In This Moment: Israel's Day in Court; The Truth About Lies; The Talmud of MLK

 

In This Moment You may have heard the news that Fauda star Idan Amedi (who plays Sagi) was seriously wounded in Gaza. He seems to be out of danger, thankfully. It's one more example of how the war hits home for Israelis. Amedi is also a singer, and he first became known to Israeli audiences several years ago with his participation in the reality series, "A Star is Born," (Kochav Nolad). Below is when he introduced what became a signature song for him, "K'ayv Shel Lochamim," "The Pain of Warriors," about the trials of a soldier with PTSD.The actual song begins a few minutes in, and the translation is below. War hits close to home for all Israelis. TBE Milestones....A Sermon Sampler Israel's Trial, Gay's Resignation & The Truth About Lies With Israel being put on trial for genocide today in the most Orwellian of terms imaginable - accused of turning Gaza into a "concentration camp," it seems as if the entire concept of truth has been turned upside down. There's no greater miscarriage of justice than accusing the nation founded by victims of the Holocaust of a Holocaust. As Semafor describes it: The case...carries huge symbolic weight. On one side, Israel’s founding came in the wake of the killing of six million Jews in the Holocaust. On the other, South Africa — which sees parallels between apartheid and Israel’s treatment of Palestinians, and whose apartheid rulers had a close military alliance with Israel — was the subject of an ultimately unsuccessful 1960s ICJ case seeking to end the system of segregation. “Like the [1960s] case,” a legal expert wrote in South Africa’s Mail & Guardian, “this is about more than just the present legal dispute.” Apartheid...Holocaust...Genocide... It seems as if the one who owns the language owns the truth. Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan included this prayer in the Reconstructionist Prayerbook. From the cowardice that shrinks from new truth From the laziness that is content with half-truths, From the arrogance that thinks it knows all truth, O God of Truth deliver us. (Reconstructionist Mahzor p.190) The fine line between truth and falsehood can be complicated at times. One of the first High Holidays sermons I ever gave here, back in 1990, discussed the hard truths about lying. I've made truth a key theme of mine often during my tenure (for example, here, here, here and here), but what makes this sermon special for me is that not only has it stood the test of time in a general sense, but I could have delivered the exact same one this year (to be truthful, not quite exact). Some excerpts: Moving ahead a quarter of a century, here are some excerpts from my 2015 sermon, "Truth and Trust." Why am I bringing this topic up now? Because, of all the evils that afflict our world, and especially our country, the degradation of truth and, by extension, trust, may be the most insidious. What I spoke about in 1990 has gotten exponentially worse. Fox News wasn't even invented until 1996, and no entity in our society has done more to take the "Big Lie" and make it flourish on American soil. The Big Lie, so often attributed to Goebbels (though truthfully, we don't know who invented it) but now it's as American as apple pie (even though, truth be told, apple pie actually originated in England, not America). The Big Lie has infiltrated every cranny of our society. The rabbis were immensely invested in truth and integrity. It should also be noted that when Harvard's president resigned, the reason was not her regrettable testimony to Congress and lack of conviction in condemning antisemitism. It was for her betrayal of strict academic standards of truth