February 23rd, 2024

The war has been going on long enough that I should no longer be surprised by the insanity I see daily on the news, on social media, and in the streets. Yes, by now I understand that the pro-Palestinians believe Israel is the oppressor, the occupier, and that because so many Palestinians have been killed they feel their Jew-hatred is justified. I understand that naïve, misguided, regular folks, with no previous background about the Middle East, are swayed by the ubiquitous narrative that backs up these distorted beliefs. I understand that all this happens.

Something I do not understand is how everyone can flat out ignore the hostage situation.  No, I take that back. They don’t all ignore it. Some do worse. Last night at a Raptors game, a man was wearing a sweatshirt that said, “Free Our Hostages” with a Magen David underneath it. He was asked to change his shirt or leave. When he asked why, he was told that it was an MLSE policy against making political statements. (Odd, considering the Black Lives Matter campaign that has been paraded in sports arenas and stadiums.) He wouldn’t take it off, so —and I don’t know how this is allowed in Toronto in 2024 — Security made him leave. Is it just me, or does it smell a bit like Germany ’38 around here?

There are other things, of course. Random things. Despicable things. Like American political activist, Norman Finkelstein (if only he had a non-ethnic name, for starters). Although he is the son of Holocaust survivors, he is a Holocaust denier, condemning his late parents for “hating Germans.” He is an outspoken, rabid anti-Semite, who appears on TV and podcasts and YouTube programs constantly, celebrating October 7. Because of his Jewish name, he is the Poster Child for anti-Semites and their message, held up as proof that Israel is indeed in the wrong, committing genocide, terror, war crimes.

But wait. There’s more.  I just saw a video taken on a soldier’s phone in Gaza. In a classroom of a school (in case you’re wondering, yes, it housed an arsenal of weapons), he found a children’s jigsaw puzzle showing how the children should be killing the Israelis. No news reports on this. No one talks about it. Just something uncovered by happenstance, while the world condemns Israel for the deaths of Palestinian kids. The very kids who start life learning that their goal is to kill the Jews.

As Shabbat falls this evening, let us pray for the safe and healthy return of the precious hostages and of our brave soldiers. Let us pray for a return to sanity, truth, commonsense and understanding. Let us pray for the ability to withstand the madness around us. And let us pray, as we have for millennia, for peace. Shalom al Yisrael.