Hamas invaded Israel on October 7, 2023. They murdered 1,200 people. Kidnapped over 250 and still have 101 hostages. They fired rockets towards civilian areas, not only trying to kill Israeli citizens but on misfires, destroying the people of Gaza’s homes and killing them. Hezbollah has been firing missiles into Israel since October 7, 2023, also targeting civilians. Iran, on two occasions, has fired hundreds of rockets, including over 200 ballistic missiles on one occasion, also at Israeli civilians. Yet it is Israel that is held accountable by the world and the ICC for the death of civilians. Despite the fact that this is one of the lowest civilian to combatant mortality rates in history. Despite Israel begging Egypt to open Sinai to allow civilians to move there and be safe from attacks against Hamas. Despite Hamas using homes, hospitals, mosques, and schools as military bases and creating human shields. The hypocrisy is unbelievable and shows the blatent antisemitism in the world.
Just last week, 19 US Senators voted in favor of limiting military aid to Israel as they try to defeat the evil of Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran. This was led by “Jewish” Senator Bernie Sanders and one of the vocal proponents of limiting this aid was Jewish Senator Jon Ossoff.
The same day that Bernie Sanders brought his bill to the Senate floor, allowed by “Jewish” Senator Chuck Schumer (who has not brough the Antisemitism Awareness Act to the Senate Floor), Rabbi Zvi Kogan (z’l) was reported missing from the UAE. It was suspected at the time that he was kidnapped by Iran.
Today we learned that the intelligence and security authorities in the United Arab Emirates located the body of Rabbi Kogan (z’l). He was murdered because he fought back against his kidnappers. Rather than let him go because the kidnapping wasn’t going well, they chose to murder him. The murder of Rabbi Kogan is a criminal antisemitic terrorist incident. The State of Israel has already publicly stated that they will act by all means and bring justice to the criminals responsible for his death. The UAE has already announced the arrest of three suspects. The power of the Abraham Accords is real. Yet despite all that Iran continues to do, there are no charges pending at the ICC against Iran. The Hamas leader charged by the ICC was already dead when they charged him. The IC didn’t charge the leaders of Hamas who recently left Qatar for Turkey. The ICC didn’t charge Turkish President Erdogan for housing these murders and terrorists.
Once again, it is only the Jews who are targeted.
I am exhausted from the hypocrisy and the lies. Today we saw rockets fired at civilians in Israel once again. We saw the attempted kidnapping and murder of Rabbi Kogan (z’l) in UAE simply because he is Jewish. And as countries around the world publicly state they will the ICC arrest warrants if Netanyahu or Gallant should visit the country (and the EU attempt to mandate every EU country do it), the realities are beyond absurd. Prosecutor Karim Kahn is far from a man of honor. He is presently under investigation for sexual misconduct. He brazenly accused Netanyahu and Gallant of “war crimes”, “deliberately depriving Gaza’s civilian population of essential goods, including food, water, electricity and medical supplies” as part of a “widespread and systematic attack against civilians.”
The absurdity of these claims should be enough for them to be invalid, yet because they are Jews, the fact that Israel delivers an average of 3,729 food trucks per month into Gaza with an average of 3,374 calories per person per day: almost double the needs of an average adult human, doesn’t matter. The food truck delivery and calorie amounts are documented in a detailed study by the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Anybody who doesn’t want to believe it simply because it is an Israeli university study can easily verify the data using public informatio. Similar data is available regarding fuel, water, medical supplies, and all other forms of humanitarian aid, yet the lies grow and get spread by American politicians and celebrities, European governments, and world media.
Israel and the World Health Organization (WHO) just coordinated a massive polio vaccination campaign for children in Gaza. It is important to note that the children who did not get vaccinated and in fact were not even seen by the employees of WHO are the Israel child hostages. In the midst of this massive campaign, the only children deemed ineligible to receive the vaccines were the Israeli hostages. It’s clear that these are not the acts of a country attempting to harm, starve or kill civilians—in fact, it is exactly the opposite.
On top of everythign else, it is well documented, including by UN sources, that the terrorist organization Hamas and other crime affiliates habitually steal much of the humanitarian aid that enters Gaza, as well as torture and kill civilians who attempt to take aid for themselves. It is also well documented that many UNRWA employees are actually Hamas members and are intentionally diverting the aid to Hamas instead of the people. There are no sanctions against UNRWA. In fact, just after failing to stop military aid to Israel, it was “Jewish” Senator Bernie Sanders trying to have the United States return to funding UNRWA despite their clear and documented ties to Hamas, terrorism, and the theft of humanitarian aid.
And then, today, after some of the leadership of the United States and those in the incoming administration were vocal about sanctions against the ICC, their spokesperson at the United Nations came out with a public statement that the arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Galant could be revoked if Israel demonstrates a credible and thorough national investigation into the allegations. Since we already have the facts needed to disprove the allegations, what investigation is needed? It shows the power of standing up to Jew hatred. It shows that antisemitism can die in the light and when people stand up and speak out. It shows the power of peace through strength. It also shows the ICC is illegitimate
Talking about Jew hatred and antisemitism, two Israeli tourists in Townsville, Australia, were insulted and threatened by the owner of this store simply because they were Jewish. “Get the fuck out of my store! I don’t give a fuck about Israel but I do care about the fact that you’re a dirty, filthy Jew.” At least she didn’t try to hide it behind Israel and openly showed her bigotry and hatred. This video shows everybody what we face. I think the people who need to see it the most are the Jews who pretend it isn’t real and doesn’t happen. The Jews who excuse the behavior and try to blame it on us.
It’s why we must fight. It’s why we can’t stay silent. It’s why we can’t allow the lies to continue to be told unchallenged. The lies are what people believe. The lies are what ensure our destruction. Our fighting against it is what saves us. Don’t sit back and allow the hypocrisy of Jew hatred to win. Your voice matters. Your circle of influence matters. You matter. Take action now.
