Josh Weinberg

Today is October 7^th – Today is day 365. Today we mark one year on the Gregorian calendar since the day that will live in infamy. It is a day referred to by its date, and everyone knows what we mean when we say “October 7^th” or “the 7^th”.  Some compare it to the Israeli 9/11 or the Israeli Pearl Harbor, as on this day exactly one year ago, we experienced the worst tragedy to befall the Jewish people in contemporary times. The past year has certainly taken its toll on Israel, on the Palestinians, on the entire Middle East, and it has left its indelible mark on Diaspora Jews as well.

It didn’t take long after October 7, 2023, for the campaigns to begin. The solidarity with Israel was felt throughout North America, Europe, and the rest of the world. The shock that permeated the Jewish community, the tears and anguish, and then the solidarity was palpable. The organized community came together with vigils, rallies, and appeals.

The North American Jewish community poured out its heart in support of Israel. Not necessarily in support of the government, but in support of the people, the communities, and the armed forces who were poised to combat the brutality and evil of Hamas.

Over the ensuing months, the Jewish Federations of North America (which our Reform Movement supported) raised over $850 million in support of Israel, and so many North American Jews gave generously to a myriad of causes – everything from support of recognized NGOs to individual army units in need of equipment. After a few weeks, the solidarity missions began. People showed up at airports with multiple duffle bags filled with supplies, military equipment, and donations for displaced families and individuals. People began walking around with hostage dog tags and yellow ribbons including empty chairs at their tables and among synagogue pews.

For those previously less connected or engaged with the Jewish community, October 7 served as an important wake-up call. Many were surprised to wake up to a new reality in which many in their networks didn’t view the events in Israel in the same light as they did and were not as allied as they had imagined previously. Many who identified as progressive or activists advocating for social justice found themselves unaligned with their partners, friends, and peers and, frankly, felt abandoned by some of their former allies. Some felt alienated by antisemitism, anti-Zionism, and depictions of Israel as the aggressor responsible for the war.

We have come to refer to this demographic as the October 8th Jew. They represent a diverse demographic within the Jewish community who were profoundly affected by the October 7th attacks and the subsequent rise of antisemitism. They now feel a renewed sense of Jewish identity and have become involved in the life of the Jewish community. They are driven by a desire for safety, solidarity, and a strong Jewish identity. They may now be feeling isolated when realizing that many Jewish and non-Jewish spaces are unwelcoming to them. This is a group seeking affirmation and a sense of belonging. It represents an important part of the new tapestry of the post-October 7 Jewish community. According to a survey from the Jewish Federations of North America “The Surge,” (the term referring to the October 8^th Jew – those who previously were less engaged in Jewish life) are showing up more in this moment. They make up 30% of the Jewish community surging in every age demographic with “young adult” and “mid-life” making up the largest portions of the community. There’s no question that this is an important opportunity to engage in many different areas and aspects of Jewish life, one that should not be missed.

While some awoke to a new and deep sense of connection, along with a jarring shock of broken alliances, others came to vastly different conclusions. While many deeply felt Israel’s vulnerability after October 7 that they hadn’t felt since the Yom Kippur War 50 years earlier, and had come to the conclusion that Israel needs strength and power to appropriately defend itself, some came to the opposite conclusion – that Jews should, in fact, have less power. Almost as quickly as the solidarity was felt, so was the impact of Israel’s detractors. We saw anti-Israel protests formulating well before Israel launched its military response, and even while kibbutznikim were still being massacred.