and attribution. While I do not think her testimony warranted dismissal - a clear change of course in dealing with antisemitism on campus would have been much more constructive - I do think it's no small thing to ask our community leaders to stand up for truth. The Talmudic rabbis were absolutely obsessed about attribution. As we read in Pirke Avot, Whoever repeats a statement in the name of the one who said it brings redemption to the world. (Avot 6:6). That's a pretty big deal. So yes, the accusations that led to Claudine Gay's resignation were impeachable - just not the ones many Jews have been focusing on. It's about truth. Veritas. Or as they say at Brandeis, Emet. Here's what I wrote about the word Emet in 2014: The one sermon about truth that I did not mention yet is the one that is most recent, this year's Rosh Hashanah second day talk about A.I. I could not have imagined in 1990 that within my lifetime, not only would the whole concept of truth be subverted, but that humanity would be subsumed by a world of artificiality and deception. As I stated: A.I. is built on a premise that artificiality can appear real, that a mechanical construct can fool us into believing that it is sentient. And even when it learns from its mistakes and spews out more facts, it is still fake. We must stand up for the primacy of the real. As we move forward through uncharted waters, we need to maintain our independence of thought and understand that, in the words of Pamela Meyer in her TED talk: Lying is a cooperative act. Think about it, a lie has no power whatsoever by its mere utterance. Its power emerges when someone else agrees to believe the lie. Ultimately, we have the power to affirm, protect and defend truth. This year, more than ever, we need to do just that. Click here for a number of Jewish quotes on the importance of truth Tomorrow's Front Pages Jerusalem Post Ha'aretz Yediot Ahronot The Jerusalem Post, like so many of us, is sick of the hypocrisy, and brings a most gruesome photo to Friday's front page. Click on it to see the full page pdf. Yediot features Idan Amedi up top and on he lower left, children's drawings from captivity. Recommended Reading Click below to read Jewish passages reflecting MLK's key themes Martin Luther King Jr.’s Legacy 60 Years After the March on Washington (Pew) See also Martin Luther King's Talmud (PDF) What You Need to Know about South Africa’s Baseless Genocide Accusation Against Israel (AJC). See also South Africa accuses Israel of genocide and urges top UN court to halt Gaza war. You can also read the complete 84 page brief prepared by the South Africans. While the claims of genocide may be groundless, there are dismal facts here that cannot be ignored. See also As Israel faces charges at The Hague, a Cornell expert in genocide weighs in (TOI) 12 UNEXPECTED ANIMAL STORIES FROM THE ISRAEL-GAZA WAR (Israel 21c) - Whether keeping soldiers safe, visiting the wounded or enduring Hamas captivity, animals too are caught up in the war. A brief history of the Messianic movement that inspired the tunnel under 770 Eastern Parkway (Forward) See also: How Twitter activists turned a viral story about Orthodox Jews into a modern blood libel Eyal Shani’s fast-casual Times Square restaurant Miznon is going kosher (JTA) Antisemitic incidents have ‘skyrocketed’ in the United States post-Oct. 7, ADL reports (JTA) - see also Zadies Bake Shop Attacked by haters Anne Frank’s diary, ‘Schindler’s List’ among titles at center of major Florida book-ban lawsuit (JTA) Thank God for Israel’s huge economic resilience (Jewish Chronicle) Temple Beth El 350 Roxbury Road Stamford, Connecticut 06902 203-322-6901 | www.tbe.org    A Conservative, Inclusive, Spiritual Community