I grew up in a very multicultural environment. My friends were many different religions and came from many different cultures. They were of many ethnicities. They came from different socio-economic backgrounds. Some had intact families, some had parents that were divorced. Some were straight and while some were not ‘out’ yet, we all knew they were gay. It was a great way to grow up as people were just people. Friends were friends because of who they were, not any other reason. Growing up this way shaped me as person. To this day, my friends are my friends because of who they are, not based on their religion, culture, ethnicity, socio-economic status, sexual orientation or identification.
I didn’t realize that how I grew up was a bubble in a world that was not like that until much later in my life. As a Jewish, middle-class kid, I didn’t feel any different than my friends. I would go to their house; they would come to mine. We all played together, hung out together, dated each other, shared our hopes and dreams with each other. I wrongly assumed that everybody felt the way I felt.
It wasn’t until I went away to college that I began to notice the difference. We went to different colleges, and some didn’t go to college. A number of my friends had children when they were 19, 20 or 21. Even my friends who went to college with me ended up having different social groups that were more aligned with their personal identity. I joined a Jewish fraternity. I had friends that joined the historically black fraternities. Some joined fraternities that didn’t like Jews or black people. Others joined no fraternity and had a totally different social circle.
While I faced antisemitism in college, I didn’t see my friends facing prejudice because of their skin color or their ethnicity or their sexual identity. It wasn’t something that I lived with and so it was easy not to notice. I was blind to the discrimination they faced. When my childhood friends came out, it wasn’t a big deal to me because I had already known they were gay since childhood. While I was happy that they could now publicly be who they were, I didn’t understand what they were now facing as openly gay men.
It wasn’t until I was in my 40s and living in Seattle that I began to notice what my friends faced. I saw the Jew hatred starting and saw others ignoring it or not standing up for it. I saw hatred against the LGTBQ+ community and saw people ignore it. A friend of mine there told me that my leadership reminded her of Harvey Milk, and I’m embarrassed to admit that while I knew the name and that he was a gay man and leader in San Francisco, I didn’t know his story. I read about him, watched the movie (I highly recommend watching Sean Penn as Harvey Milk in the movie Milk) and was amazed that this incredible leader isn’t taught to children. I was more stunned when I learned it was his murderer who got off on the ‘Twinkie Defense’ which I had heard of.
Harvey Milk
When the murders happened at Pulse in Orlando, it was shocking to me. After Eric Garner, Michael Brown, Philando Castile, Botham Jean, Breanna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery were killed, I remember a friend of mine posting about how her son was driving across country and how worried she was about his safety because he would be driving while black. That was a slap in the face for me. My children were just a little younger than hers and while I worried about them driving safely, I wasn’t worried about them getting pulled over and ending up dead. It deeply affected me and made me realize how much I was oblivious to because of how I grew up and my own life experiences. My heart broke for her. It broke for my other friends who faced the same thing and were not comfortable saying it publicly.
When my son was recruited to play football by Howard University, a historically black college, I was excited for him. Howard is an excellent school with a great alumni base, and a childhood friend of mine was one of the coaches. When they offered him a full scholarship, I really wanted him to choose Howard. I was surprised by the pushback I got from people. He decided to attend UCF instead and I was sad about the process. When he thought about transferring, he was recruited by 4-5 other HBCs and I encouraged him to consider them. Again, there was pushback by others which saddened me.
I began paying more attention. One of my childhood friends posts regularly about black history and important black historical figures. Most of them I have never heard of and as I read about them, I am sad that I never had. When The Free Press wrote an article about Bayard Rustin, the architect of the March on Washington in 1963, I was stunned that I had never heard of him. I learned about the March on Washington, the Reverand Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Malcom X. Why had I never learned about Bayard Rustin?
Bayard Rustin – if you haven’t seen the movie about him and the March on Washington, watch it!
When October 7th happened, it was my turn. The pain I felt from the murders, rapes, and kidnappings that day was intense. I was worried about my friends in Israel who lived in the south of Israel and could be murdered just because they were Jewish. Those murdered and kidnapped from the Nova music festival hit me hard as that could have been my children and could have been me with them. When my friend’s son was killed by the terrorists, it hit hard. He was younger than both my sons. When I learned of family members of my friends who were being held hostage, I was devastated. As of now, there were 10 hostages that are related to my friends. 6 remain hostages to this date.
When the violence against Jews increased after October 7th and people were silent, I was outraged. When the denial of the rapes happened, I was outraged. When the women’s rights groups are silent about the rape of Jewish women on October 7th, I was outraged. When the hostages are forgotten or not mentioned by many of our leaders, I am outraged. When Israel gets vilified for defending her citizens, I get outraged. When the lies about what is going on become accepted, I get outraged.
I got it. While Jews marched with Dr. King and were active in the civil rights movement, that was 50 years ago. Where have we been as real partners for other communities, building friendships and relationships, since then? How could we expect them to be there for us when we haven’t been there for them? Of course there are some people who have been, but as a community, we have not. I made a commitment to not be that person any longer. To build relationships with other communities so they know the Jews are there for them before we ask them to be there for us. To have my eyes open for hatred of all types and to stand up against it.
On Thursday June 20, 2024, the SF Giants played the St. Louis Cardinals at Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama. It was a tribute to the Negro Leagues and to honor Willie Mays (z’l). The fact that Mays died on June 18, 2024, days before the game, made it more poignant. That June 19th is the holiday Juneteenth made it more powerful. During the pregame interviews on television, Alex Rodriguez asked Reggie Jackson what it was like returning to a field that held so many memories of baseball’s past. Reggie’s response was one of the most powerful things I have ever heard. He describes with bitter passion how horrible it was for him. He shared the prejudice he faced. How his manager, teammates, and even the owner, supported him. How they likely saved his life because without them he would have reacted on his anger. It made me commit even more to fight against racism and hatred. Watch the interview – it is powerful.
