WhatsappThis Reform rabbi hits it on the nose about the American embassy move to Jerusalem. Since when is a nation not able to decide where it’s capital is? “President Trump simply acknowledged a fact.” The Reform Rabbi also points out that this move was long overdue. The right time for the embassy move was back in 1949.
He then continues to focus on the Arabs in Gaza. He recommends that the Arabs work together with Israelis. They could and should turn the area of Gaza into a commercial oasis. Additionally, he mourns the lack of peaceful coexistence between Jews and Arabs. He sees living together as the only way to solve the centuries-old dispute.
Lack of Leadership
He criticizes the leadership of the Arabs in Gaza. When Arabs burn down facilities in the Gaza Strip that are there to enhance their life, the Arabs only have themselves to blame. But, perhaps the most important part of his speech is that he berates his colleagues. He confronts other Reform Rabbis and Jewish leaders. He properly claims that they “finger-wag” at the Jewish State any time the IDF kills an Arab. It doesn’t seem to matter what the situation is – it’s just Israel’s fault.
Did Israel not take all precautions to ensure that innocents are not harmed? Does Israel not send in a band of lawyers along with the soldiers to uphold the law?
He clearly explains that at the Gaza border, no peaceful rally took place. Tens of thousands of Gazan civilians and thousands of Hamas jihadists mobilized on Israel’s border. They wanted to sow “death, mayhem, and destruction.” The Arabs wanted to dismantle the fence as the first line of attack. Then the terrorists could sneak in afterwards and infiltrate Jewish communities.
Proportionality
At the 11 minute mark, he properly asks, “What is this obsession we have with disproportionality?” What does Israel have to do to make Israel’s response to terror proportional? Do we need to make sure that as many Jews are killed as Arabs?
Then he has 4 winner lines that are the key to his sermon:
“This proportionality argument is the last refuge of the morally incompetent.”
“How’s this for proportionality – Don’t Attack Israel and Israel won’t attack you.”
“For Israel’s opponents, every response is disproportional.”
“Even Mahmoud Abbas can see what we cannot see.”
