Every week someone wanders in here to reassure us that Israel is allowed to defend itself. Spare me and spare the Israelis, they know they're fighting for their lives, and they're doing it well.
Israel gave up the role of the world's favorite victim. The diaspora still wants the part. It still dresses up weakness as "Jewish values," even with billions sitting in the big Jewish charities that claim to speak for us. Those organizations don't fix the weakness. They are the weakness. And for millions of American Jews, being Jewish now means a bagel on shabbat and nothing else.
This week at Central Shul one obese man took over the service and the congregation ran — grown Jews cowering in their own sanctuary until a paid guard threw him to the floor. Without that guard he could have walked out with the Torahs while the room watched, then gone to dinner. That is a disgusting disgrace.
No one is coming to defend you for you. Get organized. Get trained. Learn to defend your own sanctuary instead of hiring it out and running when the guard steps away. The Israelis learned this because the alternative was death. The diaspora is being offered the same lesson without the cost, and still refuses it.
The Jewish future does not belong to people who cower. Diaspora Jews need to toughen up, stand their ground, and learn to defend themselves. The strength is there to be built. What's missing is the will.
Agree 100%. Your comment about Jewish organizations and charities that claim to speak for us is absolutely spot on. They remind me more of the Jewish council in Europe in the 1930s that refused to support the nascent Zionist youth groups that wanted to arm themselves and were realistic regarding the rise of the Nazis. It is interesting to note that the wave of Jewish Immigrants in the early 20th century were tough. They worked in the trades and a bunch even went into the not so gentle organized crime. These tough Jews took it to the German American Bund, breaking up their rallies. Then WW2 came and Jews enlisted in outsized numbers to fight. I knew many of these men who were relatives and fathers of my friends. They were not intimidated and were willing to fight back when called 'kike or dirty Jew'. At this point the Diaspora Jews (especially in the Europe, the US, Canada and Australia) have become too 'civilized' and believe in the kindness of others to protect them. A practical step would be for the JCRCs, ADL, AJC to spend some of their resources in teaching young Jews (heck even older Jews) to fight in self defense, to learn how to use weapons, to organize self defense leagues, and to teach you don't have to cower all the time. The blacks did it with their Black Power mantra.
I hear you. Thank you for explaining the Torah parts. I fell into the part about education lessening anti Semitism completely. October 7th was a major eye opener. Surely you would have thought the world would side with Israel. Hamas, social media and university campuses had other ideas.
The IDF needs to be brutal and ruthless because it is facing an enemy that sees ethical behavior as weakness.
Israel must do WHATEVER it takes to survive, up to and including the mass use of nuclear weapons. Ethically fighting will not matter because it will cause us to lose. There is no comfort in ethical fighting if you’re dead.
I think Hoffman’s way is the way to extinction. I’m not happy to write what I do, but we are up against two billion Muslims and a billion plus leftists, the majority of whom want to finish Hitler’s work. There are no good choices here; either we inflict tremendous losses on our foes, or we get wiped out.
Again, I see where you are coming from. But, we Jews do not have to descend into barbarity to win. The IDF can continue to fight ethically. A recent exam of raw data finds that the civilian to combattant death ratio in Gaza was close to 1:1. That’s amazing and we should celebrate that. Nuclear option? Seems a bit much. We can fight, uphold pikuach nefesh, be ethical, and still win our cause. Thanks for engaging.
Your point being? Muslims and Commies will accuse us of genocide, regardless. All this hate is meant to retroactively justify the first Shoah and lay the moral justification for a second and final one.
Nuclear war would damage Israel, so that doesn't seem likely, except as a last gasp to wipe out the enemy on our way out. There's so much between trying to make war a gentlemanly sport (as if it's a duel) and nuclear annihilation. To clarify: I wouldn't be against it IF it doesn't hurt the land / water / air of Israel. Is it possible in Iran? Perhaps.
Well said Josh. And thanks for this powerful response to one of the ugliest lies aimed at Israel: the accusation of genocide.
Jewish morality does not demand Jewish helplessness. Israel has not only the right but the moral obligation to defend its citizens and defeat those committed to their murder. The test is whether Israel exercises that power within moral limits—and despite the impossible conditions of this war, it has continually sought to do so.
The Torah does not command us to choose between strength and morality. It demands both: fight the enemy, protect the innocent, and never allow evil to remake us in its image.
Whether Jew or Gentile, we are all beneficiaries of the moral doctrine that first began with Judaism and later with Christianity that has protected the vulnerable and kept power in check. Power is the horse ridden by evil. In the last century alone, evil rode this horse hard, and this century doesn’t show signs of that stopping. Power that is free of morality is evil. Judaism and Christianity’s focus on the worth and dignity of the individual is the basis of that morality.