Reggie Jackson sharing the powerful experiences he had with racism when he played in Birmingham
As I listened to Reggie talk, it hit me that we are back there again. From violence against the black community, the LGTBQ+ community, the Asian community, the Muslim community, and the current horrific issues against the Jewish community, it is just like what Reggie described. “No Jews” is now heard. Being a Zionist means your teachers and other students will discriminate against you. Being Jewish makes you eligible to be attacked. Looking Jewish makes you a target for physical violence. A 12-year-old Jewish girl was gang raped in France on June 19th because she was Jewish. Jewish schools have been shot at in Canada. The horrors Reggie faced are now being faced by Jewish students on college campuses, in public schools, synagogues, and other public spaces. How have we come so far to be right back where we were?
This is why we need to do 3 things immediately.
Get educated. Learn the facts. Don’t believe the lies and don’t just speak in generalities. Know that Zionists so wanted a Jewish homeland that they accepted the partition plan immediately despite the challenges the plan presented. It was a Jewish homeland, so they took it. The Arabs rejected it and have continued to reject every opportunity for peace and a 2-state solution since 1948. Most of the time rejecting with violence. Learn about the State of Israel and the Arab supreme court Justice, the Arabs in the Knesset. The Israeli-Arabs, the Ethiopian Jews, the Druze, the Bhai, the Bedouins, and the Christians. Hasbarah is great but not enough. Learn the history. Learn the facts. Be able to have an intelligent discussion and defend Israel. Even when you are talking with people who know nothing. Actually, especially when you are talking with people who know nothing.
Defend Israel and the Jewish people. The days of hiding or playing defense are over. We play offense now. We don’t take the beatings because we get to stay alive. We fight back so we can live. Go to Israel and be public about it. Wear your Jewish pride, as a Star of David, a Chai, a kippah, a t-shirt, or whatever you want. Stand up. Speak out.
Build relationships with other communities. We need to have these relationships. During Pride month, be visible as a Jew celebrating Pride. During Black History month, be visible as a Jew. Stand with the black community as they celebrate their history. During Ramadan, go to a community Iftar and celebrate with your Muslim brothers and sisters. Learn the right greeting and wish them a Ramadan Kareem or Ramadan Mubarak. Know and use the greeting Eid Mubarak on Eid-al-fitr, the last day of Ramadan. Build relationships with the Christian community, the Sikh community, and every other community you can. We need them and they need us.
Here is an example of what getting educated and defending Israel can look like. Watch as this lie, this falsehood, is completely exposed by the speaker.
This is what we all need to be able to do.
And watch true experts, Douglas Murray and Natasha Hausdorff debate on behalf of Israel here. Some highlights of the debate are below.
Some highlights of the debate.
Hate is on the rise. Don’t think it isn’t. Don’t think it hasn’t always been here. I’m ashamed to admit that I didn’t see it for a long time while my friends had to deal with it. I’m embarrassed it took what it took to open my eyes. Now that they are open, there are only two options.
Keep my eyes open and take action to fight hate and bigotry.
Put my head back in the sand and pretend that I never saw it.
History has shown that only keeping our eyes open open and taking action has positive results. This action includes making the effort to support other communities and show that we are there for them before we need them to be there for us. That’s my choice. What is yours?
I’ve written about Bayard Rustin a few times since I learned about him. He was an incredible friend to the Jewish people and an avid Zionist, even visiting Israel and meeting with then Prime Minister Golda Meir. I decided to watch the new movie about his life, focusing on how he made the March on Washington occur. It’s available on Netflix.
Watch the trailer
I was stunned as I watched the opening scenes of the movie which depict the end of segregation and the first time African Americans were attending the same schools at white students. Not because of how awful and vile what happened at that time was. Not because of the suffering those students went through to bravely fight for their right to equal opportunity. I was stunned because it looked exactly like what Jewish students are facing on college campuses today. People yelling in their face. Calling them names. Treating them like second class citizens. It was horrible and unacceptable then. It is horrible and unacceptable now. Yet it’s happening every single day on college campuses across the country and in Canada.
Jewish students forced to hide and barricade themselves in the library at Cooper Union in NY.
Bayard Rustin was the brains and genius behind the march of Washington, DC where Dr. King gave his “I have a dream speech”. He talked about having the largest peaceful protest in history – 100,000 people on the National Mall (the actual number was 250,000). After October 7th, I was part of 300,000 people who gathered together peacefully in Washington, DC., in support of Israel and the Jewish people. When it was announced, I knew I had to be there. I knew that I wanted to be able to tell my future grandchildren that I was there. I wanted to be a role model for my children, nephews, and nieces, that I went and was part of it. It felt like a big hug, being there with signs supporting Israel and demanding the release of the hostages. Singing Hatikvah with 300,000 people was something I will never forget. History repeats itself – in 1963 it was the March on Washington for civil rights. In 2023 it was the rally for Israel with 300,000 people gathering to not just support Israel and the Jewish people but support each other.
There is a scene in the movie where Bayard tries to get the NAACP on board with the march. The head of the NAACP, Roy Wilkins, was afraid of what might happen if they had 100,000 ‘Negroes’ coming to Washington to protest. In the scene, they talk about other marches with far fewer people and highlight one, from 1932, done by WWI veterans. President Hoover unleashed the military to break up the march. Using tear gas and bayonets, the military chased away the veterans and those supporting them, burning their shanty towns in the process. Wilkins asks in the movie, “what was their race?” The answer, “they were white.” His fear of what might happen led the NAACP to say no to the march. We face the same thing today in the Jewish community. We have many communal leaders, many Jewish stars in sports, entertainment, and politics, who are afraid to take a bold position after October 7th, with the rise of antisemitism everywhere, out of fear of what might happen to them. This fear paralyzes us and results in more damage occurring to Israel and the Jewish people everywhere. It’s ok to be afraid, it’s not ok to let that fear paralyze us into inaction. As Jews, we have thousands of years of history that shows us what happens when we live in fear, when we don’t act, when we just try to be a part of some other society and don’t stand up and fight for ourselves when threatened. I made the decision after October 7th to not be paralyzed by fear. I made the decision to speak out against the evil of Hamas and of the Iranian leaders. I made the decision to call out antisemitism whenever and wherever I see it. It’s an ongoing conversation in my family as they are concerned about what some crazy, hate filled person might do. How I may be targeted. How my family may be targeted. One thing I know from our Jewish history is that if we stay silent, we will all end up being targeted, we will all end up being harmed. I’m not willing to repeat the mistakes of the past. Bayard Rustin wasn’t willing to accept being paralyzed by the fear of what might happen at the march. He knew that doing nothing would result in a far worse outcome. I hope we, as Jews, can learn from his leadership and not be afraid to stand up for ourselves, to speak out, to call out those who hate us and wish to harm us.
