If and when you read this letter you will know I am speaking to you. You are a brilliant woman with a superior intellect and have so proven via your many books and important projects which you undertook. Many, in fact, have benefited from them. You were brave and bold in your work; However, I am troubled by a recent stance regarding the State of Israel and the state of its people, its citizens, our people.
We both attended the same high school, grew up in the same neighborhood, albeit I have a few more years under my belt. We have corresponded and I have followed your sites and works. We are essentially the same in background, at least on the outside. I heard and continue to hear what you wrote and can make no judgment. I was not inside that closed door. However, I know that there is an anger dormant within, and I believe that anger has been eating away at your peace of mind for decades.
Nor do I know whether you have attempted to address it or not. Again, I don't know, and it's not my business, but I do believe that your hurts, your anger have come to the surface, seeking outlets. And finding the wrong ones, the wrong targets. Even as you bring forth words of disappointment or anger or concern or condemnation, it will not relieve that anger. In fact, I think that unless it is addressed directly no holds barred along with a support system, it won't go away and the feelings about which you wrote will not go away
Why subject yourself to nasty comments when you write your opinion about what you have the absolute right to bring forth? However, as we learned in high school, in elementary school, that when one is disappointed in something and goes to an extreme to address that disappointment, or whatever it is masking in order to get to the right path, one must go to the other extreme, which I think you have, and finally, come down to the middle, the Golden path, the Golden Way, rational, centrist, able to hear both sides of an argument and deal with it. Without nasty words, without tempers exploding. And with understanding
So here is the topic of which you have been writing very much of late. And that is as it should be, for we all are Jews, be we in Galut or in our homeland, and yes, it is our homeland, now and forever. We must all be concerned for what affects one Jew inevitably, indubitably, will affect all other Jews. Hate moves quickly over oceans and over mountains. Hate finds homes in the crooked hearts of those who only wish the worst upon those they hate, who claim unrealistic and historically inaccurate facts, and that hate grows with deeper roots, illogical at times, many times, growing in vitriol and exploding with desire to wreak havoc, shed blood and horrify and demoralize the enemy. They do so in the name of whatever excuse is ginned up, or even no excuse at all, an exponential factor of hate or simply put, hate on crack.
Those who claim to be Palestinians pull out their bank of excuses. They claim that, once upon a time they lived in a land of milk and honey where every family had its own beautiful home, shaded by the trees of oranges and dates with terrace farming all around. Truly a land which gave forth a wondrous bounty and to prove all this, inevitably, emerges the rusty key. I'm not quite sure why every single key is rusty, but perhaps one of the projects that can be undertaken is to literally delve into the mystery of these keys, for they are a dime a dozen in 'antique' stores. I too have an iron key someplace in my house, in my American home, not my Israeli house, bought many, many years ago. No home found.
But let's look at the truth here. Mark Twain, Lord Oliphant from England, and many others traveled through the Holy Land, as they called it, quite popular to do so at that time. They make no mention of those Edenic properties. The land of milk and honey - oops, not quite. Mark Twain called it the land with sackcloth for the Lord has deserted it and will not be rejuvenated until its people - Jews - return. How quaint, how accurate.
Where did all of these claimed Palestinian farmers originate? They originated under the rule of the Turkish Ottoman Empire. Knowing this area needed population, to be modernized, the population came about via invitation, presentation as a way out of the life of poverty in the lands of Arabia, and for Jews needing out of the hopelessness of Europe and so they came. Jews bought land, much from absent effendis of greater Syria, worked hard, failed and succeeded, and built a land, a home, replete with a prosperous agriculture sector and built cities from sand dunes, rejuvenated small villages into thriving centers. And here we are today. Fighting over this land.
One side craving peace, singing songs of peace and building the land they had never deserted. At the ready to fight for it, to defend it. The other side, hungry for perhaps a better future, or in obeyance to their effendi employers, came as well, but did not invest the same way, did not do the work necessary, or were kept down by their masters. The same opportunities. One side prospered, the other did not, for the most part.
Actually, they have continued to waste billions of dollars afforded to them, poured those funds into fancy homes for 'leaders', into tunnels of death, into training of terrorists, cultivating a culture of hate, into stockpiles of arms rather than investing these funds into a true education, into agriculture, into industry. They chose a life of jihad and shaheed, of fedayeen and terrorist, a culture of death and waste of opportunities. Jews invested in effort and money and passion to turn this nation covered in sackcloth back into a nation, a land of milk and honey, as promised.
