The old Hanukkah dilemma for Jews was the coincidence of the holiday with the increasingly overwhelming Christian holiday of Christmas. The dilemma isn’t entirely solved, though in general we treat them as two of the December celebrations, though they have profound distinctions. There is universal agreement that Hanukkah is a minor Jewish holiday, just as there is universal agreement that Christmas is one of the two super-major Christian holidays. But inspiring winter lights, gifts, celebrations and fun are also universally appreciated.
The new Hanukkah dilemma is not as simple or simply solved. The historical holiday is based on a small band of Jewish guerillas defying the odds in defeating an oppressive empire. The storied miracle of the oil lamp is paired with a real military victory. Unfortunately, the Jewish dynasty that took over followed the well-known path of becoming oppressors themselves. If The Who created the rock opera, meet the new boss, same as the old boss.
The war in Gaza is not the first example of Israeli aggression in the name of security. It is not the first example in world history of aggression in the name of religious hegemony. Whether Israel or any other country or religion, whether now or any other era, questions arise about how the initiatives are conducted, what suffering is inflicted, and what happens next.
In the case of Hanukkah, the approach has been to stress the story of a bright miracle, including the immediate outcome of Jewish independence, but mostly look away from the darker elements of the history. In a certain light, that is exactly how the war in Gaza is being approached. By some Jews, but not all. Not by me. It’s a dilemma.
Our menorah, a box of candles, and a box of matches stand ready for Sunday evening. Will it matter if I don’t light the candles? Like the proverbial falling tree unseen in the forest, is it a hollow protest with no effect? If I do light the candles, will my wish for peace, repair and a new Jewish and Israeli ethos mean anything?
I guess that more light is better than less or none.
It has been six months since my last post about Gaza.
I think I am weary of watching the situation daily devolve and yet seeing little change in the attitudes of many in the Jewish communities or of many Americans, including those in power. Among other things, we still hear those labeling this a humanitarian tragedy being called antisemitic, even if Jewish.
The following article in the Guardian moves me to post again.
Ehud Olmert says forcing people into camp would be ethnic cleansing, and anger at Israel over Gaza war is not all down to antisemitism
“When they build a camp where they [plan to] ‘clean’ more than half of Gaza, then the inevitable understanding of the strategy of this [is that] it is not to save [Palestinians]. It is to deport them, to push them and to throw them away. There is no other understanding that I have, at least.”…
“It is a concentration camp. I am sorry,” he said, when asked about the plans laid out by Israel Katz last week. Once inside, Palestinians would not be allowed to leave, except to go to other countries, Katz said.
Katz has ordered the military to start drawing up operational plans for construction of the “humanitarian city” on the ruins of southern Gaza, to house initially 600,000 people and eventually the entire Palestinian population.
“If they [Palestinians] will be deported into the new ‘humanitarian city’, then you can say that this is part of an ethnic cleansing. It hasn’t yet happened,” Olmert said. That would be “the inevitable interpretation” of any attempt to create a camp for hundreds of thousands of people, he said.
Whoever you are and whatever communities you are in, please consider what is going on and what is planned in Gaza, please consider Olmert’s thoughts, and please consider a donation to the International Rescue Committee.
An aerial photograph taken by a drone shows displaced Palestinians returning to Rafah, a day after the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas came into effect, Gaza Strip, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Mohammad Abu Samra)Palestinians walk through the rubble caused by the Israeli air and ground offensive in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Mariam Dagga)Displaced Palestinians return to Rafah, Gaza Strip, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025 a day after the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas went into effect. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)Hussein Barakat sits on a couch with two others, atop the rubble of his destroyed home a day after the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas came into effect, in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025,(AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)An aerial photograph taken by a drone shows displaced Palestinians returning to Rafah, a day after the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas came into effect, Gaza Strip, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Mohammad Abu Samra)Palestinians walk through the destruction caused by the Israeli air and ground offensive in Jabaliya, a day after the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas came into effect, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Abed Hajjar)
Above is Jimmy Carter. His presidency is seen by many as a mixed bag. His humanity was and is never in question. He is now 99 years old, and nobody in American history has had a more successful or shining post-presidency. As for his administration, he is a world leader who brokered a peace deal in the Middle East, a rare milestone.
