Rabbi Cooper's Letters

The older I get the more I forget. I know I am not alone in recognizing the fact that my memory is not as good as it had been when I was younger. And so, I do have sympathy for those with short memories. But when, on October 7, Hamas terrorists entered Israeli kibbutzim and communities located on the border of Gaza, murdering, maiming, and raping as they went, the world expressed its horror and sympathy. In a matter of days, specifically, when the report emerged about the bombing of a hospital in Gaza, for which Israel was falsely blamed, the world promptly forgot about October 7.

Most recently, the United Nations has focused its attention on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, upon which blame falls exclusively on Israel, expressed in words of horror and condemnation for Israel. Yet not a word of sympathy is spoken in reference to 1400 men, women and children murdered by Hamas, not a word of concern for over 200 hostages held by Hamas. I have tolerance for those with short-term memory deficits. But what is occurring in the world today is more than an issue of memory. It is something else.

I take this moment to share my thoughts about what is happening in Israel at this moment. Contrary to the odious and instinctively hateful message we hear throughout the media, and in much of the world, about Israel, there are other ways to understand what Israel and I have been experiencing during all of this. I share with you two ideas.

1. Truth vs Lies

There’s a well-known saying, that one is entitled to their own opinions but not to their own facts. When the hospital in Gaza was bombed, before anyone could deny responsibility, before Israel or Hamas could provide images and documentation supporting their respective claims and denials of culpability, Palestinians, the Arab world, and, as it seemed, the entire news media, accepted, hook, line and sinker, the immediate designation by Hamas of Israel as the perpetrator. What was so clear at that moment and since, is that the facts have become irrelevant.

As I followed the stories emerging from the horrific slaughters of October 7, and the accounts of terror, martyrdom, and heroism, I could not help but be moved to tears. I am deeply saddened, as well, by the stories recounted by those who suffer under the Israeli bombardment of Gaza. But in recounting the events which have transpired, whether from the Arab world, from politically far-left students and others, or from the mainstream media, it is only the suffering of the Palestinians that seems to be recalled. Yes, of course, if I ask, some might say that the massacres of October 7 can be retrieved from the recesses of their memories, but it is the ongoing suffering of the Palestinian people that must be addressed.

The horrible, ISIS-like maiming, torturing and murder of Israeli men, women and children has now been relegated to the dustbin of history. Jewish suffering is an old story. Our detractors have heard enough. It is not terror against Israel but the plight of the Palestinians which must remain in the forefront of our consciousness.

The narrative of national suffering has now been uprooted from Israel’s story, absconded, and replaced by the pain of the Palestinian People and their leaders. The King of Jordan, the President of Egypt, not to mention the political and religious leaders in Iran and their proxies, all bemoan the suffering of the Palestinians.

Of course, one might ask of these Arab leaders, if they are so concerned about the Palestinian people why not offer their own humanitarian aid? Why not open their borders to Palestinian refugees fleeing violence in Gaza? Why not offer their help in mediating the release of over 200 hostages? Any positive response, to any of these questions, let alone positive responses to all of these questions, would alleviate suffering and pain experienced by thousands of innocent Palestinians. But those sorts of responses do not fit the narrative that is being peddled.

The only narrative, the big lie, is that this is all Israel’s fault. Israel is the unrepentant usurper of Arab lands and occupier of a territory not their own. For this reason, Israel brought upon itself the terrorism, which resulted in the brutal murders of 1400 innocent citizens, and the capture of over 200 hostages. For Arab leaders, the UN or others to intervene would suggest that others assume responsibility for the pain and suffering of the Palestinians, suffering and pain initiated by, perpetrated by, and perpetuated by the Israelis. Better the Palestinian people should suffer and die in order to support the big lie. In that way, all of this remains at the feet of the world’s most reviled, evil and most convenient devil: Israel. To understand the response of the world to Israel’s situation, one must internalize a narrative which begins and ends with Israel’s culpability, and let the facts go to hell.

2. Love vs Fear

For the Jewish people, whose hallmark includes the sanctity of all human life, the suffering of the Palestinian people is, to say the least, hard to watch. The rabbis of the Talmud considered the most important verse of the Torah to be the reminder to love the Other, as we love ourselves (Lev. 19:18). There is no question that the suffering of “the Other” is being caused by the bombs of the IDF falling in Gaza. All of this creates within us a moral dilemma.

In the face of human suffering, the Jewish people have always been the first to extend a loving hand. Even when our enemy has been in pain, we offer assistance. The Palestinian people are not our enemies and our inclination, therefore, is strong to stop the suffering, to suspend the bombings and to create a pathway for humanitarian assistance. Why do we not do this? I would like to suggest that our humanitarian instincts, proper and noble as they are, cannot be invoked at this time.

In the past, it has been our unspoken assumption that, if we demonstrate our love and concern for “the Other”, that love, and concern would be reciprocated. In the past, it has been our assumption that if we offer assistance the response would be gratitude. We thought that if we fought for a two-state solution, forces of moderation on both sides of the Israel - Palestinian divide, would prevail, pursuing that, with serious intent. And yet, time and again, with numerous offers of peace, coexistence, and security for all, over many decades, we have been rebuffed and, often, rebuked. We thought that the formula for a lasting peace would be motivated by humanitarianism and love. We were wrong.

Among the lessons we learned on October 7 was that this formula of peace through love was neither realistic nor viable. The notion of the sanctity of all human life can no longer be for us the basis for a lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinians. Despite our humanitarian inclinations, we now understand that it is not love, but fear which must be instilled before any peace can prevail.

The incursion of October 7, if nothing else, showed Israel that Israel is not feared. The blatant breach of, purportedly, impenetrable borders revealed that our impression of ourselves was not shared by our enemies. What we saw as our strength, they saw as weakness. When we built what we thought were unbreakable walls, they saw unimpeded opportunities for terror. And when we relied on the power of our shared humanity, they relied on their power to perpetrate evil. And we have paid dearly for our mistaken self-perception.

The war in Gaza has required the establishment of a new paradigm for our relationship with our neighbors. Although I believe that our goal remains a future of peace and security for both Palestinians and Israelis, that goal can no longer be contingent on how we are loved and admired for our humanity. Any future peace must begin with a realization of fear, the fear of the potential for cataclysmic destruction, the fear of total debilitation, and the fear of the dire consequences of any further attempts to terrorize the Jewish People.

The current situation requires of us to re-evaluate the narratives, the premises and the postulates of the past before we can move forward. Rising Antisemitism, disguised as anti-Zionism, remains a pernicious and immutable constant, brought into broad relief by this war. Our job cannot be simply to acknowledge this reality and bemoan its ongoing place in the world. For the sake of our future, and out of reverence for our past, we must change the paradigm and focus on what we know to be the truth, on facts for which we have proof and, for now, assume a posture which inspires fear in those who oppose us. And the, perhaps, might we find the peace which has evaded us for far too long.

Neil Cooper
Rabbi Emeritus