Judaism does not favor pacifism as a value superior to all other values. Instead, it teaches that war can be necessary to bring peace, justifying it as a last option when violence is the only remaining resort.
Historically, the lack of violent resistance during pogroms—organized, state-sponsored massacres—was based on the sheer futility of responding to such overwhelming force, rather than any moral or religious preference for pacifism. Jews were simply helpless against these bloodlettings.
Exodus was a myth (see New Historians of Israel), and the land that the music festival was held on, was once Arab land where they had festivals and games.;...they were swept off their land and placed in a pen, a refugee camp named Gaza.......it was revenge....
So the bottom line is that if someone wants to harm or kill us, not only are we allowed to defend ourselves, but it is our duty to fight & kill them first if necessary. If that’s what the Torah says, it’s good enough for me. When someone says they want to eliminate you, your religion, or your country, believe them. Why would they be saying it if they didn’t mean it? Thank you for your essay 🦁
Krav Maga is the Israeli-developed self-defense system that blends techniques from boxing, wrestling, judo, and street fighting into one practical method. It was built for real situations, not sport, and it works for anyone — young, old, big, small.
After October 7th, I got an audience with several leaders of the JCC Association of North America — the NYC (Mamdanistan)–headquartered national body that connects and effectively speaks for the Jewish Community Center in every town. I paid to have two Krav Maga experts who've been teaching in the U.S. for years develop and present a plan. I made it clear from the start: I wanted nothing back. No profit, no cut, no name on anything.
The goal was simple. Build a cadre of instructors across the country and teach Krav Maga in every JCC. Give our people the ability to defend themselves.
Not surprised at all. The JCRCs an JCC and nearly all Jewish organizations are in a total state of denial and again expect others to save them from destruction. I got the same response from my contact at the AJC when I proposed that they hire ex-IDF and ex-US military/LEOs to teach courses in Krav Maga and small arms training. The response was basically one of "are you crazy?". On the other hand, I proposed that our local Krav Maga instructors offer a two session lesson to the teenagers at my Synagogue. Our Rabbi jumped on it and we had two Sunday sessions just to expose the kids to what it is and so very limited basics. I really think America Jews have no clue on what is going on. They continue to think that if they just work the political system all will be fine. News flash it didn't work for the German Jews in 1936 and it won't work here either.
I want to add that it's not even enough to know when to fight back. You have to vanquish the enemy in order to put an end to the threat. As Douglas Murray has often said, Israel is never allowed to win; it is always stopped half way with cries for a ceasefire. This is not how WW2 was won. The ceasefire comes AFTER the enemy surrenders and gives up
I had to stop watching the news, I was so angry for two years. It was so unhealthy for me. And at 50 years old I started to heal with that I live in a place that is somewhat progressive- my friend group has shrunk and I’m totally OK with that
How does this Parsha guide Israel today in its approach to Gaza and West Bank Palestinians? On the one hand I find it incredulous that Hamas is part of any negotiations, and demanding terms, and on the other, there are 2 million lives needing to be dealt with morally. This is a great conundrum. What next?
Michael - compare how Israel took in expelled Jews from the Middle East and Russia VS the Arab countries’ lack of acceptance of Arabs living in Gaza and Judea-Samaria (ie the goal is to to keep them in a “perpetual State of Victimhood” as others on Substack have previously mentioned.)
Every week someone wanders in here to reassure us that Israel is allowed to defend itself. Spare me and spare the Israelis, they know they're fighting for their lives, and they're doing it well.
Israel gave up the role of the world's favorite victim. The diaspora still wants the part. It still dresses up weakness as "Jewish values," even with billions sitting in the big Jewish charities that claim to speak for us. Those organizations don't fix the weakness. They are the weakness. And for millions of American Jews, being Jewish now means a bagel on shabbat and nothing else.
This week at Central Shul one obese man took over the service and the congregation ran — grown Jews cowering in their own sanctuary until a paid guard threw him to the floor. Without that guard he could have walked out with the Torahs while the room watched, then gone to dinner. That is a disgusting disgrace.
No one is coming to defend you for you. Get organized. Get trained. Learn to defend your own sanctuary instead of hiring it out and running when the guard steps away. The Israelis learned this because the alternative was death. The diaspora is being offered the same lesson without the cost, and still refuses it.
The Jewish future does not belong to people who cower. Diaspora Jews need to toughen up, stand their ground, and learn to defend themselves. The strength is there to be built. What's missing is the will.
Lox & loaded!