Which is a segue to Benjamin Netanyahu, who spoke yesterday to Congress, at the invitation of Republican Speaker Johnson, a speech boycotted by many Democrats, a speech that resulted in a large and difficult protest by opponents of Israel’s Gaza war.
Netanyahu is a segue to Donald Trump, who Netanyahu desperately wants back in the White House, because Trump is his kind of president—corrupt, dangerously self-interested, inhumane, etc.—and because President Trump will allow, encourage and enable whatever scheme Netanyahu has to stay in office and avoid peace. Netanyahu correctly views Trump as his less smart but equally narcissistic but more powerful brother, one he can wrap around his finger.
Just as Trump has brought the worst out in many Americans, that is, the worst that was already there, Netanyahu has brought out the worst in some Jews. Nothing those Americans learn about who Trump is or what he has done or plans to do seems to bother them. Nothing those Jews learn about who Netanyahu is or what he has done or plans to do seems to bother them. Thus always with demagogues.
There are no easy answers, In America, we can elect Democrats for every office, from president on down, because Republicans who remain in the party are all in Trump’s thrall, whether or not that’s what is actually in their hearts and minds. For Jews, we can stand up for the humanity that Judaism in its best lights and moments represents, and which Netanyahu doesn’t.
While we are at it, consider Jimmy Carter as a role model. A man of genuine faith, a man whose life has been guided for 99 years by a calling of service. Those who think that either Trump or Netanyahu are people of genuine faith or are good role models can and will go on with that dangerous and devilish delusion. Some know better.
It is not easy being a creative personality, particularly one who is popular and commercially successful, and taking a position on controversial and divisive issues. The war in Gaza is such an issue.
Below is the message from Artists for Ceasefire along with the list of those who have signed on, 464 so far. Some of my favorites are there, probably some of yours too. Some of my favorites are missing, probably some of yours too.
What intrigues me is that this list of 464 includes some of the most famous and respected names in entertainment and the arts. Yet while Justin Timberlake’s DWI arrest is a top news item, this receives hardly any coverage.
Dear President Biden,
We come together as artists and advocates, but most importantly as human beings witnessing the devastating loss of lives and unfolding horrors in Israel and Palestine.
We ask that, as President of the United States, you and the US Congress call for an immediate de-escalation and ceasefire in Gaza and Israel before another life is lost. More than 36,000 people have been killed over the last 8 months, and over 83,000 injured* – numbers that any person of conscience knows are catastrophic. We believe all life is sacred, no matter faith or ethnicity and we condemn the killing of Palestinian and Israeli civilians.
We urge your administration, Congress, and all world leaders, to honor all of the lives in the Holy Land and call for and facilitate a ceasefire without delay – an end to the bombing of Gaza, and the safe release of hostages. Half of Gaza’s two million residents are children, and more than two thirds are refugees and their descendants being forced to flee their homes. Humanitarian aid must be allowed to reach them.
We believe that the United States can play a vital diplomatic role in ending the suffering and we are adding our voices to those from the US Congress, UNICEF, Doctors Without Borders, The International Committee of The Red Cross, and so many others. Saving lives is a moral imperative. To echo UNICEF, “Compassion — and international law — must prevail.”
Since Oct 7th, more than 45,000* bombs and missiles have been dropped on Gaza – resulting in one child being killed every 10 minutes.
“Children and families in Gaza have practically run out of food, water, electricity, medicine and safe access to hospitals, following days of air strikes and cuts to all supply routes. Gaza’s sole power plant ran out of fuel Wednesday afternoon, shutting down electricity, water and wastewater treatment. Most residents can no longer get drinking water from service providers or household water through pipelines…. The humanitarian situation has reached lethal lows, and yet all reports point to further attacks. Compassion — and international law — must prevail.” – UNICEF spokesperson James Elder
Beyond our pain and mourning for all of the people there and their loved ones around the world we are motivated by an unbending will to stand for our common humanity. We stand for freedom, justice, dignity and peace for all people – and a deep desire to stop more bloodshed.
We refuse to tell future generations the story of our silence, that we stood by and did nothing. As Emergency Relief Chief Martin Griffiths told UN News, “History is watching.”
