The week that was.... Ugh....

It's still a Jewish holiday in the Diaspora. But I am so alarmed by events right now that holidaying feels like a luxury. We need to talk about all this.

I'm feeling sickened by events around me. Really sickened. By all of it.

ICYMI, here's a round-up of some of the biggies:

Starvation of northern Gaza?

Reports that the Israeli army is purposely starving the people of Northern Gaza who have already lost so much and have nowhere to go. It's already happening. Reports coming out of the area are horrific. The bombings, the fires, the deaths, the starvation, all of it. Aid workers are saying the current situation is the worst yet since the start of the war -- and that's saying a lot, considering how bad it's been until now. Purposeful starvation so that the people will either die or leave -- that is the Israeli secret "strategy" in action. Next time someone says "genocide", maybe pause for a second before you insist it's not true.

Plans for removing Gazans from Gaza

While this is happening, a massive Sukkot holiday gathering on the Gaza border openly calls for the complete removal of Palestinians from Gaza and their replacement with new Jewish settlements. This gathering, a kind of festive conference of the religious right wing led by Ben Gvir, Smotrich, Daniella Weiss, and a bunch of Likud MKs including May Golan, used grotesque language to describe the Palestinians. Calling the Palestinians an "infection" that needs to be completely "cleaned out". Complete dehumanization. Again, next time someone says "ethnic cleansing", pause for a moment before you insist that it's not true.

Israeli ministers AGAINST hostage negotiations

For the first time in months, a team of hostage negotiators is being sent to Doha for talks by Prime Minister Netanyahu. Except that ministers Ben Gvir and Smotrich and possibly others are throwing a fit about this, insisting that he NOT send hostage negotiators. Yes, you read that right. These same ministers who are calling for the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in Gaza are also AGAINST Israel participating in hostage negotiations. There isn’t even a deal on the table yet. They are against even TALKING about it. Try wrapping your head around that. What does that tell you? Obviously, they like things exactly the way they are. Their own seats of power. All this stuff they have going on (see item above). Hostage return could ruin all that for them. End the war. End their little party. That’s what this is about. They are like, screw the hostages. Our Jewish religious political leaders.

The war escalates in Lebanon

Meanwhile, rockets continue flying from Lebanon, with some casualties and injuries up north. This is happening DESPITE the fact that Israel assassinated Nasrallah, his number 2, his next in line, his closest advisors, etc etc. That whole "killing the snake from the head" thing does not work. Just one more lie, of many many lies, that the Netanyahu government tells while it continues the decades-long strategy of brute force that has only made everyone's lives worse. WHEN are people going to wake up and realize that we are all being duped? That we are being cajoled into non-stop violence even though it doesn't actually help us or anyone else? There is no real strategy here.

As more IDF soldiers are killed

Over the holiday, five MORE reserve soldiers were killed in action. Even as we have no idea what the strategy is in Lebanon. Nobody knows. Not the Americans, not the army, perhaps not even Bibi. It's just endless aimless pushing forward of military action, using our loved ones as fighters, with no end in sight and no plan other than escalating violence. October has been the worst month of casualties, and STILL we don't know what the hell Israel is doing here.

Soldiers are rebelling

IDF reservists are continuing to rebel against this. 130 reserve soldiers signed a letter refusing to participate in this. And a CNN report about soldiers' PTSD revealed some truly gruesome things that soldiers have been doing. I can't even write it here.

Iran is planning more war

Meanwhile, apparently Iran is gearing up for full on war with Israel. Tell me again how Bibi is the "security guy"?! The one who knows how to deal with Iran? The one who makes us all safer?! As if....The guy is a complete and utter failure. And liar and manipulator. War monger. That's what he is.

Trump invokes Nazis

If Trump gets elected in two weeks, all this will get worse. Much worse. Bibi will make a party b/c he thinks that a Trump white house will give him a free pass to do whatever the hell he wants. That is, after all, how fascist dictators work. He and Trump have those aspirations in common. These arrogant, bloodthirsty old men who care only about their own power......

Did I mention that Trump supporters are openly waving Nazi flags at his rallies? And trump is invoking Hitler and his love of Hitler's strategists.... How is that not absolutely terrifying to everyone? How in the world is this race still close??? Oh, and btw, Trump ads have been invoking antisemitic tropes to purposely woo certain voters..... While ALSO targeting Jews by suggesting that trump is the one who will protect Jews. It's grotesque. Absolutely grotesque.

The insane pressures on Kamala Harris

I'm not saying that Kamala Harris is perfect. And I understand some people's frustration that she's not more outspoken about what she would do to stop the war. While other people are frustrated that she does this radical thing and meets with Palestinian families and listens to Palestinian supporters when they speak. (And then gets attacked for that.)

Let's face it: Kamala Harris is in an impossible political bind about this. She is caught between a rock and a hard place every time she opens her mouth. B/c if she says the "wrong" thing one way or another, she risks losing voters -- or worse, the ire of AIPAC and the ADL....So it's tricky for her. She is navigating a very hard political situation while in the race of her life. Of all our lives

But if you listen carefully you can hear her deep sympathy for the Palestinians' crisis, a genuine commitment to ending the war, as well as an understanding of Jews' and Israelis' need for security. You can here the complexity and nuance in her stance, which I feel is sincere and which I find refreshing. And I believe that once she is in office, she will do the right thing. She sees all sides and comes from a place of empathy. All of that is what we need right now. Details to follow.

So much for the Jewish holidays…

All of this has been happening while Jews are celebrating happy holidays. In fact, while I’m writing this, the Diaspora Jewish community is still in the second day of Simchat Torah....Personally, I could not bring myself to go to shul on the holiday. I know that our synagogue did some thoughtful and caring rituals in place of dancing. I wanted to honor that. But I couldn't even bring myself to do any kind of business-as-usual and stand in the sanctuary singing. I couldn’t pull myself there, certainly not on a day where the name of the day includes "joy". It just didn't work for me.

What about you?

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