There was cooperation and there was lack of cooperation. There were times of cold war and of hot, of outright warfare, declared or not. Funds deliberately wasted in corruption and its disastrous results, ever feeding them a diet of false claims of always having been there, be it Gaza or Judea and Samaria or Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
From the time of Aliyah Bet and the bloody opposition of Arabia, the attacks of the 1880s, to the slaughter in Hebron of 1929, to the consistent attacks till WWII where they bargained and colluded with Hitler, to the lost at Yad Mordechai, the slaughter of Jews of Old Jerusalem, of Gush Etzion, of medical personnel trying to reach Hadassah Hospital - as agreed to - dead, in vicious attack. All through the years, constant attempts to destroy the nation State of Israel.
Through multiple wars waged against the State of Israel, a bloody history till we reach October 7, 2023. A day of massacre, of barbaric slaughter of children, of elderly, of women, of the ill, burned, butchered, torched and tortured, abused and held as hostages in conditions rivaling those of the concentration camps of Nazi Germany. All enabled and condoned by many nations of the world. The loss of life, the violent shedding of Jewish blood, shrugged off, part of the cost of doing business. From the world, from the UN, from the Red Cross - dead silence unless it is to scold and threaten Israel, again and again, to ignore - or even cheer on.
It was at this point in time that the State of Israel became known as the Jewish State of Israel, distinguished from all other nations in the world. A vicious spiral, toxic rising tide of Anti Semitism, of deep JewHatred surfaced from its stinking holes, well planned, well controlled and coordinated, funded by Iran, manned by the thousands of Hamas terrorists, their 'not so innocent civilians' who joined in the "fun” of October 7, the Houties, Hezbollah. Hate round the world, in motion and planning for years, attempts and successes in co-opting universities and stupid kids who know naught of what they are buying into, nourishing with their participation.
Once again, the world stands by as oral, vocal, loud and ugly prejudice grows in volume and threat until it reaches the inevitable level of death, not 'merely' to the citizens of Israel, but to Jews round the world - legal prey, apparently, for nothing happens other than a 5-minute piece on the news, if that long, and then, well, life moves on, does it not. The crocodile tears of the leaders dry up and then - the next hit and the next with no end in sight.
Now, there is an almost complete denial of reality as to who started this war and what has happened as a result. Criminal barbaric savage behavior of Hamas and supporters, engaged in the brutal kidnapping of civilians and young soldiers to an existence in hell. Flaunted in the face of the world and hear back ... Silence.
From time immemorial, Arabs and their allies and enablers have attacked Israel. It did not come overnight. Fedayeen. Terrorists. Shaheed. The name matters not, only the awful results and the silence is deafening. By name or anonymous, it matters not a whit.
In fact, Arabs have been attacking Israel, refusing honest negotiations, refusing all offers, always seeking pity and approval, using gross falsehoods in the quest for more funding. Their true intent is not for a piece of land but for all the land. No more Israel, and perhaps no more Jews. There is no other reason why they refused to accept the offers. They claim they want land for peace, but even when they had land, it was used as a base for terrorism. There was no peace; they want no peace, no actual peace.
Your Palestinian friends, some of whom may actually want peace, ask them to condemn October 7th. Ask them to publicly admit that Hamas started the war. Ask them to publicly admit that Hamas is guilty of war crimes. Ask them to condemn the taking of hostages and the treatment given to them during their horrific imprisonment. Held in cages, chained, starved, beaten, lied to in every which way possible. Ask your Palestinian friends to admit to this.
Nobody in their right mind condones the killing of innocent civilians. But those who ran after the initial terrorists, shrieking, shooting their guns off, boasting to their parents how many Jews they killed, how many cars they're bringing back, how much clothing, how many radios, how many TVS they are bringing home, how many lies have they brought forth? From October 8th on inevitable famine predicted - two days coming, 6 weeks coming, soon upon us, soon, a few weeks, now a few months - actually - never. There are no 40,000+ babies in danger. Packs and packs of lies.
