Ethnic cleansing is already happening

And other heartbreaking news from my corner of the world

Before I get to life in Israel and Gaza, I’d like to send love and hugs to all my family and friends in Melbourne, Australia, who are facing some terrifying escalations of antisemitism. Last week’s bombing of a synagogue in Melbourne is just the latest in a long string of everyday violence and harassment that Australian Jews are facing. Everyone I’ve been speaking to about this says that they are not even surprised at the latest attack. It’s a result of 14 months in which they say the government is doing nothing to protect the Jews from antisemitism. My husband, who was recently in Australia visiting for our niece’s bat mitzvah, described, for example, how there are antisemitic violent protests outside of synagogues every week, making everyday life a bit scary for Jews. One of our nieces had her car windows smashed in because of a bumper sticker with a Star of David on it. Things like that. I just want to send hugs to all of the Aussies out there struggling with this. And share in the call for better protections for the Jewish community in the face of all this antisemitic violence.

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And now back to Israel.

So. Day 430 of this war. Death, destruction, and disease continue — among children, humanitarian workers, journalists, medical workers. IDF soldiers being sent to fight, despite exhaustion, post-trauma, strains on families, economic devastation, and a general sense that the war should have been over by now and it’s just political posturing. Using our loved ones to drag on this disaster for political purposes. Four more reservists were killed today in Lebanon — doing what, exactly? Isn’t there a cease fire? The incessant death around us is unbearable.

Plus, 100 hostages still sitting in tunnels, at least two of whom are still alive. Hamas released signs of life videos from Matan Zangauker — whose fearless mother Einav has not stopped fighting for his release for even one second in these past 14 months — and from Edan Alexander. These videos remind all of us that the hostages are still there, waiting for us to bring an end to all this.

Cynics in the government who apparently have no intention of making a deal happen call these videos “psychological warfare” or “propaganda” and actively try to prevent us from seeing them. It’s ridiculous. As if the hostages are just pretending to be suffering and begging us to help them. I deeply resent the use of these terms.

These ideos are not psychological warfare. They are a plea for us to remember our own humanity and do whatever it takes to get them back. People watching our government’s lack of action are shocked. “Doesn’t your government care about its own people?” many Palestinians have asked me. It’s a terrible situation when others care more about us than our own leaders.

Hamas hostage Matan Zangauker in his video from captivity

Edan Alexander in his video from captivity

Government corruption

This is a real question that boggles the mind and I’m sure keeps many Israelis up at night. Does the government even care about the hostages? About the reservists? About the people of Gaza? About any of us? About any of this?

PM Bibi Netanyahu has already signalled his intention to do nothing to end the war before Trump gets into office, despite Trump’s threats of there being “hell to pay”. Bibi seems unmoved.

Of course he is. His main threat to survival right now is the corruption trial in which he is set to testify this week. He tried his best to put this off, even using whatever corrupt tools at his disposal to avoid being held accountable for corruption.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, the High Court will be deliberating on whether the government needs to appoint a commission to investigate the failures of this war. The Netanyahu government has been fighting this with all its might — are we even surprised? — but the people are not giving up. The Movement for Quality of Government in Israel, a vital organization in our times, is organizing a protest outside the courthouse to make sure that the court does the right thing and makes sure that Israel’s politicians are held accountable.

The truth about what’s happening in Gaza

Every time someone says, “ethnic cleansing” in reference to Gaza, there is an outcry among Israel advocates and Bibi supporters. They scream that the term “ethnic cleansing” is some kind of lie, an expression of antisemitic or propaganda or whatever. This, despite an endless onslaught of horrific stories coming out of Gaza. The pictures of utter destruction in Gaza are undeniable. The stories of entire families being killed, of entire neighborhoods being razed, of medical staff being targeted — these are real. All this, against the very real backdrop of Israeli government members actively calling for the Judaization of Gaza and the elimination or forced expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza, even if it’s against international law. If this isn’t ethnic cleansing, then what is?

Anyway, despite the protests that somehow all these realities can be dismissed as some kind of made-up lie or “propaganda” or antisemitism or whatever, the truth is coming out — even from places we may not have exptected it. Netanyahu’s former defense minister Bogi Yaalon has admitted that in his opinion, “Israeli leadership is dragging the country down the path of ethnic cleansing in Gaza”.

Yeah, he said that. Bibi’s guy.

The truth is going to come out one way or another. Israelis and the pro-Israel world are going to have to face our own demons at some point.

Bibi wants to control the press — even more than he already does

This government is now going after the media. Of course it is — that step is the signal of the beginning of the end of democracy. The government recently announced its plan to close down Ha’aretz, the only newspaper in Israel that doesn’t report the government’s party line unquestioningly. The only paper outlet in Israel where it’s possible to get the actual truth about what’s happening in Gaza or the West Bank. Of course Bibi wants to shut it down.

(You might want to consider subscribing to Ha’aretz, too. Just saying.)

I would also point out that Bibi’s corruption trials revolve around his efforts to emphatically control the press. So this is not exactly new, just perhaps more egregious. Or maybe just more of the same.

Israel quietly moves towards more religious coercion

While we were all looking the other way, this government is also getting back to its agenda of religious radicalization. Exhibition A: the cabinet has approved a measure to increase gender segregation on campuses, despite the objection of education authorities (The “Malag”) as well as the High Court decision that this is illegal. This move is being led by the notorious MK Limor Son Har Melech, who has already set herself apart for her blatant racism and support of random settler violence against Palestinians. It is indescribably crushing to witness women in power lead the fight to limit women’s rights and freedoms. But here we are.

MK LImor Son Har Melech, wearing a big orange head covering scarf, smiling at the Knesset meeting where her bill to increase gender segregation on campuses was approved by the ministerial committee. Screenshot of the Channel 13 story on the issue.

And for those of you who are eager to push back about “separate is equal”, there are a zillion ways in which gender segregation harms women in ways that it does not harm men. This is about making women invisible, and creating women-free landscapes for men. To learn more, see my 2015 book, The War on Women in Israel, and the dozens of articles that I have written about this over the past 15 years.

Thank you, Rabbi Jill Jacobs

I realize that a lot of what I’m writing is difficult for Jews of the world to read. Even many progressive-minded Jews are too stuck in the conversation about antisemitism right now to consider the realities of Israel. For many Jews around the world, Israel exists as a kind of “safe place”, like the altar with the horns that if you grab onto it, you can’t be hurt. In that imagination, Israel is more of a symbol than a real place with real life. I have been having so many of these hard conversations where Jews are just incapable of hearing anything bad about Israel right now.

That’s very hard for me, I have to say. Because, well — see above. Our government is doing terrible things — in my name, in our name.

We can’t sit by and let this happen. And I feel really strongly that we can’t let the whole collective trauma thing let us excuse what is actually happening.

(Also, as an aside, let me say that you should all stop reading gordis. You will be better people for it. The Jewish people would be better off if everyone just erased him from thier bookshelves. You’ll thank me later.)

Against this backdrop, I want to give a huge shout-out to Rabbi Jill Jacobs, CEO of T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights, for writing this truth-filled essay in JTA about what it means to be a Jew in today’s world. Remembering our humanity.

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