Friends,
This has been a very tough summer in so many ways, especially for our friends and family in Israel who themselves or their loved ones have been serving in the military, or having to go daily to the shelter or stairwells as the sirens warn of the perpetual rockets being launched by Hamas from Gaza. I have also become painfully aware of the sense of frustration and isolation that many of the Israelis living here in Boulder have been feeling. As a Jewish community, we have not been as sensitive as we could have been to the depth of their grief and concern. I, as a leader in this community, have not said enough, done enough and not been there enough for those in such pain, who need our support and love.
I am unequivocal in my support of Israel and its right to defend its citizens against those whose clear intent is her annihilation. I am unequivocal in my deep love of Israel , having lived there for two years and visited dozens of times. I am absolutely clear about my utter condemnation of the terrorist network of rockets, tunnels and human shields created by Hamas and about Israel’s existential need to destroy these networks to keep its citizens safe. I am very aware of the traumatic effect this conflict has had on all Israelis, especially the children and the elderly. I am sickeningly aware of the terrifying escalation in hatred against the Jews of Europe, including in my native London where almost 70% of Jews feel that there is no future there for them. The situation in France is even worse and Jews are leaving in the thousands for Israel. I have never felt more sure of Israel’s right and need to exist in a sustainable and secure way. I may well end up in Israel myself as has been my dream since I was 18 years old.
I am also aware that Jews all over the world and right here in Boulder and in Bonai Shalom are struggling; that there are many different opinions and beliefs about the causes and the possible solutions. I value that as a community, we have supported dialogues that allow truth telling from different perspectives; that we have even had dialogue with Palestinians. I certainly do not want to silence any of these voices. There is complexity. There are innocent victims on both sides of this violent conflict and I feel deep sorrow for the loss of Palestinian civilians. I will not accept the notion that all Palestinian mothers want to see their children martyred for the cause. As an Israeli friend in Jerusalem, whose son served in Gaza and whose daughter has just began her IDF service, said to me this morning on a phone call right as Shabbat was coming in there, the Palestinian mothers that she knows and works with want the same as Israeli mothers; safety, security and for their children to go to college. As clear as I am in condemning Hamas as the instigator of this current crisis with a network of terror that has to be stopped and their perpetual breaking of the ceasefires, I am also clear that we cannot paint all Palestinians with the same dismissive brush strokes that dehumanize and demonize them. We do this at our peril. There are Palestinians and Israelis who want to know each other, who want to look into each other’s eyes and see the pain of a shared humanity caught up in a spiral of hopeless violence. I have met them. There are people building bridges and working, as much is possible in these dark days, on coexistence and peace projects. I support this and I truly wish there was a genuine path to an equitable two state solution, but that seems very remote right now.
As we get closer to Shabbat, I want to state clearly my unwavering support of Israel and Israelis and emphasize my sadness that I and others have not been more present with the Israeli families right here in our midst in need of our love and friendship. I pray for hope where we feel only despair and for deep peace where we see only impossible violence and suffering.
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Marc