*Updated as of 6/6/24
Artists
Aaron Frazer Aasif Mandvi Abbi Jacobson Adam Lambert Adam McKay Adeel Ahmed Afshan Azad Ahamed Weinberg Aida Rodriguez Aimee Lou Wood Aja Monet Alan Cumming Alana Hadid Alena Smith Alfonso Cuarón Ali Adler Alia Shawkat Allison Russell Alyssa Milano Amanda Diaz Amanda Gorman Amanda Seales Amandla Stenberg Amber Tamblyn America Ferrera Aminatou Sow Aminé Amy Herzog Anand Desai-Barochia Andrew Ahn Andrew Garfield Andrew Thomas Huang Anees Angela Dimayuga Ani DiFranco Anna Konkle Annie Lennox Anoushka Shankar Aria Mia Loberti Arian Moayed Ariana Grande Arooj Aftab ASAP Nast Ashley Lukashevsky Asim Chaudhry Atsuko Okatsuka Auliʻi Cravalho Augustus Prew Ava DuVernay Ayo Edebiri Bassam Tariq Bassem Youssef Bella Hadid Belly Ben Affleck Bilal Hasna Billy Bragg BLK ODYSSY Bobbi Salvör Menuez Bonnie Wright Boots Riley Bradley Cooper Brandon Holman Brian Cox Brian Eno Brigitte Lacombe Brittani Nichols Bruce Cohen Bryan Adams Busy Phillipps Cameron Russell Carl Clemons-Hopkins Caroline Polachek Cat Power Cate Blanchett Catherine Van-Davies Celeste Barber Celeste Yim Chani Nicholas Channing Tatum Charithra Chandran Charlotte Riley Charm La’Donna Chase Sui Wonders Chella Man Cherien Dabis Chicano Batman Chioke Nassor Christine Baranski Cindi Leive Clairo Clean Bandit Connie Britton Cora Emmanuel Cree Summer Cynthia Erivo Cynthia Nixon Dan Bucatinsky Dan Cogan Daniel Caesar Daniel Garber Daniel Goldhaber Darius Marder Dave Merheje David Clennon David Cross David Oyelowo Dawn-Lyen Gardner Deb Never Denée Benton Desi Perkins Dev Hynes Devery Jacobs Diany Rodriguez Dina Shihabi Diplo DJ Snake Dominic Cooper Dominique Fishback Dominique Thorne Drake Dua Lipa Durand Jones D.W. Moffett Dylan Mulvaney Ebon Moss-Bachrach Edie Campbell Eisa Davis Elliott Gould El-P Elsa Hosk Elvira Lind Elyanna Emily V. Gordon Emily Meade Emma Seligman Eric André Eugene Lee Yang Ewan McGregor Fai Khadra Farah Bsaiso Farah Nabulsi Farida Khelfa Fatima Farheen Mirza Fawzia Mirza Fayssal Bazzi Florence Pugh Fontaines D.C. Francesca Fiorentini Frank Ocean Fred Hechinger Fredwreck Geena Rocero Geoffrey Arend Gigi Hadid Girl Named Tom Gracie Abrams Hadar Cohen Hannah Ferguson Hari Nef Hasan Minhaj Helado Negro Hend Sabry Howard Rodman Ido Mizrahy Ilana Glazer Imaan Hammam Imad Izemrane Iman Vellani Indya Moore Ivan Jackson Jai Courtney Jalen Noble James Schamus James Wilson Jamila Woods Janelle Monáe Jared Goldstein Jas Lin Jay Hernandez Jay Shetty Jean Smart Jehane Noujaim Jena Malone Jenna Ortega Jenni Konner Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Saunders Jenny Yang Jeremy Allen White Jeremy Strong Jes Tom Jesse Peretz Jesse Williams Jessica Chastain Jessie Buckley Jim Jarmusch Joaquin Phoenix Jodi Balfour Joe Alwyn Joel Edgerton Joel Kim Booster Johan Lindeberg John Cusack John Early Jon Batiste Jon Stewart Josh Gondelman Jordan Peele Joy Sunday JP Saxe Judah Friedlander Judy Reyes Julianne Nicholson Julien Baker Juliet Stevenson Juliette Binoche Julio Torres Kaitlin Olson Kal Penn Kali Uchis Kamie Crawford Karen Sours Albisua Kathryn Grody Kathy Najimy Katie Gavin Kaytranada Kehlani Kendrick Sampson Kenza Fourati K.Flay Khalid Abdulla Kimiko Glenn Kimya Dawson Kirsten Dunst Kristen Stewart Kit Yan Kumail Nanjiani Kylie