[Sundaycommunity] Fwd: Israel at War: Making sense of this week's news
H. Burns
burnsh at hotmail.com
Fri May 31 17:03:52 PDT 2024
Today Joe Biden announced potential good news for a three phase resolution including an immediate ceasefire, a release of hostages, a rebuilding of Gaza, etc., etc. that you have likely heard on the news.
I have decided to forward this article from Jspace Canada, of which I am a member, because it captures the anguish of Israeli liberals and captures the ‘heart‘ of the Zionist dream (with which I resonate).
Sent from my iPhone
Begin forwarded message:
From: JSpaceCanada <info at jspacecanada.ca>
Date: May 31, 2024 at 18:26:53 EDT
To: Helena Burnstein <helena.burnstein at sympatico.ca>
Subject: Israel at War: Making sense of this week's news
Shabbat news and update round up
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DONATE NOW<https://www.jspacecanada.ca/donate?e=e01a8ccbbbe0751f0a6034ddfd2979fa&utm_source=jspace&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=shabbatemail_may312024&n=1>
Dear Helena,
Israel's Channel 12 news released a transcript<https://www.jspacecanada.ca/r?u=ufdZpdDRfZ5ZIVUnexxpOsqlQltC8D3Q7iwcEsx5lJZYeYcZ5rqXaHr2U3P43kqH9J5o1KI9saSwvuoh8LeQBslHcfHi-i5YxDGVMUYiJnhFlvzB582VTqDpDEyliun9---BQTdMLUIzf2xQ0E8K3XN4NMcbMWlRONgUTLAi618H86XL4H-hDy1oGgwK5GqTcNdQPjJmE_jF2BiE-zU0V_eEAcsTX4Q4FJj0Ml2MDrNitjwZxf-OWk9BtLs3QJl1JK_fFlbvPbNAykKG9x2mV4dzWI62czybEd9vUt1NFTA&e=e01a8ccbbbe0751f0a6034ddfd2979fa&utm_source=jspace&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=shabbatemail_may312024&n=2> yesterday of a tense meeting between Israel's National Security Advisor, Tzachi Hanegbi, and members of the hostage families.
After one of the hostage family members criticized Netanyahu for refurbishing his pool in Ceasarea during a war, Hanegbi replied "you have no right to have this much hatred and pain."
When the participant replied that she does have the right, and retold her harrowing story of hiding from Hamas terrorists for 15 hours on October 7, Hanegbi simply replied "then go ahead and curse me."
At this point, she left the room crying, and as another participant left to comfort her, Hanegbi retorted "are you also going to create drama?"
The callousness of this government reaches new lows seemingly every day, this time also wading into misogyny with Hanegbi's "hysterical women" stereotypes, as if having a member of your family held hostage for almost eight months wouldn't make even the toughest of us completely hysterical.
Hanegbi also admitted that "this government will not reach an agreement to finish the entire war for the return of the hostages." When a hostage family member replied "then we are doomed." Hanegbi replied "correct."
This goes beyond just these politicians and this government. If the pro-democracy movement pre-October 7 was a battle for Israel's soul, what we are facing now is a battle for Israel's fundamental reason for being.
Israel was created as a Jewish state, to provide safety for Jews, when history repeatedly told us that we are not safe in the diaspora. This promise, that we will be kept safe in Israel is not a promise that is to be stated once at the state's founding and then taken for granted. This is an active promise, it is work that must be done by the state's leaders every single day, to uphold the fundamental purpose of the state.
It is clear that this government failed Israelis on this promise. It failed on October 7, when Netanyahu ignored the security warnings<https://www.jspacecanada.ca/r?u=7G_TnAG6v_4jUyJcWqkwUzpkueoeG65wu1-ICr0BN8y2W-eRWVwKRCzw7uwZKq78RgWZnQNVhLqdy_mhLrsN4w&e=e01a8ccbbbe0751f0a6034ddfd2979fa&utm_source=jspace&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=shabbatemail_may312024&n=3> he had received in the months prior. It failed when it put vengeance over the sanctity of life, by deprioritizing the release of the hostages. And it fails time and time again when, after promising equality for all its citizens, it arrests and intimidates Palestinian citizens of Israel<https://www.jspacecanada.ca/r?u=tdADx8eKtARFyLkuoG3WvrkI4SqgXL_vKRovJWpRP0ehur5ezDsJR1zGDO7NsWOVuTkw1xulqXu5i734Jr67S7N85zKh8zUHT7VNSKR11WlL9bzGzUjPU-v8Yeov0GOpfQs3S2Z4JS7LlveghB1lkoPtojm7ogaAQlelEeW1vU4&e=e01a8ccbbbe0751f0a6034ddfd2979fa&utm_source=jspace&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=shabbatemail_may312024&n=4> who dare show empathy for the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza.
Establishing statehood, gaining self-determination and sovereignty, was indeed the goal of Zionism. But if that was its only goal, then why do we still identify as Zionists? Why is this identity so crucial to us, and why is our relationship to the state, even as Jews in the diaspora so important to us 76 years after the goal of Zionism was achieved?
It is because it is a movement of dreamers. It is a movement of Jews who believed, even in their darkest most disenfranchised moments, that they could create a better future for themselves. In that is inspiration. In that is what connects us to Zionism and tells us that it is not a movement that ends with the establishment of the state it is a movement that was reborn with the establishment of the state, and continues to evolve after all these years.
