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A leading Religious Zionist rabbi says Israelis have reconnected with Judaism after Oct. 7. He hopes it will stick.
(JTA) — A woman from a secular kibbutz on the Gaza border shouts the Shema as she celebrates the release of Israeli hostages. Hundreds of sets of ritual fringes — hanging off combat-green garments — are distributed to soldiers on the front. The mother of a rescued hostage attributes her return to a challah ritual she performed the previous day.
To Rabbi David Stav and others across Israel, those anecdotes and more demonstrate that, in the wake of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack and the ensuing war, Jewish Israelis who are not observant have been turning to their religion and marshaling it to create a sense of solidarity during the fighting. Stav, a leading liberal Religious Zionist rabbi, has dedicated much of his career to making Jewish ritual more accessible and appealing to secular Israelis. The war, he thinks, may be a turning point in that mission.
But speaking last month to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Stav said he worries that the day after the war, Israel will fall back into the acrimonious political divisions that defined 2023 before Oct. 7. And for him, that concern is secondary to the worry he feels for his seven sons and sons-in-law currently serving in the Israeli military.
Stav is the co-founder and chairman of Tzohar, a liberal Israeli rabbinic association. He is also the rabbi of the central Israeli town of Shoham and ran unsuccessfully for chief rabbi of Israel in 2013. His goal, he said, is to promote a “normal” Judaism that is less dogmatic and more accepting of the varied ways many Israelis practice the religion.
His professional focus in large part is on drawing secular Israelis closer to their Jewish identity, and that was what he stressed when he spoke to JTA. But the religious revival extends beyond secular Israelis, he said: He also sees Religious Zionist Israelis coping with wartime by filling synagogues and adding onto their prayers.
That embrace of Judaism, Stav hopes, will lead Jewish Israelis to come together and stay united. By the same token, he worries that a widespread lack of faith in the government may draw Israelis back into the sparring ideological camps they recently inhabited.
“I think the past month has created a significant crisis of faith regarding the government, the state, the army, but it has also raised very foundational questions in terms of defining our identity,” he said. “And we’re seeing more and more people who understand that the concept of being a Jew has a meaning they’d forgotten.”
This conversation has been translated from Hebrew and edited for length and clarity.
JTA: What message do you hope to send to American Jews?
Stav: I think that the message that I want to send here is, first and foremost, after an argument lasting almost a year that split Israeli society and almost broke Israeli society apart, we see a different spirit: a spirit full of solidarity, full of love of Israel, full of willingness to sacrifice.
But there’s something deeper: Israeli society is in the midst of very difficult questions about defining its identity. What are we more: Israelis or Jews? I think the events of Oct. 7 demonstrated to Israeli society, first, the mutual support between Israeli and world Jewry. But second, and no less, [it showed] that regarding our enemies — Hamas and its partners — there’s no difference between right and left, religious and secular. We’re all Jews, and given that we’re all Jews, we are obligated to feel like Jews, to identify as Jews.
I believe that for many Israelis, that’s a moving experience because many of them thought that we were enlightened, Israeli, western — and suddenly they realize that before they’re western and Israeli, they’re Jewish.
It’s not just one instance. It’s thousands of instances. I can’t even tell you how many stories I’m talking about… More important than all that is people’s willingness to talk in the language of Judaism.
What message do you hope to take back with you to Israel?
Israelis must understand that what happens in Israel doesn’t just influence Israel. It influences the United States, and antisemitic incidents here are a direct result of what happens in Israel. Just like American Jews know that if in Israel it isn’t safe it won’t be safe here, we need to understand that also, that what happens to us influences not just us.
Many, many Israelis felt in recent years that they were more Israeli than Jewish, that their Judaism has no meaning. They were Israelis because they were born in Israel, so their connection to the Jewish Diaspora or to the Bible was incidental, random, not meaningful.
Now we understand that it’s much deeper than that. Suddenly we see the lone soldiers [soldiers, often from abroad, without close relatives in Israel] who have been killed in Israel. Now the story is much more Jewish than Israeli. To a great extent, the fact that Hamas killed men and women, right and left, lovers and haters of Palestinians, cast the story in a new light.
What do you see as the role of Religious Zionist rabbis like yourself in this moment?
The central role, first of all, is to strengthen unity in Israeli society — not to accuse this person or that person, not to ask the state or the army to do something unrealistic.
What do you mean by that?
To demand right now to rebuild Gush Katif [the Israeli settlements in Gaza that were evacuated in 2005] — even if it’s a moral or religiously justified claim, even if it’s right, and I’m not sure it is, would split Israeli society. It would break it now. We need to bolster our unity, to strengthen Israeli society, to believe in our ability, in our vision, in our morality, in the need to break Hamas, to destroy it. Not to make demands that will tear the state apart again. We suffered enough from division — part of which was created by the Religious Zionist community because of the judicial reform. Enough is enough.
