Julian Resnick: Choose Life
Wednesday, 07 January 2009
Julian Resnick works in Jewish education and travel and was Director of the Movement for Reform Judaism's Living Judaism initiative. He continues to be in involved in Jewish Journeys and lives in Israel.
I have got to know many of you over the years I have worked in Jewish education and travel. I think that it has been clear that one of the guiding principles in the work I do has been my willingness to expose the complications and layers of truth which exist in every situation we encounter. I have tried to not only advance my point of view, but have always tried to find an exponent of another way of seeing the truth especially in areas I feel very committed to. For me, education, good education has always involved giving plenty of room to the other voices around me as well.
Just a few weeks ago I took a group from Wimbledon for day to the very areas we have seen so much of on the TV screens during the past week and we listened and questioned and considered and debated. Like all good liberal minded people, and believe me I am not having a go at good liberal minded people, I wish that the entire world consisted of good liberal minded people, we tried to think together with the local people of ways to reach understandings through talking to the other.
Your screens will be filled over the coming days with people attacking us in Israel for using our military might against the people of Gaza. You will see countless pictures of civilian casualties, and many will actually be civilian casualties. You will see scenes of homes destroyed and farmers’ fields in ruins; and over and over again the narrative you will be told will include the phrase disproportionate response. Israeli casualties, and I know sadly there will be Israeli casualties, will be dismissed as soldiers who die in war, something perfectly normal in a situation of conflict you will be told.
And, you will be helped to forget that this conflict, this awful conflict which will take the lives of many who are non-combatants, is the result of a group of ruthless terrorists who are so determined to destroy us, so caught up in their fundamentalist version of the world, so sure that Allah will lead them to victory just as he led the prophet Muhammad to victory almost 14 centuries ago, that they are prepared to sacrifice their own people in a scenario which can only lead to death and destruction for so many of the Palestinian people.
No one will make mention of the over 8,000 missiles launched at the civilian population in the south of Israel. No one will make mention that even as Israel was pounding military targets from the air, close to 300 trucks were crossing the border from Israel to bring supplies to desperate Palestinian civilians. No one will mention that Israel's blockade was put into place as an alternative to military action to try and get the message across to the Hamas as they continued firing rockets at Sderot and the kibbutzim in the area during the 'ceasefire'. No one will mention that 690 people from Kibbutz Kfar Aza fled over the last week as they could no longer deal with the rockets falling around them all the time during a 'ceasefire'.
We too deserve to live in peace without the threats of rockets aimed at us for the sole purpose of destroying us because the fundamentalist ideology of the Hamas does not allow for a Jewish State. As much as we want peace, and as much as I do not want my son to ever be on the field of battle (he is in South Africa right now having worked at the Habonim summer camp), my sense of who I am and my sense of what I am entitled to after such a long and complex history, will not allow me to turn the other cheek when the first one gets slapped so hard.
If I had a magic wand, I would wave it and ensure that not one innocent Palestinian civilian gets caught up in the cross fire. Unfortunately, such wands do not exist so I will trust that the IDF will do its best to avoid casualties to civilians and at the same time I will stand by the ethically sound position which places the lives and well being of the young men we send into battle as the first priority in this situation of conflict.
So, this rant is I suppose to ask you to understand our situation now, or at least my understanding of our situation, and to ask you to come and visit as planned, not only because I want you to come on a Jewish Journey, but because I believe that all people who believe in an open and free society where terror is not allowed to determine how we behave, we all have to in our little way fight that terror. As Jews, we have always been commanded to choose life. I urge you all to do that both my Jewish and my Gentile friends, and for those of you who pray, please pray that this conflict ends with as little loss of innocent life as possible, on both sides.
Shalom,
Julian
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