It also showcases our accomplishments, chief among them no longer being powerless. Acquiring power, through statehood and government, is not synonymous with evil. In fact, once you have power, you can use it to empower those still without.
Unfortunately, once again, the Netanyahu government has used its power mainly to destroy and disenfranchise. The world watched in horror on Tuesday as Gazans taking shelter in a refugee camp in Rafah were burned alive in a fire caused by an Israeli airstrike.
Many Hasbara voices tried to explain away<https://www.jspacecanada.ca/r?u=GA-QehPCvkLMsdyZvyooQlI9PXh8wz43JDnIfgZIVTPU6uVZHQVMlxFUYoiId1-osunCIsytdwfVsFKyexV9DQ&e=e01a8ccbbbe0751f0a6034ddfd2979fa&utm_source=jspace&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=shabbatemail_may312024&n=5> or justify<https://www.jspacecanada.ca/r?u=V3RK0bITQEe0DogD7ULWhd6asTr4PVVr1LRzcfKEp_lDt-GxuRKSscuhsyEjs_MP9tNSoMcm5DpNBQDkUiAN4Q&e=e01a8ccbbbe0751f0a6034ddfd2979fa&utm_source=jspace&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=shabbatemail_may312024&n=6> this horror, offering excuses or rationales. But there is no excuse, no rationale for children, mothers, fathers, dying. There is no rationale for people who have already lost everything to lose even more. To not have your heart break by the devastation is to lose your humanity. And to not recognize the devastation caused by your misuse of power is to balk at the responsibility that comes with your power.
Having to take responsibility is a privilege. It shows that you have agency and accountability, you are not powerless, you are not without representation.
We hold so much tension in Judaism - the world was created just for me, but I am but dust and ashes. If I am not for me, who will be for me? But when I am for myself alone, what am I?
And so here, once again, we hold this tension. We are scared, we are vulnerable, we feel fear. But we also have power, we have agency, and we can shape our destiny.
A state was created for us. A state that promised to keep us safe. A state that is meant to use its power and sovereignty for good. If we blindly support the state unquestioningly, what are we?
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In the Forward, why recognition of a Palestinian state does not "reward Hamas" and why American Jews should recognize a Palestinian state now.<https://www.jspacecanada.ca/r?u=RZP2DqGq_HoVGefyzkYODzXXw48blSJZ_uyL8hy7McLzaeh7cD5Ihff0pz3aPKfNqlIZtMX_EoheEvPMLCaFWlaDPkxDPBVz5T2khqIREx7wmCdoRl5NMyZfg9D5l7u4&e=e01a8ccbbbe0751f0a6034ddfd2979fa&utm_source=jspace&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=shabbatemail_may312024&n=7>
Zack Beauchamp writes about the massacre in Rafah and how Israel's actions are not only slaughtering Palestinians, but destroying Israel in the process.<https://www.jspacecanada.ca/r?u=8iY3u7fKlhcNkgGSgArBgGuLUsWicLsaFU01ZzZFdBdT-whHLsQcm2tPLF3PkJJ0_0VvFhwxOTuwEkYJN7V2sH5ODQw1Fkbz_IApy8yvY-otNWiM3003x5Do3UYsEIZ1&e=e01a8ccbbbe0751f0a6034ddfd2979fa&utm_source=jspace&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=shabbatemail_may312024&n=8>
The Guardian, in collaboration with +972 Magazine revealed the threats and intimidation from Israel against the International Criminal Court over the past nine years.<https://www.jspacecanada.ca/r?u=lb-1d5MMiOH4-wVLfg66RGKrH7vMCw4_KaKKf6-f1TQ1-Ow42JT7D-aXJr98y6I1VrC7kuas88d2xCndImFCC-V4ZocZ2rgo0xuu8vHUleYG7GortTSftyEAxkJCUj4xH4cOXJKEMn6F7uEroDXYNg&e=e01a8ccbbbe0751f0a6034ddfd2979fa&utm_source=jspace&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=shabbatemail_may312024&n=9>
In Haaretz, Dahlia Scheindlin argues that the war will not end until Netanyahu and Israel can answer three stark but crucial questions.<https://www.jspacecanada.ca/r?u=9qFujIoeyobCItbhgVcNfLtPpvPAXVozFLtZazbHGaDm-3Xaeis1r9ux95pKK5VxM1HTXGEn8ZNy_8ag0ihIL3HfplmZWU3kJ-78Q54aO0p8S24FFWdYePkBiwl-RXPv9ZYtNNlCgsWlhwX5QcFi8PMv3D2bjzW7XbROKCKiazaxcE5ARWTRZWKe6EJXfaHklPz7lCfTmys0qxOBYSP9YEzX6Y5eId32Wah0mVJoggVkbfuapTedXBQLcQ6guk_m&e=e01a8ccbbbe0751f0a6034ddfd2979fa&utm_source=jspace&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=shabbatemail_may312024&n=10>
Two Israeli academics who study fascism write about a new proposed law in Israel aimed at quashing dissent at universities, and what this says about the state of Israeli democracy.<https://www.jspacecanada.ca/r?u=RZP2DqGq_HoVGefyzkYOD8l7ccVezJnI0O-hZB27-_axcaOlkZ0avQRVEY5KJl-nOqnlY4uQS0iqbPjLe2gcO2xuhSphFiYiMZqfnT47Ynshgo3Ayt7PVJwvLjtL8Cnz&e=e01a8ccbbbe0751f0a6034ddfd2979fa&utm_source=jspace&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=shabbatemail_may312024&n=11>
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