Israel Versus Israel
At the conclusion of any future investigation that may be held, the findings will most likely determine that the problem was not the world against Israel, but what precipitated the war that killed and maimed so many people was the Jews versus themselves.
You may recall that for months prior to October 7th, there were demonstrations—mostly in Tel Aviv—calling for the downfall of Bibi Netanyahu and the initializing of the process for new elections in Israel. The protests made Israel’s critics and especially her enemies (of which there’s no shortage) aware of how split and divided the Jewish state was.
In retrospect, for those out to destroy Israel, this may have seemed like the ideal that they’ve been waiting for. Southern Israel, very close to the border of Gaza, was the perfect place for this to happen for an abundance of reasons.
Firstly, most of the residents who live just a few hundred feet from the Gaza border saw themselves as “one people” who could not only work together, but could possibly live together someday.
You may recall that one of the first hostages to be released from Gaza captivity was Yocheved Lipshitz. She was a woman in her 80s, but her life was dedicated to picking up residents in Gaza and transporting them through the flimsy dividing line gate to hospitals in Israel to see some of Israel’s top doctors.
On the surface, it looked like a beautiful humanitarian gesture, but on October 7, 2023, it suddenly changed into something entirely different. This is not a subject that has been studied or analyzed in any particular detail over the last two years. The leadership of Gaza does not differentiate between one type of Jew and another. Most of the young attackers were kids who were indoctrinated from birth that their primary mission is to murder Jews and remove them from what they believe is their land.
This reminds me of a story I heard a long time ago from Rabbi Paysach Krohn about his brother, Kalman, and an exchange he had with a taxi driver in Israel. According to the story, the younger Rabbi Krohn got into a taxi and the first thing he said to the driver was, “Shalom achi,” or “Hello, my brother.”
The driver took umbrage to this simple greeting and said to his passenger, “Good morning, but you’re not my brother.” To this, Rabbi Krohn said, “I was taught a long time ago by my rebbe that we are all brothers.” At which point the driver responded, “And who is your rebbe?”
To which Rabbi Krohn replied, “Adolf Hitler.”
You see, Hitler, like the Arabs in Gaza on October 7th, saw no difference between Jews. To them a Jew is a Jew and it doesn’t matter where he lives, how he dresses, or what type of Judaism he practices.
Viewing this matter from a completely opposite perspective, it was President Trump who said before last year’s election that any Jew who votes for his opponent in the presidential election “should have their head examined.” At the time, it occurred to me that while Donald Trump is the best friend that Israel or the Jews have ever had in the White House, the president does not understand the great dichotomy that exists between the Jewish people.
And I don’t know how clear I can make it, but this is not meant to compare Trump to Hitler or the Israeli taxi driver or anyone else and I hope you understand that.
What Rabbi Krohn was communicating to the taxi driver in Israel is that our enemies don’t see or care about any nuanced differences that exist between one Jew and another. We might think that each of us and our respective group is special and different, but when it comes to the Holocaust and what happened on October 7th, the enemies of Israel just care about murdering Jews.
As you know, they also did not hesitate to murder anyone who had any connection to the Jews and their farms down there. That’s why they murdered Thai and Filipino workers and even some Arab Bedouins.
Now that October 7th is parked into our recent history, there are a number of other questions that need to be answered at some point. Much of it has to do with the Israeli military response or the lack thereof. And then the next and perhaps even more sensitive topic is what so many Jewish kids were doing dancing around a Buddha statue on Shemini Atzeret-Simchat Torah morning?
These are hard and difficult topics to address, and for the most part, they have no definitive answers. As far as the slow military response is concerned, it appears that it was all about the political machinations at play, the objective of which was to undermine Netanyahu no matter what the cost. The Gaza attack in southern Israel was a war, but Israel’s Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara decided that Netanyahu could not declare war against Hamas until he held a meeting with the entire cabinet. It was Shabbat and a chag and not easy to get ahold of people.
Those in safe rooms were certain that the IDF would come at any moment and they would be saved. But the Attorney General didn’t let that happen. And while the people clung to hope in their safe room as people were being butchered, no one came to save them or their loved ones until the chag had ended some 12 hours later.
The people in southern Israel in places like Be’eri, Kfar Aza, and Nir Oz were not armed to protect themselves by design. They believed that they were on such good terms with their Arab neighbors that the latter would never harm them or attack them under any circumstances. But they did.
The Arab attackers from Gaza did their homework. They had worked as gardeners and field laborers around their homes. They knew who was home that day and who was away. They knew which families kept guns and which were unarmed and vulnerable.
So, this tragic episode ended with many deaths of men, women, and children of all ages. There was a family that used to go away for Shabbat but decided to stay home that week because the lady of the house was expecting and preferred to stay home for a change. The terrorists, following their field notes, decided to skip that house and the people inside survived.
Two years later, the war in Gaza has drawn to a slow and difficult conclusion.
As time goes by, the Hamas operatives who survived will be turned into the Hamas “police force” and will undergo an even more significant changeover. They will likely shelve the Hamas moniker because it’s just not a good law enforcement image and they will in all likelihood change the name over to the Palestinian Police Force. That will be the case even though there is no Palestine and they have no real police force, but what’s in a name? Out there in the Middle East, not much.
Trump in bilateral meeting with Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman al Saud of Saudi Arabia
On Tuesday of this week, President Trump met with Prince Mohammed bin Salman in an Oval Office meeting featuring honor guards and fighter jets. One of the high points of the conversation was about the Saudis joining the Abraham Accords. Of course, the Saudis want the creation of two states, which no one will commit to. And when asked, both Trump and MBS were a bit cagier on the matter. Now that the two are talking about entering the Abraham Accords, the reference to two states was dropped and the talk is about “a pathway” for the Palestinians. A pathway can take 50 or 100 years, so for now it’s not really an issue.
Word last week was that the U.S. was planning to build a military base on the border of Gaza and Israel. That might solve the problem and hopefully for more than just a short while.
Read more of Larry Gordon’s articles at 5TJT.com. Follow 5 Towns Jewish Times on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for updates and live videos. Comments, questions, and suggestions are welcome at 5TJT.com and on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
