Writings from Rabbi Glickman

In Jerusalem, all roads lead to Zion Square.  At first, Zion Square might look like a typical urban intersection.  But despite its traffic noise, pizza places and newsstands, Zion Square is not “typical” at all.

No, here in the hustle and bustle of Zion Square you can see the very essence of contemporary Israel.  With each green “Walk” light, a cross-section of Israel’s populace streams together into the street – observant Jews and secular Jews; native-born Israelis and immigrants; Christians and Muslims; the black-hatted and the kaffiyeh-ed. Just a few hundred yards to the east is Jerusalem’s ancient city, its medieval ramparts protecting a city built as a golden bastion of peace for the world.  To the west, past the outdoor cafes lining festive Ben-Yehudah Street, are the newer areas of the city – schools and grocery stores, neighborhoods and offices, playgrounds and, yes, jails too.  To the north is the Ultra-Orthodox enclave called Mea Sh’arim; and to the south, on the way to Bethlehem, are museums, theaters, and more neighborhoods new and old.  Zion Square, you see, lies at the very heart of today’s Israel.

And lately, here at the heart of the nation, bombs have been exploding.  They have exploded elsewhere, too, of course.  But if the roads all converge on Zion Square, then somehow the blood-flow reaches here, as well.  Certainly, the death of any innocent is a great tragedy, but when murderers seek out groups of women pushing baby carriages, or people celebrating a religious holiday in a hotel, or friends chatting in a café, and decide that that is where they will blow up themselves and the bystanders, then somehow the wounds seem to go especially deep.

I have refrained from public statement about violence in Israel because, frankly, I didn’t feel I had much to add.  Of course, I grieve with the victims and their families; of course, I hope the hostilities end soon; of course, I support the forces of peace on both sides of the conflict.  But others have already said all that.

But today’s situation is different.  Things tend to get that way when attacks are aimed at the heart, and thus it is from my own heart that I must speak.  Sadly, I have no easy solutions to propose, only some observations to share.

• Yes, Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and Gaza is a moral travesty. Yes, Israel should end the occupation– safely, securely, and quickly.  But that’s not the point here!
• The point is this:  Even if all of the criticisms leveled against Israel were true – which they are not – the acts of these Palestinian terrorists are still simply evil.  Even if you see the Israeli army as a boorish oaf of a Goliath beating up a poor innocent Palestinian David, nothing – nothing – could ever justify the murder of innocent Israeli citizens going about their daily activities.  Certainly, Israel has committed its share of excesses, but never has there been even tacit official approval of horrors such as these.  Those who argue that there is any moral equivalence between Israeli and Palestinian misdeeds should be ashamed of themselves.
• Many will argue that Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians has sown the seeds of this violence. The argument is not only ludicrous, but also horribly disrespectful to Palestinians.  There are other more severely oppressed groups today who somehow resist the temptation to become murderers, and I, for one, have enough respect for most Palestinians to believe that they could do the same if they so decided.
• Some recent Palestinian literature has praised the suicide bombers as martyrs.  How deplorable.  There is no nobility in suicide, and certainly none in murder. Just evil.
• The News Tribune recently quoted my friend, Zahi Haddad (a native-born Palestinian now living in Tacoma) as saying that “The Israeli government does not really care to have a peaceful solution.”  With all due respect to Mr. Haddad, nothing could be further from the truth.  Israel yearns for peace from the very depths of its soul.  Many disagree as to how to achieve it, but there is widespread, heartfelt consensus in Israel that the country needs peace now more than ever.

I’ll admit that I take this personally. I lived in Jerusalem for two years.  I ate pizza and bought newspapers on Zion Square.  Some of the reservists called to protect Israeli citizens are friends and family of mine.  A few weeks ago, four of my colleagues at a meeting of American Reform rabbis in Jerusalem narrowly escaped death when guards stopped a suicide-bomber-wannabe moments before he was to blow up a café where they were sitting.

I take it so personally because I am Jewish, and thus I feel a special connection with my fellow Jews living in Israel.  But all people with a heart, all who deplore unjust suffering and unnecessary bloodshed, all who dream of peace, should be pained this horrible, daily slaughter of innocent Israeli men, women, and children.

In Jerusalem, you see, all roads lead to Zion Square.  And from Zion Square, I pray, they lead to the four corners of the earth, reaching deep into the hearts of peace-lovers everywhere.  For only then will Jerusalem, Yerushalayim in Hebrew, become Ir Shalom, the City Of Peace for us all.

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