As I sit in my hotel room looking out at the Tel Aviv beach, I see teens playing volleyball, swimming in the Mediterranean, and baking in the sun. We just returned from the Carmel shuk and Nachalat Binyamin, which were brimming with life – loud music, crowded corridors, vendors hawking their freshly picked fruit and vegetables, challahs and spices. It is a view that I’ve seen so many times – it all seems so perfectly normal. Until it doesn’t.
Graffiti art is very popular in Israel and, especially in the shuks at night as the metal garage-style doors come down revealing a graffiti art gallery. Most of the graffiti is whimsical, some of it is political. This picture of the hostages stopped me in my tracks.
This is what I mean by “Hard to Remember, Impossible to Forget.” We have experienced it several times throughout the week. Everything seems perfectly normal, making it hard to remember that there is a war going on and hostages still being held. But then you come across a stall like this, making it impossible to forget this other reality.
Our first night, we arrived to our apartment in Jerusalem exhausted and hungry. We put our bags down and walked over to Ben Yehudah Street to our favorite schwarma place, Moshiko. As we turn the corner onto King George Street, we walk by the JNF headquarters, where we saw a projection of the pictures of those killed and those still being held hostage from October 7. There is no – and should be no escaping.
The next day, we met up with our friend’s daughter – When I last said goodbye to her in November, I gave her a tight hug and held back my tears, knowing she was returning to her medic duties in Gaza the next day. Thankfully, she is done with her reserve duty (for now) and much more relaxed. We went to a cafe and enjoyed a nice lunch. The restaurant was loud and crowded and the food was delicious. As we stood up to go, a middle-aged man was walking in wearing army pants, a t-shirt, and a rifle on his back. As the staff saw him enter, they stopped what they are doing, gave a little shriek, and ran over to hug him. Soon everyone was clapping. He is the owner of the restaurant and just returned from 6 months of combat service.
Daily life in Israel has resumed in so many ways and for a few minutes or a few hours, it can be hard to remember that the country is in the midst of an existential war. And then something comes along and whacks you across the face, making it impossible to forget.
We visited Hostage Square – it was Abbey’s first time. For me, it was remarkable to see the differences – new sculptures and images to symbolize those who are still missing. There is a simulation of a tunnel, a hostage poster with a mirror showing “it could have been you” and a banner declaring “The Paratroopers of October, 1973 are extending hugs to the families and the hostages of October 2023 and are whole-heartedly giving them strength.”
On Wednesday we went up to a crossroads near the Kinneret where many of the soldiers pass through on their way to and from the stations in the North. A group of (mostly) women established a “hot meals from home” stand where they make comfort dishes, coffee shakes, fresh-squeezed juice and homemade sandwiches. They usually feed 300-500 soldiers each day. The day we were there was a little lighter, because people were only going in one direction (north) as all leave had been canceled for this weekend in anticipation of Iran trying to retaliate. Still, we fed over 200 soldiers that day and I became an expert on using the juicer to make grapefruit juice. Abbey cut vegetables for the sandwiches and both of us enjoyed serving. It was remarkable to see the broad range of ages of the soldiers – some, like the one signing this board, looked fresh out of basic training and some were clearly older than I am. There were people of all races, genders and ethnic backgrounds. It made clear (once again) the ridiculousness of the claim that this is an army of white colonizers! The soldiers were so grateful to us, as we are to them for their service.
At one point, a Charedi man came in and did not seem to be connected to the IDF. Later, when we were cleaning up, I asked one of the women if it bothered her that this man, who likely didn’t serve and whose children were probably not serving, came and ate the food. She responded, “we don’t check anyone’s tzitzit” – a phrase usually denoting that we don’t snoop into how religious someone is, but here she was using it to say that they give out food to whoever comes through, on the theory that he must also be needy. A remarkable spirit of heart that shows that as much as we hear about the divisions in Israeli society, there is also a tremendous warm-heartedness.
Later that afternoon and the following day we had an opportunity to spend time with Lisa Moed, the agent who had been planning our congregational trip. As we hiked through a beautiful trail at Nachal El Al, we were remarking about the beauty of the wildflowers and how this really would have been the perfect week to be here, if the circumstances were different.
Unfortunately, many of the aspects of the trip we had planned will not be possible to do, especially in the near term. We talked about other options to create a trip for March 2025 – I hope to have more information this summer.
And it would be very easy just to focus on what is happening in Israel and efforts to free the hostages and ignore the suffering of the Palestinians, whose images are never shown on Israeli news shows and who get little attention in the media here. But the target-missle attack on the aid workers from World Central Kitchen and the ensuing repercussions of this event has brought concerns about the way the war is being conducted to the forefront of everyone’s attention.
I think it is important to keep in mind the following facts:
An Israeli squad leader DID order not one but three strikes on these workers who were in clearly marked cars indicating they were aid workers. Haaretz reports “We’re trying our hardest to accurately hit terrorists, and utilizing every thread of intelligence, and in the end the units in the field decide to launch attacks without any preparation, in cases that have nothing to do with protecting our forces.”
Israel bears responsibility for the actions of its soldiers. An apology and promise to investigate are not sufficient.
This does not change the fact that Hamas is responsible for this ongoing war – free the hostages and get rid of Sinwar and the war ends tomorrow.
With Passover coming, we must remind ourselves that “Let all who are hungry come eat” includes Palestinian civilians. At this year’s Seder, we must find ways to express our righteous anger – Midat HaDin (Justice) – AND arouse our compassion – Midat Harachamim (compassion). In that light, I want to bring to your attention a project our member Ron Rabin has been working on called 10 Drops for Elijah, which aims to remind us that all violence takes us further away from the messianic dream that Elijah represents. Therefore, we are encouraging people to add this reading and ritual to this year’s Seder. https://www.10dropsforelijah.com/the-poem
Finally, I want to acknowledge that this is a particularly difficult time for all American Jews. The growing frustration between President Biden and Prime Minister Netanyahu is extremely uncomfortable, regardless of whether you think that the President is caving to the left wing of his party and abandoning Israel or if you think the Prime Minister has time and again proven to be an untrustworthy partner and that the American administration is right to express its anger. Let us pray that this rift will soon be healed for the good of America and Israel alike.
More to come next week.
– Rabbi Marc Israel