Sparks Laila Nabulsi Lauren Jauregui Lee Eddy Lena Waithe Leo Sheng Lily Gladstone Lindy West Lionel Boyce LisaGay Hamilton Livia Firth Liz Garbus Lola Kirke Lola Petticrew Lorenza Izzo Louisa Jacobson Lucy Dacus Luis Bordonada Lupita Nyong’o Macklemore Mae Martin Mahershala Ali Majid Jordan Malala Yousafzai Mandy Patinkin Manish Dayal Marcia Cross Margaret Cho Maria Cornejo Marisa Tomei Mark Ruffalo Mark Rylance Martin Starr Mary Harron Mary Elizabeth Winstead Massari Matt McGorry Matt Lieb Matt Rogers Maxwell Osborne May Calamawy Maysoon Zayid Maz Jobrani Megan Boone Mekki Leeper Melanie Martinez Melissa Barrera Mica Argañaraz Michael Cerveris Michael Dorman Michael Malarkey Michael Moore Michael Uzowuru Michael Shannon Michael Stipe Michelle Wolf Mickey Sumner Miguel MILCK Milla Jovovich Mimi Kennedy Mira Nair Miranda July Miriam Margolyes Misan Harriman Misha Collins Mishel Prada Mitra Jouhari Mo Amer Mohamed Diab Molly Bernard Mona Chalabi Monet McMichael Morgan Spector Mousa Kraish MUNA Mustafa Ahmed Nabil Elderkin Naomi Scott Natalia Cordova Natalie Merchant Naz Riahi Nelly Furtado Nia DaCosta Nicola Coughlan Nicole Ansari Cox Niki Takesh Nikoo Nooryani Nina Goodheart Noah “40” Shebib Noam Shuster-Eliassi Nori Reed Omar Apollo Omar Metwally Omar Sy Oscar Isaac Padma Lakshmi Paloma Elsesser Patti Smith Paul Elia Paul Walter Hauser Peter Berg Peter Gabriel Peter Rosenberg Phoebe Bridgers Poorna Jagannathan Poppy Delevingne Poppy Liu Priyanka Chopra Jonas Quei Tann Quinta Brunson Rachel McAdams Rachel Sennott Rachel Zegler Rain Phoenix Ramy Youssef Raveena Aurora Rianne Van Rompaey Richa Moorjani Richard Gere River L. Ramirez Riz Ahmed Roberta Colindrez Rolla Selbak Rooney Mara Rosaline Elbay Rosario Dawson Rose Abdoo Rosie O’Donnell Rowan Blanchard Run The Jewels Rupi Kaur Ruth Negga Ryan Coogler Ryan Piers Williams Saagar Shaikh Sabeen Faheem Sabine Getty Saif Mahdi Sam Gold Sam Richardson Sami Zayn Sammy Obeid Samora Pinderhughes Sandra Oh Sara Driver Sara Ramirez Sarah Bahbah Sarah Jones Sarah E. Jones Sarah Snook Sarah Sophie Flicker Sarita Choudhury Sasami Ashworth Sean Miura Sebastián Silva Selena Gomez Sepideh Moafi Shailene Woodley Shaka King Shayla Mitchell Shepard Fairey Sherry Cola Shruti Ganguly Silas Howard SimiHaze Simon Helberg Simon Rex Simone Ashley Simu Liu Sinéad Bovell Sinéad Harnett Smino Snoh Aalegra Sophia Bush Sophia Roe Stella Schnabel Stephanie Suganami Stephen Dillane Steve Way Suleika Jaouad Susan Sarandon Susan Wokoma Sydney Lemmon Tahar Rahim Tala Ashe Tanya Selvaratnam Tara Grammy Tarek Bishara Tavi Gevinson Taylour Paige Tchaiko Omawale Tessa Thompson Thursday Tien Tran Toby Haynes Tom Morello Tom Hardy Tommy Genesis Tony Kushner Tony Shalhoub Tracey Seaward Travon Free Tyler Johnson V (formerly Eve Ensler) Vic Mensa Victoria Monét Viggo Mortensen Vijay Iyer Vivek Shraya Wale Waleed Zuaiter Wallace Shawn Wanda Sykes Yara Shahidi Yasmeen Fletcher Yasmine Aker Yasmine Al Massri Yumi Sakugawa Yusuf Cat Stevens Zach Woods Zayn Malik Ziwe Zoe Chao Zoe Lister Jones 070 Shake
The primary reasons for Netenyahu pursuing his Gaza war, whatever the actual success of the strategies, are to eliminate Hamas, hide his failure in preventing October 7, stay in power, avoid going to jail, and others.
