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Anton Marks

A Time for Hope

Photo Credit: Haley Black (Free to use: https://www.pexels.com)

Bar the years each of my parents passed, this has been the hardest year of my life, by far.

It’s hard to put into words what it has been like, maybe because it’s been a persistent feeling, rather than a description of concrete events.

Nor myself, my family or friends have been physically hurt in the past year, which I think is exceptional for a Jewish-Israeli, but nevertheless the emotional toll on me has been staggering.

The sense of loss, sadness and helplessness has sometimes been overwhelming, and having always taken my mental health for granted before, it feels like uncharted territory for me. Maybe it’s because I have managed to largely suppress the experience of living in Jerusalem in 1999/2000, at the time of the suicide bus bombings.

So what is it that troubles me the most?

Clearly the trauma of the savagery of that day a year ago is up there, the fate of the hostages, as well as the subsequent pain of a war being fought on multiple fronts intensifies.

But the feeling that I have in the pit of my stomach is the lingering recognition that being a Jew on planet earth is to be hated, persecuted, scapegoated and yes, also massacred.

Still.

Lincoln famously said that we cannot escape history, and my hot take is that Jews are an exquisite example of this.

But it’s certainly not for lack of trying: Assimilationism, Territorialism, Zionism, Messianism, Emigration, Revisionism, Reform Judaism, Ultra-Orthodoxy, Socialism, Bundism are just some of the methods the Jews have employed in order to escape our history. And whilst some have been more successful than others in carving out a space for Jews in the modern world, none of them have guaranteed the physical safety of the Jew – none of them.

But despite the desperate reality, there is still room for optimism and plenty to be grateful for:

– We are a resilient people. We will dance again!

– The solidarity shown within civil society has been incredible – when the State largely disappears, people step up to provide support and whatever is needed, both in Israel and in the Diaspora.

– The stories of heroism, selflessness and bravery, starting from that very dark day, inspires and reminds me that we should keep our faith in human beings, no matter how depraved we can be at our lowest.

– Despite our misguided leadership, we can have empathy with the pain of others, we can overcome the desire for revenge, we can strive for peace and justice and we can choose life over death. It’s hard work, but there are enough of us showing that it’s possible.

– I believe that the two peoples of this land can live together – just as well because neither of us are going anywhere. The extremists and the terrorists are the minority – albeit a very noisy minority, but a minority nevertheless.

– The perseverance of saying no, not in our name. Those Jews calling for a ceasefire, calling for a hostage deal, calling for this government to go home, is unprecedented in its scale and scope. Week after week, hundreds of thousands of people have hit the streets, continually refusing to be resigned to the current dreadful reality manufactured by our ‘leaders’.

– For the vast majority of our history, when faced with persecution, our people went like sheep to the slaughter, unable to defend ourselves against the world against us. Now, and I’m not in any shape or form a militaristic person or am condoning arbitrary acts of violence, but I’m also not naive enough to believe that pacifism is relevant in the quagmire which is the Middle East. So yes, I’m proud of the Iron Dome, I’m proud of our soldiers and I’m proud of our ability to strike those before they are able to fulfil their desires to kill this or any other Jew. I want to stress that this strength doesn’t mean that we don’t also have weaknesses, and nor does it mean that this strength is not also sometimes misused, but even post 7.10, I can sleep safer in my home today than a Jew in pretty much any period of history anywhere on the planet, whether it be 1940’s Central Europe, 1890’s Eastern Europe, the Medieval period, in the Muslim and Arab World, Christian Europe etc etc etc. Whilst the USA has been the land where relatively little Jewish blood has been spilt, anti-Semitism today is as high there as it has ever been, even in relation to those difficult days of the late 19th / early 20th century when Jews arrived to a less than cordial welcome.

So where does all this leave me as a Jewish-Israeli in 2024 on the eve of the one year anniversary of 7.10?

– It leaves me emotionally still unable to bear witness to the terrible events of that day – avoiding TV, radio and in-person accounts of those barbarous acts.

– The near constant sounds of fighter jets overhead, interspersed with booms from exploding missiles is now my day to day reality, and it makes concentrating on anything substantive a real challenge.

– I worry for my fellow Jews around the world, who once more feel terribly uneasy being who they are openly. Studies from US college campuses in the past year and the British JPR report released yesterday are testament to a contemporary Jewish anxiety.

– I will continue to work, with my partners, towards a better reality for all. Whilst many have held their hands up in resignation, I still believe there are enough of us that are willing to put in the spadework to fulfill this inherent optimism.

– Too many innocent people are losing their lives needlessly. We must forge a new Middle East where extremism is marginalised and working together is encouraged.

Thanks if you got this far. I don’t pretend to have all the answers, but what I do know is that this dark period will end, and it’s a choice as to what comes next.

About the Author
Anton Marks is a British-born Israeli and a founder member of the largest urban kibbutz in Israel. He has been an informal educator for the last 25 years, and his passion for Zionist education, Tikkun Olam, peace activism, Jewish history, identity and culture are a recipe for engaging and challenging articles.
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