Nickoma and I were talking the other day and he mentioned that the coronavirus pandemic had officially ended in May of 2023.
5 months later, on October 7, Hamas burst across the border into southern Israel in the most violent, barbaric and horrific attack... the unimaginable and unfathomable kind.
Mother and daughters were raped and mutilated.
Fathers and sons were tortured and humiliated.
Grandparents shot waiting at a bus stop with no way or means or escape.
Families ripped apart in front of each other.
Children beaten and taunted.
All filmed and/or live streamed. Body, dashboard, and doorbell cams captured terror in action. If they weren't murdered, they were kidnapped into Gaza.
The pain, shock, and horror of the Jewish people were laid out for the world to bear witness to. The opportunity to hold hands and together stand up to terrorism was presented. Instead within 10 days (to my personal count many claim it was much sooner) messages of hate and antisemitism started to erupt around the world. We were still identifying bodies (so horribly disfigured that it was done by dental records), and hadn't started our ground invasion. Yet the rate of misinformation has been mind boggling since then.
Two years of war, misinformation, and propaganda has ultimately led to Jews being murdered just a few days ago in Manchester during Yom Kippur services. This is not even the first Jewish religiously profiled murder (or attempted one) over the past year.
The 2020s have been riddled with strife, heartache, division, and mistrust. We can't believe science, politicians, news outlets or experts anymore. When the foundations of our fact building mechanisms are crumbling then it should be clear that scape goating is coming (or already happening) and that is a gateway to more killing.
It's scary being a Jew in the world over the past two years. The rise in antisemitism and antiZionism is horrifying. Most Jews have already formulated a plan as to where to hide and/or fight. We've run scenarios and are terrifyingly unsurprised by any hatred or violence we may endure. Our heads are no longer in the sand, ignorant to the possibilities of Jew hatred.
We have been making mental notes for two years now as to who has become an enemy, who an ally, and have even been completely silent or indifferent. These categories, for a Jew, are critical at this moment because as things continue to heat up we need to know who we can trust. We know who will help build bridges and who will destroy them. If need be, even knowing who would hide us.
So today as we sit in our Sukkah, two years into a brutal war with Hamas, I continue to pray for a deal to end the war and safe passage home for our hostages.
#neverforget
#remember7october
#bringthemhome
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