Professor Marc Dollinger explains this phenomenon in the following way:

“As post-October 7, anti-Zionist rhetoric intensified, then, protesters spoke more and more about the evils of colonialism, imperialism, and genocide, and less and less about the culpability of Hamas, Israel’s right to self-defense and the vexing question of how a Jewish state can best wage a just war in a just way. In its most painful illustration, the rape of Israeli women received an activist ’pass’ from too many leftist feminist organizations, including the United Nations itself. The devaluing of Jewish women’s bodies and lives reflected the worst of the awful intersection of 1960s-era anti-Zionism and the newfound iteration of the Palestinian cause on the world stage. At this opportunistic post-October moment for Palestinian national self-determination, some anti-Zionist activists proved complicit in the face of the most basic violation of their progressive principles.”[1]

The definition and classification of anti-Zionists vary. Some see themselves primarily as policy critics. Others align themselves with the call to dismantle the Jewish State entirely, aspiring to create a contemporary “Judaism beyond Zionism” (their words). As two self-identified anti-Zionist rabbis wrote: “When we talk about Judaism beyond Zionism, we are describing the complex project of being open to and upfront about multifaceted Jewish relationships to land and place while being unequivocal about our opposition to Israel as an ethnic nation-state that continues to displace Palestinians and perpetuate apartheid.”[2]

Many who have articulated a similar position have shared that “as Jews, fighting for justice for Palestine is a core commitment of our lives and is an expression of our Jewish identity.” The inference is that fighting for Jewish rights – including basic needs such as safety and security – are not core commitments of their lives nor expressions of their Jewish identity. Palestinians are the underdog, and despite Hamas’ terrorist acumen, they are seen as the vulnerable and the oppressed. Therefore, regardless of the events on the ground, Israel, as a product of ethnic and national supremacy, oppression, and crass colonialism, will remain the guilty party until it restores justice – despite the vicious attacks it suffers by those who regularly and emphatically call for Israel’s destruction.

It is easy to simply dismiss this anti-Zionist group as being beyond the pale and too far off the deep end to embrace or engage. Some even advocate cutting them off from the Jewish community. For those of us in the liberal Zionist camp this growing phenomenon is particularly painful. To be clear, I regard anyone who calls for the destruction of the Jewish State as beyond the pale and should not be included in the wide tent of the Jewish community. As liberals, we also champion Palestinian rights and Palestinian self-determination and believe that to be pro-Israel also means to be pro-Palestinian (not pro-Hamas). We also have been calling for increased humanitarian aid, have been pressing Israel about the high death toll of Palestinian civilians and children, and have been speaking out against the increasing settler violence in the West Bank.

We are witnessing a segment of the Jewish community who reject the Zionist enterprise altogether and feel unwelcome in mainstream Jewish spaces. There remains a major question about how far Jewish institutions and organizations should go in welcoming such individuals as we work to sow the seeds of the future constellation of the organized Jewish community, especially in navigating this complex moment.

As Zionists, this year reminded us that we have a deep connection to the Jewish People wherever they live and that we have an obligation to stand with the people and the State of Israel, despite our disdain for specific policies of the Israeli government and specific elected office holders who we believe violate our liberal Jewish and Zionist values. The phenomenon of anti-Zionism – the desire for both an end to the Jewish nation-state and a Diaspora-based-Judaism-sans-Israel ridding Jewish life of any nationalist expression – is growing and, I say, deeply disturbing because this growing segment amongst Jews represents a deeply skewed understanding of the situation in Israel coupled with a narrow and myopic interpretation of modern Judaism. This distorted view has emerged out of a particular position of privilege, safety, and security. It fails to take into account the contributions to Jewish life and the benefit to the world in virtually every arena of endeavor that Israelis have contributed as a consequence of having a Jewish State. It fails to consider the security needs and existential threats faced by over 7 million Israeli Jews and other non-Jewish Israeli citizens. No other nation-state’s existence is dependent on its policies or actions. How ironic to hear those sitting comfortably in the United States calling for the dissolution of a republic because of the number of innocent civilians killed in wars waged against it by its enemies set on its destruction and the murder of its people.

