Clear and Present Danger
Israeli-Palestinian peace conference in the Menora Arena calling for an end to the war and a solution to the conflict, Tel Aviv, July 1, 2024. (Photo, Oren Ziv)
Dear friends,
Please forgive me in advance for stepping out this week of my rabbinic frame of mind and inhabiting my position as a concerned Israeli living in the US. I won’t be invoking the tradition today, which means I won’t be talking about morality, humanity, responsibility and love. I won’t be writing about the horrific realities of this war on Palestinians, which we all need to name and face. I won’t be talking about Hamas. I won’t be writing about America. Today, I will simply be writing about the Jews of Israel and the very real danger they are in.
“Hamas’ new response to the offer of the mediators in the negotiations sparked deep disagreements between the PM, Benjamin Netanyahu and all the heads of the security forces.” This line, published yesterday by Amos Harel, one of Israel’s leading military analysts, captures much about the current state of affairs in Israel. Netanyahu is one of the few people still in favor of continuing the war. He seems to be working to scuttle the agreement to release the hostages, while all of the leaders of security forces want this deal. All of them. These are not soft people. They are not dreamers. They are hardened generals and heads of intelligence operations who are meant to protect the country. This is because they see a real and immediate danger to the country if this war continues.
Alarm bells have been ringing for many months. More and more voices in Israel have been calling for de-escalation. Op-eds came out in the last month by two former Israeli Prime Ministers with titles like “We Are in a True Emergency Situation. We Must Lay Siege to the Knesset and Bring Down this Government.” This from a former Ehud Barak, the former IDF Chief of Staff, Minister of Defense and Prime Minister. Ehud Olmert, another former Prime Minister, who spent most of his career in Netanyahu’s Likud party, recently wrote: “Netanyahu wants Israel’s destruction. No Less.”
What is that clear and present danger? There are many dangers, but the leading one is a second war in Lebanon. Yesterday, over 2000 rockets were fired at Israel from Hizballah. 2000 rockets! If they start using their longer-range missiles, they could destroy Tel Aviv. Hizballah is likely to use those missiles if and when Israel launches a ground offensive. Netanyahu seems intent on doing that despite clear signs from Hizballah that it will stop attacking if a truce is reached in Gaza.
This week I heard Amira Hass speak. Amira has been writing for Haaretz for decades and is a unique voice among Israeli and Palestinian journalists. The daughter of two Holocaust survivors, she lived in Gaza for several years, and today she lives in Ramallah. She knows the Palestinian viewpoint from the inside, as well as the Israeli one. Her message this week: You should be deeply concerned about the possibility of huge numbers of Jews being killed in Israel, that will make October 7th seem minor, because the leaders of the Jewish community of Israel are creating conditions that can easily lead to another catastrophe. To prevent this, we need to apply very real pressure on Israel’s government to make a deal and end this war.
I don’t know who still supports this war. It has brought back seven hostages (all the others came back through a negotiated deal) and killed dozens of them, if not more.
In the first four days of July, it has claimed the lives of the following Israeli soldiers:
20 year old Eyal Mimran, killed in Sheja’iya
21 year old Roy Miller, killed in Northern Gaza.
21 year old Elay Elisha Lugassi, killed in Northern Gaza.
38 year old Itai Galea, killed in the Golan Heights.
19 year old Alexander Yekiminsky, killed in a stabbing in the Galilean city of Karmiel.
25 year old Eyal Avniyon, killed in Central Gaza.
30 year old Nadav Elchanan Noler, killed in Central Gaza.
22 year old Yehudah Getto, killed in Tul Karem in the West Bank.
21 year old Uri Yitzhak Hadad, killed in Southern Gaza.
These are Netanyahu’s dead. Yehi Zichram Baruch.
And if you’re asking yourself, what does Misha want from me? What can I do over here? First and foremost, tell your representatives that Netanyahu’s visit to congress is an abomination. Next, remove your support from any organization that blindly supports the Israeli government. I believe these organizations put Israelis in grave danger. Instead, support one of the dozens of organizations that miraculously managed to bring about the largest gathering in Israel for peace in decades, like NIF or Standing Together. My friends and family back home suffer from a far deeper despair and agony than us here. And yet, despite unreal police violence, threats from fanatics, mockery by much of the country and a history of physical assault and even murder of anti-war activists, they continue to go out into the streets to demand change. A rising up is taking place there. Let’s take our cue from the six thousand pro-peace Israelis who came together in Tel Aviv to say End This War.
Shabbat shalom,
Rabbi Misha