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| General Yair Golan - Reflecting the values of the left (VIN) |
Briefly stated, if we want
to perpetuate ourselves as a unique people, we must educate our youth about our
uniqueness . Which is ultimately about our exceptionalism. Our children must
learn that we are a nation apart, different from others in special ways. We
have been chosen by God to be His people. We are meant to be a ‘light unto the
nations’. A beacon of ethics and morality. And it is our founding document, the
Torah, that teaches us how to fulfill that role. In other words, we have a
distinct destiny as a people.
This stands in stark contrast to the prevailing liberal
American culture, which defines morality and ethics simply as the right to do whatever
one wants as long as it doesn’t harm others. In that worldview, any form of
behavior - no matter how aberrant - is deemed moral, so long as it is not
imposed on others. There is no room for a document like the bible that
pre-determines what is or isn’t moral. In fact, in today’s liberal culture,
such a document is often viewed as inherently immoral.
The sad reality is that most of the Jewish people tend to subscribe to this liberal interpretation of morality. Making matters worse is that many liberal Jewish clergy have either outright rejected the Torah as a moral document or have so grossly distorted its teachings that their interpretations border on the absurd - even as they genuinely believe their interpretations. (Unfortunately, some of the more extreme left wing that identify as Orthodox clergy - have done the same.)
It was with this in mind that I read, with interest, a
recent JTA article about how two Jewish thinkers view the ‘state of the Jews’.
Author and podcaster Dan Senor had an optimistic take:
Despite a rising tide of antisemitism and backlash against Israel’s war in Gaza that has left many Jews feeling isolated and vulnerable, Senor believes the Jewish community has the power to “create nothing short of a Jewish renaissance.”
If philanthropists and communities double down on supporting Jewish day schools, summer camps, adult Jewish education, and gap years in Israel, he says, “I’m optimistic about the Jewish future in the Diaspora. Not because the challenges aren’t real — they are — but because we really do have the tools to rebuild American Jewish life.” He delivered these remarks during the 92NY’s annual “State of World Jewry” speech.
Journalist and academic Eric Alterman, however, had an
entirely different take:
Alterman sees a Jewish community divided: between an influential, politically conservative minority that unconditionally defends Israel, and a majority that votes Democratic and prioritizes defending democracy in both Israel and the U.S. On the extremes, he sees a far right that supports Israel’s annexation of the West Bank and Gaza, and a far left that is non- or anti-Zionist.
I would only add that - while not exact - these descriptions closely
parallel my own: Orthodox Jews align more with Senor’s perspective. While
Heterodox and secular Jews align more with Alterman’s.
Sadly, for Alterman, the future of Judaism has little to do
with our founding document. The Torah is irrelevant to him as a means of
perpetuating the Jewish people. Instead, politics become the defining
characteristic of Judaism. He questions ‘who gets to define what it means to be
Jewish in the U.S’. For him, the logical answer is to embrace the liberal
values of our time regardless of whether they align with the Torah. There is no
distinction between one liberal value and another; they’re all equal on the
morality scale, irrespective of Torah principles.
Senor, by contrast, sees an uptick in Jewish identity and
engagement among secular Jews in the post-October 7 world, and encourages
greater philanthropic investment in Jewish education. Alterman rejects such
efforts, preferring instead to focus on restoring the historic liberalism with
which Jews have long been associated. He sees danger in the growing influence
of a politically conservative Jewish minority that unconditionally supports
Israel and aligns itself with leaders like Trump and Netanyahu.
That said, it is certainly true that the unwavering support
for Israel by the politically conservative, mostly Orthodox Jewish right is not
shared by the liberal elite that currently drives Western cultural values. Values
that are relentlessly echoed by the mainstream media, which often parrots
anti-Israel narratives as though they were divine truth.
These are the voices that scream the loudest against
Israel’s actions right now. One of the most egregious and vile criticisms came
recently from a shocking source:
“A whole country does not conduct warfare against civilians, does not kill babies for fun, and does not make it its goal to expel a population.”
No, that wasn’t the ICC or some foreign adversary. It was
one of our own: Yair Golan — a man who once served as Deputy Chief of Staff of
the IDF.
“Killing babies for fun”?! Golan’s comments were so
despicable that they drew near-universal condemnation across Israel’s political
spectrum, with some even calling to strip him of his military rank.
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| Macron and Starmer - with friends like these... (JTA) |
As if on cue, three of my ‘favorite’ world leaders stepped
in to demand that Hamas release all the hostages to help bring the war to a
just end.
Just kidding. Here is what they really did:
The leaders of Canada, the United Kingdom, and France issued a statement condemning Israel’s expanded war in Gaza and vowing to penalize Israel if the war and its humanitarian blockade continue:
“We will not stand by while the Netanyahu Government pursues these egregious actions. If Israel does not cease the renewed military offensive and lift its restrictions on humanitarian aid, we will take further concrete actions in response.”
(Yes, they did mention that Hamas should release the
hostages - but only as an afterthought. Their primary target was clearly
Israel.)
If you are Eric Alterman though, you might view these leaders’
statements as aligned with Jewish values.
In my view, they are anything but. But in fairness, how would he know that? He likely never received a real Jewish education to teach him otherwise.