Why Hold Israel to a Higher Standard
Israel is an opportunity and liability for Jews
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Jews understandably get more than a little upset that every way we turn, someone is accusing Israel of being the devil of the earth.
In response to Hamas’s unprecedented and horrific October 7 day of rapes, kidnappings, gunning down concertgoers and murdering children, Israel attacked Hamas-run Gaza with unabated force. But even before the full devastation from those attacks had unfolded over the ensuing nearly two years, Israel had already become a global pariah.
Recall there were protests against Israel on October 8.
Israel fails to reign in Jewish terrorists abusing Palestinians in the West Bank, basically giving them a green light, and one village can be front page news in the New York Times, and the main story on CNN.
It attacks Hezbollah terror positions in Lebanon, wreaking havoc on Lebanese territory, which have been used for decades to threaten Israel, and it’s cause for U.N. Security Council meetings.
The United Nations has only one special human rights organization dedicated to one group of people, UNRWA, for the Palestinians. No special human rights organization for any other group in the world.
In the meantime, the millions killed and displaced in the Sudanese conflict barely make the news. China’s harvesting of organs from Muslims was a footnote on CNN once. Over 1.5 million enslaved Black Africans in 2026. Doesn’t make our daily news feed. Cuba puts dissenters in jail and on firing squads, and you probably never even heard of it.
Iran murdered 50,000 of its own citizens, non-violent protestors, in just 2026 alone. Barely a cause for concern.
Girls are prohibited from receiving an education in Afghanistan. Nobody seems to care.
Turkey is now actively hosting and supporting terror groups, and all we can seem to muster is “oh, I’d love to see Istanbul someday.”
There’s no U.N. agency for the millions affected in Sudan. There’s no special security council meetings for Cuba. Or for women in Afghanistan.
There have been more U.N. General Assembly and Security Council resolutions about Israel than the rest of the entire world combined many times over. North Korea and Eritrea barely get mentioned.
But Israel? Israel kills 30,000 innocent civilians and another 30,000-40,000 Hamas terrorists and it’s the worst country to ever exist.
Seems like some people might have it out for the Jews if I were a betting man.
I can’t even fathom what other nations would do if they were the target of a Hamas invasion like Israel experienced on October 7. Oh wait, yes I can. September 11.
Look, I hate abuse contests. Mass killing isn’t ok no matter whether it’s tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands.
A Palestinian baby’s life is just as valuable as every other baby. And, so I reject the notion that 30,000 civilians dead isn’t a big deal. Yes, it’s bothersome that the news doesn’t distinguish between civilians and terrorists in the calculation, but let’s not get into an argument over whether 10,000+ kids dead is not a lot. Or whether completely destroying nearly everyone’s home, neighborhoods, schools and the like is just collateral damage.
People lost their entire lives. Don’t get it twisted. The resulting life-altering trauma is immeasurable.
But I do understand the frustration Jews worldwide who cringe at the unbalanced and hyper-focused treatment of Israel.
It oftentimes feels as though Jews aren’t allowed to defend themselves using any force.
I don’t side with the Jew haters who obsess over Israel, post nonstop criticism, and deny the Jewish connection to Israel, all while ignoring the rest of the world’s atrocities. It feels gross and I’ve had to disconnect from many of them. Some of them can’t wait to call out Israel all while not giving an actual shit about Palestinians.
It’s why so many of the same people are eerily silent when Hamas kills its own people. When they build terror tunnels under schools and hospitals. If this were all about Palestinians, that’d be part of the discussion, too, but it isn’t from most Palestinian advocates. It’s just about hating Israel at all costs.
But… and here’s the big but.
My standard for Israel isn’t merely that she better than the RSF in Sudan, the Taliban in Afghanistan, the Ayatollah in Iran or the Hamas death cult.
Those are all a really really really low bar.
I’m often asked by non-Jewish friends what the Jewish concept of chosen means.
Many misinterpret the concept to mean “You think you’re at the top of humanity. That you’re better than everyone.”
But that’s not what it means.
I actually never met a whole lot of Jews who think they’re better than others. Quite the opposite, there’s a tremendous amount of empathy in the Jewish community.
The word “chosen” isn’t from ancient Hebrew texts. That’s a modern word, sometimes used to mock Jews.
