Joshua, what a powerful sharing of this, needed information. As a Gentile who loves and respects Israel and the Jewish people who were CHOSEN by our Creator to be His own people, I see the incredible survival of the Jews through out history. I stand with Israel also as a woman of God and follower of Christ, whose first ministry was to His own people. I am grateful to be a woman of prayer and I keep Israel on my permanent prayer list. Please keep writing things like this, this is needed!
I have been at my wits' end trying to deal with my rage about why people cannot see the utter bullshit that is published about Israel. This article will go a long way in solving my problem - it won't be easy, but I will strive to "do as Israelis do". Thank you Joshua
Thanks for writing this. I have been thinking about these ideas and you have summed them up so well. There is a lot of self reflection to be done at this time, particularly as a secular atheist Jew! I have been avoiding conversations with acquaintances with whom I am not sure about their thoughts on the war. And I get lots of angry and defensive feelings when “justifying” Israel’s response even in my own mind. I think the anxiety and rage it induces, stems partially from a desire to want to change how things are. I never realised there was so much antisemitism out there. But also maybe I did suspect it or worry about it deep down, because I kept my Jewish heritage mildly hidden. It was no one else’s business in my mind. And I suppose it isn’t. And I don’t want to be defined by other people’s thoughts about me! But there is a reality here. The reality that you speak of so well in the piece. And the Israelis being such pragmatic people accept this reality and they allow themselves to be unfazed by it and unapologetic. We can aspire to that. I also find myself wanting to be able to respond to any “what about the Palestinian women and children” with a “what do you think about the plight of the remaining hostages?” And just keep the questions coming instead of trying to convince anyone. Just responding with the questions. Just some thoughts. Thanks again, this piece really resonated and gave me stuff to think about and work with.
The more we are hated, the more defiantly non-reactive I’ve become. I’m over with trying to explain and justify. ‘They’ wouldn’t be winning the propaganda war unless people were willing to give in to anti-Semitism, if people didn’t (perhaps covertly or even unknowingly) believe that we are somehow different to the rest of the human race. We aren’t.
A warning to us. Plus ça change, plus c’est la mème chose! (The more it changes, the more it stays the same.)
Bravo! You’re so on point. “Might makes right.” Be assured that here in the USA there are many of us who stand with Israel’s right to exist. More importantly, as you stated so beautifully, Israel and Jews all over the world do not have to apologize to anyone, ever…
This beautiful piece really spoke to me. The very first thing I said on October 7th as my heart broke was, "why?! 😭 Israelis try so hard to be nice, they're extremely welcoming, and keep trying to improve themselves!" And it's true because I know a lot of lazya!# people who don't make half as much effort but always find the time and energy to criticize those who do. They're probably proPA too which we know requires very little effort and brain matter.
To say I can even remotely understand the Jewish situation would be, in my opinion, foolhardy. I am an old Canadian nurse who many years ago bathed a lady scarred with a numbered tattoo. It broke my heart. I read the stories by Corrie Ten Boom, the diary of Anne Frank, I read the stories of the Jewish people in my Bible. For over fifty years I have kept my eye on Jerusalem. In my humble opinion it seems to me that the Jewish people, the country of Israel, has had to fight for its survival and that they have been defending themselves for thousands of years. I pray for the peace of Israel.
Thanks for this, Josh. I will start to think and respond as an Israeli. Except for one thing. If anyone still doesn't understand Israel's POV I won't ask G-d to bless them. I will ask G-d to teach them what it feels like on their own skin, in their own soul. The hard way.
I suppose were I to be confronted by someone shouting "don't you care about the Palestinians/women or children who have been killed?" I'd respond. "I care slightly more than you do about the Israelis, men, women and children who were slaughtered by Hamas on 7th Oct simply because they were Jews or working with Jews. I care slightly more than you do about the 500k Syrians slaughtered by fellow Muslims in the ongoing civil war. I care more than you do about the women in Iran, raped and murdered by the regime for refusing to cover their hair. I care more than you do about the Uyghurs in Chinese concentration camps or the Sudanese locked in years of civil war. Because if you did care about these issues affecting your fellow muslims you would spend as time marching and screaming as you do when Israel is defending itself"
Hey Joshua, Unapologetic Judean here. Thanks for quoting my poem in your post and the last one, and for your excellent writing on our matters.
