Dear Friends,
To say that this has been a very difficult, tense and devastating week in Israel is an understatement. What initially began as protests and scuffles on the Temple Mount and in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah quickly escalated into a full-blown attack on the Jewish State by Hamas terrorists as it rained down a barrage of over 1200 rockets into the very heart of the country: missiles deliberately aimed at the largest concentration of innocent civilians – Jews and Arabs alike – in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Sirens have wailed repeatedly as hundreds of thousands sought refuge in shelters.
Once more, Jews have had to go into hiding. Once again, we are reminded that our brothers and sisters in Israel have not enjoyed one day of peace since the establishment of an independent State of Israel hastily declared by David ben Gurion, today, exactly 73 years ago, on Friday, May 14, 1948 (according to the secular calendar.)
However, while the intense and bitter fighting rages on between Hamas and Israel’s security forces (the first serious skirmish in seven years) a relatively new “front” has opened up that is equally alarming and very disquieting: the civil unrest and blatant hostility on the streets of Arab-Jewish cities and towns such as Lod, Ramle, Haifa, Acco, Bat Yam and Tiberias. To be sure, there is plenty of blame to cast on both sides of the increasing divide between Israel’s Jewish and Arab citizens and the intolerant, belligerent, bigoted, extremist, fundamentalist elements found within each segment, eating away at the very heart of national unity, tearing apart the very fragile fabric of Jewish-Arab co-existence.
It didn’t have to be like this. Israel’s normalization of diplomatic relations with an ever-increasing number of its Arab neighbors – the so-called “Abraham Accords” – continues to be a very welcome sign of regional stability and cooperation. The successful response to the Covid pandemic has clearly shown that Arab doctors, nurses and ambulance staff continue to serve with great distinction on the front lines, thus helping enormously to mitigate the spread of the virus. Israel’s Arab population has been emboldened by the success of one of their political parties, Ra’am, in the recent general elections. But, to quote Rabbi Daniel Gordis, “All of that is gone now. The coalition is dead. The trust has evaporated. Floodgates of hate and resentment have come pouring out from all directions.”
A full-scale war might well be just around the corner, but we’ve seen such things before, and we’re bound to see them again. A tenuous, temporary ceasefire will halt the rockets and the bombardments…until the next time and, make no mistake, there will be a next time. Hamas continues to call for the annihilation of the Jewish state. This bloodthirsty onslaught must cease. And Israel must, once and for all, rein in its dangerous, supremacist factions who remorselessly chant “Death to the Arabs!”
Yes, everything seems to have unraveled so quickly, so shockingly, before our very eyes. The single, greatest achievement in the long, tortured history of the Jewish people – the miraculous restoration of a free, sovereign, independent Jewish State for the first time in almost 2,000 years – appears to be in jeopardy, once again.
Let us all heed Rabbi Gordis’ tough, penetrating and insightful questions: “What did we learn? Nothing? Something? What? Can we build something here that can last? Can we restore the sense of hope we’d had about what we’ve built? Can we do the work needed to make a minority feel genuinely at home here? Will we be able to look in the mirror and tell ourselves, honestly, that yes, this is the place we want our children and grandchildren to grow up, that this place is worthy of the deep love we feel for it? Are we building a society genuinely worthy of all the young women and men who gave their lives so we can have it? The mere fact that we have to ask is enough to break your heart.”
We must spend these next days rallying our concern and support for those who suffer the violence in their homes and families. And, we must direct our energy and resources to help repair the brokenness of a place that should be a home.
Shabbat Shalom!
Rabbi Robert Leib Rabbi Shoshanah Tornberg Cantor Elena Zarkh
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