Rabbi's Blog

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Is Israel in Danger? with Journalist Mark Lavie

Sunday, September 8, 2024 

7:00 PM - Via Zoom - Connect through the Seaside Calendar 

Seaside is sponsoring a Zoom with the Jewish Federation of Delaware with veteran Israeli Journalist Mark Lavie via Zoom.

Israel is in danger and it has made serious mistakes--but it can handle the challenges if it follows the right policies, says veteran correspondent Mark Lavie. He’s seen it all. Mark has been reporting from Israel and the Mideast since 1972, broadcasting for major North American networks, reporting for The Associated Press, and analyzing developments for The Media Line.

I appreciate his articles and informed perspective, and look forward to hearing him on September 8. 

Rabbi Julie here: 

I write in the wake of yesterday's devastating news of the discovery of the bodies of hostages Hersch Goldberg-Polin (an American Israeli), Carmel Gat, Eden Yerushalmi, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi and Ori Danino. I'm heartbroken about these precious souls, and the tragic loss of young beautiful lives over the past nearly a year, both our extended family the Jews and Israelis, and the Palestinian children and families caught in this conflict (and people of 25 different national origins kidnapped by Hamas).

I noticed that many in our community and indeed almost every Jewish person I know on social media posted something about Hersh and these other beloved young people kidnapped and murdered in cold blood by Hamas. It reminded me that despite all of our differences, we are still all a big family. We feel the pain of Hersh's parents and sisters, and the tragedy of all this loss, displacement, and destruction.

I heard Hersh's mother Rachel Goldberg-Polin speak last fall in person (at the Rally for Israel/Against Antisemitism in Washington, DC) and many times online, and I heard her anguished cry as she stood at the border of Gaza and called out his name. Her eloquence, dignity, and grief seared our souls, but were not enough to soften the hearts of leaders who might have saved her son in time.

While the crimes were committed by Hamas, many hostage families and their allies in Israel have been pleading for their Prime Minister and his government to be more forthcoming in making a hostage deal in Gaza that might have saved these six and could still save the 101 remaining hostages.  Demonstrations have broken out all over Israel to press this cause. Indeed, rescuing hostages is one of the greatest Jewish mitzvot (religious imperatives). Saving a life - Pikuach Nefesh, is the greatest of all. 

As a liberal Zionist (see my last post on my journey as a Zionist), I continue to support those in Israel who have not given up on the vision of a more peaceful future, even at a time when Israel faces multiple military fronts and challenges. In the words of Hersh's father Jon Polin when he and his wife spoke at the Democratic National Convention: “There is a surplus of agony on all sides of the tragic conflict in the Middle East. In a competition of pain, there are no winners."

Please join me on Sunday, September 8, 7pm,  for a zoom talk by Mark Lavie, Israeli foreign policy mayven and long-time Mideast journalist (details in the side column of this post). I hope he can shed some clarity on this painful juncture in Israeli history.