A Litmus Test ... Of Sorts
Or, if we can't agree on one thing re: Israel, I'm ending the conversation.
I enjoy a good debate. I appreciate people with different views and pride myself on being open to other voices. I refuse to dismiss someone from my life simply because we disagree on a topic — even the more controversial ones.
This is because I believe in nuance. I believe within every polarizing issue from abortion rights to diversity education in school there are grey areas where productive discussions can and should happen.
I believe this about Israel.
However, as with every polarizing issue, I have my convictions, my immovable stances. If we can't agree on a few basic points, I know our conversation will go nowhere.
Much of the debate on Israel centers on how its military action, the function of its government and its relationship with the United States. I think these are appropriate and warranted discussions. Israel is plenty flawed and no rational discussion on its actions can proceed without acknowledging mistakes made by the country's current leadership as well as misguided policy from past administrations.
However, an equal if not greater amount of the “debate” on the subject of Israel goes beyond these reasonable talking points. At their core, they question the very existence of Israel itself. How can I, as a Jew and believer in Israel's right to exist, engage in that kind of “discussion.”
For too long, I was starting from a place that assumed even the most ardent critics of Israel still agreed that the country could and should exist. Maybe they disagreed with its borders. Maybe they disagreed with the settlements in the West Bank. Maybe they felt Israel was responsible for a chain of events that lead to awful conditions in Gaza. Maybe all of those things, and yet none of those, by definition, should imply that one holding those views thinks Israel should be wiped off the map.
But, I can't be sure. So now, I have to ask.
Do you think Israel should exist?
Note the framing of the question. I'm not using words like “allowed to” or “right to.” Those are both loaded terms which stir up a slew of emotionally charged responses.
It's a simple question that could be applied to any sovereign nation on the planet.
So, I'll ask it again.
Do you think Israel should exist?
I'm not interested in the yes, buts … Or the whataboutisms. We can get into those later. In fact, I welcome them.
To those of you who are unsure of your answer, I refer back to my point regarding every other nation on Earth. Should they exist? If yes, then, why? And if you can't agree to Israel's existence, and Israel's alone why not?
If you have to “work through” those questions so be it. Just leave me out of it.
Because the question and answer of Israel's is what drives everything else.
After all, why would anyone who doesn't believe Israel should exist in the first place have a shred of empathy for the hundreds viciously killed in an unprecedented attack on the country?
Why would anyone care about children abducted from their homes, if they believe those children to be part of a nation undeserving of sovereignty?
Why would anyone feel sorry for the raped festival attendees who hailed from outside of Israel, when they were partying in a so-called illegitimate nation?
Many have made their views loud and clear. They are bold in their desire to wipe Israel off the map and care little, and in many cases, relish, the chance to rid the land of Jews. How else do you explain the smug satisfaction and exhilaration many expressed when first learning about what happened on October 7? And, while some may have dialed back the rhetoric once learning of the vile nature of the attacks, others doubled down and called them “necessary acts of resistance.”
There is of course, the other side of the discussion. If you believe Israel should exist, what does that mean for Palestinians? Alas this is the question that has been asked since Israel's founding and is unanswerable precisely because of the very question of Israel's existence.
On one side you have those who believe Israel should exist, and on the other you have those who want it metaphorically burned off every map along with every mention and reference to its existence.
Hamas has made its intentions clear over and over. They have no interest in sharing the land. To them, “peace” looks like forced submission achieved by the death and expulsion of every Jew in the region.
I will take a moment to acknowledge that there are people who would sooner have Israel exist for Jews alone. It would be disingenuous to deny this or the violence perpetuated by Jewish extremists, particularly in the West Bank.
What's interesting however, is that Hamas didn't target these Israelis. Instead, they struck what are arguably the most progressive communities, whose members long advocated for Palestinian rights and sovereignty, often risking ostracization from the broader Israeli and Jewish community.
Hamas and its supporters might claim the political nature of its victims was a mere coincidence. They say they “didn't know” there was a peace party happening that day.
I call bullshit on all of it.
If you don't believe a country, nay a people, should exist, then why not start with its idealists and dreamers?
What better way to crush a spirit?
Because a nation is more than land, it is a spirit. It is an idea that bonds a people.
It is what sustained the Jewish people for millenia as we yearned for our home.
And Hamas knew/knows that in many ways it has won the battle. It has succeeded in getting much of the world to believe that even the Israelis who genuinely want peace and to live in harmony with their Palestinian neighbors are still nothing more than evil interlopers.
I hope most reasonable people can see that no nation is perfect, including Israel. Mistakes were made and will continue to be made, because that is the nature of humans and our governments. But instead of wanting to throw Israel in the trash, as a disturbing number of signs suggest, I hope more people would seek to make it better and truly work toward peace.