For some, this anti-Zionism has been brewing for years, and the events of October 7 exacerbated it. For others, the growing sense in the progressive community led them to see the world through a cloudy lens in which Israel bears ultimate responsibility and guilt for the current situation of war waged against it by Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis all backed by Iran. Even if one wanted, absurdly, to support Hamas’ claim for resistance, little attention is paid to Hezbollah’s and Iran’s desire to destroy Israel as a sovereign nation simply because they believe it should not exist. This comes at a time when we are seeing a surge of antisemitism – some ostensibly related to Israel’s actions, and some just plain old-fashioned Jew hatred spewing from Right, Left, and all over the ideological spectrum.

I see these different approaches ominously at the heart of a growing and widening rift in the North American Jewish community. That rift is leading to broader judgmental and condemnatory claims of “Are you with us or against us?” signifying a potentially paralyzing and destructive polarization in the American Jewish community.

As we mark the first anniversary of the Hamas massacre and kidnapping of hostages, let us acknowledge and commit to four specific things:

1. The State of Israel is deeply connected to Jewish communities around the world. We nourish each other, support each other, and can often disagree. But when either of us is in need, our well-being is dependent on our strong mutual relationships and our support for one another.
2. We are not Jewish because of our storied heritage of tragedy alone. We are Jewish because we come from a rich and evolving tradition of wisdom, faith, ritual, holidays and life cycle events, morality, and ethics, all of which shape our behavior and our unique Jewish way of life. All of that is to be embraced, studied, dissected, renewed, reinvented, and applied in today’s world.
3. Let’s lead with curiosity, not with judgment. If we hear something that seems off and hostile, let’s ask questions prior to public posting and castigation.
4. Let us join together with Jews in Israel and all over the world in writing the next chapter of our people’s history, in creating a new reality in which we feel safer and more secure as well as morally sound and accountable to our values. Doing this will take serious commitment, humility, and time.

Looking at the past year as we engage in our own process of heshbon hanefesh, introspection, and self-evaluation during this High Holiday season, hopefully, will inspire us to re-evaluate our relationships, figure out what matters most to us, and hopefully to recommit to the Jewish community and the State of Israel.

We might also look to the resilience of Israel’s civil society as an example to emulate, many of whom are the best and brightest of our Israeli brothers and sisters, who continue to protest on behalf of the remaining hostages even as they remain deeply committed to the State of Israel as they work together to build a better future for themselves and their neighbors. We have an important part to contribute to their efforts, and may our commitment to them and the building of a better future be renewed today.

 

 

 

^[1] Anti-Israel, Anti-Zionist, Antisemitic: Reflections on the San Francisco Bay Area (and beyond) after Oct. 7, July 5, 2024, by Dr. Marc Dollinger

[2] For Times Such as These: A Radical’s Guide to the Jewish Year, by Ariana Katz and Jessica Rosenberg, Wayne State University Press, March 2024, p.33

“תִּכְלֶה שָׁנָה וְקִלְלוֹתֶיהָ, תָּחֵל שָׁנָה וּבִרְכוֹתֶיהָ“

“May the curses of the past year fade away, and may this year begin with its blesings”

 

Iran is often compared to an octopus. The terror and desire to destroy Israel comes from its head but is enacted through its many far-reaching tentacles. For the past few decades, and especially over the past year it has been operating through proxies – Hamas out of Gaza, Hezbollah from Lebanon, and the Houthis from Yemen. Some analysts see its tentacles reach even further as it has been reported to stoke the anti-Israel protest movements, using social media platforms popular in the U.S. to encourage protests and have provided financial support to some protest groups, according to U.S. Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines.

But yesterday, the attack came directly from the head. Iran sent a barrage of 181 rockets and ballistic missiles into Israel forcing Israelis (Jews, Arabs, and everyone else) into safe rooms and shelters. Iran has aggressively inserted itself into the heart of the conflict by launching a massive, unprecedented missile attack on Israeli soil.

The attack ostensibly came as a response to the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah last week in his suburban Beirut bunker. Iran, itself, was not affected by the death of Nasrallah, however many see Nasrallah as being the number 2 most important figure after the Supreme leader Ayatollah Khameini.

