By Rabbi Yeruchem Eilfort
CARLSBAD, California — As a Rabbi, I make it my business to not discuss politics from the bima in the synagogue. Not a single person who attends comes to hear my political views. People come to shul to talk to G-d, as it were, and to connect with their Jewish family, which is precisely why they should attend synagogue. The only time I break this rule is if I feel there is a security issue facing Israel or the Jewish people outside of Israel. Jewish security trumps everything, in my opinion.
The purpose of this article is for me to express my pent-up feelings of sadness, frustration, and anger. On top of that, my goal is to unite the Jewish people. Let me say from the outset, that we Jews tend to be passionate about politics. Many of us were brought up in homes where the political debates/concerns of the day were the centerpiece of our table-talk.
With the above being said, this article is not meant to be political. There will be no endorsement of any candidate or particular approach (conservative versus liberal), here or in Israel. Also, I am writing this as an individual, I am not speaking for any organization or movement, I am speaking for myself, from my heart.
If you are like me, someone who loves Israel and the Jewish people, you have had a lot of trouble sleeping since October 7, 2023. On October 7th an unprovoked army of terrorists invaded Israel and committed crimes against humanity worthy of the Nazis, or perhaps worse (these criminals proudly broadcast the horrors they committed whereas the Nazis tried to hide theirs). I would say that the terrorists acted like beasts, but that would be an insult to beasts. We were all starkly reminded that two-legged monsters are the worst type, capable of atrocities that normal people find impossible to even imagine.
Predictably, the anti-Israel crowd, and their useful idiots, came out in force while the soil was still soaked with Jewish blood.
Even those, who like me have a very limited knowledge of the deeper and darker side of Middle Eastern politics, knew who was really behind the terror. It is the same folks acting upon the same ideology that has brought so much suffering to so many people for many decades. The religiously based anti-Semitic ideology is an obscenity and gives ‘organized’ religion a bad name. Atheists justifiably say, “if this is what belief in G-d brings, who needs it?!” Through the millennia countless atrocities have brought limitless suffering to billions of people in the name of G-d. What a hideous desecration of the Divine Name!
Until very recently, somehow the guilty party and their motives have been largely ignored by many politicians and the mainstream media. Certainly, this state sponsor of terror has never been called out for its heinous anti-Semitism. One world leader has consistently called out the guilty party, exclaimed its genocidal intentions, and identified the country by name. This same world leader, Bibi Netanyahu, has been notifying the world for decades about the evil regime, Iran, that seeks to destabilize the world. Of late it has become fashionable to vilify this world leader and to call him all sorts of names, like a warmonger or a liar, for instance. I am not here to defend or answer for the Prime Minister of Israel. I am here to call out the anti-Semites in Iran, and around the world.
My friends, think back to who brought this evil regime into the family of nations and why. I am sure that it was to try and induce them to behave in a civilized manner, but we can now all plainly see that it was a painfully naïve move that has caused a lot of collateral damage, and which threatens to plunge the world into a hot war where unconventional weapons may be used, G-d forbid. We can all agree, no matter what our political leanings, that the world is a more dangerous place today than it was just ten years ago. Whenever the U.S. retreats from its role as world leader with a clear-eyed grasp of morality, the world inevitably becomes unstable and dangerous.
Why do the mullahs hate Israel so much that they bring the world to the brink of destruction over it? The mullah’s hatred of Israel is due to their perverted view of their religion that they feel mandates anti-Semitism. Therefore, they will not relent until they are gone, or Israel is gone, G-d forbid! We see, thanks to the Abraham Accords, that peace with the Muslim world is possible for Israel and fruitful for everyone. Clearly then, it is specifically the anti-Semitism of the mullahs fueled by their fanatical hatred that is the cause of the instability and suffering of the war and of the deaths in Israel, in Lebanon, and in Gaza. The mullahs’ anti-Semitism is the cause, not Bibi Netanyahu, not Israel, and not the Jews. The entirety of the blame belongs to them. It is them, and only them who must be stopped, in order to stop the suffering of everyone.
Why won’t the world call them out on their anti-Semitism? Why do we try and fight this existential war on their terms, as we are constantly on the defensive trying to explain ourselves – even our obvious right to self-defense? To state the obvious; their hatred of Israel has nothing to do with ‘Palestinian’ rights! They don’t care about any human rights, as evidenced by how they treat their own people. Anyone who truly cares about Palestinian rights must support Israel, where Palestinians have more rights than in any other Middle Eastern country.
Some politicians who claim to be friends of Israel, publicly pressure Israel for the lack of peace. Worse still, they try and pressure her to take dangerous risks that imperil the worldwide Jewish population. It was Israel, and only Israel that took huge risks in trying to broker deals with her enemies. Israel must fight to win back the battle of the narrative. Turn the focus of the cause of lack of peace onto the anti-Semites. Convince people, even those who are painfully naïve, that it is Israel’s enemies who are the cause of the instability. It is they who must be pressured, and if necessary, fought.
Israel is a vibrant democracy. When a nation of voting citizens gets continually punished for taking risks in trying to make peace with her sworn enemies (who swear to always be her enemy) guess what happens? Eventually, the population learns that concessions to one’s sworn enemies do not bring peace. On the contrary, it brings instability and war! When the citizens of the country learn that lesson, they start voting for people who promise them that their security is the priority, as it should be. In the case of Israel, one sees the electorate and therefore its duly elected politicians, move further and further away from the flawed processes that have led to where we are today, surrounded by homicidal, genocidal, fanatical enemies.
It is wrong for people to sit here, in the comfort and security of the U.S./Europe etc. and lecture Israel about making deadly concessions for ‘peace,’ or to criticize Israelis for electing politicians who promise to fight to protect them. As far as the college campuses and ‘activists’ who have conquered them, we must fight back! Those with influence must use it to try and undo the decades of false narratives that have been spoon-fed to the college students, literally poisoning their minds. I applaud those who have used the ‘power of the pocketbook’ to finally push back!
I remember when many people were promoting importing people from countries whose populations had been fed a steady diet of Jew-hatred / anti-Zionism. Now they are surprised that many of those immigrants have politically organized, and consequently abhorrent anti-Semites sit in some of the most powerful positions in our beloved U.S. Of course, they try to mask their anti-Semitism by calling themselves anti-Zionists, but frankly, one has to be quite foolish to be taken in by that patently disingenuous argument. This has directly led to Israel becoming a partisan issue. It didn’t used to be. This is a very dangerous development for Israel and for the Jewish people. It is something that we must reach across the political divide to fight together. Israel must again become a non-partisan issue! Don’t believe me? There are now many prominent politicians in this country who are against providing Israel with defensive weapons! This is downright dangerous and must be fought.
There are Jewish people against Israel – especially young people! This reflects poorly on all of us for having failed to appropriately educate our children. And always remember, anti-Zionism is anti-Semitism.
We know the truth.
This article is not meant to encourage us to wring our hands and cry about ‘spilled milk.’ Rather it is for all of us to draw the appropriate conclusions. There is an important election coming up. Voters on both sides of the aisle need to make sure that their party/candidate not only proclaims support for Israel but does more than merely pay it lip service. We, the Jewish people who love Israel, must loudly and consistently demand it!
The U.S/ must support Israel’s fight for her existence, as the interest of both countries is identical. The U.S. should be applying all the pressure on Israel’s enemies, both publicly and privately. It is our job to make sure that our politicians do the right thing! It is a matter of common sense. It is how we can insure Israel’s prosperous future.
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Rabbi Yeruchem Eilfort is spiritual leader of Chabad of La Costa. As he said, his opinion is entirely his own.