Justice and the Jewish People

By Abe Fried-Tanzer
KOC Assistant Editor
New York University

It's not hard to find a large group of people in New York City rallying for a valid cause on any given day. Causes are usually those pertaining to human rights, whether in Darfur or anywhere else. With the recent popularity of Facebook on the rise, I receive invitations almost weekly to various events. Given that I'm a member of a number of Jewish Facebook groups, like Hillel at NYU and KOACH, I'm frequently invited to numerous rallies and causes supporting Israel and denouncing villains like Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The network of Jewish groups at New York colleges, including NYU, Columbia, Yeshiva University, Hunter College and CUNY Brooklyn, is primed and ready to go to the defense of Jews and Israelis facing persecution and injustice.

What strikes me as extremely unjust is the treatment given to Israel by the media during its offensive in the Gaza strip. For over a year beforehand, I had been reading and hearing about rockets being fired into the town of Sderot and its struggling citizens. Once Israel finally started doing something about it and trying to fight back, the whole world turned against her. The New York Times ran stories about how Israel was launching probes into the conduct of its troops. After receiving e-mails detailing how Hamas uses civilians as human shields, I couldn't believe what I was reading. When Israelis were the victims, no one seemed to be watching. Suddenly, all eyes were on Israel once it started to defend itself. Nothing about that seems just to me.

Being abroad this semester has been particularly troubling when it comes to the world's perception of Israel, and by proxy, the Jewish people. I pass swastika graffiti on the walls of my street in Florence as I walk home to my apartment and hear about anti-Israel rallies going on in neighboring cities. When I traveled to London, walking near Buckingham Palace I spotted a group of people shouting into loudspeakers about Israel's mistreatment of the civilians of Gaza. It's immensely disturbing to find myself in a sea of people so viciously determined to find something wrong with each and every one of Israel's actions, especially when no one's scrutinizing the other side at all.

While all of this does bother me quite a bit, I'm comforted when I think of the steadfastness of the Jewish people. I continued to follow the New York Times stories and was glad to hear that all of the charges against the Israelis troops were dropped. When I think about the strength of the Jewish people, I'm reminded of a scene from the recent film Defiance, about a group of European Jews during the Holocaust who survived by hiding together in the woods. Some among the band want blood for the murder of their family members and friends, but their leader espouses a less vengeful approach. Speaking to the group, he says, "Survival will be our revenge." Sixty years after the Jews faced persecution from the Nazis, the Jews are still facing persecution from the world. Yet they're still standing just as strong and their resolve hasn't weakened at all.

[Posted 4/23/09]