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.
There is a notable lack of compassion in some of the public initiatives in America and in other nations. These are nations that officially or unofficially identify as Judaeo-Christian.
For some time I’ve focused on that lack of compassion and considered how it might be improved.
But here I move to a predicate question. Why do those traditions or society value and promote compassion at all?
The question particularly arises for students of Buddhism. It may be an overbroad characterization, but it is not imprecise to say that compassion is at the center of Buddhism.
Which leads to the question of whether and how much compassion is at the center of other traditions.
So why compassion at all?
Here a few of the possible answers.
It is the right thing to do.
God wants it and expects it.
The Golden Rule advises it, because we will be treated as we treat others.
It will get us into heaven or keep us out of hell.
It makes us feel good.
Unlike those and other explanations, Buddhism reaches compassion not as an assigned transactional value but as an unavoidable conclusion. To simplify in my own substandard understanding, if there is absolute equality among us, there can be nothing but compassion. If we don’t recognize that absolute equality—and we so often don’t, instead putting ourselves in an unequal position—how can we be genuinely compassionate?
With that, back to the events of the day, and the open question of how, once we have advanced our own compassion, we can find ways to advance it in our traditions and in our nations.
For a one-volume comprehensive overview of the McCarthy era in America, see the Guide to Subversive Organizations and Publications from the House Committee on Un-American Activities, published in 1957, revised in 1961. (Available as PDF) According to the Committee:
“This Guide is basically a compilation of organizations and publications which have been declared to be Communist-front or outright Communist enterprises in official statements by Federal legislative and executive authorities, and by various State and Territorial investigating committees.”
What this means is that any person, organization or publication reported by somebody as being controlled by communists, promoting communist ideas, or sympathetic to communists is included. The level of proof is that if the suspicion appeared in some federal or state hearing or even in a letter, they were “cited” as subversive.
In many cases, the indicator that a person, organization or publication was subversive was that it supported what can be called progressive causes, which might include labor unions, racial equality, or constitutional rights. Among those cited, in this Guide and in hearings, were progressive Jews. Some were blacklisted and lost their careers. Some were imprisoned and lost their lives.
Here are a few examples from the Guide:
AMERICAN JEWISH LABOR COUNCIL
Cited as Communist.
“With an eye to religious groups, the Communists have formed religious fronts such as the American Jewish Labor Council.”
JEWISH PEOPLE’S COMMITTEE
Cited as subversive and Communist.
JEWISH PEOPLES FRATERNAL ORDER
Cited as Communist and among the “national group societies of International Workers Order.”
SCHOOL OF JEWISH STUDIES (Los Angeles, Calif.)
It is established that in January 1950 respondent [the California Labor School, Inc.] set up a branch called the School of Jewish Studies in Los Angeles. As shown in brochures of this branch ‘History and Traditions of the Jewish People’ comprised half the curriculum outside of Yiddish and Hebrew language courses. in Los Angeles.”
CHELSEA JEWISH CHILDREN’S SCHOOL (MASS.)
“A place where Marxism is combined with instruction in the racial tongue.” (Presumably “racial tongue” means Yiddish.)
JEWISH BLACKBOOK COMMITTEE OF LOS ANGELES
Cited as a Communist front located at Room 1021, 458 S. Spring Street, Los Angeles.
America has been a haven for Jews. In some instances, such as turning away Jews from Nazi Europe or condemning Jews during the era of Red Scares, not all Jews were equally safe. Jews who now believe that the official show of support for Israel and Zionism makes them immune to repression are mistaken. The “right kind of Jews” may be safe, but support of human rights, economic rights, constitutional rights, may put some Jews on the “wrong side”. As we learned in America decades ago, as we learned throughout history, when the government cracks down on “wrong thinking” Jews have no more protection than any other people. Sometimes, far less.
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)
“Chuck Schumer is Hamas all the way. I don’t know what the hell happened to him. If you support him, you’re crazy.”
“But they do love me in Israel. Everybody loves me. I could run for Prime Minister.”
Trump recently addressed the Israeli-American Council. In his 45-minute incoherent diatribe he explained why American Jews must vote for him.
Some unforgettable moments:
And, sadly, and I have to say this, and it hurts me to say it, you’re going to still vote for Democrats, and it doesn’t make sense. I say all the time that any Jewish person that votes for her, especially now, her or the Democrat Party, should have their head examined. It’s true.
With all I have done for Israel, I received only 24 percent of the Jewish vote. Now, think of this. I really haven’t been treated very well, but that’s the story of my life. It’s true. Think of it. But I understood that because I wasn’t really tested, I wasn’t a politician, and I won. But I understood that. And then I became President and was the best President ever for the people of Israel and for Jewish people. The best President ever.
And I did more for them than any President has and probably any President can do or will do, other than the current situation that’s coming up, because I have a feeling that maybe that’s going to be more than anything that was even done in the past, if you want to know the truth, because I think Israel is in big trouble.