As they talk about what date to hold the march, the first suggestion is a Monday. Bayard replies, “Mondays are hard for our Pastors.” He then adds, “and Fridays are bad for our Jewish friends.” It’s a great reminder that as Jews, we were active in the civil rights movement. We played an important role and built a strong relationship with the African American community. In the years since then, for whatever reason, that relationship has deteriorated. We, as the Jewish community, don’t have the relationships we need with many other groups. We do with the Evangelical Christian community because THEY have been active supporters of Israel. We have neglected our relationships with other groups. As a large community, we are absent on MLK Day and the celebrations. As a group, we are not there during Pride month. As a group, we are not joining our Muslim brothers for their community Iftars during Ramadan. Because we have neglected these relationships, we see many of these groups not being there for us when we need them. It’s our responsibility to be there for them before we need them to be there for us. Bayard Rustin showed that when he was considerate of Shabbat and that if the march was on a Friday, the Jewish community couldn’t be there. He knew we’d be there for them if he was thoughtful first. I hope that we can learn to invest in these relationships outside the Jewish community. We are so hyper-focused on what’s going on inside the Jewish community that we are not ensuring the relationships we need outside the Jewish community are strong.
Bayard Rustin with Prime Minister Golda Meir during his visit to Israel in 1969
The movie has 2 scenes in which Senator Strom Thurmond plays a key role. In the first, he makes allegations against Dr. King about being a communist because Bayard Rustin, one of his close friends, was involved with the communist party earlier in his life. This false allegation was designed to stop the march and to create problems for Dr. King. The second is when he goes on the radio to ‘out’ Bayard Rustin as a ‘pervert’ due to his conviction for engaging in homosexual sex to attempt to stop the march from happening. It’s very similar to the false allegations against Israel being made by Representatives Rashida Talib, Ilhan Omar, Cori Bush, Jamal Bowman, Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, and many others today. Senator Thurmond was a known racist. The Representatives I mentioned above are known antisemites. Bayard fought against Senator Thurmond and wouldn’t allow him to win. Today, we must do the same against these antisemites in our own government. We can’t allow them to win. We can’t excuse their statements or their behavior.
There are two very powerful lines in the movie that apply to our Jewish community today. The first is when Bayard Rustin says to Dr. King, “when we tell ourselves such lies, start to live and believe such lies, we do the work of our oppressor by oppressing ourselves.” We have far too many people in our Jewish community who tell themselves lies about Israel and Zionism, who live and believe these lies, and not only do the work of antisemites but do it better than they do. It is our obligation to confront these lies in our own community. It is responsibility to make sure that members of our Jewish community are educated with the facts, not with the lies that Jew haters tell. Bayard Rustin knew that about his community. I hope we learn that lesson for ours.
The second line I am referring to also comes from Bayard Rustin speaking to Dr. King in the scene when he says, “on the day I was born black, I was also born homosexual. They either believe in freedom and justice for all, or they do not.” The same holds true today. Countries either have a right to defend themselves or they do not. Countries either have a right to make peace with their enemies through direct negotiations or they do not. Countries either get to have their democratic election processes or they do not. Israel cannot be held to a different standard than every other country in the world. When they do that, just like Bayard Rustin knew about freedom for all people, they are being antisemitic and going against the values they say they believe in. We cannot let them get away with it. Bayard stood up and spoke out and got the support from those he needed to speak out as well. We need to do the same. We cannot allow the double standard to continue to exist. We must demand our leaders, both political and those with large followings, do the same and speak out. We must condemn those who use the double standard to hide their antisemitism. It is not up to others to do this. It is up to us.
Near the end of the movie, the 10 heads of the committee for the March on Washington are invited to the White House to meet with President Kennedy. Somebody says that Bayard should be with him. Bayard already won – the March happened and was a huge success. He declines and says he is going to pick up trash. The rest leave to meet the President and he takes a bag and begins to pick up trash. The young people who follow him are shown with admiration in their eyes. They get it. It is about the work. It is about making things happen and driving change. Who gets the credit isn’t important to those who really want change. The same holds true for the Jewish community. You see this more in Israel than in the United States. In Israel they are all heroes because they do what is necessary. Civilians volunteering in the fields to pick produce. IDF soldiers risking everything for their country and the Jewish people. People moving all over the country to help those displaced with educational needs, healthcare needs, mental health needs, and whatever needs they have. In the United States we tend to focus more on who gets the credit. Who is the public face. We need to learn this lesson from Bayard Rustin. It’s the same lesson Ronald Reagan spoke about. In the words of President Harry S. Truman,“It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.” We have a lot of work ahead of us to fight antisemitism, to advocate for Israel, to educate both the Jewish and non-Jewish community, and for our survival. We can’t worry about who gets the credit, we have to be willing to pick up a bag and collect trash.
The saying on Ronald Reagan’s desk from the Harry Truman quote. We can all learn from this
The song at the end of the movie, Road to Freedom, is by Lenny Kravitz. Lenny is African American and Jewish. How fitting for the blog post. The lessons of Bayard Rustin applied to 2024 antisemitism through the song written and sung by an African American Jew.
