As I read this I can't help but see similarities between how Netanyahu has perverted Judaism to justify horrific actions and how Trump is perverting Christianity to justify the rhetoric and actions unfolding here in the states.
The atrocities both are committing against the people they are responsible for are reprehensible and blasphemous, even while attempting to be thinly cloaked behind religious righteousness. Through their individual actions they are twisting religion into unrecognizable antonyms of what they are meant to be, and doing so with indifference and apathy for who they hurt in the process. Its disgusting, infuriating, and I lack the words to express my outrage further.
The events in Gaza and the West Bank have been magnitudes more catastrophic that what we've experienced here in the states. But the parallel between the two "leaders" is there.
Hey Lawrence, I love how you poured your heart into this article. Thank you for inspiring me through your courage to speak out for peace and Tikkun Olam
Lawrence, great Article. Netanyahu and the Orange Anus, two evil douches! But think of the parallels of Rump and Hitler, his reign was only 12 years and Rump is in year 9. I don't think his evil heart will make it the full three years, Karma is a bitch and the Universe has a way of getting even with brutally cruel assholes. When is the last time you heard anyone mention that burning in hell Missouri Hillbilly Rush Limbaugh's name? Forgotten even though he was spewing his hatred daily for so many years, day after day followed by the lemming Zombats! My friend, this is not a continuation but we near the Apex, the party is just about over for the Magats and their Billionaire Overlords! We, the many and the mighty are reclaiming our country, our rights and our government bit by bit, battle by battle, post by post, mind by mind, vote by vote! Hang in there Brother, we are so far up the mountain the air is rare and thin, it's cloudy and hard to see, WE are sweating and tired, but we are so close to the Summit - with victory waiting on the other side! Then we'll throw all these assholes in jail and pass better laws to prevent this shitshow from ever being able to happen in THIS COUNTY again! Resist, Repel, Regain, Repeat!
So pleased I read this. Superbly written, nails the key points, and (as we badly need right now) so very, very human.
Sometimes I look at these situations as generational abuse playing out on a massive scale. The only answer is to break the cycle, otherwise it just goes on forever.
Fantastic article Lawrence! Michael Lerner was involved with my school in San Francisco, New College of California, now gone. As is the magazine Tikkun. There's a special place in hell for Netanyahu, Trump and Putin. I look forward to being a subscriber!
I was told a few months ago by a Jewish friend of mine that it wasn't my place to judge as a non-Jew — that I don't understand. But, I told him, that's like a Nazi telling a non-Nazi they don't understand the Holocaust. It's irrelevant who did what. Race and religion are irrelevant. I don't see revenge in Gaza or self-defense, I see genocide. There's no other way to put it. One can dress it up as self-defense, but as you said, it's gone beyond that. Great piece. And yes, you sweated your soul out over this one!
Damn, this is excellent. Thank you for your perspective. It really is crystal clear. I keep being mystified by how Isreal is getting all this support, and I'm afraid it's from evangelical Christians. I don't know enough about it. But Jimmy Carter alluded to it. And The Yiddish Policeman's Union is one of my comfort re-reads. It nails it, in an alternative universe, but still. And how desperately we need a party of love, that doesn't allow any of this bs. <3
This resonates in many ways with me. Netanyahu and his ultra-orthodox puppeteers are hugely damaging for Jews everywhere. But then so is the rhetoric and the cunning use of propaganda by Hamas and its support network, and Netanyahu has done a double one over on us by playing right into their hands.
I didn't know that about reform Jews. I understood that anyone who has converted to Judaism is considered Jewish, but perhaps there are rules within that I don't know. In any case, I have an issue with people who convert to Judaism in order to gain Israeli citizenship (obviously that wasn't the motivation for your mother, but it does happen). Like you, I am a Jew raised outside of Israel. Unlike you, I am an Israeli national and have many family members there, all of whom are from many generations of Jews born there, since well before Herzl was even imagined. I received my call to the army. I deferred on the grounds of education and was later allowed to opt out altogether (due to the short spate of peace experienced in the 1990s). For better or for worse, it's a choice I made and it aligned with my life and how I felt.
Yet, I feel the pain that is felt within Israel. There is a deep fury at Netanyahu but there is also a feeling of massive betrayal by the world. The propaganda machine of Hamas is extensive and very well oiled. I will never, ever support the devastation that has occurred in Gaza, I cannot relate to or even understand the blood lust of Netanyahu, Smotrich or Ben Gvir. But I also know that Israel is demonised on every single count, no matter what. And it's all curated and designed by Hamas and its allies. They were under no illusion that Israel would have this kind of response. They specifically targeted people working towards peace and continue to do so, whether they are Israeli or Palestinian. I follow a Palestinian who has been ostracised by the so-called peace movement, because he highlights the dissent towards Hamas, and speaks up for those actions by the IDF that have helped Palestinians, because despite the many atrocities we are shown and the language that tells us that IDF soldiers are no different to the Gestapo, there is another side we are not being shown - a human, vulnerable side to those who feel they have no choice, whether or not we in the west feel emboldened enough to decide for them. Hamas knows that a high death count in Gaza is beneficial to them. No, we can't accept a single justification for the death and destruction that has occurred. But we also cannot trust any of the information coming out of the Middle East, no matter what newspaper or how 'trustworthy' it is.