The gloves are off, and Israel is now embroiled in a regional war. Thankfully, due to the Israeli defense system and incredible support from the United States, the Iranian attack failed to penetrate Israeli regional air defenses effectively and little damage was caused, save for the trauma and terror felt by many across the country.

According to military reporter Amos Harel, the latest escalation puts all sides to the conflict in an entirely different situation, in which Israel’s war with Hamas and even with Hezbollah are relegated to second place after the Israeli-Iranian conflict.

Secondary risks are also growing domestically, as evidenced by the killing spree by terrorists in Jaffa that left six Israelis dead and is believed to have been intended to coincide with the attack from Iran. This is the deadliest terror attack to have occurred inside the Green Line since the October 7 Hamas massacre. Tel Aviv has not suffered a terror attack on that scale since the second intifada.

Accordingly, a fierce Israeli reprisal is expected, as IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari put simply that this Iranian attack “will have consequences.”

All this on the eve of Rosh HaShanah. On Rosh HaShanah, we expect to hear the acute awakening sound of the Shofar. The long blasts are followed by shorter staccato perforated piercings which push into our ears and souls awakening us to change.

This year however on the eve of Rosh Hashanah the country heard the piercing and frightful sound of the sirens alerting them to move quickly into shelters.

As Rabbi Galit Cohen-Kedem of Kehilat Kodesh V’Hol in Holon commented:

“Is it really the Jewish New Year coming up later today?

I am exhausted. Worried. Sad. Anxious.

This is NOT what our ancestors wanted for us as a people when we came back to this beloved land as sovereigns. But there is no other home for me. There will never be.

This home is fighting for its existence.

Maybe just like Sarah the matriarch, that moaned and cried when told that Abraham almost slaughtered Isaac, a cry that is imitated by the Shofar of Rosh Hashana, these holy days should be about us wailing towards the heavens, demanding God to show humanity the way to chose life over death, hope over fear and peace over war.

So, I let my soul moan, scream, hurt, and cry:  ENOUGH.”

Let us pray that on this Rosh HaShanah, the only piercing sound will be the Shofar.

Let us pray “ וּפְרושׂ עָלֵינוּ סֻכַּת שְׁלומֶךָ – let there a shelter of peace spread over us” to protect us from all evil and harm.

Let us pray that this year we will be able to fulfill both meanings of the word “Shanah”:  לְשַׁנוֹת, which means to change, to alter our reality so that this year will be different. But Shanah also means repetition: לְשַׁנֵּן. In traditional and rabbinic Hebrew, we use the word שנה/ shanah to refer to teaching through repetition. At this moment it is upon us to repeat our story, our mantra, our commitment of who we are and who we aspire to be.

On Rosh Hashanah we remember those who cry to us from the depths, who mark this moment still in captivity. We mourn for the children of Sarah and Hagar. We hope to be a free people in our Land, to love our people, and to value life over all else. May the people of Israel be safe from enemies who continue to harm them. May our hostages be returned by those who hold them captive, and let us pray that this year will be better than the last one.

I’m leaving you with this poem by Israeli poet Natan Alterman:

 

“תפילה לשנה החדשה”
מאת: נתן אלתרמן
תן לנו שנה אחת של שקט אמיתי
שנה של לובן הפריחות וירק הדשאים
שנה של להט אהבות וחום תנור ביתי
ושנדע רק פעם מהו טוב ומה נעים
שנה ללא קולות שנאה וזעקות השכול
ללא מראות הדם ללא הלמות תופי המלחמה
ללא הפחד המשותק של הנורא מכל
ללא צחוקו של העתיד אשר נטמן באדמה
הן לא ביקשנו לנו אוצרות של ממלכות
לא אושר עילאי ומכוניות פאר
קורטוב אחד של שקט אמיתי ולובן של פריחות
אשר נוכל בהם בלאט להתהדר
להתרגש כפעם מריחות הסתיו
לדהור אל האושר כשריקת רכבת
לבנות לנו סוכת שלום עכשיו
ולהיות בה ראויים לשבת

 