I watched the movie Rustin to learn more about a man I recently learned about and have been fascinated with. How did such an important figure in the civil rights movement get basically erased from our history? How many others like him are there? I seem to learn about more of them all the time. Yet while watching the movie to learn about him, there were so many lessons that apply to our lives today. To the world we live in today. The fight for civil rights is not over. So many communities are still fighting it today. In the Jewish community, we fooled ourselves into thinking we were not one of them. October 7th and the aftermath showed us we are. While we still have many who don’t think this is true, who ‘do the work of the oppressor by oppressing ourselves,’ the rise in antisemitism in the United States and around the world shows us that that it is true. We have much to learn from the life of Bayard Rustin, an avid Zionist and friend to the Jewish people. I could write an entire post just about his connection to the Jewish people and the State of Israel. Let’s take a moment to thank him and honor his memory by learning the lessons he taught us and apply them today. From what I have learned about him, I think he’d really like that.
Bayard Rustin standing behind Dr. King during the I have a Dream speech
I grew up in an interesting community. In the 1970s and early 1980’s, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania was very middle America and a very integrated place. My friends growing up were of various ethnicities and backgrounds. We went to school together, played together, and grew up together. I like to joke that because 1/3 of my public school was Jewish, we were closed for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, and you would see tons of Matzo at lunch during Passover. But because it was Central Pennsylvania, we were also closed the first day of deer hunting season, because 1/3 of the school (including teachers) wouldn’t be there.
My friends were Christian, Jewish, and Hindu. They were African American, Indian, and Caucasian. They were gay and straight (although nobody had come out at that time, we all knew). They were in the gifted program and in the regular educational program. They came from different socio-economic backgrounds. We were kids who liked each other and hung out together and were friends. It’s amazing how many of them I keep in touch with even to this day.
Growing up in this environment, I didn’t see the challenges that some of my friends faced. They were my friends, so the fact that they were African American or gay wasn’t an issue to me and I wrongly assumed it wasn’t an issue in general. I was ignorant because I made a key false assumption that people thought the way I thought. As a result, I never saw the challenges they faced or would face in the future.
When October 7th happened, not only was I horrified, I also expected that the world would be horrified with me. When I saw that not only were they not horrified but they also wanted more October 7th type violence against Jews, that they blamed Jews for being attacked and murdered by terrorists, and that the world openly turned against the Jews, I got it. I finally understood what my friends dealt day in and day out that I never saw. Just like I saw them as people first, there are those who see Jews as people first. But there are far more who are filled with hatred towards Jews. I felt guilty for how I missed what my friends dealt with and deal with.
Protests defending the rape, murder, and kidnapping of Jews by Hamas after October 7th
I used to get frustrated when I would see things like ‘Queers for Palestine’ and think to myself, “Don’t they know that they would be persecuted and killed there?” I would think, “Israel is the only place in the Middle East where you can be openly gay. Don’t they know that?” I would wonder, what’s wrong with them? Since October 7th and in the aftermath, I no longer think that way. I now wonder what did we do wrong? How did we let them identify with a group that hates them instead of with Israel? How did we abandon them? Sure we fought for gay rights, marriage equality, the right to adopt, and many other things. But we didn’t understand their challenges in the world. We didn’t identify WITH them. So instead they identify with those who would kill them, who want to kill us, because they did identify WITH them.
I used to wonder how the African American community could have forgotten the civil rights movement and how the Jewish community played such an integral role in fighting WITH them. How could they abandon the people who helped found the NAACP, who fought so closely in the 1960s for equal rights? Since October 7th and the aftermath, I now wonder, “How did we abandon them?” Where did WE go wrong? How did WE move on and no longer serve as allies, creating an identification with terrorists who hate the very freedom we fought together to have?
Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel marching with Dr. King
The same is true for a part of our Jewish community who fights against Israel. I used to wonder how THEY went wrong. How could THEY be self-hating, how could THEY not understanding their homeland, how could THEY be so misinformed? Since October 7th and the aftermath, I now wonder, how did WE lose them? How did WE not provide what they needed? What do WE need to change to ensure the future generations understand the real meaning of Zionism, the importance of Israel to all Jews, and that it’s ok to disagree with the ruling government without trying to delegitimize the only Jewish country in the world.
If it’s really on US to change then we have to do things differently. We have to not only invest in the relationship but also work to understand the barriers they face on an everyday basis.
I read about Bayard Rustin, an openly gay black man during the civil rights movement who was the architect of the 1963 March on Washington. He was the right-hand man for the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. until he was blackmailed and chose to step away rather than risk damaging Dr. King and the movement. A man who formed BASIC – Black Americans to Support Israel Committee in 1975. There was a movie made about his life in 2023 that is available on Netflix. I am fascinated by this amazing man that I never knew about and it made me wonder how many more people like him do I not know about. How many historic figures do our schools do not teach.
Bayard Rustin, a man I knew nothing about yet we all should.
I knew a little about the Tuskegee airmen but just a little. I read an article in The Free Press about them and the lesson in excellence that they taught us. It’s a lesson I never learned because schools don’t teach about them. There is a lot for me to learn about the Tuskegee airmen, much to read, much to understand. A few of the remaining airmen spoke in Orlando recently and I was disappointed that I had a conflict and couldn’t hear them speak. If I get the opportunity again, I won’t miss it. I heard a story from the event that really hit me. One of the airmen said that many years later he met a white pilot who the airmen had supported and escorted many times in battle. The white pilot had never met or known who escorted him so many years later, he went up and thanked him. I can’t even imagine doing what they did with that little recognition or acknowledgement. True heroes. I was so inspired by the article that just like the author, I am getting a piece of artwork signed by some of the actual airmen to hang in my office to remind me what excellence, bravery, and commitment are really about.
