For more on this theme, see link for: “Jews and ‘Dual Loyalty’“
Rabbi Moshe Taub
Published in Ami Magazine, 2024
“I’m no Nazi. I am an idealist!”
So asserted on Wilfried Böse, one of two Germans who, along with two Arab Palestinians, hijacked Air France Flight 139 on its way from Tel Aviv to Paris in 1976.
His preposterous comment was made even more ludicrous by the fact that is was said to a Holocaust survivor.
Böse was separating the Jewish and non-Jewish passengers (naturally, they were not separated by Israeli vs non-Israelis, mind you; rather by ‘Jew’ and ‘non-Jew’), when this older survivor rolled up his sleeve to display the numbers the Nazis had tattooed on his arm. This forced Wilfried Böse to come face-to -face with his native country’s past evil -an evil he was now perpetuating, causing his above remark (see: Time Magazine, “Hitler’s Children,” August 8, 1977).
One would imagine that similar machinations of self-delusion and cognitive dissonance go through the minds of some of the modern protesters at our universities as they lay down to sleep each night. Even if they are informed that some of their Jewish brethren on campus are in fear, they comfort themselves with the soft lullabies of—“I am but an idealist”.
I challenge the reader to guess which ‘crime’ committed by the Jewish State led to the following (an excerpt) notes of consideration undertaken against Israel by the United Nations Security Council:
“The Security Council considered the matter at five meetings held between 9 and 14 July 1976. The representatives of Cuba, the Federal Republic of Germany, Guinea, India, Israel, Kenya, Mauritania, Mauritius, Qatar, Somalia, Uganda, the United Republic of Cameroon and Yugoslavia were invited, at their request, to participate in the discussion without the right to vote. The case before the Council raised a number of complex issues… He hoped that the Council would find a way to point the world community in a constructive direction…”
What had Israel done this time?
One may think this incident involved the Yom Kippur War and the lands that had not yet been exchanged. Or maybe it was about the unverified-yet-well-known nuclear developments in Israel.
No.
The above was from July 9-14, 1976, when the United Nation’s many voting members were aghast at Israel’s miraculous rescue of the hostages in Entebbe!
Here is an excerpt from the United Nations yearbook (emphases mine):
“The representative of Qatar, who spoke on behalf of the Arab group of Member States, said the Council was concerned not with the hijacking but with the fact that a Member State had violated the territorial integrity of another Member State by flagrantly landing its troops on that State’s territory and menacing its population and security forces.
“While the Israeli murderers were preparing for their aggression… [In] its surprise attack on this unsuspecting, peaceful country in the heart of Africa…[an] illegal act of state terrorism…flagrant violation of international law…[and] called upon the Security Council to condemn Israel in the strongest possible terms…and consider sanctions against this longtime violator of the United Nations Charter and of international law.
“A number of speakers—Benin, China, Cuba, Guinea, Mauritius, Romania, the USSR, the United Republic of Tanzania, and others—made the point that it was inadmissible to react to terrorist acts of individuals or groups, which had been condemned by the international community, by another terrorist attack. Israel’s action, they said, was a premeditated and naked act of aggression committed against the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Uganda; they called on the Council to condemn the action in the most vigorous manner and compel Israel to pay compensation for the damage inflicted on Uganda…
“The Chinese representative [!!} said that…the Israeli Zionists had subjected the Palestinian and other Arab peoples to frenzied aggression and brutal massacre. Whatever excuses they might find to justify and whitewash their criminal acts of aggression were completely untenable and of no avail…”
Yearbook of the United Nations, Vol. 30, 1976, pp. 315-320
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Many Jews today are experiencing growing anxiety as they watch young Americans show support for those who brutally target and kill Jews. Even the events of October 7th -we are now told -must be given ‘context’, as if the world should ever not respond with disgust and fear from such actions.
No Jew that I know, for instance, would support someone escaping a Nazi death camp to only then go inside the town of Auschwitz and butcher children, or hold them in tunnels for years.
For Jews it is easy: should Israel support the sanctioned rape, baby-hostage-taking, and targeted murder of Palestinians then virtually every synagogue will take down their Israeli flags. No one would be angrier than Jews at having their faith spit-upon in such a manner, having children created in ‘the image of Gd’ used for land-sport. We would be the first to protest.
A small part of me believes that the world deep down is aware that the very things that many are now falsely libeling Jews with are the very actions Jews have been at the forefront of fighting against and protecting the world from. More than projection, they are inverting our nature and watching us twist and turn, dizzy with how to even respond to such horrid lies.
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Alas, they don’t make antisemties as they used to.
The level of ignorance found among modern day Israel-haters is astounding (I’m not reffering to Israel-dislikers, disagree-ers, policies, or the like; indeed there are more of those among Jews than Gentiles!)
From my experience, most protesters are not even informed to the most basic of October 7th being an attack not on disputed territory or land.
Regrettably, that information would anyway often not change minds, as, to most arguments, they often simply retort, “All of the land belongs to the Palestinians…”, or, “What did you expect they would do when treated the way they are by Israel for all these years?”?
Forgetting the sheer sophistry of such a position for a moment, one has to wonder where their agreeable professors and mentors are. Have they never prepared these shepherded interlocutors with basic facts, or a map? Have they not stress-tested their arguments, if only to make them more persuadable to the genuinely curious?
When confronted with such hatred and ignorance, I seek to distill my points down to the following 7 questions:
- “Even if you believe it is all Palestinian land, is everything and anything allowed in such cases, and against civilians, even against those citizens dedicated to this very struggle (as was the case regarding the victims of Oct. 7)? If not, which tactics would be off the table? Why?”
