I’ve been struggling to find the words. October 7th was our last full day in Paris. We left the Eifel Tower area hours before the tower changed to Israeli flag colors, one of the most moving images I’ve seen this week. Solidarity I never imagined we needed after such horrific acts. It still feels surreal with every passing day. Like reliving 9/11 all over again. Except that this time we are facing the grim reality of a growing minority of terrorist sympathizers. “History never repeats itself, but it does often rhyme”. Its rhyming.
One of my first blog posts here was on a very special Israel trip we did in 2012. It was a Bat Mitzvah trip for my oldest. She now lives in Manhattan, and is afraid to take the subway today on the day of Jihad as declared by Hamas. The truth is that we have deep connections with Israel in more ways than a special trip. We have an extended family living there, and my wife and I lived there as children before immigrating to the US. While we met in FDR high school in Brooklyn, we both attended Brooklyn College, one of the sites of pro Palestinian rallies this week.
These pro Palestinian rallies are different today than the many we had in the past. They dont condemn Hamas actions, as horrific as they are. Some in fact praise them, and call it resistance. Its 2023, and raping women, and beheading babies is resistance. Many Americans sympathize with the David like defenseless nation trying to free itself from Goliath. But very few make the effort to take a few minutes to learn the history of the conflict, and the reasons why Palestinians are not totally free. Saturday should be exhibit A.
As children we lived in a small town in the north called Akko. As far as I’m concerned its the hummus capital of the world. Below is a picture of me with the legend Uri from Uri Buri one of the most famous restaurants in Israel located in the old city. Tourists flock to the old city of Akko for very good reason. But there’s a greater Akko, where Jews and Arabs have been living together peacefully for generations. 20% of Israel population is Arab. While the rest can be Christian, Druze, Samaritanism, Baháʼí and more. You can be whatever you want in Israel, including gay. Its the only democracy in the middle east, and the only country where people can demonstrate as they just did in Brooklyn College. The irony is stunning.
But there’s another thing the protesters dont realize, the most important thing. Israelis really want the same thing. They want to be freed from danger and live peacefully next to their Arab neighbors. Its just sort of hard to do when your neighbors vote for an organization whose ideology is “…judgment day will only arrive when the muslims fight the jews and kill them. Then the jew will hide behind every rock or tree…”.
I know that many, if not most Palestinians dont support this ideology and would like to get freed from organizations such as Hamas. But as long as Hamas is in charge, Israelis and Palestinians will never be free.
This is not a political post. And if my words hurt and you feel the need to unfollow, I understand. We are all in pain right now. I cant be silent.
Eating With Ziggy 