“A Prayer for the New Year”/ Nathan Alterman
(Translation: Yonatan Glaser)

Give us one year of true quiet
A year when the blossoms and leaves will rustle
A year of gentle breeze and warm candle light at home
And we’ll know once again what is good and pleasant.
A year without the sounds of hatred and cries of grief
Without fearful sights of blood and faces of war
Without the paralyzing fear of the terrible of all
Without the laughter of the future that was buried in the ground.
We do not ask for treasures of kingdoms
Not for wealth that elevates and brings glory
Just one quarter of true peace and a slice of bread
In which we can take pride.
To experience once more the sweetness of existence
To hurry to love as the train departs
To build for us a shelter of peace now
And to be worthy of sitting in its shade.

 

 

Shanah (Yoteir) Tovah! May this year sweetness and joy, and of course, peace.

 

   :וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֵלָי מִצָּפוֹן תִּפָּתַח הָרָעָה עַל כָּל יֹשְׁבֵי הָאָרֶץ
(ירמיהו א:יד)

I was struck this week by a headline that said “Israel’s Bombardment of Lebanon” as if that told the whole story of this new phase of war.

The fighting that escalated this week came after eleven and a half months of Hezbollah’s constant bombarding of Israel and forcing 63,000 Israelis to leave their homes for safe haven somewhere south of Haifa. Finally, Israel decided that it could take it no longer.

Make no mistake about it, Israel is fighting an existential war. The reason it can be categorized as existential is that its adversary, Hezbollah – a Shi’ite Islamic fundamentalist terrorist organization and political party that has essentially controlled most of Lebanon since the early 1980s – has stated that its goal is the destruction of Israel. Hezbollah is not fighting in protest of a policy, (e.g., expanding a military buffer zone, Occupation, or anything else), just against the existence of a Jewish state. It has to be understood as well that Hezbollah is a representative of the much more powerful Iran that has predicted that Israel will be destroyed by 2050 – and is actively working towards that outcome. Most Israelis across all political lines acknowledge that a war against Hezbollah is inevitable. Before the recent fighting, the question wasn’t “if” there would be war but “when” there would be war. A tragic reality if there ever was one.

Consistent with that goal, Hezbollah has been bombarding Northern Israel nearly every day since October 8. It has weapons stockpiles that make Hamas seem pale in comparison. As I said above, it forced thousands of people out of their homes and has pushed Israel’s Northern border South by several kilometers.

The last Lebanon War with Hezbollah ended in a ceasefire on August 11, 2006, with the adoption of UN Resolution 1701 that required Hezbollah to vacate southern Lebanon to north of the Litani River.

“Over these 18 years, Hezbollah wasn’t planting trees and building houses in Lebanon [for its people],” said Brigadier General. (reserves) Tzvika Haimovitz, a former commander of Israel’s Air Defense Forces.

According to a March report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Hezbollah now has:

• 40-80,000 short-range unguided rockets with ranges up to 20 kilometers (about 12.4 miles)
• 60-80,0000 long-range unguided rockets that can reach 100 kilometers (a little more than 62 miles)
• Hezbollah has up to 40,000 ballistic missiles with ranges from 160-300 kilometers (about 100 to 186 miles)
• A few dozen Scud missiles that can reach 500 kilometers (310.7 miles)
• Several hundred precision Fateh-110 ballistic missiles can deliver a 500 kg warhead up to a range of 300 kilometers (186 miles).

Where is the UN to enforce the ceasefire resolution that it put into place? Nowhere to be seen.

After a year of steady back and forth, Israel has ramped up its response. It allegedly carried out a precision intelligence attack blowing up beepers and pagers that belonged only to Hezbollah terrorists thus intending minimal civilian loss of life.  Now Israel is carrying out a precision bombing campaign to inhibit Hezbollah’s ability to further shoot missiles and rockets, one of which reached Tel Aviv this past week(!). Yet, many in the Western media miss or ignore the context in which all this is taking place. How would the United States react if Mexico or Canada were shooting daily deadly rocket and missile attacks across the border at United States families in their homes, at farmers in their fields, and at cities and population centers throughout the country? It’s not a relevant question to them because Israel is so often blamed as the guilty party. Unfairly, Israel is always called upon to exercise restraint despite the fact that there is a heavily armed Iranian and Russian-backed terrorist organization amassed on its border with a steady and constant threat to destroy the Jewish State.

