Lucy, Maia, and Rina Dee Should Be Alive

We all know that war and death go hand in hand. The question that unfortunately too often avoided is who is killed. Is it the soldier on the battlefield or the civilian who is trying to live as normally as possible?

Last Friday, Rabbi Leo Dee lost two of his daughters, Maia (20) and Rina (15) in a terrorist attack in Israel. His wife Lucy initially survived the attack but later died in the hospital. As a human being and a fellow Jew, my heart breaks for Rabbi Dee and his family. It’s one thing to destroy a military facility. It is another thing entirely to kill innocent civilians (the Palestinians usually MO). I ask you to close your eyes and just listen to a heartbroken husband and father whose family is forever changed.

The conflict was the subject of one of the segments on The Brian Lehrer Show. My beef with the conversation (as one of the listeners pointed out) is that the blame was mostly put on Israel. It was only later on that the Palestinian leadership was called out for their part in this decades-long war.

In a related news headline, the IDF was again accused of purposefully going after worshippers at the Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem last week. As usual, the finger-pointing was in one direction while the truth was buried.

If you are on Twitter, I ask that you create or share an existing tweet with the hashtag #DeesDays. Let Rabbi Leo know that he is not alone as he moves on without his wife and his daughters.

May their memories be a blessing. Z” L.

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Thoughts On the Friendly Fire Admittance by the IDF

Friendly fire is defined as follows:

An attack by belligerent or neutral forces on friendly troops while attempting to attack enemy/hostile targets.

It is an aspect of war that is unfortunately unavoidable.

After months of investigation, the IDF announced that it was very likely that friendly fire caused the death of journalist of Shireen Abu Akleh.

Two things are apparent to me from this announcement.

The first is that as usual, Israel is figuratively being the bigger person. Their leadership and maturity prove that they are willing to do the work to create lasting peace and coexistence. The second is that the Palestinians, on the other hand, are so committed to the lies that they are spreading, that they will use anyone and anything to support their “truth“.

As usual, the only victims are the innocent people whose lives have been turned upside down at best, or at worst are maimed and/or killed because one side refuses to work with the other.

May her memory be a blessing. Z”L.

The Lies About the Death of Shireen Abu Akleh Will Only Lead to More Violence and Death

The basic purpose of journalism is to provide the public with the following answers to a specific news story: who, what, when, where, and how. After all of that information is provided, the viewing and listening audience should be allowed to make their own mind up about the story.

On Wednesday, Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was killed in a clash between IDF soldiers and Palestinian extremists. As usual, the worldwide mainstream press does not report the whole truth.

The truth is that she was likely killed by one of her own people. While the Israeli government promises a thorough investigation, there is the usual silence and lies from their Palestinian counterparts.

I am going to end this post with the truth from Bassam Eid and Noa Tishby. This is antisemitism, pure and simple. The sooner the world realizes it, the sooner that real peace is possible.

As a human rights activist, I condemn the Palestinian Authority’s refusal to participate in a joint investigation into the death of Shireen Abu Akleh. What do they have to hide? I’ll tell you… the truth!

— Bassem Eid (@realbassemeid) May 11, 2022

Why is Israel ALWAYS guilty until proven innocent? No one else is judged this way.

Treating Jews and Israel differently than the rest of the world is the definition of “double standard” and yes, it’s antisemitic!

RIP Shireen. Stop using her funeral to riot and attack Israel.

— (((noa tishby))) (@noatishby) May 13, 2022

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May the memory of Shireen and every journalist who has been killed in the line of duty be a blessing. Z”L.

Sadness Is a White Bird Book Review

There are many (myself included), who strongly believe in one side of the narrative when it comes to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. However, there are others may have a more nuanced and complicated view of the conflict.

Moriel Rothman-Zecher is one of these individuals. His new novel, Sadness is a White Bird, is the story of a young man who is torn between two ideologies. Jonathan was born in Israel, raised in America and returned to Israel two years before the novel begins. He is ready to do his duty and protect Israel via his service with the IDF. However, his best friends are Palestinian twins and Jonathan begins to see that his world view is not so black and white.

In this semi-biographical novel, Rothman-Zecher explores the grey areas of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict and how the human experience is often ignored in favor of bold faced headlines and cold facts. What I liked about this book is that it presents both the Israelis and Palestinians as fully human, reminding the reader that there are human beings behind the headlines.

I may not agree with the author, but if there is one lesson to be learned from this book, it is that if we are to live with our neighbors, we must get to know them on an individual level and not just as a member of their specific cultural or religious group.

I recommend it.

Thoughts On the Results of the Israeli Election

Democracy is not perfect, by any stretch of the imagination. But it is the only form of government that gives the average man or woman a voice in the leadership and direction of their country.

After a tense election season, Benjamin Netanyahu was re-elected for a fifth term as Israeli Prime Minister. His opponent, former Chief of General Staff for the IDF Benny Gantz put up a good fight. But in the end, the Israeli voters chose to continue the leadership of Prime Minister Netanyahu.

I have to be honest, I have mixed feelings about the results of the election. As the face of Israelis and Jews all over the world, Prime Minister Netanyahu has from my perspective has done an excellent job. But he has also been accused of corruption and many are wary that he is turning to the political right. Neither of those sit well with me.

One of the things that I have been reminded of over the past two years is that just because the election is over, that does not mean that the voice of the average citizen is now silent and will remain so until the next election. We still have the right to protest if we do not agree with our leaders.  I’m sure that the Israeli voters will have a thing or two to say to their elected officials in the coming years.

Interesting Double Standard

I’ve noticed a rather interesting double standard in the world today, which makes me very angry.

Robert James O’Neill, the Navy Seal who claimed to have killed Osama Bin Ladin, is considered a hero. It was his bullet that took down the man who killed nearly 3000 innocent people 12 years ago.

While terrorist attacks are becoming a more frequent event in the world, it is not new to Israel. The IDF’s goal is to protect innocent civilians from terrorist attacks. But instead of being recognized for their selfless, heroic acts, they are vilified.

Hamas, Hezbollah, ISIS. They all go by different names, but the goal is the same.

So if their goal is the same and the goal of the rest of the world is to preserve democracy and multiculturalism, then why is Mr. O’Neill put on a pedestal and the IDF is accused of having blood on their hands?

Too Late

Imagine if you will, that you are walking by a lake. For the hec of it, you throw a nearby stone in the lake and watch the ripples become larger and larger.

Hate and prejudice are the same way. The ripples become larger and larger and the hateful lies become truth, even when they aren’t.

Several years ago, Time Magazine reported that the IDF was using the organs of slain Palestinians. They have since retracted the story.

The problem is that some many consider it to be the truth, even when it is not the truth. The other problem is that whomever is responsible for fact checking stories before they are published did not their job properly, which adds to the lies and fuels the fire of hatred and murder.

It is too late for a retraction. The story is out there. It will only cause more bloodshed and destruction. I can only hope that the press will check the facts before deciding that piece ready to be published.