What are people in your community struggling with?
I’ll start with worry. When I speak to my family, our family, every family is worried about its kids. That’s the first thing every family is worried about: their kids in the army.
We should also say honestly — the situation now, the crisis is so great that even if God willing we win… no one knows how it will end, no one knows what will happen in the north with Hezbollah and no one knows what will happen with the Palestinians and no one knows how the state will manage the issue of Gaza.
The second worry of course is economic worry. The crisis in Israel is creating an economic crisis in Israel. Hundreds of thousands of people [in the military reserves] aren’t working. If they’re not working they don’t make money. I was in Ben Gurion Airport — when you see Ben Gurion empty, it’s great for people who are flying because there are no long lines… but you understand it’s a problem. It’s a tourism problem, it’s a problem for the industry.
The third problem is a feeling of a general lack of trust in the government and the state’s institutions. That really troubles people, who don’t feel there’s a unifying leadership. We would have expected the leadership to broadcast unity, empathy, sensitivity. There’s a problem with that.
How do you address that?
Israel society has demonstrated spirit, volunteerism, initiative and action at the highest levels. Regarding the worry about our kids, we’re increasing our prayers. The number of prayers spilling forth in Religious Zionist synagogues is incomparable to what was in the past. Many synagogues say [the High Holiday prayer] Avinu Malkeinu, this prayer, that prayer. There’s a lot of people waking up to prayer because we understand that we need salvation.
In addition to worrying about the safety of your sons and sons-in-law in the army, what keeps you up at night?
Beyond that, the crisis of Israeli society, the crisis of faith in the state and in its institutions, and the fight that will be here between each side. Each side accuses the other of being culpable for what happened: The left at the right, the right at the left, supporters of Bibi to opponents of Bibi. I worry that the war is tamping this down but the day after the war — I always ask myself, what can we do so this doesn’t happen?
How do you plan to celebrate Simchat Torah, the holiday when Hamas’ attack occurred, next year?
I want to take this question off the agenda — not because we don’t need to think about how to celebrate Simchat Torah next year, but because now we’re focused on how to win the war. Then we’ll talk about Simchat Torah.
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The post A leading Religious Zionist rabbi says Israelis have reconnected with Judaism after Oct. 7. He hopes it will stick. appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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US Senators Urge Secretary of Homeland Security to Secure Northern Border From Gaza Refugees
US Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) speaking at a press conference about the United States restricting weapons for Israel, at the US Capitol, Washington, DC. Photo: Michael Brochstein/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect
Six US senators sent a letter to US Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas this week requesting that he increase security measures along the northern border in response to Canada accepting an influx of refugees from Gaza, the Palestinian enclave ruled by the terrorist group Hamas.
The six Republican lawmakers — Sens. Marco Rubio (FL), Ted Cruz (TX), Joni Ernst (IA), Tom Cotton (AK), Mike Braun (IN), and Josh Hawley (MO) — said they were “deeply concerned” that refugees from Gaza could sneak into the United States. The senators warned that allowing unvetted Palestinian refugees to cross the border poses a serious national security threat.
“On May 27, 2024, the Government of Canada announced its intent to increase the number of Gazans who will be allowed into their country under temporary special measures,” the senators wrote. “We are deeply concerned and request heightened scrutiny by the US Department of Homeland Security should any of them attempt to enter the United States at ports of entry as well as between ports of entry.”
After arriving in Canada, the Palestinian refugees will be given a “Refugee Travel Document,” which serves as a valid form of identification, the letter claimed, adding that US Citizenship and Immigration Services recognizes these documents as a valid substitute for a passport. The senators warned that “individuals with ties to terrorist groups” could potentially enter into the United States.
The letter argued that the US should maintain “common-sense terrorist screening and vetting” for any individual attempting to enter its borders from a foreign country. The lawmakers lamented that the Biden administration’s “”ax border enforcement” has rendered the country vulnerable to potential terrorist attacks. From April 1, 2023 to March 31, 2024, the US Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Field Operations intercepted over 233 suspected terrorists at the northern border, according to the letter.
“[T]he possibility of terrorists crossing the US-Canada border is deeply concerning given the deep penetration of Gazan society by Hamas,” the senators wrote. “It would be irresponsible for the US to not take necessary heightened precautions when foreigners attempt to enter the United States.”
On Oct. 7, Hamas launched the ongoing war in Gaza with its Oct. 7 invasion of and massacre of 1,200 people across southern Israel. The Palestinian terrorist group also kidnapped over 250 hostages.