I understand this current need to speak out. I am seeing it everywhere. I have been speaking out against Netanyahu's decisions since the very beginning, since the very first rocket or bombs that began raining down on Gaza City. I did so because I felt distraught at every life lost, and at every life being put in danger. Today is no different, but I will not speak up based on the sudden flood of images and messages we are currently receiving, because I am wise enough now to know that they may only be half the story, if that.
I love the Tikkun Olam concept, and that is exactly what I do and will always support.
Sally, thank you for your deeply thoughtful reply. I appreciate your perspective, and I'm glad you felt comfortable sharing it here. I think at the end of the day, we are all humans who don't want to see needless killing or suffering, and we're all trying to hack through media and organizational narratives that are more bent on keeping us apart and fighting. Thank you for speaking up and sharing!
Thanks, Lawrence. It’s hard to talk about these things. They’re triggering, especially when you’ve spent so long looking, dissecting, and trying to find a balanced yet realistic perspective. I largely don’t enter discussions these days but I think it’s important to add other angles to those who are opening to listening and not shutting healthy discourse down. Thank you for your kind reply.
Your eloquent plea for sane and reasonable action is so well-written that I'm embarrassed that my first thought was, "This is so brave."
Brave because even my beloved U.S.-Jewish friends seem caught up in the thirst for more blood, more carnage, more, yes, although it seems unthinkable, genocide? It's not my place to judge, I've silently thought as a non-Jew.
But I've felt similar leanings to yours that I could never have stated as clearly as you have. Your tapestry of current events, political ambition (Netanyahu) and first-person introspection is woven so persuasively. And that quote by Nietzsche “beware that, when fighting monsters, you yourself do not become a monster..." is so searing and apt. Well done, Lawrence! I suspect, like many political stances we're seeing lately, history will judge Israel harshly. Thank you for sharing a POV that's, sadly, less heard yet so worth voicing.
Beautifully conveyed!
As I read this I can't help but see similarities between how Netanyahu has perverted Judaism to justify horrific actions and how Trump is perverting Christianity to justify the rhetoric and actions unfolding here in the states.
The atrocities both are committing against the people they are responsible for are reprehensible and blasphemous, even while attempting to be thinly cloaked behind religious righteousness. Through their individual actions they are twisting religion into unrecognizable antonyms of what they are meant to be, and doing so with indifference and apathy for who they hurt in the process. Its disgusting, infuriating, and I lack the words to express my outrage further.
The events in Gaza and the West Bank have been magnitudes more catastrophic that what we've experienced here in the states. But the parallel between the two "leaders" is there.
Thank you for sharing! ❤️
Your voice. Your passion. Your humanity. It's all palpable here, my dear friend. Your voice is important. It is necessary. It is vital.
Expertly written, my friend. Thank you for speaking with such fire.
Thank you, Füsun!
Hey Lawrence, I love how you poured your heart into this article. Thank you for inspiring me through your courage to speak out for peace and Tikkun Olam
Well spoken Lawrence; brave and true, I walk with you
Your article is SO dang insightful, and polished. THANKS! 💯
Lawrence, great Article. Netanyahu and the Orange Anus, two evil douches! But think of the parallels of Rump and Hitler, his reign was only 12 years and Rump is in year 9. I don't think his evil heart will make it the full three years, Karma is a bitch and the Universe has a way of getting even with brutally cruel assholes. When is the last time you heard anyone mention that burning in hell Missouri Hillbilly Rush Limbaugh's name? Forgotten even though he was spewing his hatred daily for so many years, day after day followed by the lemming Zombats! My friend, this is not a continuation but we near the Apex, the party is just about over for the Magats and their Billionaire Overlords! We, the many and the mighty are reclaiming our country, our rights and our government bit by bit, battle by battle, post by post, mind by mind, vote by vote! Hang in there Brother, we are so far up the mountain the air is rare and thin, it's cloudy and hard to see, WE are sweating and tired, but we are so close to the Summit - with victory waiting on the other side! Then we'll throw all these assholes in jail and pass better laws to prevent this shitshow from ever being able to happen in THIS COUNTY again! Resist, Repel, Regain, Repeat!
As always, your insight, your bravery, and your voice are clear and inspiring. Thank you.
Thank you my friend! ❤️
So pleased I read this. Superbly written, nails the key points, and (as we badly need right now) so very, very human.
Sometimes I look at these situations as generational abuse playing out on a massive scale. The only answer is to break the cycle, otherwise it just goes on forever.
Thanks Matt. I totally agree. We could heal this if anyone had the courage to break the cycle.
Fantastic article Lawrence! Michael Lerner was involved with my school in San Francisco, New College of California, now gone. As is the magazine Tikkun. There's a special place in hell for Netanyahu, Trump and Putin. I look forward to being a subscriber!
