One can say as easily as the title that it is the same old, same old. Or one could testify to the truth of that awful adage that when it is bad for the Jews, it is good for the Jews and vice versa. We are living in such a time. Any movement in any direction seems fraught with danger.
It is clear as glass when looking backwards, growing ever clearer in the present, even to Deniers, and unfortunately the clarity of those growing glass panels and mirrors of the future is clear to anyone who will not deny the evidence of the eyes. Seen in the glass are the tropes of old redressed in very thin new clothing and the monsters of the unknown await, champions of what should have long ago been trashed, discarded for all time.
A growing number of opinion pieces, written and spoken are merging in concern and topic. That in itself is a miracle as we Jews love the art of arguing, gets the brain working, does it not!! Yet in our time there is a merging of concern, from right to left and back again. That concern is now penetrating the thickest skulls around.
The Year American Jews Woke Up
In a Post-October 7 World, American Jews Face a Crisis of Confidence
As clear as glass, as obvious as the nose on one's face. The stinking choking odor of the sulphureous fires of Hell permeates the air in growing intensity. One article is written by a classic moderate/ conservative and the other is written by a long-time member of the liberal crowd. Both are proud Jews, yet always there was a distinct difference in their concerns and responses to issues of life.
Not now. No longer.
“To have been born a Jew is the single most fortunate thing that ever happened to me. It is a priceless moral, spiritual, intellectual and emotional inheritance from my ancestors, some of whom were slaughtered for it. It a precious bequest to my children. ... To be a Jew obliges us to many things particularly our duty to be our brother's and sister's keeper. That means never to forsake one another, much less to join in the vilification of our own people. It means to participate in the long struggle for our survival not only against enemies who mean us harm, but also against those who excuse those enemies or those whose moral apathy speeds their way. And it means to embrace often as a thoughtful critic, but never as a hateful scold - the great, complicated, essential project of a Jewish state. To imagine we can do without it is to forget how close we came to extinction before it was born.
October 7 shook our illusions and reawakened us to where we stand as a diasporic community. Now we must reckon with who we are and what we must do."
"For American Jews, the past year exposed the persistence of Jew-hatred constantly bubbling under the surface of Western societies that we thought was mostly suppressed. It is not that we were oblivious to the still-existing hostility. We remember the Pittsburgh synagogue massacre well. We vividly recall the "Jews will not replace us" chants from Charlottesville. But in terms of our daily routines, most of us related to Jew-hatred as we relate to our own mortality: We know it is inevitable, but we convince ourselves that, somehow, it will not happen to me. ...
One of the saddest developments since October 7 is the shock experienced by American Jews, who, for the first time in their lives, are encountering pervasive antisemitism. The realization that age-old hatreds are still alive and kicking, even in America, thrust American Jews into a crisis of confidence. We are beginning to hear eerie echoes of Europe, the haunting howls of hatred that brought our ancestors to these shores in the first place."
Both Bret Stephens and Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch agree re the harm and a fear now felt and experienced by American Jews and the necessity, the permanence of Israel in our lives. I thank them for their words and wisdom and am thankful for the opportunity to present them to you. It is well worth your while to seek their entire pieces and then share them with as many as you can. Their titles are in the blog.
Obviously, while I might differ with some statements they do make, here or elsewhere, the crux of the matter is beyond debate.
"But American Jews will not debate whether the Jewish state, of all the countries of the world, has a right to exist. We will not debate whether we have a right to national dignity and self-determination. If we cannot persuade you to leave us alone, we will defend ourselves. What other choice is there? We have already tried everything else. The days of prostrating before marauding murderers are over.
Wherever individual Jews decide to live, Israel is the last stop for the Jewish people. There is nowhere else to go. We are open to all discussions related to coexistence. We will not debate with you national suicide."
Israel the state and Israel the people will survive.
Period.
End of discussion.
May the Lord remember us, watch over us and keep us safe.
May we all find our way to peace.
Quickly.
In our time.
Amen. Selah.
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