Much of the world’s sympathy has been focused on Lebanese civilians fleeing their villages and cities in fear of Israeli bombing missions. That sympathy is well-placed. But less sympathy has come from the world towards the tens of thousands of Israelis who have fled their homes for months due to the constant bombing and rocket fire from Hezbollah. Mainstream media have accused the collective Israeli psyche of being cloistered in self-protective layers of indignation, while sometimes Hezbollah fighters and supporters have been lauded as being defiant  – including those who celebrate in the streets when Israelis are killed.

Of course, diplomacy is almost always preferable to war. It is a tragic consequence of war when Lebanese civilians get hurt and die in the crossfire. Lebanese civilians don’t deserve to die or have their lives destroyed. According to polls, most Lebanese are opposed to Hezbollah. The U.S.-French attempts to broker a cessation of hostilities is laudable. Surely Israel will take heat for rejecting it. But we’ll have to forgive Israel’s skepticism because up until now there has been virtually no international pressure on Hezbollah and Iran to stop its shooting of rockets into Israel. The international media has hardly reported at all about Hezbollah’s constant attacks against Israel over the last 11 months. Reporting in mainstream media has used headlines such as “Israeli Strikes on Lebanon” from the NYT or the popular podcast “Pod Save the World” the thumbnail graphic of which read, “Israel Bombards Lebanon”. As is always the case, one might have to scroll down and read further to understand that according to the Israeli military, Israeli forces struck “buildings [including Lebanese homes] in which Hezbollah hid rockets, missiles, launchers, drones, and additional military infrastructure” much the same way that Hamas hid its massive amounts of military hardware in apartment buildings, homes, schools, community centers, and mosques.

While many Israelis are encouraged that the IDF is finally doing something to reclaim the North of Israel and make it safe for tens of thousands of Israelis to return home, it is not clear if Israel has a clear strategy or end game for this war, just as it has no end game for the war against Hamas in Gaza. It certainly does not want to get embroiled in a long-drawn-out ground war with Hezbollah that could make the 2006 Second Lebanon War look like child’s play. As the respected pollster and journalist Dahlia Scheindlin wrote: “If Israel occupies southern Lebanon, nobody at this point can claim they are unaware of what a curse that would bring [both Israel and Lebanon].” The Economist correspondent Gregg Carlstrom wrote succinctly: “History and common sense teach us that will be folly.”

We know that much of Israel’s fighting forces are exhausted and demoralized after almost a year of fighting in Gaza, the longest war in Israel’s history. With depleted reserves, the prospects for a serious two-front war are daunting and unsettling. We also know that, unlike its enemies, Israel is compelled to embrace the imperative to fight a just war justly. Doing so requires a great deal of restraint, planning, intelligence, and coordination with one’s allies and partners in the region and the world.

In the midst of all this fighting, Prime Minister Netanyahu is leaving the command center for a brief visit to the UN General Assembly. It’s sad and troubling that we don’t have a trusted leader – one who is earnest and is believed by his people and the world to put the country’s needs ahead of his own or to think strategically rather than politically. It’s sad and troubling that the current extremist Israeli governmental leadership imagines that the only possible solution to the current situation in the north is a military solution. Let us recognize that no matter how careful the preparation is, more Israeli soldiers and Lebanese civilians are going to die in this war. Perhaps, Israel should do everything diplomatically to move Hezbollah north of the Litani River (as stipulated by UN Res. 1701) to avoid more bloodshed. I’ve imagined that if there were a complete cessation of fighting, and a different Prime Minister announced that Israel is willing to consider a pathway to a resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Saudi Arabia would join the Abraham Accords and a new Middle East united against Iran and its proxies could actually create a deterrent to war even with Hezbollah. I know that is unlikely at this junction, but we have to keep saying it.

