sarahBy Ron Koss
Why do good people, generous people, and educated people, my friends, support today’s state of Israel? How is this contradiction possible?
This state and its leadership are an anathema to the Judaism I valued and felt proud of growing up in the Borscht Belt of the Catskills.
The “never forget” echoes of the Holocaust and the murderous Hamas rampage of October 7, 2023 have propelled us into existential darkness. Reflexive and blind tribalism have little affinity for the light. The heart and soul of my Judaism feel abandoned. I am bereft.
I ponder.
How can tribalism be so entrenched as to not cry out in pain, shame, and outrage knowing that something that identifies itself as “Jewish” has killed an estimated 20,000 children in the Gaza Strip, according to Save the Children?
How about the lawless West Bank settler violence and the displacement of 20% of Lebanon’s population (UNICEF)?
No matter Hamas, Hezbollah, or any other deflection, denial, or reason, this is not “Jewish.” The sanctity of life is betrayed. Compassion is dead. The indifference to justice and morality is staggering.
I ponder.
Unjust, Unequal, Unkind and the tragic irony of all ironies — antisemitic — this is today’s Israel. Yes, antisemitic.
What else can you name the collective and indisputable hateful actions directed towards another semitic group, the Palestinian people?
Words like apartheid, concentration camp, and genocide, terms used by some to describe today’s Israel, are acutely polarizing because, for many, their shameful meaning is historically tattooed to other groups and times.
“Apartheid” is South Africa’s ignominious tattoo. “Concentration camp” is synonymous with Auschwitz’s cruelty. Genocide and Nazi Germany are one and the same — destruction of the Jewish people.
Is it anti-Jewish then to attach these heinous words and associations to today’s Israel?
Sadly, I think not.
Separate and unequal is a fact of life for millions of Palestinians within Israel and the occupied territories. Israel is not South Africa, but discrimination is endemic. The recent Knesset-approved and celebratory-champagne-toasted death penalty for Palestinians only makes the case to condemn Israel as an apartheid-like state an easy one.
Concentrating hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinian civilians in Gazan camps is not the unthinkable extermination nightmare that Auschwitz became, but Auschwitz started out as a concentration camp for Polish political prisoners. Juxtaposing the state of Israel with the ignominy of a concentration camp is inconceivable, but it is the reality.
The word genocide is preeminently associated with the Nazi Holocaust as it should be. But the unconscionable destruction of the entire fabric of Gazan life — homes, schools, mosques, cultural heritage sites, hospitals, agricultural lands, and civil society infrastructure — is a genocide in its own right.
The goodness of the Jewishness I know, its inner strength and resilience, is being sacrificed. Israel should be a refuge and a champion for the richness and gentleness of an enduring and exceptional tradition. It should be a light unto the world. It is not. It now casts a very dark shadow.
I mourn. I ponder.
Ron Koss is an entrepreneur and co-founder of Earth’s Best Baby Foods. He lives in Montpelier.
The material presented here represents the opinion of the author and does not reflect the opinions of The Bridge. Commentaries may be submitted to editor@montpelierbridge.com. Preference is given to submissions by those who live in central Vermont. Submissions are encouraged to be 500 to 750 words in length.