In response, Israel launched defensive military operations in Gaza with the aim of freeing the hostages and permanently dislodging Hamas from the neighboring enclave.
The vast majority of Palestinians in Gaza, as well as the West Bank, still support Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre across southern Israel that started the ongoing war, and they would prefer a “day after” scenario in which Hamas remains in control of Gaza rather than the Palestinian Authority, which governs in the West Bank, or other Arab countries, according to recent Palestinian polling. The same polling found that, when asked about support for Palestinian political parties and movements, a plurality chose Hamas.
US lawmakers are split along party lines as to whether the United States should accept refugees from Gaza. Republicans are largely opposed to importing refugees from Gaza, arguing that individuals from the war-torn enclave present “a national security risk” to the United States.” In May, Ernst and Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) sent US President Joe Biden a letter, urging him not to accept any refugees from Gaza.
In June, however, a group of 70 Democratic lawmakers sent Mayorkas a letter, requesting he create “pathways” for more refugees of the Israel-Hamas war to resettle in America.
The post US Senators Urge Secretary of Homeland Security to Secure Northern Border From Gaza Refugees first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Video of Masked Man Vowing ‘Rivers of Blood’ at Paris Olympics Over Israel Support Appears to Be Fake, of Russia Origin
Screenshot of a widely circulated video published on social media showing a masked man vowing that “rivers of blood will flow” at the 2024 Paris Olympics due to France’s support for Israel. According to reports, the video appears to be fake and of Russian origin.
A widely circulated video published on social media this week showing a masked man vowing that “rivers of blood will flow” at the 2024 Paris Olympics due to France’s support for Israel appears to be fake and of Russian origin, according to reports.
The video — published on Tuesday on social media networks including X/Twitter and Telegram — featured a keffiyeh-clad man with his face covered, delivering an Arabic-language address threatening France with violence due to the country’s alleged support for Israel amid its ongoing war with Hamas in Gaza.
Addressing “the people of France” and “French President [Emmanuel] Macron,” the masked individual said, “You supported the Zionist regime in its criminal war against the people of Palestine. You provided Zionists with weapons; you helped murder our brothers and sisters, our children.”
“You invited the Zionists to the Olympic games. You will pay for what you have done!” continued the man, who wore a shirt adorned with a Palestinian flag. “Rivers of blood will flow through the streets of Paris. This day is approaching, God willing. Allah is the greatest.”
The video, published on X/Twitter by the account @endzionism24 and retweeted by Palestinian activist Ihab Hassan, ended with the speaker holding a prop severed head complete with fake blood up for the camera.
He is not a Palestinian:
A video clip has surfaced showing an individual wearing a keffiyeh and a Palestinian flag badge, threatening France with a “river of blood” at the Olympic Games.
It is glaringly obvious to any Arabic speaker that this person is not Arab; his dialect… pic.twitter.com/rwWGkkbiAi
— Ihab Hassan (@IhabHassane) July 23, 2024
Hassan and other social media users immediately noted that the man speaking was clearly not a native Arabic speaker, citing his reasonably fluent but awkward and occasionally incorrect pronunciation.
Many social media users aware of the mispronunciations seemed to blame Israel for the video, implying the clip was a false flag meant to fearmonger and demonize Palestinians and Muslims. They did not address the fact that Israel has access to hundreds of thousands of native Palestinian Arabic speakers who would sound far more convincing than the man in the video.
On Wednesday, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said that “French secret services and their partners have not been able to authenticate the veracity of this video.”
According to researchers at Microsoft, however, the video appears to be part of a Russian-linked disinformation campaign meant to disrupt the Olympics, which began with the opening ceremony on Friday.
The researchers from Microsoft’s Threat Analysis Center told NBC News that the clip appears to have come from a Russian disinformation group known as Storm-1516, an outgrowth of Russia’s Internet Research Agency.
The latest clip was linked to a similar disinformation video falsely alleging that Ukraine had sent arms to Hamas — a claim for which there is no evidence. According to the researchers, the more recent video appears to be part of a Russian scare campaign meant to disrupt the Olympics.
The video came just days before France’s rail infrastructure was hit on Friday, ahead of the start of the Olympics, with widespread acts of vandalism including arson attacks, paralyzing travel to Paris from the rest of France and Europe just hours before the opening ceremony of the Olympics. French authorities described the acts as “criminal” and “malicious.”
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said that the sabotage of France’s high-speed rail network was directed by Iran, which Western intelligence agencies have for years labeled as the world’s foremost state sponsor of terrorism.