I conclude this week with Israel’s many challenges left unresolved. But, stay tuned for next week when we resume our regularly scheduled program of reflection on the year since October 7, 2023.

Shabbat Shalom.

September 20, 2024 – י״ז אֱלוּל תשפ”ד

Many of us will always remember where we were on October 7th. Previously, I had  three specific dates that I will always remember:

• The famous handshake on the White House Lawn between Yitzhak Rabin, Yasser Arafat, and Bill Clinton to formalize the Oslo Peace Process on September 13, 1993;
• The assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin on November 4, 1995;
• The attack on the World Trade Center and Pentagon on September 11, 2001.

These dates are moments frozen in time. Now, October 7, 2023 will live in infamy as the 4^th to be added to the list in my lifetime. It is not cliché to claim that the massacre on October 7, 2023 – כ״ב תִּשְׁרֵי תשפ”ד, the Shabbat of Shemini Atzeret/Simchat Torah – changed the world so considerably that we now view life in a binary time frame of pre- and post- October 7. The brutality and magnitude of the carnage and destruction proved to be unlike anything we had seen in the past and hopefully like nothing we will ever see again. As we approach the first anniversary of this dreadful day that has been seared into our memory as a people like a hot iron, we find ourselves finishing one part of mourning and transitioning into the next phase. In this next phase, we will be looking to learn, reflect, analyze, and digest the lessons that we take from such a monumental event.

I will use these columns to offer a three-part reflection on “Where We Were One Year Later” and will address the following topics:

1. What are the implications of October 7 for Israel and Zionism?
2. What does October 7 mean for Diaspora communities and how we have changed?
3. How has October 7, 2023, impacted Jewish life going forward, and what could/should the future of Jewish life look like for us as a people?

Thank you, as always, to my faithful and critical readers for embarking on this journey together.

Israel and Zionism – Part I

One year later, we are only at the beginning of understanding and internalizing the implications of the magnitude of the attack, the colossal failure of the military, the total malfunction of the intelligence apparatus, and the sitting government’s inability to deter, prevent, and react immediately and fully to the attack. Books will be written, case studies applied, and investigations will reveal how this could have happened and might have been prevented. In retrospect, one thing is already clear – the overwhelming national feeling of vulnerability.

In one fell swoop, Israelis were brought back to that sense of vulnerability that many had filed away in our collective memory from over a century ago when we lived under the rule of the Czar and were the perpetual victims of anti-Jewish persecution and torment. October 7 took us back to an era when men cowered behind walls and hid in cellars while women were raped and mutilated – straight out of Chaim Nachman Bialik’s epic poem “In the City of Slaughter” written in the wake of the 1903 Kishinev pogrom, a horrendous event in its era but nothing as terrible as October 7 in ours.

Bialik’s poem was, in many ways, a clarion call for the need for Zionism, meaning that we as a people must be responsible for our own fate and that we must be able to defend ourselves and repel our enemies. For the first 75 years of Israel’s existence Israelis, by and large, maintained the mythos of strength and what we refer to as QME (qualitative military edge). And then came October 7^th and the ensuing war.

One year later, Israel and the Jewish world are confronting a reality in which Israel faces a multi-front war backed by an Iranian war machine. Its proxies have been successful in effectively pushing Israel’s northern border well into Israeli territory. Many Israelis are left questioning whether a “total victory” (as PM Netanyahu touts), including a complete eradication of Hamas, continues without any end in sight as tens of thousands of Israelis and hundreds of thousands of Gazans are displaced from their homes and communities.

