They started this before 10/07

The following post was originally written as a schmoozeletter email in May of 2021!!

I hope you're having a good week.

Personally, I’m having a hard time.

I should probably spend less time reading about global current events- they’re upsetting because they’re feeling scarily similar to past events.

And while I hope and pray to get back to being able to write about more quotidian musings, for now, I need to honor my inner voice, which is telling me to keep speaking truth to corruption- no matter how much it sometimes feels like yelling into an empty, bottomless abyss.

(Or an echo-chamber of others who also feel despondent for truth.)

One interesting observation:

I do the majority of my public commenting and interacting on Instagram these days. I’m on other social media platforms nominally, but for some reason, that’s where most of it seems concentrated for now. When I began writing and posting about Israel as opposed to my usual stuff- mental health, spirituality, corny humor, and relationships, it wasn’t a specific decision. It was more like an instinct. But it wasn’t impulsive; I recognized that by challenging the dominant narrative, I would probably lose followers, engagement, and possibly be shadow-banned or even censored. I chose not to care- I was raised to value integrity over popularity.

It feels right to focus on this for now- I don’t even feel like I have much of a choice. Below are some further thoughts that I feel more comfortable sharing here than in my more public space. Thank you for being part of that:

Why Calling What’s Happening in Gaza a “Genocide” is Gaslighting:

Imagine you were walking down the street, and someone came at you with a gun. By some miracle, you managed to wrestle the gun out of the attacker’s hands. At that very moment, a police officer came along, and arrested you for having a gun and charge you with being a threat to your would-be-murderer.

Second scenario: Imagine a man sexually assaults a woman. Then when she courageously takes him to court, his lawyers somehow find a way to spin the story as she assaulted him. Imagine how she would feel.

But this is what’s happening to Israel, and by extension to Jews across the world.

A country where the Jews are direct second, third and fourth generation descendants of actual genocide survivors within the last century.

People who are STILL reeling from the trauma of the Holocaust, an ACTUAL genocide, of seeing their communities and families tortured and murdered- are being falsely accused and convicted in the wildly misinformed court of public opinion, of the very crimes against humanity that were perpetrated on us.

It’s like accusing a victim of gun violence of gun violence, a rape survivor of being a rapist, or a black person of having owned slaves.

Complete reversal of aggressor and victim.

Some of my esteemed colleagues and friends disagree with the notion of comparison when it comes to sensitive issues like race and trauma- and I understand that. Every person’s experience is different, and every peoples’ experience is different too. (Out of respect for their positions, I did not post these thoughts very publicly, on my more public social media page.)

But the reason I felt the need to say it at least here, is exactly that: the Jewish experience is held to an entirely different standard of empathy and even veracity.

Hitler and the Nazis (another topic where people have strong feelings about comparisons) were able to convince multiple countries of “educated” people that Jews and other groups deserved to be ethnically cleansed, they were able to commit actual genocide because they successfully spread pernicious lies. And the more you tell a lie, the more people start to believe it.

But that social dynamic is what we’re seeing across the West today- again, a mere 70 years after we swore “never again.” On the far right and the far left.

It’s scary, and it’s devastating, and it’s entirely irrational.

You can’t even debate it- how can a debate really get anywhere when it boils down to something like this:

Hamas and other hate groups: “Israel and all the Jews are evil- they should be annihilated!”

Gullible mainstream media: “Yes, yes, Israel and Jews- you’re evil- you should be annihilated!”

Israel and Jews: “No- you’re being misled; we aren’t doing anything evil! Please don’t annihilate us.”

Hate groups and growing anti-semitic public: “You’re lying! You're bad! Die!”

Jews (not wanting to be killed): “No, you’re lying! See the truth? We are only trying to survive. Please don't kill us.”

Where do you go with that?

If the only options are surrender to annihilation or defend our lives and be falsely accused of aggression, we have to choose the second.

In this week’s Torah portion, there’s a verse that’s sung in synagogue when the Torah is brought out and read publicly:

“And it was when the ark would travel, Moshe said: ‘Get up, L-rd, and scatter Your enemies, and let Your haters flee from before Your countenance.’ And when it rested, it was said: ‘Return, G-d, your myriads of thousands, Israel.”

As a kid, I never understood or related to all the focus in prayer and scripture about overcoming our enemies.

I naively thought I was living in a world where kindness, peace, dialogue, and reason could overcome differences.

Unfortunately, the more years I live, the more I understand the need to pray for safety from haters and enemies.

Because when it comes to war, it doesn’t always take two to tango.

Where do we go with all this?

I know the only places I can go: inward, outward, and upward.

Inward, to meditate, and try to access spiritual quietude and wisdom.

Outward, to connect with others and try to help where I can.

And upward: raise my eyes to Heaven, and beg:

“Please, make this stop. Help us figure out what we need to do, how we need to be, to reduce the evil and suffering down here. Help us figure out how to heal this broken world. One small word and deed at a time.”

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