The recent AP piece: “Survivors of Israel’s pager attack on Hezbollah struggle to recover” gave me a surprise. I have to admit – when I first saw the title of the article, sympathizing with terrorists and murderers and framing them as innocent victims of Israeli aggression, I thought it was a parody. I thought some comedy website had decided to poke fun at the way that the media covers Israel. Sadly, this was not so. The article is real.
What can be done to you, and what more can be done to you, deceitful tongue? The Jewish State – the Jew among the nations – is libeled, lied about, accused of the worst crimes possible and imaginable: genocide, attacks on children, attacks on hospitals.
I must confess. I feel overwhelmed. It is not that I did not think antisemitism is a problem in the world, in the West, even here in the U.S. I knew that. But I did not know how quickly it could metastasize like a cancer, replicating and worsening with shocking speed, how quickly lies, packaging, reframing, could be bought and sold, how quickly we might become pariahs again. I knew the fools and the ignorant would go in on it; I knew that the liars and the intellectually and morally bankrupt would lead – but I confess I am still shocked at the very scope and breadth of the campaign against the Jews. And it is indeed that, in my opinion.
Michael Oren wrote this week that Yahya sinwar – yemach shemo vezichro – made three bets when he launched his attack on October 7th. He bet that once Hamas began its attack, much of the Muslim world would join and destroy Israel. He bet that Israeli society – which is tightly wound and tearing at the edges – would split. And he was wrong about these two gambles.
But he also bet that the world would turn against Israel, downplay the crimes of the terrorists, blame the Jews for defending themselves too vociferously, and accuse the Jews of the crimes their enemies actually perpetrated against them. In this case, Sinwar was right. He “won” this bet, so to speak. The papers print whatever Hamas tells them, put pictures on the front page without doing basic due diligence or asking inconvenient context questions, doubt whatever Israel tells them, and make it clear to their readers that they too should be skeptical about Israel’s claims and reports.
So what shall we do? What shall we do when the world assembles against us, when thought leaders either lie or have been taken in by lies, when antisemitism returns to the streets, when the word Jew once again becomes a dirty word?
Please note: I am not saying we must agree with or endorse every political or military act or decision taken by Israel. I am not saying that the actions of our brethren have been without blemish, that there are no bad apples or actors among our people, that we have only ever known the taste of innocence. I am not saying I know exactly how Israel should or should not act, what the day after plan should be, which leaders or parties know best, or so on.
But I am saying that the simple truth of this conflict remains that Israel is the good guy in this war; that its enemies are not only villains but villains who are so vile that they rival the nazis, and that Israel is being slandered on the world stage, in the media, on our campuses, in textbooks and in classrooms.
So, what shall we do? Knowing our imperfections, our painful lack of infallibility, our deep vulnerability, what shall we do?
In 1948, Winston Churchill published a volume called The Gathering Storm wherein he described the historical events of a 21-year period leading up to war between England and Germany in the end of 1939 and the beginning of 1940.
On the title page, he helpfully summarized what would follow. It reads:
Theme of the Volume
How the English-Speaking people
Through their unwisdom
Carelessness and good nature
Allowed the wicked
To rearm.
I think about this book often – I started it when I was in high school but never actually got through it. But the most famous details – known to its readers as well as casual students of history – are simple and well known. The British knew that the Germans were arming and rearming, building up a formidable military and navy, including an impressive airforce. But they did nothing about it. They ignored this fact, downplayed this fact, and, when they were forced to deal with it, they sought a path of appeasement. Of course, in the end, even appeasement would not work and so they fought a much worse war than they would have if they would have put a stop to things in 1925 or 1930.
I think about this book because I am concerned that it is now that the next storm gathers. I worry that our enemies and their nice but useful idiot followers grow in numbers and strength while we tarry. So many have gotten to work – in letter writing, charitable giving, volunteering, missions, and much more. Yet, we have no time to waste. We must make the most of taking this fight now. If Israel does not have a strong diaspora Jewry supporting it, I fear its position – and our own position – will become far more precarious.
So, to remind ourselves of the obvious: if we are to succeed, we must continue to advocate for ourselves and our people. We must make new friends, fight our enemies, and stick to our guns.
If we are to succeed, we will need moral clarity, which will come only from increased Torah study and education.
If we are to succeed, we will need mental and spiritual health, which will come from increased prayer and a sense of community.
If we are to succeed, we must resolve to deal with this now, head-on, before it gets any worse. We cannot allow it to.
As we read in the haftara, Shabbat Nachamu from the book of Isaiah:
Listen to Me, you that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is My law. Do not fear the taunt of men, or be dismayed at their revilings.
For the moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool. But My favor shall be forever, and My salvation to all generations.
And the ransomed of Hashem shall return and come with singing to Zion, and everlasting joy shall be upon their heads. They shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
I, it is I, Who will be your consoler. Why should you fear from man who perishes, from a human who will be put in the grass?
Why should we fear them, indeed?
Before we embark on our paths in the fight over the next decades, let us put ourselves right. We may take comfort in having G-d’s promise of consolation on our side. But in addition to this, we should remember Who is it that comforts us, Who calls us, Who cares for us, Who appoints us, Who calls us to task. When we remember Him, we ground ourselves in what is important, we point ourselves in the right direction, we take His promise and hold it, and we prepare ourselves to pursue what is right, important, and wise.
Let us go in that order. First, we recall Who calls us. Then we strengthen our relationship with Him, strengthen ourselves and our community, increase our wisdom, and work from a place of strength.