One of the autographed prints I am deciding amongst which will hang in my office
When I lived in Seattle, a friend of mine who is gay, made a comment, complimenting me and talking about Harvey Milk. I had heard the name but didn’t know much about him at that time. Since she was saying it as a compliment, I wanted to learn about him and his story. What I learned was fascinating and once again, I was stunned and disappointed that I never learned about him in school. I had always heard of the ‘Twinkie defense’ in California and we used to joke about it growing up and even in college. That was common knowledge. The fact that the man who murdered Harvey Milk was who got away with murder for using the Twinkie defense wasn’t something I learned until I started reading about him. I was stunned that such an important part of the story of the Twinkie defense was never taught. I watched the movie Milk, starring Sean Penn, and was amazed at what a great job they did telling his story.
Harvey Milk, who should be taught in our schools
I wrote earlier about my Palestinian friends and how I reached out to them to check on them. After Iran attacked Israel, I reached out to friends in Iran to see how they are doing. The people of Iran are not the government, and they have publicly supported Israel. They have painted things like “Israel bomb the Ayatollah’s house” and cheered for Israel in the streets. I am concerned about the safety of my friends in Iran, both from the government and potential attacks. Since October 7th and the aftermath, I don’t want to repeat the same mistakes we have made with other communities. So I reach out. I share empathy. I do my best to understand what they are going through and share what I am going through with them. Build on commonalities so we see our similarities.
I don’t know if it’s too late for the generation who thinks those that hate them are the ones they need to support. I don’t know if we can educate or change their minds. I know that I have to try. I know that I have an obligation to make a difference with those that I can. The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. finished his famous ‘I have a dream’ speech with the following words:
And when this happens, and when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual:
Free at last! Free at last!
Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!
We need to speed up that day with our actions. I am committed. I ask you to join me.
I remember being in high school and learning the ancient Chinese curse, “May you live in interesting times.” and thinking to myself, what could be better than interesting times? I hate being bored, so interesting times would be exciting and fun.
Ah, the naivety of the young.
These are interesting times and as such are not so wonderful times. The rise of hatred over the past decade is frightening. The rise of antisemitism over the same time period and the exponential growth in the past 6 months is overwhelming. I read and listen to so much discussion and none of it seems to focus on the real challenge and the real solution.
We have been taught not to like each other. We have been taught that ‘the other’ is against us, will harm us, and that if they get what they want, we won’t get what we need. This seems to be fairly universal, regardless of who you are and who ‘the other’ is. We villainize them. We make broad generalizations about them. We make assumptions about them. The one thing we don’t do is actually engage with people who are different from us. That one thing we don’t do is the one thing that we need to do.
In November 2019, I had the honor and privilege of participating on an Encounter Immersive Experience. We spent 4 days meeting with, listening to, and learning from members of Palestinian civil society. I said it and used the word – Palestinian. So let’s set some ground rules for the rest of this post.
The Palestinian people do exist. They may have had different names over the years from Arabs to Bedouins, to Palestinians. We, as Jews, used to be called Hebrews and Israelites. Accept the fact that these people do exist, they live in what I will call ‘Greater Israel’, and aren’t going anywhere.
As a result of the 1967 war, Israel conquered territories. This happens in many wars and is a reality of millenniums. The area on the west bank of the Jordan River has different names. For purposes here I am going to call is Judea and Samaria, the ancient names for that land. Some may call in the West Bank. Some may call it Palestine. I am calling it Judea and Samaria.
Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Palestinian Authority (PA) are evil. Most Palestinian people don’t like them. I will discuss this later in this post however understand that there is a difference between Palestinian people and terrorists. If you insist on generalizing that they are all people or are all terrorists, you can stop reading here if you want. There is a difference.
Now back to my 4 days with leaders of Palestinian Civil Society. I remember thinking how 4 days seemed so short. This is such a complex issue; how could we only spend 4 days with them? There were 4 of the most intense days of my life. By the third day I was grateful that it was only 4 days because on how intense they were.
During these 4 days, which I wrote about at the time, and you can find about 17 blog postings in the beginning of this blog from that time period, I had the ability to meet with many different people. I had a chance to ask questions, listen to other points of view, and listed to people who had an entirely different history and narrative than I do. I met people who I really like and stay in touch with even today. I met people who I despised and who I am sure despised me only because I am Jewish. I met people whose effort to change and challenge everything that they know were inspiring. I met people who are a direct cause for the increase in hate, terrorism, and everything that led up to October 7th. I saw things that made me sad. Some were out of necessity, and some were simply terrible government policy. It was a life altering experience that only made me a stronger and more powerful Zionist but also made me a better human being because I began a journey of understanding some of the deep challenges and how much work it will take to find a solution, to make peace, and to get beyond the damage that has been done in the past so that we can live in a different future.
I have written a lot about how October 7th has impacted and changed me. I wrote about what seeing the 47-minute Hamas video was like. Recently I saw the documentary about the massacre at the Nova Music Festival and I shared what that was like. The past 6 months have been focused mostly on being a Jew in today’s world and in the United States. It has been focused on the challenge of being a Zionist, loving Israel, in a world that is openly hostile, willingly believes lies and knowingly uses inflammatory language that is not accurate. I have paid attention to my friends called up in the reserves, their children, either called up or who are currently serving in the IDF. What I haven’t done is think too much about my Palestinian friends and what life has been like for them.
Over the past few weeks, I have been talking a lot with various people about the future. As the US is demanding a permanent ceasefire and a 2 state solution (Hamas is the obstacle to the ceasefire as they have openly called for more October 7th massacres and still are holding hostages), I found myself thinking about who would be that partner for peace. Obviously, Israel and the government have to make their own changes and hopefully that will come soon. But what about the partner? Who would it be? It’s not Hamas or Hezbollah. It can’t be the Palestinian Authority (PA) who not only is corrupt and whose people hate them, still has not condemned the October 7th massacre nor have they had elections in 19 years! So again, who can this partner be?
