We need an adult in the room II

This week marked the one-year anniversary of the October 7^th, 2023, Hamas attack on Israelis in the Gaza Envelope.  It takes place at a particularly poignant time in the Jewish Year, the week between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, when almost all Jews religious and non-religious take stock of their lives and reflect on the past year.  This week, as part of the government’s commemoration of the worst disaster the Jewish people have experienced since the holocaust, the Israeli cabinet viewed the graphic video of the “Horrors of October 7^th” prepared by the IDF.  In addition to the horrific images from that day and the days which followed, the video was interspersed with clips from hostages in captivity pleading with the Israeli government to not abandon them and to free them. By all accounts, the cabinet ministers were shocked and moved by what they witnessed in the video.

The following is the English translation of the letter I sent to Member of Knesset Aryeh Deri, Chair of the SHAS party.  As I said in my previous blog, I believe that Aryeh Deri, more than any other Israeli politician, right now, can impact a ceasefire/hostage deal.  As we approach Yom Kippur, I urge others to write a letter of their own to MK Deri urging him to reach deep into his heart, listen to his Jewish values and demand a deal to end the suffering of the hostages and all peoples in this region.   MK Deri’s email:  aderey@knesset.gov.il

Dear Member of Knesset Aryeh Deri

I have never voted for SHAS nor am I ever likely to vote for SHAS. I have a great deal of respect, however, for what you and SHAS have done for Sephardic and Mizrachi Jews in Israel, a community which has been discriminated against and locked out of the Israeli power structure for many years. SHAS has been a strong voice for your sector’s interests and fought hard for acceptance and equality. SHAS has also ensured that Jewish values, especially those represented by Sephardic Judaism are part of the fabric of life in Israel.

I am a secular leaning Israeli Jew who lives on a kibbutz in the far south of Israel. Though my political views are very different from yours, I believe that we share many common values.  I made Aliyah to Israel in 1978 to Kibbutz Ketura which was founded by Americans who believed in tolerance and that religious and non-religious Jews could live together.  Even after 50 years, our community maintains its pluralist lifestyle nurturing respect for Jewish tradition and Jewish values while not forcing anything on anyone. I believe that there is a strong element of tolerance in the teachings of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, one of the founders of the SHAS movement, which resonates with my own Jewish values.  Another important Jewish value which I believe I share with both the great Rabbi and with his son, the former Chief Sephardic Rabbi, Yitzhak Yosef is the sanctity of life and the importance of saving innocent lives, especially the redemption of captives. Recently, Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef declared that it was permissible to release terrorists with “blood on their hands” to save the lives of the hostages.

Our country is in crisis. Many of us feel that by failing to bring home the hostages, our government is failing in its most basic responsibility to its citizens. You are a seasoned politician who has sat in many governments and been part of critical decisions which have shaped the country’s history and character.  We need your experience and your wisdom now more than ever. With 11 mandates, SHAS has the power to push the government to do the right thing and reach a ceasefire/hostage deal with our enemies. You must help Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stand up to forces within his government dragging Israel into an endless war which will destroy our economy, sacrifice many young lives on the battlefield and abandon our hostages in Gaza.  We are depending on you to be the adult in the room.  Please do not let us down.

Gmar Hatima Tova,

Dr. David Lehrer

Kibbutz Ketura

D.N. Eilot