Now that the smoke has largely cleared from the Bondi Beach massacre, it’s proper to ask: Did we learn anything from this tragedy? Did this attack engender an awakening or just plain apathy?
If the latter is true, what will it take for the Aussies – and all the Jews worldwide who are under attack by antisemites/anti-Zionists – to recognize the danger they are in and do something about it?
In last week’s Torah portion, Moses had an epiphany. Not just the realization that his fellow (adopted) Egyptian citizens are cruel and devoid of moral behavior, but that he himself is in an impossible situation. “Vayifen koh, v’choh,” he looks in each direction, “va’yar ki ayn ish,” and observes he is not a man. In other words, he gazes upon Egypt and sees the cushy life he has enjoyed in the royal palace, but then he views his Hebrew brethren and the dismal state of oppression in which they live. And he concludes, “I am half a person, torn between two diametrically opposed existences; to be whole, I must choose one or the other.”
For almost 100 years, since the end of World War II and the Holocaust, Jews in the Western world have straddled two pathways. They have enthusiastically applauded – from afar – the miraculous rebirth of the State of Israel, while at the same time firmly implanting themselves in Europe and the Americas. It was a dream arrangement: basking in the glow of a rebuilt Jerusalem – ”shepping nachas” long-distance, and perhaps visiting for the holidays – while avoiding war after the Middle East war and sheltering in prosperous foreign venues behind warm, comfortable walls.
But those once-impenetrable walls have become increasingly porous. There is nowhere a Jew of the Diaspora can go today – not a Hebrew school, a kosher restaurant, a synagogue or a public street – with complete confidence that he or she will not become the victim of an antisemitic hate crime. And while these Jews are not the type to carry arms or use them – Meir Kahane’s call of “Every Jew a .22” never did take root – local law enforcement is scandalously unreliable.
Virtually all of the thousands of attacks upon Jews over the last several years have gone unpunished; it is extremely rare for any of these criminals to have been fined, let alone incarcerated. As an NYPD detective told me recently, “Jews are attacked with impunity on a daily basis, but the law favors the perpetrator, not the victim.”
And this was before Mamdani took office and began dismantling city ordinances that targeted Jew-hatred.
Bright future for Israel
Life in Israel is no picnic, to be sure; it’s a sad truth that more Jews have been killed in Israel since our founding than in all the terror attacks committed against Jews worldwide. But that does not mean this trend will continue; the future looks bright for a vibrant, economically sound Israel, even as dark shadows advance upon global Jewish communities. And who can predict what will happen when one president is replaced by another?
The late Rabbi Sholom Gold tells the story of a young American yeshiva student who spent a year researching the halachic sources regarding the requirement to live in Israel. He then came to Jerusalem and sought out Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, of blessed memory, one of Jerusalem’s great sages.
He asked the rabbi, “The Rambam and the Ramban – Maimonides and Nachmanides – argue over whether living in Israel is one of the 613 commandments. Which one was right?” The Rav did not reply. So the student persisted: “While some scholars say that living in Israel is obligatory, others, such as Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, say it is optional.
Which one is right?”
Rav Auerbach turned to the young man. “You don’t need to know the opinions of these rabbinic leaders,” he said. Just walk into any Hebrew grade school and ask, “What country did God choose for the Jews to live in?” Each and every child will unanimously answer, “Israel!”
And so, as one who has blessedly gone from there to here, I offer to you a short poem, “Ode to a Diaspora Jew:”
We sit in our homes, safe and secure, watching the 6 o’clock news; We hear of the threats, yet have no regrets, that we are Diaspora Jews. “If we were in Israel,” we say with assurance,” and not in a place far away; We’d be at the front, in the thick of the hunt, and be filled with dread and dismay.”
Then we breathe a long breath, as the news disappears, and moments of anxiousness fade;
And we sigh with relief – imagine the grief! – if with an Israeli we’d trade. And we know, and we’re sure, we’re much better off, in our lands of wealth and couth;
But let’s think, my dear friend, for perhaps, in the end, we may find we’ve eluded the truth.
Think back to Egypt, where we first lived so well, like princes with many a friend. It all seemed so fine – wasn’t Goshen divine? – could ever this opulence end? But then came a Pharoah, who knew not of us, who beat us and made of us slaves. And for 200 years, and billions of tears, he transformed our oasis to graves.
And then there was Spain – the “Golden Age” – when the Exile’s curse seemed a lie; But then, once again, with torture and pain, we were forced to get out, or to die. Was it different in Germany, Poland or France, where millions of Jews lived so well? We built ornate shuls and wonderful schools, until Hitler turned Europe to Hell.
And so it has been, throughout the ages, that the Exile appears to be great; Like the Venus fly-trap, with its sweet-smelling sap, we are caught, until it’s too late. So we cry out to God, we admit our mistake, and we ask Him to take us home; But then things get secure – and suddenly, we’re not sure – we’re back in the Wandering Jew syndrome.
The lessons of history lay in plain sight; they’re there if you just care to see; God has a way, of making us pay, when we try to ignore reality. So don’t pity Israel, don’t condescend. And don’t think you’ll live, while they die; For when the smoke clears, and clarity appears, we’ll admit Am Yisrael Chai.
The writer is director of the Jewish Outreach Center of Ra’anana. rabbistewart@gmail.com