I found myself thinking of my friend Ali Abu Awwad, founder of Taghyeer, the Palestinian National Nonviolence Movement. I met Ali on that trip and was amazing at what he said. There was real leadership about building a country that would live in peace with Israel. The line he said that I will always remember is, “Peace will not come through Jewish blood. It will come through Jewish hearts.” He then added, “we need to prove to the Jewish people that they can trust us because we have only showed them that they cannot.”
Ali and me together when he visited Orlando and spoke to our community.
Imagine leaders who are not calling for ‘intifada’ or ‘jihad’ but instead are calling for peace and understanding. Imagine leaders who came from a place of hatred and have overcome it to work with Jews, with Israeli, to build a better society. Imagine a leader whose mother was a high-ranking PLO leader, who spent time in an Israeli prison at the same time as his mother and was able to move beyond hatred. Imagine a leader whose brother was killed by the IDF and found peace and acceptance by spending time with a Rabbi whose son was killed by terrorists. That is Ali Abu Awwad. Just before Covid shut the world down, Ali spoke in Orlando. The room was at least half Israeli. They were primed for a fight. They were primed to hear somebody blame Israel and make the Palestinians innocent victims. They didn’t get what they expected. They heard somebody taking responsibility for their part in the hate. They heard somebody who gave hope for a different future.
I realized I hadn’t reached out Ali in quite a while. I hadn’t checked on him and asked how he was doing? then I began to think of some of the other Palestinian people that I met and considered friends. I hadn’t reached out to them either. What type of friend am I to be so overwhelmed with my own grief that I don’t check on my friends. So I began doing so. I reached out to Ali and am awaiting his reply.
I reached out to my friend Mahmoud. His family owns the Educational Bookshop in East Jerusalem. I spent a day with Mahmoud in 2019 walking around East Jerusalem, visiting the Palestinian theater, learning about the Palestinian arts community, and having coffee and a conversation at the bookshop. We finished the day at his home with another deep conversation. I wrote about that day in this blog post.
The day with Mahmoud was difficult and very meaningful. It is something that I think about regularly because of the power of his words. He is not a fundamentalist. He does not hate Jews. He does not want the destruction of Israel. He wants to live freely. He wants a government that represents him and takes care of him. It was very difficult to hear him say that if there was a public works project in his neighborhood, he wouldn’t ask the municipality of Jerusalem to fix it because they wouldn’t. And he wouldn’t/couldn’t ask the PA to fix it because even if they could, they wouldn’t. He felt helpless so he would just get people together to fix it himself or live with it being broken.
Mahmoud and the Educational Bookshop. I look forward to returning for another cup of coffee with him.
He talked about how challenging it was for him to be in West Jerusalem and how he felt there, how uncomfortable and that he was a focus of constant attention. He shared how he didn’t feel he belonged or was welcome there and how much that bothered him. It bothered him so much that he didn’t like going. He talked about how he would go to Tel Aviv, and he felt he didn’t stand out, he wasn’t a focus of attention like he was in West Jerusalem. And how that both made him feel welcome and how it also troubled him – why was it so different? He could disappear in Tel Aviv and just be a person while he felt he couldn’t do that in West Jerusalem. It didn’t sit well with me then – that’s not the Israel I love – yet with the rise of antisemitism in the past six months I have begun to understand it in a way that is very uncomfortable.
I watch what is happening in places like New York, California, Michigan, and Canada, and feel very uncomfortable and unwelcome as a Jew. This isn’t the America that I love. There are places around the world that I won’t visit now as a Jew. This isn’t the world that I want to live in.
I think often of something that Mahmoud said to us in his home. He said that if Zionism means that the Jews have a claim to the land and that the Palestinians also have a claim to the land, then he supports Zionism. It was incredibly powerful when he said it and even more powerful today. When a Palestinian man living in East Jerusalem can come to that type of understanding, it gives me great hope for the future. Zionism isn’t colonialism. It isn’t racism. It is the belief that the Jews have a right to self-determination in our historic homeland. In fact, the Declaration of Independence has some very clear definitions in it that need to be highlighted. They include:
This right is the natural right of the Jewish people to be masters of their own fate, like all other nations, in their own sovereign State.
Simply put, we have a right to our own sovereign State and self-determination. It’s very clear.
THE STATE OF ISRAEL will be open for Jewish immigration and for the Ingathering of the Exiles; it will foster the development of the country for the benefit of all its inhabitants; it will be based on freedom, justice and peace as envisaged by the prophets of Israel; it will ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion, race or sex; it will guarantee freedom of religion, conscience, language, education and culture; it will safeguard the Holy Places of all religions; and it will be faithful to the principles of the Charter of the United Nations.
While Israel is a Jewish state, it is a place for everybody who lives there. It is based on freedom, justice and peace – this language is very different from the charter of Hamas and the PLO. And it guarantees social and political rights to all. Unlike Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran and others, we do not want to a place for us alone.
WE APPEAL – in the very midst of the onslaught launched against us now for months – to the Arab inhabitants of the State of Israel to preserve peace and participate in the upbuilding of the State on the basis of full and equal citizenship and due representation in all its provisional and permanent institutions.
Full and equal citizenship and due representation. Powerful words. Powerful ideals.
WE EXTEND our hand to all neighboring states and their peoples in an offer of peace and good neighborliness, and appeal to them to establish bonds of cooperation and mutual help with the sovereign Jewish people settled in its own land. The State of Israel is prepared to do its share in a common effort for the advancement of the entire Middle East.
That last line is so important, especially during these times. While we may not have a current partner for peace with the Palestinians, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do our part to find one. The Abraham Accords and potential normalization with Saudia Arabia and Indonesia create even more opportunities. We cannot let the horrors of the past stop us from the beauty of the future. When I think of Mahmoud’s words back in 2019 and Ali’s passion and mission, that’s what I find myself going back to.
We cannot let the horrors of the past stop us from the beauty of the future.
Ali and Mahmoud both want a world where people live in peace, together, building countries that care about their people. They are both incredible leaders with a following. We cannot afford to ignore them and let those who preach hate; Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, the Palestinian Authority, etc., be in control.
