A Bisl Torah: Cowering Under the Covers

In Los Angeles, as a group of people enjoyed a meal outside, a Pro-Palestinian mob targeted and attacked the diners because they are Jewish. A separate incident: An Orthodox man was chased by a vehicle donned by two Palestinian flags. These are not isolated events. In the last ten days, anti-Semitic events have increased by almost 500%. The frightening underbelly of anti-Zionistic statements is a movement that speaks towards the destruction and elimination of the Jewish people. The wiping of Israel off this earth.

The building of peaceful coalitions that bring forward conversations about a two-state solution for both Israelis and Palestinians must be an ongoing process. Make no mistake: we are not witnessing peaceful discussion as Jews are targeted and violently harmed.

Hear this rabbi, loud and clear: I won’t quiver as I proudly and publicly wear my kippah and send my children to school with Stars of David around their necks. We will unabashedly walk through the streets of Los Angeles and take pride as staunch supporters of the Jewish people and the State of Israel. Without qualifiers. With full realization that once again, the Jewish people and Israel’s very existence are being questioned and threatened.

Where is your voice? If you are a Jew, stop closing your eyes to the reality set before us. If you are a non-Jew, stand with your Jewish friends as the Jewish people reexperience this trauma of hate and oppression.

The Talmud teaches, “When the community is immersed in suffering, a person should not say, ‘I’ll go home and eat and drink….” When even one Jew is attacked for their faith, when even one Jew is singled out and harmed as a child of Israel, when even one Jew feels as if they cannot wear a kippah in the United States of America, no person has the luxury of going home, cowering under the covers. Stop hiding.

Stand with the Jewish people. Stand with Israel. Call out hate. Because if you won’t, who will?

Rabbi Nicole Guzik is a rabbi at Sinai Temple. She can be reached at her Facebook page at Rabbi Nicole Guzik. For more writings, visit Rabbi Guzik’s blog section from Sinai Temple’s website.