Thank you for taking me on this journey with you. Your passion and hopes shine through. Have a good life.
Yes, please, peace. For everyone everywhere.
I was told a few months ago by a Jewish friend of mine that it wasn't my place to judge as a non-Jew — that I don't understand. But, I told him, that's like a Nazi telling a non-Nazi they don't understand the Holocaust. It's irrelevant who did what. Race and religion are irrelevant. I don't see revenge in Gaza or self-defense, I see genocide. There's no other way to put it. One can dress it up as self-defense, but as you said, it's gone beyond that. Great piece. And yes, you sweated your soul out over this one!
Damn, this is excellent. Thank you for your perspective. It really is crystal clear. I keep being mystified by how Isreal is getting all this support, and I'm afraid it's from evangelical Christians. I don't know enough about it. But Jimmy Carter alluded to it. And The Yiddish Policeman's Union is one of my comfort re-reads. It nails it, in an alternative universe, but still. And how desperately we need a party of love, that doesn't allow any of this bs. <3
This resonates in many ways with me. Netanyahu and his ultra-orthodox puppeteers are hugely damaging for Jews everywhere. But then so is the rhetoric and the cunning use of propaganda by Hamas and its support network, and Netanyahu has done a double one over on us by playing right into their hands.
I didn't know that about reform Jews. I understood that anyone who has converted to Judaism is considered Jewish, but perhaps there are rules within that I don't know. In any case, I have an issue with people who convert to Judaism in order to gain Israeli citizenship (obviously that wasn't the motivation for your mother, but it does happen). Like you, I am a Jew raised outside of Israel. Unlike you, I am an Israeli national and have many family members there, all of whom are from many generations of Jews born there, since well before Herzl was even imagined. I received my call to the army. I deferred on the grounds of education and was later allowed to opt out altogether (due to the short spate of peace experienced in the 1990s). For better or for worse, it's a choice I made and it aligned with my life and how I felt.
Yet, I feel the pain that is felt within Israel. There is a deep fury at Netanyahu but there is also a feeling of massive betrayal by the world. The propaganda machine of Hamas is extensive and very well oiled. I will never, ever support the devastation that has occurred in Gaza, I cannot relate to or even understand the blood lust of Netanyahu, Smotrich or Ben Gvir. But I also know that Israel is demonised on every single count, no matter what. And it's all curated and designed by Hamas and its allies. They were under no illusion that Israel would have this kind of response. They specifically targeted people working towards peace and continue to do so, whether they are Israeli or Palestinian. I follow a Palestinian who has been ostracised by the so-called peace movement, because he highlights the dissent towards Hamas, and speaks up for those actions by the IDF that have helped Palestinians, because despite the many atrocities we are shown and the language that tells us that IDF soldiers are no different to the Gestapo, there is another side we are not being shown - a human, vulnerable side to those who feel they have no choice, whether or not we in the west feel emboldened enough to decide for them. Hamas knows that a high death count in Gaza is beneficial to them. No, we can't accept a single justification for the death and destruction that has occurred. But we also cannot trust any of the information coming out of the Middle East, no matter what newspaper or how 'trustworthy' it is.
I understand this current need to speak out. I am seeing it everywhere. I have been speaking out against Netanyahu's decisions since the very beginning, since the very first rocket or bombs that began raining down on Gaza City. I did so because I felt distraught at every life lost, and at every life being put in danger. Today is no different, but I will not speak up based on the sudden flood of images and messages we are currently receiving, because I am wise enough now to know that they may only be half the story, if that.
I love the Tikkun Olam concept, and that is exactly what I do and will always support.
Sally, thank you for your deeply thoughtful reply. I appreciate your perspective, and I'm glad you felt comfortable sharing it here. I think at the end of the day, we are all humans who don't want to see needless killing or suffering, and we're all trying to hack through media and organizational narratives that are more bent on keeping us apart and fighting. Thank you for speaking up and sharing!
Thanks, Lawrence. It’s hard to talk about these things. They’re triggering, especially when you’ve spent so long looking, dissecting, and trying to find a balanced yet realistic perspective. I largely don’t enter discussions these days but I think it’s important to add other angles to those who are opening to listening and not shutting healthy discourse down. Thank you for your kind reply.
❤️🌈💜
Your eloquent plea for sane and reasonable action is so well-written that I'm embarrassed that my first thought was, "This is so brave."
Brave because even my beloved U.S.-Jewish friends seem caught up in the thirst for more blood, more carnage, more, yes, although it seems unthinkable, genocide? It's not my place to judge, I've silently thought as a non-Jew.
But I've felt similar leanings to yours that I could never have stated as clearly as you have. Your tapestry of current events, political ambition (Netanyahu) and first-person introspection is woven so persuasively. And that quote by Nietzsche “beware that, when fighting monsters, you yourself do not become a monster..." is so searing and apt. Well done, Lawrence! I suspect, like many political stances we're seeing lately, history will judge Israel harshly. Thank you for sharing a POV that's, sadly, less heard yet so worth voicing.