It’s not always about them: It’s about who we want to be

This is about as political as I’m ever going to express myself publicly but I feel like I have to say a few things.`

I often try to not take a stand as to not turn someone off from everything I do comedically but my conscience is clear here. I believe there is nothing right-wing or left-wing about trying to hold ourselves to a high moral standard.

If I strive to be a mensch and be the best human being I can be, I only wish the same for my fellow countrymen and my country itself.

If someone disagrees, well, I guess I can live with it.

This morning, I saw the following Tweet from Rabbi Daniel Gordis:

We say we're better than this. Test will be how hard we look for the Jewish perpetrators of this morning's apparent revenge killing.

— Daniel Gordis (@DanielGordis) July 2, 2014

It turns out that an Arab teenager was found dead this morning in the Jerusalem Forest and at the police suspect that it might have been a revenge killing.

Within minutes, the talkbacks of the Times of Israel were filled with defensive comments telling us not to rush to judgment, accusing TOI of being a mouthpiece for Haaretz (which I guess is two insults wrapped in one), claims that Arabs did this (amazing how this journalistic dynamo got the lowdown before the police), and more. Never mind that they were reporting what the police suspected, apparently the idea that Jews could be responsible was too much to consider and that, hey, let’s indict the whole news site for even suggesting it.  We don’t yet know what happened; let’s pray it wasn’t an act of revenge.  That said….

Rabbi Gordis is 100 percent right and it’s already clear that many Jews have already failed the test. I am sick and tired of the total inability of too many people to look in the mirror and realize that this conflict is not only about the Palestinians.

How does someone miss the irony of claiming on Facebook that “we’re better than them”, “we are a people of love, not hate”, and wondering why they hate us all in the same breath as “let’s turn Gaza into a parking lot” and “let’s kill them all”?

We clamor for the Palestinians to take responsibility for their actions, to bring terrorists to justice, to condemn perpetrators of horrible crimes. When Jews are rioting in Jerusalem chanting “death to Arabs” and attacking innocent bystanders, they must be condemned. If it turns out that the Arab boy was killed in an act of revenge, it must be condemned. Not only by the government, but by all of us. On Facebook. In Shabbat dinner conversations. In our minds. It doesn’t matter that they killed three of ours, an unspeakable, horrible tragedy. It doesn’t matter that Arafat said no in 2000 at Camp David. It doesn’t matter that Hamas are rejectionist animals.  Those have nothing to do with the killing of a boy. It doesn’t make us weaker or compromise our values to be human and acknowledge suffering when it exists on the other side.

We claim to be better than they are. Are we?  Those who commit these heinous crimes surely aren’t. If we can’t look in the mirror, take responsibility for our actions, admit that we are also capable of terrible things, admit that our actions contribute to making things worse, then are we sure? This is not the time to answer “yes” and point out all the ways we are better. It’s not always about them. It’s about us too.

Marc Goldberg wrote a blog post yesterday on the Times of Israel saying that we need to be careful in how we respond to the kidnappings and murders as to not make things worse. On Facebook, he was attacked by people saying “it wasn’t the right time to talk politics” and by the way, he has no place writing for the Times of Israel, he’s a “douchebag”, on and on.  First of all, I’ve already made my feelings clear about internet talkbackers. Express your thoughts respectfully or shut up.

That aside, has anyone noticed that the only time that it’s ok to talk politics after a tragedy is when you agree with the viewpoint? It’s one thing to disagree with his opinion. It’s another to be so threatened by self-critique that you lose all civility and tolerance for opinions that don’t jibe with yours. Of course, many who said it wasn’t the time to express political viewpoints often had no problem expressing their own viewpoints about revenge, vengeance, more building of settlements, and on and on.

A friend in America wrote on FB that she was nervous and frustrated about an escalation with Gaza and someone responded with “Don’t be either. We can take it and we have to kick ass.” Who are we, Rambo? Who ISN’T frustrated?!?! When I am no longer frustrated by the situation here, either we’ve made peace or send me back to America because I don’t want to live here anymore.

It’s clear to me that I’ve been going some kind of a crisis of identity over the last year. It’s not because I think the Palestinians love us, that I like the idea of withdrawing to the ’67 borders, or that I think President Barack Obama is the biggest Zionist since David Ben-Gurion. It’s not only about anyone else. It’s about us also. It’s about people accusing the Arabs of X, Y, and Z while being completely unable to recognize elements of racism, obstructionism, hypocrisy, or other flaws within us. It’s people who demand that the other side hear, learn, and recognize our narrative while having their heads 100% in the clouds about the plight of those on the other side.  I don’t know if this makes me left-wing, moderate, or a member of the Shas party, and I don’t care.  If I read an article with thought-provoking ideas, I will consider it and internalize it whether it was written by Gideon Levy or Caroline Glick.  I believe we need to be more open to other perspectives, not less.  And if we want the Palestinians to learn our narrative (I think we do), it wouldn’t kill us to listen to theirs.  We don’t have to like it, we don’t have to agree with it (I certainly don’t agree with a lot or most of it), but I now believe it’s more complicated than I thought when I moved here.

Everything is not a comparison. If a Jew vandalizes a mosque, burns a field of olive trees, throws someone in jail without due process and basic human rights, it doesn’t matter that the Arabs said no in ’48, attacked us in ’67, or blew up buses during the Second Intifada. It’s not always about moral equivalence. Sometimes it’s about taking responsibility for ourselves and not always pointing to what they’re doing.

If Jews can’t find it in their hearts to criticize ourselves for rioting, price tag attacks, murder, etc., what kind of Jews are we really?