“I love Jerusalem, I love Israel, and because of the global boycott of Jewish and Israeli writers, I especially made a point to come here, to the Jerusalem International Writers Festival.”
With these moving words, standing before an enthusiastic sold out crowd in Mishkenot Sha’anim, Bernard-Henri Levy (BHL) opened his talk this past Monday night.
“I defend Israel because it’s a tiny country. I defend Israel because its existence is the result of an incredible war of independence. I defend Israel because it’s a beacon of democracy. Above all, I defend Israel because when the world’s oldest hatred rears its ugly head and threatens Jews around the world, Israel is the one and only safe haven where a Jew has a place of refuge.”
A lifelong activist, philosopher, filmmaker, thinker and defender of human rights, BHL is a proud Zionist and advocate for Israel on the global stage. Based in Paris but active around the world, this week BHL brought his powerful message of hope to an Israeli crowd who welcomed him with thundering applause. The energy in the room was filled with admiration, and appreciation, for BHL’s unapologetic love for Israel.
BHL’s love is not without criticism. His Zionism is mature. He’s unafraid to defend Israel in the anti-Zionist hotspots – online, college campuses, podcasts – but is equally comfortable questioning certain policies of the Israeli government. He is a moderate voice, a humanitarian and a humanist.
“Very few countries or societies in the world are more open and democratic than Israel,” BHL told us Monday night. “The very nature of Israel encourages debate, dissent and dialogue. That’s why I proudly defend, and at times criticize, this place I love so much. I am not a combat soldier in Gaza, but I will always fight for Israel – its right to exist and defend itself, and the right it fosters, as a true democracy, for tolerance and openness to multiple opinions and voices.”
“How do you respond to the extreme pro-Palestinian voices around the world?” asked the moderator.
“Through my words and ideas,” he responded, “I show them that I am ultimately more pro-Palestinian than they are.” Brilliant.
Listening to BHL speak with his distinctly French accent that rings so familiar from my upbringing, and knowing that his roots are North African-Sephardic – like my parents – his words, ideas and vibe take me back to the Sephardic Shabbat tables of my upbringing. In BHL, I hear my parents speaking. His ideas are a contemporary expression of the Sephardic way I was raised: an unquestionable love for Israel, Judaism and the Jewish people, a disdain for extremism, an open mind, an open heart, with tolerance and respect for “the other side.”
BHL: Proud, Nuanced, Complex, Rooted, Humanitarian…Sephardic.
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Daniel Bouskila is the international director of the Sephardic Educational Center.
More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.