“The sabotage of railway infrastructure across France ahead of the Olympics was planned and executed under the influence of Iran’s axis of evil and radical Islam,” Katz wrote on X/Twitter. “As I warned my French counterpart [Stéphane Séjourné] this week, based on information held by Israel, Iranians are planning terrorist attacks against the Israeli delegation and all Olympic participants. Increased preventive measures must be taken to thwart their plot. The free world must stop Iran now — before it’s too late.”
Katz was referring to a letter he sent on Thursday to Séjourné raising alarm bells about what he described as a plan by Iran to attack Israel’s Olympic delegation.
Darmanin and French National Police both announced previously that they are taking increased security measures to ensure the safety of Israel’s Olympic delegation while they are in Paris amid mounting threats. These measures include providing them with round the clock security from French police. The Israeli delegation will also receive additional security details from Israel’s Shin Bet security agency during the Olympics.
The post Video of Masked Man Vowing ‘Rivers of Blood’ at Paris Olympics Over Israel Support Appears to Be Fake, of Russia Origin first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Top St. Louis Newspaper Endorses US Rep. Cori Bush’s Opponent, Argues Incumbent’s Israel Stance Is ‘Disqualifying’
US Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO) raises her fist as US Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) addresses a pro-Hamas demonstration in Washington, DC. Photo: Reuters/Allison Bailey
The editorial board of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the largest daily newspaper in Missouri, has endorsed the opponent of US Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO), pointing to the incumbent congresswoman’s lack of legislative accomplishments and stance on the Israel-Hamas war.
The Post-Dispatch argued that Bush’s position on Israel and the Gaza war should be “disqualifying” for any elected representative. The outlet took umbrage with Bush for equating a close democratic ally of the US with a genocidal terrorist organization.
“Israel’s conduct of the war has been far from perfect, but it remains a democracy fighting for survival against an evil terrorist organization. Bush’s tendency to equate both sides — and even to side with the terrorists, as when she cast one of just two House votes against a resolution to bar Hamas members from the US — should in itself be disqualifying for re-election,” the editorial board wrote.
Bush has established herself as one of the most vocal critics of Israel in the US Congress. Only nine days after Hamas’ Oct. 7 slaughter of roughly 1,200 people in southern Israel, Bush called for an “immediate ceasefire” between Israel and the Palestinian terrorist group. As the war dragged on, Bush’s rhetoric toward Israel sharpened, with the congresswoman accusing the Jewish state of committing “genocide” in Gaza and “apartheid” in the West Bank. Bush has also accused Israel of inflicting a “famine” in Gaza without providing evidence.
Bush seems more interested in pandering to the far-left fringes of the progressive movement than serving her constituents, the Post-Dispatch argued. Bush’s membership in “The Squad” — a clique of far-left progressive, anti-establishment lawmakers in the House of Representatives — has rendered her completely incapable of “accomplishing anything” in the halls of Congress, according to the newspaper.
The editorial board urged its readers to vote for Wesley Bell, pointing to his moderated approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as an example of his pragmatism and moral clarity.
“On Israel, Bell offers an appropriately measured stance, acknowledging the need to protect Gazan civilians and work toward a two-state solution, while supporting America’s closest ally in the Middle East,” the outlet wrote.
In contrast to Bush, Bell has expressed more sympathy to Israel’s military operations in Gaza, emphatically rejecting the notion that Israel’s actions in Gaza constitute “genocide” or “ethnic cleansing.”
Moreover, Bell has strengthened his ties with the Jewish community over the course of his campaign. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the foremost pro-Israel lobbying group in the US, donated a reported $5 million to Bell’s campaign through its United Democracy Project super PAC. A group of 30 St. Louis-area rabbis penned a letter endorsing Bell, accusing Bush of a “lack of decency, disregard for history, and for intentionally fueling antisemitism and hatred.” Bell also brought about an official “director of Jewish outreach” to increase turnout among the Jewish community.
A poll commissioned by McLaughlin & Associates and sponsored by the CCA Action Fund, a pro-Bell super PAC, showed Bell with a commanding 56 percent to 33 percent lead over Bush.
Supporters of Israel see the primary race as a prime opportunity to oust another opponent of the Jewish state from the halls of Congress. Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), a progressive lawmaker, lost his primary race to a pro-Israel challenger on June 25. Over the course of his reelection campaign, Bowman accused Israel of committing “genocide” and enacting “apartheid” against Palestinians. Bowman’s comments incensed Jewish constituents in the leafy suburbs of Westchester County, New York.
Furthermore, observers are looking to the race as a potential indicator of the Democratic electorate’s position on Israel. Opinions of the Jewish state among Democrats have soured in the months following Oct. 7, calling into question whether anti-Israel views are still a liability with American liberals.
The post Top St. Louis Newspaper Endorses US Rep. Cori Bush’s Opponent, Argues Incumbent’s Israel Stance Is ‘Disqualifying’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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