There is a secondary reason, a bonus. Bibi has made Biden look weak and ineffectual. Biden’s rhetoric has been equivocal, leaning towards Israel. His actions have been less equivocal, since his arming of Israel remains intact, whatever he says.
This is exactly what Bibi and right-wingers in his cabinet want. They want Trump. Bibi, an agile politician if not a world-class statesman, can see that all this is costing Biden support and votes, increasing the chance of a Trump victory in what will be a close election. When Trump is back in office, they believe, whatever they want, whatever they ask for, he will be on their side. Unlike Biden, who seems to be having trouble holding steady in the political winds.
So while there are reasons that Bibi has remained stubborn and needlessly brutal in Gaza, helping elect Trump would be another good outcome for him. A bonus.
After the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordered a halt to the Israeli offensive in Rafah, Israeli spokesperson Avi Hyman said, “No power on Earth will stop Israel from protecting its citizens and going after Hamas in Gaza.”
I have no two-way channel with God. Whether or not the age of prophets and prophecy is past or present, whether there are those who had or have revelations, I am not one. This has not stopped me from wondering what God would say or do when faced with the precise way Israel is going about its protection of citizens and its pursuit of Hamas.
It seems that Netenyahu and his war cabinet, and their supporters, believe that everything they are doing is exactly what God wants them to do. Whether that comes from direct communication or is derived from their interpretation of the tradition they haven’t said.
If they asked me how I interpret the tradition, that is, what I think God wants, I don’t think it is this. Again, I’m not a prophet, and they would never ask me anyway.
I imagine God being pretty harsh with these Israeli leaders. I imagine God would tell them that as strategists they are the worst. The word “idiots” might be used, if that is how God talks. I imagine that Israeli lack of mercy and compassion would come up. God might remind them that in biblical times, Israelites who strayed so far from basic moral principles could expect to be smitten.
Maybe this is what the spokesperson is hinting at. Yes, he might be saying, “No power on earth will stop us. But if God intervenes, that’s a whole different story.”
Hind Rajab, age six, senior kindergarten graduation, killed by tank fire in Gaza
The rapper Macklemore just released the new track Hind’s Hall, about the war in Gaza and the protests.
Macklemore is a hugely popular artist. On Spotify, he has 32 million monthly listeners, making him 128th in the world. His tracks have been streamed 13 billion times.
Eleven years ago, his track Same Love celebrated the right of relationships between all people, at a time when same-sex marriage was not yet fully allowed or protected in America. It was a hit and has become an anthem.
His new track about the Gaza war is another powerful statement.
Hamilton Hall/Hind’s Hall, Columbia University
Artists in various media have taken on the war in Gaza. Slowly, tentatively, because many are concerned about being dropped or rejected. Musical artists have been the slowest. Macklemore, who has built a career independent of record labels, laments:
Yet the music industry’s quiet, complicit in their platform of silence What happened to the artist? What do you got to say? If I was on a label, you could drop me today I’d be fine with it ’cause the heart fed my page
Macklemore isn’t a hater, except of thoughtless war and repression. The millions who will stream this track (all streaming proceeds going to UNRWA) are not haters, except of thoughtless war and repression. It is notable that Spotify, in today’s New Music Friday playlist, doesn’t include Hind’s Hall.
Thank you Macklemore. Thank you all artists—writers, filmmakers, musicians—who have stood up and those who haven’t yet but will.
“You see these bums, you know, blowing up the campuses. Listen, the boys that are on the college campuses today are the luckiest people in the world, going to the greatest universities, and here they are burning up the books, storming around about this issue. You name it. Get rid of the war there will be another one.”
Three days later, on May 4, 1970, the National Guard shot and killed four and wounded nine at Kent State University in Ohio.