Has the government of Israel, the army of Israel, made some errors? For sure they have. No war can be fought perfectly. War itself is imperfect. It is a failure of human beings. However, it is not for the instigator of the war, nor the loser in the war to dictate terms to the victor. It is not for them to demand thousands of terrorists be released for one hostage. There is no other nation, no other army, that knocks on roofs, that sends down pamphlets, that calls people on the phone that do everything they can to warn people, to leave the area, to go far from it, from the leaders, the remnants of Hamas, cowering in abject fear for their lives. Cowards hiding behind the captives, using civilians as weapons of war, even as they do with mosques, hospitals, centers, schools, private homes, and the callous use of children as shields and messengers.
So yes, we admit mistakes, more civilians killed, caught, no, deliberately placed in the crossfire. But who put them in a continuous chain of perils of Pauline? Who used civilian infrastructure as basis for aggression and murder? Who is it that demands that Israel be punished and ostracized, deemed a pariah among nations. Why? For defending itself? Wishing to prevent another such massive massacre? We grieve our errors. Now have your friends, your women friends, your women Palestinian friends, admit to the wrongs done on their side. Ask them to answer honestly. Would you be willing to share in a nation that is a Jewish state. Why it is so terrible to be called a Jewish state? In fact, maybe it is, because though we used to be the State of Israel. now we are the Jewish State of Israel.
Is there something wrong in being a Jew? I hope not. I think not .But in your letters, in your essays, well written, passionate, but many times there is a feeling that comes across, that you are ashamed of being Jewish. That you would accept claims against the Jewish people, Way over and above and beyond claims launched against those who would kill them. Do you understand that the vociferous outpouring of Israelis who shout of what they know not embolden and strengthen our enemies?
This campaign began years ago, infiltrated the colleges and universities with professors and assistants who spout forth the Arab view and vigorously condemn and accuse Israel of terrible deeds. The Moslem view who say "Allahu Akbar" when they heard of October 7. Who come here to this country to 'study', as one is here since 2008. Studying? Really? Is he that dumb, or are we? There is a purpose behind it all, a managing hand behind all the tents that came out at the same time. All the signs that came out at the same time. All the chants of hate and provocation? All the face masks and kaffiyahs making their appearance at the same time? No, there is definitely a devilish genius behind this plot of interference with our national ethos, of hate and provocation. I think there is truly deep organizational interference.
When one reaches this side of life and delves into one's being, one often finds that opinions once held fiercely, unequivocally, in younger years, have changed. Some have gone away totally. Others have morphed. They become gentler. Some have become not so gentle. The changes can confuse one for how did this happen and how did we not notice? We begin to question ourselves, overwhelm our confidence and certainty. It ties our hands and feet and mind and thoughts.
At times depression can follow. One cuts oneself off from society at large, wishing to talk to no one. We allow feelings of confusion and disconcertment to surface. We take on and buoy some inappropriate thoughts, so far removed from who we are.
Think, my friend of passion and big heart, think. You are so bright, a brilliant writer, possessed of an excellent education and background. Why then allow others to take over your assets and tell you they have the same dream as you, as we all do. Yes, we have extremists, and they should shut up, so inappropriate and demoralizing although they do have the right to speak. But every time we say crazy things, either on the left or the right we are only shooting ourselves in the foot. At this point in time you are one of those misaiming, demoralizing for both the right and the wrong reasons. Do not negate yourself in the hopes of finding another place for yourself. You already have a wonderful place. You already have a high opinion held about you, for all that you have done. Why throw it away? Take a step back. Ask questions. Write of productive ideas and criticisms. Talk softly, softly for when we shout at people, they do not hear what we have to say. That is a tragedy on and for all sides.
I wish you only good health, a free and flying high spirit, and a continuation of the positive career as a writer and social critic. You have given much to the world through your writing. Do not trash it all with a fierce not totally thought-out attack on your own people. We are not perfect and for sure, neither are our foes. Follow your current thread of thought. all the issues that might be complicating clarity.
Our Arab citizens are well interwoven into the fabric of the life of the state of Israel. They walk and work freely among us. We must condemn the viral contagion of extremism on both ends of the political spectrum.
Think. Yesterday, today, and tomorrow are contingent upon each other. We cannot rip them apart, asunder, shred our history. No way. No how.
Come back to us. We miss you,
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