Bitter knowledge

We are in the midst of a morality war that is being called the #IsraelHamasWar. It is a painful and horrible war for those who live in Eretz Yisrael, a war with such atrocities that words do not suffice in describing them. It is also so horrid for those here, who have either lost loved ones or are in the shadow of life, waiting to hear if their loved ones are still alive.

The rest of us live our lives, in a war-free zone in America, but with the sword of hate dangling over our heads. We can say that we have a life of relative normalcy.

The unspeakable horrors that appear to us from a distance, on a screen or a device, have been shocking. But even more surprising is that as Jews, we are not united in our fight against pure evil. We are still choosing sides.

Israelis, during the week leading up to the war, were passionately divided, debating issues of democracy and autocratic rule, have put all differences aside for now to join the fight for what is decent and moral.

It is not wrong to seek rights for those whose rights have been trampled, but there has to be an admission that the Palestinian people have been used as pawns in this awful game by Hamas, much more so than Israel can be guilty of. But this argument is terribly petty and I do not want to be a part of this debate.

Here, Jews have not been able to be united in what seems to be a pretty clear choice. For me, right now, there are only two sides: one group that commits horrible war crimes against innocent civilians, decapitating, burning, impaling innocent people—and the other, representing a democratic state, albeit not without flaws and errors, who is fighting for the right to protect their citizens from murder.

Is it only clear to me as a Jewish American that Israel’s war is not with the Palestinians? It’s with Hamas. And how can anyone stand with Hamas right now? For sure, the rights of innocent people in Gaza have to be protected and valued, but there is no group more responsible for the breach of that than Hamas. Palestinians have been used for decades to further their own nefarious goals.

Hamas is seeking death to all Israelis and extends that to all JEWS. The Hamas Covenant issued in 1988 states this (Article 7):

The Day of Judgment will not come about until Moslems fight Jews and kill them. Then, the Jews will hide behind rocks and trees, and the rocks and trees will cry out: 'O Moslem, there is a Jew hiding behind me, come and kill him."

How can any Jew stand up for this? Right now, the Palestinian people have not distanced themselves from Hamas. Nor is it clear that other Arab countries have disavowed Hamas’ intentions either.

Do we need a replay of Nazi Germany to see that a Jew is a Jew. So, despite what opinions other Jews may hold about wanting to be on a side other than Israel, in the end, we are united in being Jews by our enemies, and therefore worthy of death.

This is a bitter fight between good and evil, but only if our eyes are open. On Pesach, the herbs we dip and maror we eat are salty and bitter, yet we taste it, knowing that only when we deal with the reality of inhumanity, can we begin to set a different path.