Dear Friends,
Ayin leTzion Tzofia. Our eyes are all focused on Israel.
Today is a day of absolute moral clarity and determination. Below you will find links to support our people and to contact our political leaders.
Hamas has invaded Israel. In the last two days, hundreds of armed fighters flooded into border towns and brutally murdered over 700 civilians, 50 soldiers and gravely wounded over 2,000 more. Peaceful kibbutzim, small villages and large towns saw machine-gun-mounted trucks and jeeps, strike forces on motorcycles indiscriminately kill anyone they could find. Militants slaughtered over 200 unarmed innocent revelers at a music festival. Rampaging soldiers with military grade weapons hunted and killed hundreds of civilians of every age in their homes and on the streets. Shockingly, the Israeli defense forces were unaware and unprepared, and help came only after hours, or even days. In the meantime, estimates are that as many as 100 civilians were captured and dragged back to Gaza as human shields and bargaining chips, some paraded proudly in the streets of Gaza by the militants with the approval of adoring crowds. In addition, thousands of missiles continue to be sent from Gaza to pound random Israeli civilian locations from the Gaza border to southern Tel Aviv and around the Gaza envelope.
Mass murder. Kidnapping. War Crimes. There is not an inch of pardon or justification that is possible for the brutal and targeted slaughter of hundreds of civilians in a single day. Our people’s deadliest day since the Shoah. No political cause and no organization that engages in such behavior can be allowed to continue unchecked on the face of the earth. The leader of Hamas in Gaza, speaking to Al Jazeera on the record, has been clear even yesterday: Every Israeli anywhere in Israel is a “settler” and all settlers “are not civilians.” They are legitimate targets in their eyes - any person of any age, wherever they can find them are subject to immediate execution. When we say “antiZionism” is “antiSemitism” this is exactly what we mean.
We all wish for peace. The Gaza fence and border was built because of this violence, and only that borders has held back this violence to this point. Hamas has been the ruling government in Gaza since it won their first and last elections there in 2006. For 17 years they have received billions in international aid, but they have incessantly turned that aid into military infrastructure, tunnels, rockets and have raised a generation to believe that mass murder is holy work. This is what they do.
Israel has now mobilized every person capable of military service - over 300,000 persons. The war has begun. For Hamas this is still the war of independence from 1948, and it is about Israel even existing on any level. Israel is starting by smashing Hamas infrastructure and striking back at any location that is firing missiles. Since Hamas has knowingly embedded these terrorist targets in civilian neighborhoods, the collateral damage to civilian life is unavoidable. Should Israel invade Gaza in pursuit of the killers, they will seek military targets and control. Compare that to the slaughter of innocents this weekend. Despite the inevitable news reports that will seek to raise the equality of the civilian harm on both sides, there is no moral equivalency to how any why civilians are dying on each side. Every death is the moral responsibility of Hamas. This is not a skirmish. This will not be quick.
As human beings we care about what is right, and empathize with those wrongfully slaughtered, captured, wounded and terrorized. As Jews we know the price that our families and friends are paying each moment. We lament the death and devastation we are forced to engage in. We must rise up and respond.
We must immediately, tangibly support Israel’s civilian population’s needs. 25 border towns are being evacuated, and those people need shelter, schools, trauma support and more. 2,000+ victims are suffering from wounds endured from gunshots, stabbings, missiles, explosives and more. The hospitals are over-run and supplies have run out. Every member of this congregation must give something today.
Our immediate partners, the Jewish National Fund/USA and the Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest are already on the ground responding to these needs. Supporting their emergency campaigns is the fastest and most immediate way to help:
JNF/USA Israel Resilience Campaign - “Evacuation from hardest hit communities on the border including transportation and emergency housing; Provide hygiene, bedding, and care packages to those in need; Provide firefighting and protective equipment to those on the front lines; Offer psychological treatment; Give the local communities the promise of rebuilding for tomorrow”
Jewish Federations of Greater MetroWest Emergency Fund - “Support Critical, lifesaving efforts”
We must assert to our political leaders unconditionally that Hamas is no longer a sufferable player in the Israeli-Palestinian political conflict. No such organization can legitimately claim the mantle of hope for a free or peaceful Palestinian people in any configuration of any kind. Apologists for them and their actions are complicit enablers of war crimes and terrorists like the world has not seen since the Nazis. Assert (a) Israel's absolute need for our support and (b) Hamas’ complete forfeiture of legitimacy on any level. They and their partners are the enemies of civilized hope.
The goal of our advocacy is to:
cease any support of the Hamas leaders in the Gaza Strip,
to ally the United States actively in the military support of Israel’s efforts, and
to condemn the propaganda that seeks to legitimize the Hamas tactics as any form of legitimate “pro-Palestinian resistence.”
In addition, please know that our sister synagogue in Arad is not directly affected, but that every person in Israel is profoundly affected. They are in our prayers, and every point of contact you may have with any Israeli family or friend is appreciated at this time more than you know. And, of course, our Israel trip in late January - which is not scheduled to be in the theater of conflict, is being carefully considered. Now is not the time to disengage, and is of course also a time for care and concern.
In the meantime I also caution you to care for your well being. In the age of media blitzes the news can be overwhelming. Make sure that you are putting limits on your exposure and not adding unnecessary trauma by watching repetitions of the same news over and over. Turn it off for a bit, and find a cause or an organization that you identify with that is trying to help. Take the positive path and go to a rally. Post and repost on your social media, and advocate for Israel with your family, friends and colleagues.
There will be many briefings, rallies and opportunities for you to engage in the hours and days ahead. Last night the local Federation held a rally with local and state leaders at Temple Bnai Jeshurun. Today, the JNF/USA will have an online briefing at 12:00 noon today. You can join using this link: https://jnf.zoom.us/j/92168860129.
Finally, please know that many of our families have children, grandchildren, parents, siblings and dear ones who are directly in the midst of the conflict. Each morning service for the foreseeable future we will be including a prayer for Israel’s defense forces and for the safe return of our captives. In community we can find strength, and our prayers are real.
We remain steadfast in our love of and support of Israel, and our hopes for a better future.
Rabbi Robert Tobin
No comments:
Post a Comment