The Social Fabric

One year later, Israeli society has proven its resilience. In the absence of effective governmental leadership, civil society, and ordinary citizens stepped up to organize, mobilize, and provide for all needs – from military to medical to social to anything and everything one can imagine. Watching and participating in these gargantuan efforts has been nothing short of inspiring. It remains a clear and present reminder of the self-sacrificing spirit that is at the foundation of the Zionist ethos. Sadly, it took a crisis of this magnitude to bring out that spirit, a positive attitude that was also present in the pre-October 7^th efforts to preserve Israeli democracy.

Now, one year later, we are again witnessing deep divisions in Israeli society. We are also seeing very different understandings of Zionism. On the one hand, there are those who regard themselves as modern-day pioneers working to rebuild their destroyed communities. On the other hand, there are those who consider this to be an apocalyptic/messianic moment – not unlike the Six-Day War – and a harbinger for the resettlement of Gaza by Jewish settlers and the de jure annexation of all of the West Bank into Israel, regardless of international law and norms.

Israeli culture has been overflowing with art, song, and poetry, and Jews around the world are striving to comprehend the trauma in which we find ourselves in this new era of Jewish history. Only when the war is over can we truly begin the healing process. In this past year, there has been a powerful display of Israeli Judaism, using our ancient wisdom to express through music and poetry all the emotions since October 7 and during this war. Likewise, serious Jewish legal discussions have arisen over the importance of two of Judaism’s most important mitzvot, saving a life and the obligation to redeem captives.

As we approach the one-year mark, Israeli society faces deep social, cultural, religious, and political divisions. One may still feel the motivations of volunteers to selflessly support displaced families, to support soldiers who have spent months in reserve duty while separated from their families and businesses. All of that while doing everything possible to bring home the remaining hostages who very few people fathomed would still be in captivity one year later.

It now seems clear that prioritizing the hostages is the largest dividing line in Israeli society. Those who do prioritize the hostages are accused of being traitors and worse. One former hostage, released in the November hostage deal, detailed on one of Israel’s main news programs the abuse she received from other Israelis during public demonstrations, at bus stations, and on social media. There continues to be great skepticism, anger, and a deep sense of distrust toward the government regarding the motives of various coalition members, chiefly the Prime Minister, in not moving as soon as possible to get the hostages home as a top priority.

Some in the Israeli public see short-term James Bond-esque maneuvers like the assassinations of Fuad Shukr and Ismail Haniyeh earlier this summer to this week’s (couldn’t-have-been-written-better-by-Fauda) booby-trapped beepers and radios in Lebanon as signs of strength and as a reversal of Israel’s initial intelligence failure. However, others may see this attack on Hezbollah in Lebanon as a distraction. While the Mossad (if it is in fact responsible for this week’s events), is busy with such missions that have the value of being technologically and operationally impressive – along with the legitimate need to retaliate against Hezbollah after nearly a year of constant rocket fire and bombardment displacing tens of thousands and essentially waging war on Israel’s Northern front. The fact remains, however, that we have not moved one inch on the hostage issue. What’s more, Yehiya Sinwar, now the top leader of Hamas, is understood to be alive and still calling the shots from Gaza.

One year later – reality and hope:

One Year later, Israel still faces dangerous threats from Hamas (even though it has been demonstrably weakened) from Hezbollah, and from Iran.

One year later, Israelis are still feeling traumatized.

One year later, many more are becoming aware of the enormous damage in Gaza, the high toll of Palestinian civilian deaths, and the dire humanitarian crisis there.

One year later, Netanyahu’s coalition is still in power with few signs of collapse and new elections.

One year later, the hostages are still in captivity, and time is running out before they all die.

One year later, Israel is not the same country as it was before.

I find hope in those who have put their country and their society above themselves. I find hope in those who continue to protest and rally to bring their loved ones home. And I find hope in those who understand that two peoples exist between the River and the Sea and that no peace will come until that truth is universally recognized and accepted.

One year later, I find hope in our continued perseverance as a people and in our commitment as a Jewish people to take care of one another.

Stay tuned next week for how I believe the world has changed on this side of the Ocean.

Shabbat Shalom.