Joshua, what a powerful sharing of this, needed information. As a Gentile who loves and respects Israel and the Jewish people who were CHOSEN by our Creator to be His own people, I see the incredible survival of the Jews through out history. I stand with Israel also as a woman of God and follower of Christ, whose first ministry was to His own people. I am grateful to be a woman of prayer and I keep Israel on my permanent prayer list. Please keep writing things like this, this is needed!
I have been at my wits' end trying to deal with my rage about why people cannot see the utter bullshit that is published about Israel. This article will go a long way in solving my problem - it won't be easy, but I will strive to "do as Israelis do". Thank you Joshua
Thanks for writing this. I have been thinking about these ideas and you have summed them up so well. There is a lot of self reflection to be done at this time, particularly as a secular atheist Jew! I have been avoiding conversations with acquaintances with whom I am not sure about their thoughts on the war. And I get lots of angry and defensive feelings when “justifying” Israel’s response even in my own mind. I think the anxiety and rage it induces, stems partially from a desire to want to change how things are. I never realised there was so much antisemitism out there. But also maybe I did suspect it or worry about it deep down, because I kept my Jewish heritage mildly hidden. It was no one else’s business in my mind. And I suppose it isn’t. And I don’t want to be defined by other people’s thoughts about me! But there is a reality here. The reality that you speak of so well in the piece. And the Israelis being such pragmatic people accept this reality and they allow themselves to be unfazed by it and unapologetic. We can aspire to that. I also find myself wanting to be able to respond to any “what about the Palestinian women and children” with a “what do you think about the plight of the remaining hostages?” And just keep the questions coming instead of trying to convince anyone. Just responding with the questions. Just some thoughts. Thanks again, this piece really resonated and gave me stuff to think about and work with.
The more we are hated, the more defiantly non-reactive I’ve become. I’m over with trying to explain and justify. ‘They’ wouldn’t be winning the propaganda war unless people were willing to give in to anti-Semitism, if people didn’t (perhaps covertly or even unknowingly) believe that we are somehow different to the rest of the human race. We aren’t.
A warning to us. Plus ça change, plus c’est la mème chose! (The more it changes, the more it stays the same.)
Bravo! You’re so on point. “Might makes right.” Be assured that here in the USA there are many of us who stand with Israel’s right to exist. More importantly, as you stated so beautifully, Israel and Jews all over the world do not have to apologize to anyone, ever…
This beautiful piece really spoke to me. The very first thing I said on October 7th as my heart broke was, "why?! 😭 Israelis try so hard to be nice, they're extremely welcoming, and keep trying to improve themselves!" And it's true because I know a lot of lazya!# people who don't make half as much effort but always find the time and energy to criticize those who do. They're probably proPA too which we know requires very little effort and brain matter.
To say I can even remotely understand the Jewish situation would be, in my opinion, foolhardy. I am an old Canadian nurse who many years ago bathed a lady scarred with a numbered tattoo. It broke my heart. I read the stories by Corrie Ten Boom, the diary of Anne Frank, I read the stories of the Jewish people in my Bible. For over fifty years I have kept my eye on Jerusalem. In my humble opinion it seems to me that the Jewish people, the country of Israel, has had to fight for its survival and that they have been defending themselves for thousands of years. I pray for the peace of Israel.
Thank you Carolyn! ❤️
Thanks for this, Josh. I will start to think and respond as an Israeli. Except for one thing. If anyone still doesn't understand Israel's POV I won't ask G-d to bless them. I will ask G-d to teach them what it feels like on their own skin, in their own soul. The hard way.
👍👍
I suppose were I to be confronted by someone shouting "don't you care about the Palestinians/women or children who have been killed?" I'd respond. "I care slightly more than you do about the Israelis, men, women and children who were slaughtered by Hamas on 7th Oct simply because they were Jews or working with Jews. I care slightly more than you do about the 500k Syrians slaughtered by fellow Muslims in the ongoing civil war. I care more than you do about the women in Iran, raped and murdered by the regime for refusing to cover their hair. I care more than you do about the Uyghurs in Chinese concentration camps or the Sudanese locked in years of civil war. Because if you did care about these issues affecting your fellow muslims you would spend as time marching and screaming as you do when Israel is defending itself"
Well said!
As Machiavelli used to say: better to be feared than be loved.
An Arab proverb says "you kiss the hand, you cannot bite" .... also promoted: respect is given when offered from a position of strength.
Amen