Israel's war with itself

"Afew years ago, while walking through Mea Shearim, the Orthodox Jewish neighborhood of Jerusalem, I came across a strange poster. It pictured the Second Temple, the center of the world before the world was smashed in AD 70 by Rome, over a Hebrew phrase that means something like, 'Jews! Watch what you say! For The Holy of Holies was destroyed not by Roman soldiers, nor by the Divine will, but by the gossip of the people.'

"What could it mean, this talk of gossip? After all, the history and its lessons seemed plain. The Jews revolted; Titus sent in the legions; Jerusalem was sacked and burned; soon after the wandering began.

"In other words, don't defy Rome.

"To makers of the poster, though, the story has a different meaning. Israel was not destroyed by Rome, they say, but by the feuding that preceded the invasion, the battle between the members of the Peace Party, who wanted to render unto Caesar, live like Greeks and then drift away gracefully in their own beds, and the Zealots, who wanted to die fighting. It's a debate that ribbons Jewish history, disappearing for centuries but reappearing in moments of stress.

"As we head into yet another round of peace talks and the heat is turned up on the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, it's crucial to understand the divisions that run beneath Israeli life. There's the rift between Arabs and Jews, yes; the rift between Labor and Likud, yes; but there's also the rift between descendants of the Peace Party and descendants of the Zealots, evident in the never-ending debate: Are we too stubborn, or not stubborn enough? Are we too hated, or too afraid of being hated? Are we too aggressive, or has our fear of appearing aggressive caused us to sit in the sun as old Nebuchadnezzar builds his nuclear gallows?"

So begins today's LA Times comment piece by Rich Cohen. READ THE FULL ARTICLE.

This is a very important piece for it shows two sides of a coin in a very balanced light.

I consider myself a Zionist. However, so does Ori Nir, the local director of Peace Now. I also consider myself an Orthodox Jew. However, so do members of Neturei Karta that side with Hamas over the Jewish state.

We are all right. Richard Cohen, however, is really correct because he states all too clearly that if we don't come to some consensus - if we don't find a way to unite as a Jewish people - we will be destroyed ... and it will be no one's fault but our own.

You see this in-fighting blatantly in Israel, it's true, where "settlers" are pitted against members of Peace Now and where ultra-Orthodox Jews violently violate Shabbat to throw stones at secular drivers who purposefully and disrespectfully try to disrupt the calm of the religious neighborhoods.

However, you also see this in America. Even in Baltimore. Someone told me once that many Orthodox rabbis will not walk into a non-Orthodox synagogue's social hall ... social hall. Not to pray. Not even to stand near the aron, housing the Torah scrolls. Just inside the social hall. They consider it like a church.

At the same time, when a program is planned for the community, non-observant Jews regularly push for women to be on stage or protest if Orthodox people choose to leave during those parts of the ceremony. Why? It is OK to accommodate sometimes. It is also OK to understand that someone believes differently than you - without judging you.

Religious or not, Jews are Jews. We all carry that Divine spark. Tonight, its nine days until Tisha B'Av, until the day we commemorate that our holy Temple was destroyed. As we pray - as we think about that destruction - we should bear in mind the import of ahavat chinam (free love).

We should be more willing to hear each other, learn from each other and love each other. ... And this generation should merit seeing the rebuilding of the Temple.