Nixon won election in 1968 on a platform of law and order. He had no use for student protests. But even those Americans who still supported the Vietnam War and agreed that student protestors were “bums” were troubled. So Nixon ordered a Commission on Campus Unrest. The Commission, under the leadership of former Pennsylvania governor William Scranton, investigated and issued a 537-page report. It included a special section on Kent State, containing a detailed day-by-day, minute-by-minute description, leading up to this moment:
Major Jones said he first heard an explosion which he thought was a firecracker. As he turned to his left, he heard another explosion which he knew to be an M-1 rifle shot. As he turned to his right, toward Taylor Hall, he said he saw guardsmen kneeling (photographs show some crouching) and bringing their rifles to their shoulders. He heard another M-1 shot, and then a volley of them. He yelled, “Cease fire!” several times, and rushed down the line shoving rifle barrels up and away from the crowd. He hit several guardsmen on their helmets with his swagger stick to stop them from firing.
General Canterbury stated that he first heard a single shot, which he thought was fired from some distance away on his left and which in his opinion did not come from a military weapon. Immediately afterward, he heard a volley of M-1 fire · from his right, the Taylor Hall end of the line. The Guard’s fie was directed away from the direction from which Canterbury thought the initial, nonmilitary shot came. His first reaction, like that of Fassinger and Jones, was to stop the firing.
Canterbury, Fassinger, and Jones–the three ranking officers on the hill–all said no order to fire was given. Twenty-eight guardsmen have acknowledged firing from Blanket Hill. Of these, 25 fired 55 shots from rifles, two fired five shots from .45 caliber pistols, and one fired a single blast from a shotgun. Sound tracks indicate that the firing of these 61 shots lasted approximately 13 seconds. The time of the shooting was approximately 12:25 p.m.
Four persons were killed and nine were wounded.
A map from the report:
Any lessons for today and beyond?
Whenever a university or a government decides to enforce its standard of order against gatherings and protests, that enforcement should be pursued carefully and judiciously, if at all. Things can and will happen when those forces are let loose. The choice of enforcement should be pursued only if there are no other options, which there almost always are. Emotions run high on all sides. Whenever weapons are officially introduced—from batons to rubber bullets to tear gas to guns and rifles—they can easily be used indiscriminately. And fatally.
Few things are more tragically ironic than anti-war protestors being injured or killed. It doesn’t have to be.
Above is a photo of Martin Luther King Jr. being arrested in Atlanta for taking part in a sit-in. Below is an excerpt from Dr. King’s Letter from a Birmingham Jail, where he was being imprisoned for taking part in nonviolent demonstrations against segregation.
You will not hear much mention of Dr. King from those cracking down on campus protests these days. It is inconvenient, because they would then have to make some fine distinctions between demonstrating for civil rights and demonstrating for human rights. Silence combined with force is easier.
It should not be necessary to explain the role of nonviolent protest and civil disobedience in American and world history. But apparently, the current thinking is that protesting this way proves that your cause is unworthy and wrongheaded. It is implied that if protestors don’t remove their campus encampments by a deadline, they are obviously illegitimate. Just as the civil rights movement was unworthy, wrongheaded and illegitimate to some.
From Letter from a Birmingham Jail
In no sense do I advocate evading or defying the law, as would the rabid segregationist. That would lead to anarchy. One who breaks an unjust law must do so openly, lovingly, and with a willingness to accept the penalty. I submit that an individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for law.
Of course, there is nothing new about this kind of civil disobedience. It was evidenced sublimely in the refusal of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to obey the laws of Nebuchadnezzar, on the ground that a higher moral law was at stake. It was practiced superbly by the early Christians, who were willing to face hungry lions and the excruciating pain of chopping blocks rather than submit to certain unjust laws of the Roman Empire. To a degree, academic freedom is a reality today because Socrates practiced civil disobedience. In our own nation, the Boston Tea Party represented a massive act of civil disobedience.
We should never forget that everything Adolf Hitler did in Germany was “legal” and everything the Hungarian freedom fighters did in Hungary was “illegal.” It was “illegal” to aid and comfort a Jew in Hitler’s Germany. Even so, I am sure that, had I lived in Germany at the time, I would have aided and comforted my Jewish brothers.
Bob Schwartz 