- “May all peoples who argue or feel to be in a similar position respond in kind, in the same manner? -E.g. Kashmir, Rwanda, Western Sahara…Native Americans, etc. – If not, why not? And, if not, how will you now prevent that after offering your support here?
- May Israeli’s who argue or feel that Arabs are on their land now target Arabs for killings, rapes, and the maiming of innocents? If not, why not? (The interlocutor would often be shocked to learn that two million such Israeli citizens exist).
- If they argue, “But this is different…”, explain that this is why we have set and pre-stated morals. For example, “Just because you understand that the father who killed his child’s victimizer is different than other cases does not mean your support to let him walk will not open a pandora’s box of other, less moral, vengeful acts, nor will such posturing and equivocating prevent your justifications to lead to a far more dangerous society”.
- “If you get your way, would Jews be able live on Palestinian land, as Arabs do on Israeli?”
- “Why did the Israelis remove the remains and graves of buried Jews when they annexed Gaza in 2005?” (If they even know Israel gave them all of Gaza then)
- “How would you want America to respond to the exact same circumstances, with hostages, held in an urban area, aided by citizen protection, tunnels, etc.?”
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In one of the schools where I teach, a student approached me and said anxiously, “There is so much chaos. It’s so scary!”
I asked the students in the class to take their seats and spoke to them all. I told them that in Shemoneh Esrei, we offer thanks in Modim. It is easy to relate to the gratitude described there, except for one line: “Al chayeinu hamesurim b’yadecha v’al nishmoseinu hapekudos lach”—we thank Hashem for our lives, which are in His hands, and for our souls, which are entrusted to Him.
It would be understandable if this statement appeared in Tachanun or in U’nesaneh Tokef, but why here? Are we thanking Hashem for the fact that He may decide to take us to the Olam Ha’emes at any moment?
The answer seems to be that this part of the tefillah is for moments like the ones we are experiencing now, when we are at war and our enemies abound, when life seems capricious, when the arbitrary nature of suffering keeps us up at night. At times like this, we thank Hashem that He is in control. Chazal state that only Hashem has the keys to life and death, and He gives them to no one else (Taanis 2).
Although we may not understand the reason for what is happening, we do know He has a plan.
Hostage-taking is not new to the Jewish people. A number of people in Chumash experienced this horror—Lot, Sarah Imeinu, Dina. (Interestingly, the Rambam, the Ramban and the Maharal, among others, discuss the issue of allowing civilian casualties during a war, one purpose of which would be to save even a single hostage.)
And then there was Yosef. Last week was the yahrtzeit of Rachel Imeinu (according to many; cf. Rashi on Bereishis 48:7 with Pesikta Rabbasi).The following Chazal, which discusses the initial moments of Yosef’s capture by the Yishma’elim, is fitting for this moment(Sefer Hayashar, Vayeishev, ch. 8).
“And the Yishma’elimcontinued their journey and passed Efrat, where Rachel was buried. Yosef ran to the grave, falling and weeping upon it. He cried out upon his mother’s grave, saying, ‘Oh, my mother! My mother, you who gave me birth to me! Awake! Arise now! See how your son has been sold into slavery with no one to have compassion upon him. Oh, arise! Look at your son! Weep with me in my affliction!…
“‘Oh, my mother! Rouse! Awaken! [I have been] torn away from my father… Bring my complaints before Hashem! See…who is to be condemned. Arise! Oh, my mother, awaken from torpor! Distinguish my father, whose soul is with me this day, and comfort him and console his heart.’
“Yosef continued to cry aloud and to weep bitterly upon his mother’s grave. From the bitterness of his heart, he finally became silent, like a stone upon the grave.
“Yosef then heard a voice speaking to him, answering him in a voice of weeping and prayer: ‘My son! Yosef! Oh, my son! I haveheard the voice of your weeping and crying, and I haveseen your tears, and I haveseen your affliction. Oh, my son, I amgrieved for your sake… Now a new sorrow has been added to my sorrow.
“‘Now, my son Yosef, place your hope in Hashem… Do not fear, for Hashem is with you to deliver you from all trouble…’”
The navi informs us (Yirmeyahu 31:14, 15): “So says Hashem: A voice is heard on high, a lamentation, a bitter weeping; it is Rachel weeping for her children, and she refuses to be comforted for her children while they are not comforted. ‘Know that there is hope for your future,’ says the Lord, ‘and the children shall return to their own border.’”
Chazal (Pesikta #24 on Eichah Rabbah) share Rachel’s tefillah with us. She reminds Hashem, “It is revealed before You that Your servant Yaakov treasured me greatly and worked for my father seven years for me. When those seven years were completed and the time for my marriage arrived, Lavan plotted to exchange my sister for me. This plot was very difficult for me, and I gave Yaakov a signal. Afterward, I regretted what I had done, and I had mercy on my sister…”
Immediately Hashem’s rachamim was aroused, and He said, “For you, Rachel, I will restore Israel to its place.”
On Simchas Torah this year, we were expecting a chasan Torah; we were looking forward to dancing after weeks of teshuvah and hard work. Instead we were met with tragedy and pain.
Perhaps this is the reason we choose Rachel as our advocate in galus. She understands the feeling of hope and excitement, of trust and anticipation—and she understands what it means to have her hopes torn asunder.
May Hashem accept her cries once more and bring the yeshuah we so desperately need. ●
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