From the Desk of Rabbi Jacobs

The grinding awfulness of a very real war in densely populated Gaza continues to fascinate the world. An on-going battle for minds and hearts brings people to the streets: marching, demonstrating, harassing and at times wreaking havoc on public spaces. Behind closed doors, conversations to free hostages, to supply entrapped Gaza residents and to move Israel to stop the advance ‘now’ go on to be reported. Too often, in this process Israel’s military prowess is conflated into aggression, while Hamas—downgraded from terrorists to militants, are sanitized as victims.

As a news scenario, the outline is not new. In part, there are echoes of thinking about ‘asymmetric’ war—conflicts between organized national military vs insurrectionist guerrillas. The pedigree of Hamas, who have been underwritten and often supplied by funds from oil rich autocracies [widely reported as Iran, but likely to include others], in recent years created an underground arms industry. The forces of Hamas are now organized and coordinated by a hierarchical command. The asymmetry seems to me to be blurred.

Israel consistently claims that Hamas is using civilians as shields. Over recent decades, in Gaza and Hezbollah-controlled areas of Lebanon, there have been proven sites of this kind. The recent reports of extensive, deep tunnels networked beneath parts of Gaza, whose full extent is not fully known, are used as Israel’s primary reason for the extensive bombing of urban areas. In the next days, I hope some clarification will be possible.

Until then, we are left with the responsibility of our connection to Israel. We are not required to be dedicated Zionists, nor partisans for the current elected coalition government (in part supplanted by a more centrist Emergency War Cabinet), nor have the intention of making Aliyah and settling in Israel. I think, however, we are both made to feel vulnerable as Jews in America and challenged to evaluate our own thinking regarding the internal political life of the Jewish State.

While I won’t rehearse the history of the former Southern Syria Province of the Ottoman Empire, nor bring citations here from Mark Twain (aka Samuel Clemens) mid-19^th century journey that describes the arid conditions of the sparsely populated area on his passage from Jaffa to Jerusalem. A few years later, the first wave of European Jews arrived to make new homes and becoming the forerunners of the Yishuv—the returnees from exile—that grew over decades into the core of the Israeli population. Critically, they met up with an existing long-term Jewish community.

Others also lived there—if in small numbers—the Arab communities, the multiple Christian groups, the late arrival Protestants (often German Lutherans with Imperial sponsorship) and delegates of the Pope, the Orthodox Patriarch, not to mention the Druze, Bedouin and Armenian minorities. Remnants of the Crusader conquests and the Ottoman overlords dotted the barren landscape. Many still do—though in some areas the landscape is less barren.

The many conflicts that arose during Zionist growth years before the UN Partition Resolution of 29 November 1947, resulted from a growth in population that appears to have been attracted by the improving economic conditions the Jewish arrivals created through efforts at modernization. The rudiments of modernity included water supply and power supply, roads and buses, schools, universities and arts organizations. The self-government of the developing society was democratic in theory, though subject to Ottoman legal structures until May 1948/ Independence.

The Islamic Arab community was dominated by its ruling cadre, the Waqf over religious affairs and Jerusalem, civil society at the behest of the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem. By 1918, the Ottoman control had ended, and shortly thereafter the British Mandate in Palestine was established, no parallel effort to create an independent state was begun.

Despite the 1917 Balfour Declaration, European interest in the Middle East was far from altruistic. In the Persian Gulf, oil supplies and navigation access were powerful; in Palestine-Erets Yisraeil, access to holy sites was trump. To a substantial extent, these resources were controlled by the Islamic authorities, and later by potentates the British enthroned—including the ibn Saud and Hashemite families—in Saudi Arabia and Jordan.

With such a baseline, with the superstructure of the now 75-year old democracy Israel, abut 80% Jewish, 20% Palestinian, sharing voting and other civil rights although differentiated in treatment as suited their separate cultural backgrounds. It is an imperfect solution that continues the pattern set by Ottoman and British Mandate law. Knesset—the 120 seat parliament—includes members of each of the communities according to the proportional representation rules for seating each party that earns 3.25% of votes cast earning one seat.

During these 75 years, battles have come and gone with alarming regularity. I clearly recall the insistence in 1956, 1967 and 1973—after ‘acts of war’ against Israel—international insistence including arms embargo and other pressure by US Secretaries of State—brought active response by Israel to a close. Often that was before all goals were achieved, although Israel clearly had the upper hand marching toward important targets. The subsequent events repeatedly showed further action might have forestalled later escalations.

So, here we are again; Hamas attacked. Israel responded. We will only know for certain whether the Gaza hospitals are indeed sheltering command centers; it is not in Israel’s interest to stop short again. It is abysmal that Hamas uses Gaza citizens to shelter their war crimes. Deaths hurt everyone. Self-defense remains a legitimate course of action.

I intend to worry about Netanyahu and his affiliates in cabinet after war ends…because I believe in peace as a necessary part of resolving the long-standing conflict.