A Letter to Liberal Jews

Dear liberal Jews, 

I know the terror and shock and pain that you felt on October 7th 2023, because I felt it too. Hamas committed unspeakable war crimes and atrocities that day. 1200 Israelis were slaughtered, others were raped and beaten and abused, hundreds of thousands were displaced, and over 200 innocent people were taken hostage. It was horrific and it was sickening. We all were angry and we all wanted to bring the war criminals and terrorists responsible for the crimes committed on that day to justice.

I understand and sympathize with the desire to respond harshly to Hamas. After all, they butchered innocent people, kidnapped hundreds, left children without parents and parents without children. It is completely natural, understandable, and justifiable to want to respond to the people who do those kinds of things. It is completely understandable to view an attack on the only Jewish State as an attack on your Judaism. That point of view makes sense. It makes sense to want to stand in solidarity with that Jewish state, to wave its flag and do whatever you can to fight for it. I understand all of that and yet unfortunately, that is where my understanding with many of you ends.

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Israel had the right to respond, but two wrongs do not make a right. War crimes do not justify more war crimes. The horrors in Gaza are unspeakable and indefensible, just like the horrors committed on October 7th. Tens of thousands of innocent people have been killed. A majority of the housing in Gaza has been destroyed. The healthcare system is in ruins and diseases are spreading like wildfire. Enough food has not been let into the strip and many people in Gaza do not have enough to eat. Some have had to eat leaves. Food aid workers and doctors have been bombed and killed. Even some current ministers in Israel’s government have called Israel’s actions an ethnic cleansing. That is exactly what they are. As you read this article, Israel is currently bombing every building left in Jabalia, making it impossible for displaced innocent Palestinians to return home. 

This is the situation in Gaza right now. In any other context, none of you would defend or support this. Yet in this context, many of you do. Many of you fail to recognize the humanity of Palestinians. Many of you don’t seem to want to say that Palestinians deserve the same rights and freedoms as Israelis. Many of you, despite claiming to support social justice and human rights, throw those things out the window because you are more unwilling to criticize Israel. Many of you cling to comforting myths that most people who are against the war are just antisemitic. You insist that those who call for a ceasefire or stand up against the war in Gaza just want to deny Israelis the basic securities and freedoms that they deserve. 

Many of you end up supporting things that are harmful to Israelis as well without even realizing it. If there is one thing that liberal Jews have been consistent about, it is standing with the hostages. Almost all of you have worn yellow ribbons or prayed for the hostages in a synagogue or added to your Instagram stories about how many days the hostages have been held captive and the horrible things they are subjected to. 

Yet, most of you have been silent as Benjamin Netanyahu has intentionally sabotaged efforts to secure a hostage deal and instead pushed the idea of hostage rescues even though said rescues have actually killed hostages. Most of you have been silent as hostage families fight day in and day out for a deal to end the war and free their loved ones. Most of you have been silent as the same hostage families and their allies have been beaten in the streets of Israel by police officers as they protest for their loved ones to be brought home. Most of you have been silent as the same Israeli government that you claim everybody must support in order to stand with the hostages runs active propaganda campaigns to slander the hostage families. 

Almost all of you have been active on social media and in your lives calling for the hostages to be freed and yet way too many of you refuse to actually stand with the hostage families and instead end up abandoning them and defending a government that would probably rather see the hostages dead so they don’t have to worry about them anymore. 

Fundamentally, liberal Judaism finds itself in a crisis in America. Way too many liberal Jews currently defend the indefensible. Far too many of you have thrown your humanity and your liberal values out the window to run cover for a government run by far right violent extremist war criminals that is causing pain and suffering for Israelis and Palestinians. 

Liberal Jews who still defend the Israeli government and still push its policies and its views must change course now before it is too late. Those of you who continue to understandably want to stand in solidarity with Israel right now must remember that the best way to stand in solidarity with Israel is to stand with the hostage families. Those of you who want to just pick a side on this conflict and act as though Israel is fighting some moral and just war need to open your eyes and ears to what is going on in Gaza. You cannot ignore the truth about the atrocities that Israel is currently committing, even if it is inconvenient and challenges your worldview. 

If you want to be on the right side of history and be remembered as standing for all of humanity, many of you need to change course now, before it is too late.