Hey, tribe.
You know that old saw: “The darkest hour is just before dawn?”
I feel as if we just witnessed its truth in action. Truly we have reasons to rejoice.
I can’t count the number of times during the last 6 months that I have pressed people to ask themselves why exactly they are siding against Israel in its current conflict with Hamas.
I point out that until the inception of Israel, the Jews’ status in the Middle East was that of an oppressed people given their dhimmi status, in which they experienced a Middle Eastern version of Jim Crow laws for centuries. And when they finally eked out a postage-stamp-sized tract with the fertility of a desert in their indigenous homeland, where they’re surrounded by an ocean of oil-rich and Muslim-dominant territories, they have done more to ensure freedom and empowerment for their minority citizens than any other state in the region.
Tel Aviv is the gayest city in the world. Israel elected a female prime minister decades ago, whereas the U.S. still has not allowed a woman to helm its nation. Israel airlifted tens of thousands of starving Ethiopians out of famine and made them full citizens immediately. Israel introduced drip irrigation to Africa. Israel has offered the world a staggering amount of medical, scientific and technological innovations. Israel is a first responder all over the world whenever other countries are facing natural disasters, even providing aid to enemies in their hour of need. For that matter, Israel cured the cancer of Hamas commander Yahya Sinwar and even now is providing care to two of his immediate relatives.
Whereas Hamas brutally oppresses its gay civilians and its women and does everything in its power to arrange the death of their own children.
When I ask my progressive peers how exactly they align against Israel in that equation, I hear the same answer over and over:
“The disproportionate casualties prove that Israel is the oppressor.”
Let’s really unpack this irony for a moment.
Israel does everything in its power to protect its people, investing billions in purely defensive technology like the Iron Dome, the C-Dome, and bomb shelters throughout the country.
And again, Hamas does everything in its power to maximize the deaths of both sides’ children.
So the resulting disproportionate casualties proves that Israel is the oppressor?
Can you imagine arguing this point?
Now let’s look at a microcosm of another burgeoning conflict.
With a single strike, Israel just took out one of the leading architects of October 7 and the most senior leader of Iran’s Qud force, along with two other commanders and four officers.
Iran responded over the weekend by attacking Israel with over 331 ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones. Baruch Hashem and kayn ahora, they managed to kill exactly no one.
So Israel took out 7 with a single strike; Iran took out 0 with 331.
These numbers are pretty disproportionate, yes? Not to mention the fact that Iran is 75 times the size of Israel.
So is Israel the oppressor here, because far more Iranians were killed with less than 1% of the same firepower?
You would certainly think so given the sentiments from some of the western left.
The news that Iran had just attacked Israel was greeted with cheers by participants in the Eid Unity March in Toronto.
The same happened at a gathering of “anti-war” activists in Chicago, which included members of March on DNC 2024 and Anti-War Chicago. Upon hearing that Israel was being attacked, the group broke into whistles and applause. I guess they approve of war only when it’s waged on Jews. These activists also broke into a chant of “Hands off Iran!”
In a breakout session at the same event, organizer Shabbir Rizvi led participants in a rousing call for “Death to Israel” and even “Death to America”.
What western progressives fail to understand is that the conflict between Israel and Hamas is just one facet of the real battle, which is between western freedom and radical Islamist oppression.
I actually cringed typing “freedom” in the preceding sentence because the word has been hijacked by Trump-supporting nut jobs in such an unfortunate way. But it’s the right word here. Israel offers freedom to the LGBTQ+ community, to women, to its press, to its 2 million Arab citizens, to people who despise the government. Of course there are human rights abuses and exceptions to this rule as there are in every country under the sun. But there is absolutely no comparison between Israel and its neighbors on this front. Arabs enjoy more civil liberties and human rights in Israel than they do anywhere else in the Arab world, which is almost certainly one of the reasons that Arab Israeli citizens report feeling more loyalty to Israel after October 7 than they do to their Arab brethren next door.
Speaking of quiet Arab alliances, I was positively euphoric to learn that Jordan and Saudi Arabia had joined the US, the UK and France in shooting down Iranian missiles and drones. And it made me feel vindicated about my previous post where I said that no matter what the western press would have us believe, Israel is not alone. As one pundit quipped on Twitter: “This cover aged like milk.”
The participation of Jordan and Saudi Arabia in defending against this attack, in my opinion, signals an extraordinary sea change in Israel’s quest for normalization.
I’d also like to share the following commentary from Eve Barlow in response to the sight of the Iron Dome shielding the Al-Aqsa mosque from Iranian firepower:
Here’s an extraordinary visual that shows a new era of history for Israel, the Jewish people and the Middle East. The Iron Dome protecting the Golden Dome, or the Al-Aqsa mosque, from attack by Iranian drones and missiles. A Jewish technological invention created to safeguard it from extremist Islamic aggressors being used to protect the third holiest Muslim site in the world. If this is not proof that Israel is the only path to peace and co-existence, I don’t know what is. Together with its allies, Israel is the leading state actor protecting itself and in some respects Islam from its most extreme factions, and further shielding the rest of the world from its most proximate existential threats. Shielding the skies of Israel from the Islamic Republic of Iran tonight, the Iron Dome is a technology that does so much more than safeguard a nation. It safeguards ideas, freedoms, peoples, religion and history.
I invite you to take some time and space to deeply absorb the beauty of this. Within such a grueling and harrowing time, we need to embrace and celebrate each victory, each positive shift, in order to gather enough strength to endure the rest.
A Jewish friend and I were texting each other while the missiles and drones were on their way to Israel.
She wrote: “Are you trying to do Shabbat? I’m having deja vu of the gas mask war threats… this is frightening… again and again… glued to the TV even though it will take hours.”
And I wrote back: “You know me — I’m not cool in the face of these situations, I’m such a worried wretch, and yet… my faith in Israel is just unshakeable.”
There are no words for the pride I felt when Israel’s technology managed to deflect every threat. When I read that Israelis were joking under fire.
Per author Daniel Gordis, one viral tweet that sent laughter throughout the land showed the times that Iranian weaponry was due to reach Tel Aviv, Haifa and Jerusalem.
Gordis explained the reason this cracked Israelis up is that it was a clear play on the list of Shabbat times printed on the cover of every Israeli newspaper each Friday.
He also shared another viral tweet from Amir Barkol:
How can we not kvell over such a country?
So let’s take in the nourishment of this moment and reinforce our faith in the Jewish nation. A country of this ingenuity, intelligence, resilience, strength and humor cannot be defeated by the forces of repression. She, and we, will prevail.
Huge love to you all.
Am Yisrael Chai.
I shared this to Facebook. Thanks again, Elissa, for helping me to feel less alone. ❤️🇮🇱