Our Lions of Zion

Tonight I’m seeing Matisyahu in concert in Portland. And I can’t wait to be in that room, awash in Jews, all of us taking comfort and strength from him and each other.

And yet, up until the minute I walk through the theater doors, I won’t know for sure whether or not the show will go on. At least a couple of his shows on his current tour have been cancelled at the last moment because of “security concerns” and/or the refusal of the venue’s staff to work his show.

And then a few days ago, this happened:

Can you imagine this? The man whose signature hit is “One Day” — an anthem of peace and hope for beautiful coexistence. This is the stuff of 1930s Europe: the attempt to shut the overwhelming majority of Jews out of intellectual and cultural public life no matter how peace-loving and peace-promoting they might be.

You are likely already familiar with these lyrics and this music, but if not, just listen:

All my life I’ve been waiting for

I’ve been praying for

For our people to say

That we don’t want to fight no more

There’ll be no more war

And our children will play

One day

One day

One day…

Of course, Matis has dealt with bullshit like this before. He’s been purged from festivals and events and targeted by the BDS (Boycott, Divest & Sanction) movement for refusing to renounce Israel. But he’s never wavered in his loyalty to the Jewish nation.

If I’m honest, nothing bothers me more than Jews who take pride in identifying as anti-Zionist. The ones standing with people who are standing against us. The ones who gloss over genocidal violence against us, or dismiss it altogether, while publicly reciting the Mourners’ Kaddish for dead terrorists (yes, this happens, and more often than you would believe).

And nothing makes me happier than Jews who don’t submit to the societal pressure to renounce Zionism. Especially when their politics are progressive. But even they — we — need the safety of numbers, which is why I want to build a strong and unified coalition of us. And we need to protect each other.

That’s what David Draiman (who is Jewish) of the hard rock band Disturbed did for Matis. He started a gofundme for Matis’ security while on tour and it had raised over $26,000 within two days.

David Draiman of Disturbed

All this brings me to a planned regular feature of Never Alone. All of us see so many anti-Zionist Jews (at my most bitter, I think of them as “pick me” Jews) at rallies and protests and it’s easy to feel as if they’re more of a force than they are, because they’re so visible and vocal.

That’s why I want to continually highlight Jews who are nothing like them. On a weekly basis, I’m planning to introduce a series of incredible people, Jewish and not, who support the Jewish struggle for self-determination in our ancestral homeland.

I hope that tomorrow I’ll be able to post something about this show. Until then, my heartfelt love to you all. Am Yisrael Chai.