acknowledge the state terrorism committed by Israeli authorities in the form of indiscriminate shellings of villages, blockading areas from humanitarian relief, displacing large groups of people and demolishing homes. This collective punishment has taken a toll in innocent deaths and devastation far greater than that committed by Palestinian terrorists.  

 

 

 

And, while terrorism is never excusable, we must seek to examine and change the underlying conditions. One source is lack of compassion from some Palestinians for the humanity of Israeli Jews. A deeper source is the Occupation and its deprivation of the minimal conditions under which a community can thrive. Indeed, it is remarkable that so much humanity persists. While I deplore the Palestinian who shot my uncle, I reserve the bulk of my revulsion for the Israeli authorities, backed by the U.S. government, who have generated the desperate conditions that enable terrorism to fester.  

 

 

 

It is never easy to acknowledge that one's own community is responsible for severe injustices. Historically, the Jewish people have been the persecuted race. Yet we must address our own moral sins if we desire a more just and, ultimately, more secure Jewish community.  

 

 

 

To learn more about the Israel-Palestine controversy and us, come discuss the issues Wednesday, 7-9 p.m., with a panel of Jewish and Palestinian campus groups in the main lounge on the first floor of Chadbourne Residential College. 

 

 

 

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