And still, in 2020 — so remember, I got 24, 25 percent. Now I did all of these things, and I got 29 percent. Think of it. So I wasn’t treated right. But it’s not me that’s been treated badly. It’s Israel. Because you can make a big difference in the vote. You’re going to be a big factor in the vote.
I will say, places like Miami and different places were great. But honestly, I went from 25 to 29. And based on what I did, and based on my love of the same love that you have, I should be at 100. I should be at 100. But — But let me give you the bad news. A poll — I just told you how good the polls are, but we need every vote we can get.
The current polling has me with Jewish citizens, Jewish people — people that are supposed to love Israel. After having done all of that, having been the best President, the greatest President, by far — by far — a poll just came out. I’m at 40 percent. That means you got 60 percent voting for somebody that hates Israel. And I say it, it’s going to happen.
It’s only because of the Democrat hold or curse on you. You can’t let this happen. Forty percent is not acceptable because we have an election to win. So after all of this, I went from 29 to 40 percent.
And people that are smart said to me — a friend of mine, Jewish friend of mine, loves Israel, loves everything about your religion and about your country, your place. He said, “I can’t believe it’s happening. It’s sad.” And he started to cry, actually. He started to cry. With all of this — and he’s a tough cookie. I don’t think he cried for — since he was a little tiny baby. Maybe then I don’t think he cried.
And I only want to be — so I’m not going to call this as a prediction, but, in my opinion, the Jewish people would have a lot to do with a loss if I’m at 40 percent. If I’m at — if I think of it, that means 60 percent of voting for Kamala, who, in particular, is a bad Democrat.
The Democrats are bad to Israel. Very bad. They’ll never change because they have a section of their party now which has become amazingly and quickly very powerful, votes-wise. I mean, Chuck Schumer is a Palestinian. Who would have thought that was going to happen? What the hell happened to him? I saw him the other day. He was dressed in one of their robes, you know. That’ll be next. No, Chuck Schumer is Hamas all the way. I don’t know what the hell happened to him. If you support him, you’re crazy.
I’m at 40 percent. And when I heard that number today — it just came out today — when I heard that number today, I think it was insulting to our country. It was insulting to Israel. You know, it’s very interesting. They did a poll in Israel. I’m, like, at 99 percent favorable. I could run for — right now, I could run for any office in Israel. I’m at — in Israel, they love me. Here, not so much.
But they do love me in Israel. Everybody loves me. I could run for Prime Minister. Would you like me as your Prime Minister? But I have to learn your language. That’s a tough language to learn. I have to learn it in about three months. I have to learn it very quickly. But, no, I’m very — most popular person in Israel. But here, it doesn’t translate. It’s a — it’s a strange thing.
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.
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.
One line from the Book of Exodus crystallizes our moment.
As with all biblical Hebrew, the translation is challenging and varied.
Exodus 23:9
You shall not oppress a stranger, for you know the feelings of the stranger, having yourselves been strangers in the land of Egypt. (NJPS)
You shall not oppress a resident alien; you know the heart of an alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt. (NRSV)
No sojourner shall you oppress, for you know the sojourner’s heart, since you were sojourners in the land of Egypt. (Robert Alter)
Alter addresses one of the translation challenges, the Hebrew word nefesh/נֶ֣פֶשׁ:
“The Hebrew is nefesh, “heart”, “life,” “inner nature,” “essential being,” “breath.””
Another word needing expansion is the Hebrew ger/גֵּ֔ר. Scholars Mark Allen Powell and Dennis R. Bratcher explain in the HarperCollins Bible Dictionary:
alien (ger): In the Bible, one who is not a member of a particular social group. Accordingly, Abraham was an alien (NRSV: “stranger”) among the Hittites at Hebron (Gen. 23:4), as were Moses in Midian (Exod. 2:22) and the Israelites in Egypt (Deut. 23:7; cf. Ruth 1:1). The Hebrew word is ger, and it has often been translated “sojourner” in English Bibles. The NRSV is inconsistent, translating it “alien” in some instances and “stranger” in others. After the settlement in Canaan, the term not only designated a temporary guest but also acquired the more specialized meaning of “resident alien,” one who lived permanently within Israel (Exod. 22:21; 23:9). No doubt because the Israelites were keenly aware of their own heritage as aliens without rights in a foreign land, they developed specific laws governing the treatment of aliens. Strangers or aliens were to be treated with kindness and generosity (Lev. 19:10, 33–34; 23:22; Deut. 14:29). The basic principle was, “You shall also love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt” (Deut. 10:19). And, again, “You shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt” (Lev. 19:34)….
“Alien” or “stranger” also appears in a figurative sense, usually in appealing to the generosity and mercy of God in dealing with undeserving people (Pss. 39:12; 119:19; 1 Chron. 29:15). The idea of dwelling in a land owned by someone else is also applied theologically to the relationship of the Israelites to the land; it belonged to God and they were the strangers in it (Lev. 25:23). (emphasis added)
This Passover, we give a thought to the nefesh—heart, life, inner nature, essential being, breath—of the ger—stranger, sojourner, resident alien. As the Bible reminds us, we were strangers too.
Bob Schwartz 