By Ashley Klapper Pressman
I’ve thought a lot about what to say — how to put my grieving heart, my terror, my soul on display — as I watch rockets falling on Ashkelon, a city full of friends that I care deeply about, and as I worry about family and friends throughout Israel.
But not today. Instead, I want to offer a word to the silent, to those warriors of social justice who I see standing against hate and injustice every day and who in this moment can’t find it in your hearts to acknowledge or condemn the massacre of more than 1,300 people.
I see you. I know that you aren’t deliberately being hurtful or hateful. But as you know, intention matters less than impact, doesn’t it? I offer these corrections to the stories you’ve probably heard and invite you to hear me just as you would hear me if we were talking about a topic we agree on.
The Stories:
- Israel is a settler-colonialist state, Part 1 — Jews don’t belong in the land of Israel and were settled there by the British who wanted a European presence. Nope, nope, noppity, nope. For 3,000 years, Jews have called Israel home, both in physical presence and in our yearning hearts. There has never been a moment in history that Jews haven’t looked to Israel as their indigenous homeland. I could add more about the British role in condemning Jews to slaughter in Europe by not allowing them to emigrate to pre-state Palestine but … I digress. Key point — Jews belong and have always belonged in the land of Israel.
- Israel is a settler-colonialist state, Part 2: Are you living in the United States? Are you a member of the tribe that’s indigenous to the land on which you live? If not, have you paid the tribe for permission to live on the land? If not, are you currently making arrangements to move back to the land on which your ancestors lived before they lived in this land? No? Then shut up. You have far less claim to this land than any Jew has to the land of Israel.
- Israel’s response is disproportionate: Please explain to me the proportionate response for mass rape and execution at a dance festival? For beheading babies. It’s absolutely true that vengeance will ultimately be unproductive to a peaceful future. But it’s also true that a person or an entity that acts in inhumane ways must forfeit their right to operate in society, and that a government committed to public safety has the obligation to keep such an entity from acting against people in the future.
- If Israel would “just” leave the occupied territories, everything would be fine. That’s sweet– really it is. I love your optimism. And those of you who know how I feel about the word “just” know why I put it in quotes. Israel left Gaza in 2005. By 2006, Israeli soldiers had been kidnapped and rockets were being fired from Gaza into Israel (trust me, I was there when it happened.) Hamas is not interested in a two-state solution — never has been, never will be. They want the eradication of Israel and the removal of all Jews from the land.
- Hamas leaders are freedom fighters. Again … nope, nope, noppity nope. History is full of freedom fighters who retained their humanity while engaging in sustained, even violent, conflict. Hamas has no such history and no such values. They are terrorists. They are showing videos of murder, terror, kidnapping and they delight in it.
- Israeli forces kill children too: This is true and it’s tragic and it happens far too often. And yet, there is still no equivalency between a military that announces where it’s going to bomb and tells people to leave and a terrorist organization that deliberately targets civilians.
A few reminders to folks who feel the need to dip their toes into a fight you know very little about:
- The phrase “from the river to the sea” is not about a vision of a peaceful, two-state solution or a nation where Jews and Arabs coexist with equal rights. It is the genocidal call for a land of Israel/Palestine with no Jews in it. Again, your intentions in using the phrase don’t matter– this is what it means, plain and simple.
- Israel is a deeply complex, deeply flawed democratic country. Again, look in a mirror, Americans.
- If you find yourself using phrases like “It’s their fault” when referring to teenagers at a dance party being raped and murdered, just take a deep breath, rewind and try it again without the victim-blaming that you rage against in other areas of your life.
- If, on the other hand, you find yourself tempted to amplify calls for vengeance and bloodshed, remember that an eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind. Yes, Hamas must be removed from power. Yes, whatever entity comes to power in Gaza must not be allowed to be an existential threat to Israel. Yes, it’s an impossible burden to ask Israel to be responsible for protecting both its own citizens and the citizens of Gaza who live in impossibly crowded conditions, especially when bombs are falling. Yes, Israel has to do it anyway.
Thank you for listening. I’m not interested in arguing. I’m not interested in being accused of not caring about the suffering of Palestinians. I’m hurting. I’m grieving. I’m terrified.
I’m only asking for the humanity of my family, my friends, my people, to be recognized in this moment.
Ashley Klapper Pressman lives and works in the Baltimore Jewish community and is a member of Beth Am Synagogue.
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