Mahmoud and I have been emailing and when I’m in Israel in May, we are planning for me to go visit him at his bookstore in East Jerusalem, walk around the neighborhood once again, talk, share a long cup of coffee or tea, maybe have lunch or dinner, and talk. And talk. And talk. Learn from each other. Deepen our friendship. Because we both want the same thing. A brighter future together.
One of my favorite people that I met on this trip was Mohammad. I wrote about them in this blog post at the time. He and his wife Hiba, and their baby son hosted us for dinner at their home in East Jerusalem. They come from an amazing family. Hiba’s family is the Muslim family that holds the keys to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. It’s an amazing story and if you don’t know it, you can begin to read about it here. They both had Master’s degrees. She worked for the UN, he worked for an NGO that took him into Gaza on a monthly basis. We formed an instant connection and talked at length about the different challenges. The fact that the PA hasn’t had elections since 2005. How corrupt the PA is and how they do nothing for the people except steal money. How if there ever were elections, they could never vote for the PA, meaning that even Hamas would be a better choice because MAYBE they would do something for them (we haven’t talked about that since October 7th and I look forward to it in the near future) while they know the PA won’t do anything. I asked about them running for office and their response was demoralizing as they didn’t believe that they would win and if they did, they wouldn’t be able to do anything without being killed.
Mohammad, Hiba, their son and me at their home in East Jerusalem.
We made a promise to get together again on my next trip so he could take me to his favorite restaurants, bakeries, ice cream shops, and we could continue our conversation. Covid delayed my next trip, but I reached out before it, only to learn that Mohammad and his family had moved to Japan where he was working on a Ph.D. We haven’t been able to coordinate his trips back with my trips back yet, but in our last correspondence we are going to try later this summer when they will be there for a few months. In the meantime, they have a new baby that I want to meet. He offered his home for me to stay when I visit, and I plan to take him up on the offer. This is a beautiful family. Wonderful people. True friends. And Palestinians. It is possible.
The last friend from this trip that I have been in contact with is a woman named Suzan. She is a Palestinian Christian who lives in Bethlehem. She also hosted us at her home for dinner where we had an amazing conversation. She worries about the declining number of Christians in Bethlehem. She worries about the role of women in Bethlehem. She is privileged because she also has a German passport so is able to travel much easier.
Suzan (far left in the black dress) and four of us at her home for dinner.
Suzan is an artist and runs an art studio. The Bethlehem Fair Trade Artisans shop is an amazing place highlighting a variety of artists, mostly women, and I encourage you to check it out and if you see something you like, to purchase it. (Full disclosure – I encourage you to purchase as much as you can from Israeli artists and Israeli businesses. I have purchased many pieces from Israeli artists since October 7th. If you need help finding Israeli artists or businesses, please let me know and I’ll be happy to share my favorites and many others with you.)
Her focus is on women artists and fair-trade practices. She was very frustrated that she was being told by the city government that her future shows and community events could not include Jewish women. She told us that she didn’t care what they said, she was still going to invite the Jewish women to participate. And she was going to continue to sell the works of Jewish women artists in her shop. She didn’t care what they said, she was going to do what was right. What was moral. What was ethical.
Put those words together. Moral. Ethical. Palestinian. Generalizations simply don’t work. There are terrorists. There are people who hate and are evil. I have met many of them, especially on that trip in 2019. There are also many good people. Great people. Caring people. People who you’d want as your neighbor. As your friend.
I hope to see Suzan either in May or later this year. When I met her, it was just after she harvested her Olive trees so I saw the harvest. Maybe this time I can see the trees filled with olives, filled with life. Wouldn’t that be an incredible symbol.
Suzan with her harvest of olives from her trees
These are four examples of wonderful, amazing people. People I call friends. People I would be honored to have as neighbors. People I trust. Good people.
I met terrorists. You can read about my lunch with a member of Hamas, a murderer, and a member of the Al Aqsa Brigade in this post. There is a difference between my friends who are Palestinian and the terrorists. And I met people who were terrorists and are on a journey towards something different. There is hope for the future but only if we are willing to do something different than the past. That difference isn’t just up to us but it can start with us. We can change our language. We can use our contacts to meet Palestinians who want peace, who don’t hate, who don’t support Hamas or the PA, who will invite you into their home, share a meal, a coffee, and who you will come to really like. We can help them rise up and together we can ensure the terrorists aren’t in power, don’t have the ability to kill Jews and oppress the Palestinian people.
I’m not being pollyannish. I’m not being naïve. I am being hopeful. I am talking about creating a systemic change. I’m talking about taking action to stop the funding to UNRWA and the PA. Ensure a new government ‘of the people, by the people, and for the people’ is set up in Gaza (sound familiar?) We can lobby our government to force elections in Judea and Samaria, so Abbas’s 4-year term finally comes to an end before he serves 20 years of a 4 year term. We can encourage the leaders in Israel to work with these leaders who want peace in a methodical manner to build trust. As Ronald Reagan famously said, ‘Trust, but verify’.
The Israeli national anthem is Hatikvah, the hope. Let’s make sure we don’t lost hope. Then the terrorists win and we all lose.
IDF soldiers singing Hatikvah after October 7th just before they prepare to enter Gaza and defend Israel.
I look forward to sharing stories, pictures, and maybe even some videos and conversations with my Ali, Mahmoud, Mohammad and Hiba, and Suzan. As deeply as October 7th has damaged and changed me, I won’t let it drive out hope. Hope in the good people. Hope for a better future. And in the words of Theodore Herzl, “If you will it, it is no dream.” I’m going to put the work in. I hope you decide to as well.
PS
I came across this video of IDF soldiers rapping about the lies that are told about them. It’s very powerful and timely.
Sadly, it was recorded 10 years ago, showing that these allegations have a long rooted basis in antisemitism, Jew hatred, and bigotry. Enjoy the video as it’s powerful.
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