Temple Beth El | 350 Roxbury Road, Stamford, CT 06902

In This Moment: Is Ethnic Cleansing Genocide? Does it Matter?/ Blacks and Jews: Shame, Pride and the Curse of Canaan

 

In This Moment CLICK to see on Substack only Is Ethnic Cleansing Genocide? Does it matter? The accusations that Israel is committing acts of genocide in Gaza are libelous and just plain wrong. And yet, Israeli ministers who are publicly promoting ethnic cleansing of Palestinians and resettlement of Jews back to Gaza are also wrong. Ethnic cleansing is not genocide. But it's still wrong. It's also important to note that this proposal, while real, is not the policy of the Israeli government, nor is it likely to become policy, in large part because of pressure from the US This is precisely why American Jews need to be completely informed about Este. In the end, our opinions matter a lot. So let's begin with the genocide question . I've covered this ground before , but now comes a charge against Israel by South Africa to the International Court of Justice, which will be heard in the Hague later this week. It's a big deal, for the country that suffered the Mother of all Genocides to be accused of said crime. The South Africans accuse Israel's leaders of having expressed "specific intent" to commit acts of genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza. Intent is the crux of the matter. Such intent has been expressed clearly and repeatedly by Hamas officials toward Jews and Israelis, both before and after October 7. It is in their charter. It's never been a secret. Their genocidal intent is overt. That is not the case for Israelis. There has never been such an attempt. The quotes used to attack them are taken out of context at best - for instance, references to Israel's biblical nemesis Amalek that have been made - references to an ancient arch enemy that do not apply to the here and now. Below is part of an "X" thread from a representative of " Honest Reporting ," which explains goes point-by-point in exposing the fallacy of these accusations of genocidal intent. Read the entire thread (enlarged) here. Here is how The Jerusalem Post anticipates Israel's defense plan at the Hague: What will Israel's case be? Israel will be able to show it has instituted mitigation measures in its military campaign. “Israel's extensive advance warning and other measures to mitigate harm to Gaza civilians make clear that Israel's goal is not to commit genocide but, far from it, to instead minimize Palestinian civilian casualties while lawfully exercising Israel's rights to rescue its hostages, apprehend the October 7 perpetrators, and ensure that Israel's population is secure from further attacks,” he said. Israeli spokespeople have also suggested that Israel will seek to turn the tables, and level charges of genocide against Hamas. “The Hamas terrorist organization — which is committing war crimes, crimes against humanity and sought to commit genocide on 7 October — is responsible for the suffering of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip by using them as human shields and stealing humanitarian aid from them,” the Foreign Ministry's Hayat said in a statement. So Israel's actions in Gaza have not been genocidal. But that's a rather low bar. I'm not a murderer. Mazal tov. It's a Pyrrhic victory to be able to make that claim, especially if Israel's own ministers are simultaneously undermining the country's credibility as a civilized nation. See Friday's story in the Washington Post, "Israeli calls for Gaza's ethnic cleansing are only getting louder" .. .Far-right figures like finance minister Bezalel Smotrich and national security minister Itamar Ben Gvir... do little to hide their vision of an ethnically-cleansed Gaza. “What needs to be done in the Gaza Strip is to encourage emigration,” Smotrich  said  in an interview Sunday with Israeli Army Radio. “If there are 100,000 or 200,000 Arabs in Gaza and not 2 million Arabs, the entire discussion on the day after will be totally different.” Ben Gvir separately called for the de facto forced migration of hundreds of thousands out of Gaza. See also: Calls to depopulate Gaza are a dangerous pipe dream (Forward) No American Jew should be asked to defend statements like that. In fact, we should stand in public protest against them. We just need to learn how to do that and to defend Israel from accusations of genocide and war crimes at the same time. Not an easy task. Because we are dealing with a heavily charged environment where no one is listening to nuanced arguments. You can't be both for and against Israel on this. It will only strengthen Israel's enemies if you try to split hairs on this issue. I agree . Which is why this right-wing coalition needs to disband and a new Israeli government needs to take control , one that can be on-message when it comes to security, diplomacy AND morality. This situation is unsustainable. And as the fighting begins to dissipate (at least in Gaza), we'll be seeing more and more Israelis calling for such a change over the coming weeks. It can't come soon enough. Perhaps the best posture to hold on this is to follow the Ben-Gurion model. When the British adopted the infamous 1939 White Paper, restricting Jewish immigration to Palestine, just as World War Two was breaking out: Ben‐Gurion put it this way: “We shall fight in the war against Hitler as if there were no White Paper, but we shall fight the White Paper as if  there were no war.” Israel and the Jewish people are facing existential threats that are both external and internal. Both need to be fought with equal passion and determination. We shall fight the South African libel as if our own ministers were not promoting unspeakable measures of their own. And vice versa. Tomorrow's Israel's Front Pages Jerusalem Post Ha'aretz Yediot Ahronoth If Tuesday's editions have not yet been posted, try again later this evening Recommended Reading Girls basketball coach fired at NY school where players shouted anti-Semitic slurs at Jewish opponents Ha'aretz: Israel at War: Daily Summary  The US Is Dealing With an Israeli Leader Who's Losing Control (Politico) - Aaron David Miller, a former longtime Middle East negotiator, describes Netanyahu as increasingly desperate. This is, after all, a man who long cast himself as Israel's best hope for security in a tough region — a brand badly damaged following the Oct. 7 Hamas attack that sparked the war. “It is a terrible example of a leader who has conflated his own political survival with what he considers to be the best interests of this country. “It's a horrible combination, and it leads to terrible decision-making,” he told me. The "Black Sabbath" meets Israeli music (Daniel Gordis, Substack) - Two songs, one by a person who survived and another by a woman who did not, are part of the Israeli music scene now deeply colored by the horrors of October 7th. Temple Beth El 350 Roxbury Road Stamford, Connecticut 06902 203-322-6901 | www.tbe.org    A Conservative, Inclusive, Spiritual Community

Temple Beth El | 350 Roxbury Road ,Stamford, CT 06902