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| Reform Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch (JTA) |
‘If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its cunning’.
This verse from Tehillim (137:5) is among the most frequently quoted passages in all of Jewish life. In its original Hebrew, it is also sung at many weddings immediately following the ceremony, just before the breaking of the glass - a universal custom meant to remind us, even at our moments of greatest joy, of the tragedy of losing the Beis Hamikdash
For the Jewish people, severing Jerusalem from Judaism is
virtually impossible. Almost by definition, one cannot be a Jew without
believing that the Land of Israel - where Jerusalem is located - is as
essential to Jewish identity as one’s right hand is to their body. You cannot
separate Judaism from the belief that the Land of Israel belongs to the Jewish
people by Divine decree as was Jerusalem the location of His Holy sanctuary
here on earth.
It is precisely this belief that makes it so difficult for
many Jews to believe that a mayor that is anti-Zionist isn’t also antisemitic. Regardless of how hard he tries to separate the two, they go hand on
hand. The claim that one can support the Jewish people while opposing Israel as
a Jewish state is akin to saying, ‘I support you, but I oppose your right hand
- and will do everything I can to sever it from your body’.
Complicating matters further is religion. For many devout
Muslims, the Land of Israel (which they call Palestine) belongs to them. By
Divine right, given - according to their
faith tradition - to Yishmael rather than to Yitzchak. I believe this
theological claim lies at the core of the religious conflict between Jews and
Muslims. The more devout one is in holding these beliefs, the more militant one
may become in attempting to enforce them.
This is why many religious Jews view Mamdani’s overtures to
the Jewish community as insincere. They fear that, given the opportunity, he
would seek to undermine or even hurt those of us who believe the Land of Israel
belongs to the Jewish people.
So is that the case here? Is Mamdani merely playing a long game - biding his time until until something terrible befalls us – which he will claim he had no control over while secretly being quite satisfied with such an outcome?
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