Called to Account
Some thoughts on recent sorrows and current conflict
I turned 43 years old this month, and for my entire life, the Israel-Palestine conflict has been in various states of open hostility. It’s been that way for much longer than that, but given the horrific and staggering abomination of Hamas’ recent massacre of Israelis, I find myself once again watching the state of that conflict reach the kind of acute boil that has punctuated my entire lived experience as a citizen of this planet, and as a Jew.
Proudly and unashamedly, I am a Jew. It is an ineffable part of my identity. I have no doubt that given my particular life, as the child of a child of anti-Zionist, secular Jews, there are large numbers of other Jews in the world who would consider me to be somewhat (if not entirely) less-than. Admittedly, I was never mitzvahed. As a younger man, I didn’t cash in my Birthright ticket. I don’t belong to my local temple. I don’t keep kosher, or celebrate Jewish holidays with any real regularity. But for as long as I’ve been conscious of it, it’s been clear to me that in the eyes of any anti-semite on the planet, I’m as Jewish as they come.
My Judaism (and by extension, hopefully, the Judaism of my children) is rooted in a deep appreciation of the culture and perseverance of our people, going back millennia and coming into a current moment where that culture is as varied and vibrant as it has ever been. In particular, I find resonance with the progressive spirit of that community. It is a spirit that has often been at the forefront of movements for human liberation and the acceptance of all people. One with a deep commitment to the universal right of all people to live life as they wish to, as long as that wish doesn’t bother anyone else. And it’s from this stance, that I find so much of what is currently happening to be deeply, deeply painful.
Following the recent atrocities by Hamas, a familiar narrative has re-emerged in both American and Israeli discourse. This narrative argues that the nature of Hamas’ actions leaves no room for questioning Israel’s subsequent responses. For me, the most recent analogue that I can point to is what happened in American discourse right after September 11th. Some version of “they hurt us, and now we are going to hurt them, and if you have anything to say about that, you can shut the fuck up.” Usually, it’s not put quite that nakedly, but at the root of things, I think that’s the spirit of what’s being said. This is, of course, a line of argument that does not allow for any counter or independent thought. It does not truck with nuance (often proudly so). It is a profoundly reactionary position, well suited to those who wish to escalate a conflict, for whatever reason. And for however different the Netanyahu government and Hamas are, as far as this thinking goes, they are of like-mind.
My inclination toward the rule of law makes me wish for a judicial process to hold Hamas accountable. However, I realize that this is terminally naive. If the Israeli government had decided to respond by prosecuting a military action that was restricted to those who committed the recent horrors, I don’t think I’d be writing this piece. But it hasn’t done that. Instead, the Israeli government has opted to sever essential supplies like food, water, and electricity to the entire Gaza Strip, while subjecting the area to overwhelming military force. As I am writing this, the Israeli government has told the population of the Gaza Strip to move out of the north of the area. Somehow, demanding that more than a million people who are among the most deprived on Earth will be able to accomplish such a thing, is proposed as a reasonable request.
I can’t know what life is like in the Gaza Strip. In a spirit of complete honesty, it has never seemed like a place that I would want to be. Various statistics seem to bear that out. But the one that I keep going back to over this last week is the fact that fully half of its population of 2 million are 18 years old, or younger. In my world, we call these people children. I know that many of the victims of last week’s attack were children, too. Despite the anguish and horror of recent events, I cannot condone inflicting more unnecessary pain and suffering as a justifiable response, regardless of how righteous it might feel. Nor can I accept that it is ever correct to respond to the killing of children by killing the children of others. I feel this way for many reasons, but I know that it’s largely down to the beliefs and perspectives that I hold. These things have been passed down to me by some who are still here, and many who are not. And if these beliefs are not a testament to my Judaism, then I don’t know what is.
May all who are suffering find peace and all sorrows be met with kindness.
