Rabbi's Blog

Dear OZ family,

When King David faced the Jebusite army in the battle for Jerusalem, described in Shmuel Bet chapter 5, he faced a column of lame and blind people in the front lines, with armed soldiers following behind them. David was in a quandary, because he loathed the idea of fighting the disabled, even as the enemy was using its own vulnerable people in a despicable attempt to gain an advantage in battle. History repeats itself in a sickening display of horrific disregard for life in Gaza. The cynical disregard for their own people is only matched by Hamas’ wanton delivery of missiles to population centers throughout Israel. Israel’s technology has been able to deflect most of these deadly missiles, but make no mistake, every one of them is sent with the intention to directly hit a hospital, or nursery, or a school bus filled with children, and if God forbid, that would happen, Hamas would be dancing in the streets and handing out candies.

The humane side of this conflict attempts at the peril of their own soldiers, to minimize harm and threat to life. Even as Hamas hopes for maximum harm and carnage to display before the cameras and reporters of the world, Israel does everything in its power to mitigate such harm. Hamas has engaged in the Orwellian standard of pretending that its murderous barrage of missiles is an attempt to protect holy sites in Jerusalem, while the reliable chorus of Anti-Israel reporting engages in equally Orwellian standards of considering Israel’s defenses to be beyond proportion. Every other nation on Earth would have flattened a city that does what Gaza is currently doing. Shooting missiles, as they do, from buildings containing human shields is nothing short of a war crime. The silence of the news outlets at the deadly force used by governments in places like Syria, Yemen and Libya, while condemning Israel’s response to indiscriminate bombing is Anti-Semitic and only emboldens Hamas to continue. They only care about winning in the court of public opinion, a court that media outlets are all too pleased to sway in their direction.

53 years ago, at this time of year, Israel faced a very precarious threat to her existence, and with lightning speed emerged victorious in the Six Day War. The first day of that war came to be known as Yom Yerushalayim, which we celebrated earlier this week. The Hebrew date was the 28^th of Iyar, and it celebrated the early defeats of the Egyptian and Syrian air forces. Of course, this day is already etched in our calendars as a celebrations of God’s Providence, but I believe the celebrations should concentrate, not on military conquests, but on the miracles entailed in returning the Old City of Jerusalem, the Kotel, and Har Habayit to Jewish control for the first time in almost 2,000 years, later in the war. Israelis live a miraculous existence. To believe otherwise is not realistic. After months out of school because of Covid, my grandchildren are again out of school, cowering a few times a day in their shelters. There are things we can do. Please follow the guidelines attached here to assure that our elected officials make unequivocal statements supporting Israel’s right to protect herself. I am also including an opportunity to support Zaka and United Hatzalah in their life-saving activity in Israel. Whatever funds you send will be doubled by a matching donation.

Please join me in wishing Mazel Tov to Jessica and Aaron Herring on the birth of a baby boy.

Be safe. Be healthy. Be excellent.

Rabbi Allen Schwartz

Rabbi Allen Schwartz

Congregation Ohab Zedek

118 West 95^th Street | New York, NY  10025-6604

Phone 212.749-5150, ext 200 | Fax 212.663-3635

E-mail ras@ozny.org

Website:  www.ozny.org

United Hatzalah is in immediate need of more bullet-proof vests, helmets and medical equipment to respond to the emergency in Israel. All donations up to $1 million are being matched through Friday.