The word in Hebrew is actually עַם סְגֻלָּה — am segulah, which means valued nation.
If you’ve ever read any history books, “chosen” or “valued” certainly can’t and does not mean favored.
Jews have endured Holocausts, Inquisitions, Pogroms, Slavery, Farhuds, Displacement, Destruction, Terror, October 7s and every form of hate imaginable over thousands of years.
You’d have to be living under a rock to think that chosen always means something good for the Jews.
Valued or chosen doesn’t mean automatic greatness. Plenty of Jews, just like every other group of humans, do great and sadly many others don’t, some even doing awful things.
What 3,000 years of Jewish tradition teaches at its core is that valued means responsibility.
Valued for the capacity to do the work. To serve.
That if a Jew is living up to this concept, living up to his or her value, they will take responsibility to repair and heal this world. To address injustices, not cause them. To advocate for equity, not foster inequities. To solve human suffering, not add to it.
For three millennia, the Jewish people are also referred in texts as Israel. The Israelites if you recall Sunday school.
That designation. To be called Israel. Is itself a heavy burden, and no slumber party.
Israel, the Hebrew יִשְׂרָאֵל — Yisra’el (Israel) is traditionally connected to the root שׂ־ר־ה / שׂרה, meaning to struggle, contend, strive.
In Genesis 32:29, the Jewish forefather Jacob is renamed Israel after wrestling with the mysterious angel:
כִּי־שָׂרִיתָ עִם־אֱלֹהִים וְעִם־אֲנָשִׁים וַתּוּכָל
ki sarita im Elohim ve-im anashim vatukhal
“For you have struggled with God and with men and have prevailed.”
So, the essence of the Jewish people is to contend and struggle with the problems of the world. To wrestle with them and God. And then to make things right.
Some scholars and commentators have also drawn a wordplay connection between Israel and the Hebrew root for ‘straight’ or ‘upright.’ The Hebrew root: י־שׁ־ר (Y-Sh-R) for יָשָׁר (Yashar) is contained within the word Israel יִשְׂרָאֵל too. Teaching again that a Jew’s responsibility is to take the straight and upright path in life.
Of course, everyone can and should work to undo injustices. Jew or not. Everyone should endeavor to walk the straight path of life. We all have the capacity to do right.
“Chosenness”, though, places that heavy demand and responsibility on Jews in their holy books. Not as an elective. Not as a slight against others. But the demand is so high that if us Jews fail, it ain’t gonna end well says ancient texts.
Many Jews take that charge seriously.
That’s the reason I get more upset and doubly angry at Israeli policies than I am about Russia’s. More despondent over Israeli policy than I am how Egypt regularly jails dissenters. More livid with Netanyahu than I am with other bad so-called leaders.
It’s frankly embarrassing when Israel does wrong.
Of course I want Russia to leave Ukraine alone. And of course it’s unacceptable how many people Russia has killed. I’ve written about the tragedy in Sudan. I would love the world to put an end to it.
Sudanese, Kurdish and Chinese children are just as valuable as Palestinian kids.
But when my brethren who are supposed to be taking responsibility for fixing things are mass bombing and abusing our Arab cousins, it hits me to the core.
And therein lies both the opportunity and liability, the blessing and the curse, of regaining independence in Israel after centuries.
It’s an opportunity to do great in the world and shine.
To do things like cure cancers, which Israel has done. To send disaster relief teams everywhere from Haiti to Colombia to Turkey all of which it has done. To provide farming expertise to dozens of African nations, which it has done. To invent things like the cell phone and drip irrigation technology, which it has done. To lead the world in desalination technology so water-starved places can survive, which Israel has done.
But when Israel doesn’t shine. When it levels 90% of the Gaza Strip to the point it may take 100 years to rebuild. When Jewish settlers abuse, beat and take land from Palestinians in the West Bank. When it confiscates more and more land from Palestinians. When it thinks it can just bomb its way to security. When it no longer pursues peace.
When it doesn’t lead.
It betrays the very responsibility it was charged with.
It’s bad for Israel. It’s bad for the entire Jewish nation everywhere. And it’s bad for the world.
We owe it to the survival of our people if nothing else to hold Israel to a higher standard than Hamas, the Taliban or Boko Haram.
