All in the Family
A friend sent me an article from Israel National News that fit right in with an idea I had to write about. The article, “Spielberg uses Schindler’s List money to fund anti-Israel protests”, provides a perfect example of a very serious problem. Some Jews of note and prominence – movie and music people, politicians and pundits – are openly critical of Israel in the present conflict in Gaza. They freely use terms such as famine, ethnic-cleansing and genocide. This is kind of a personal direct plea from me – this needs to stop.
It begins with the fact that you are Jews. It is a healthy thing when one looks out for one’s own. That would begin with the benefit of doubt. A lot of things are reported from a lot of different sources. How are you so sure that the most negative are the most accurate? It is not as if your access to information is limited.
Which brings me to the next point. As with your access to information, so too is your access to the country. Come here and see for yourselves. There are plenty of places to stay that would meet your standard, and you might learn a thing or two.
One of those things is that you have nothing to feel guilty about. It’s ok, Jews are allowed to win. It’s ok that we stop others from trying to kill us. And we are not required to allow them to continue to try. It is not we who put those civilians in the line of fire; it is not we who are hiding behind those civilians; it is not we who stand to gain from civilian casualties. We don’t like it any more than you do. I have said it before, and I will say it again: Anyone who has any concern for the civilians in Gaza should be calling for their evacuation. Get them out of the war zone, to a place where they will be safe, and able to receive humanitarian aid unfettered by Hamas confiscation. Where? That is not the concern. The point is to pressure those who could but choose not to grant refuge to those people. Making Israel responsible for the safety of Hamas’ protection is, to say the least, counterintuitive. In fact, it constitutes aiding and abetting the war crime that Hamas is perpetrating on the civilians in Gaza.
The good news is, YOU can help get them out of the way. Instead of reinforcing Hamas’ supporters – and fighters – by being critical of us, by using language that describes the enemy’s intent for us to describe us, use that notoriety to help us out. Because think what you like, but the fact is, we are one. They treat us that way, so maybe it’s time to start acting that way.