Agree 100%. Your comment about Jewish organizations and charities that claim to speak for us is absolutely spot on. They remind me more of the Jewish council in Europe in the 1930s that refused to support the nascent Zionist youth groups that wanted to arm themselves and were realistic regarding the rise of the Nazis. It is interesting to note that the wave of Jewish Immigrants in the early 20th century were tough. They worked in the trades and a bunch even went into the not so gentle organized crime. These tough Jews took it to the German American Bund, breaking up their rallies. Then WW2 came and Jews enlisted in outsized numbers to fight. I knew many of these men who were relatives and fathers of my friends. They were not intimidated and were willing to fight back when called 'kike or dirty Jew'. At this point the Diaspora Jews (especially in the Europe, the US, Canada and Australia) have become too 'civilized' and believe in the kindness of others to protect them. A practical step would be for the JCRCs, ADL, AJC to spend some of their resources in teaching young Jews (heck even older Jews) to fight in self defense, to learn how to use weapons, to organize self defense leagues, and to teach you don't have to cower all the time. The blacks did it with their Black Power mantra.
pls see my comment today. It is in response to your excellent spot on comment.
I hear you. Thank you for explaining the Torah parts. I fell into the part about education lessening anti Semitism completely. October 7th was a major eye opener. Surely you would have thought the world would side with Israel. Hamas, social media and university campuses had other ideas.
The IDF needs to be brutal and ruthless because it is facing an enemy that sees ethical behavior as weakness.
Israel must do WHATEVER it takes to survive, up to and including the mass use of nuclear weapons. Ethically fighting will not matter because it will cause us to lose. There is no comfort in ethical fighting if you’re dead.
Hoffman is making the exact opposite point. I see your point but I agree with JH.
I think Hoffman’s way is the way to extinction. I’m not happy to write what I do, but we are up against two billion Muslims and a billion plus leftists, the majority of whom want to finish Hitler’s work. There are no good choices here; either we inflict tremendous losses on our foes, or we get wiped out.
It’s not pretty but it is what it is.
Again, I see where you are coming from. But, we Jews do not have to descend into barbarity to win. The IDF can continue to fight ethically. A recent exam of raw data finds that the civilian to combattant death ratio in Gaza was close to 1:1. That’s amazing and we should celebrate that. Nuclear option? Seems a bit much. We can fight, uphold pikuach nefesh, be ethical, and still win our cause. Thanks for engaging.
Hamas reported the other day - 58K out of @ 70K deaths were combatants
Your point being? Muslims and Commies will accuse us of genocide, regardless. All this hate is meant to retroactively justify the first Shoah and lay the moral justification for a second and final one.
Better fight back!
Are you Jewish?
And those three billion Commies and Muzzies will accuse us anyway even if we kill one civilian.
Stop trying to please a world that wants us dead!
Israel’s only possible way to survive is to be feared. We will never be loved. So let’s give up that fantasy. That dream died 10/7/2023.
Nuclear war would damage Israel, so that doesn't seem likely, except as a last gasp to wipe out the enemy on our way out. There's so much between trying to make war a gentlemanly sport (as if it's a duel) and nuclear annihilation. To clarify: I wouldn't be against it IF it doesn't hurt the land / water / air of Israel. Is it possible in Iran? Perhaps.
It is what is necessary.
I would argue that vanquishing the enemy completely -- to the point where they surrender -- is NOT unethical. It is actually the ethical thing to do.
Correct (to Echan’s post)
Totally agree.
Well said Josh. And thanks for this powerful response to one of the ugliest lies aimed at Israel: the accusation of genocide.
Jewish morality does not demand Jewish helplessness. Israel has not only the right but the moral obligation to defend its citizens and defeat those committed to their murder. The test is whether Israel exercises that power within moral limits—and despite the impossible conditions of this war, it has continually sought to do so.
The Torah does not command us to choose between strength and morality. It demands both: fight the enemy, protect the innocent, and never allow evil to remake us in its image.
Hoffman’s essay is well worth reading.
Eloquent, relevant, and to the point. Thank you!
Whether Jew or Gentile, we are all beneficiaries of the moral doctrine that first began with Judaism and later with Christianity that has protected the vulnerable and kept power in check. Power is the horse ridden by evil. In the last century alone, evil rode this horse hard, and this century doesn’t show signs of that stopping. Power that is free of morality is evil. Judaism and Christianity’s focus on the worth and dignity of the individual is the basis of that morality.
The only “Abrahamic” religion that does not adhere to these ethical principles is Islam. In fact, they are Amelek.
Judaism does not favor pacifism as a value superior to all other values. Instead, it teaches that war can be necessary to bring peace, justifying it as a last option when violence is the only remaining resort.
Historically, the lack of violent resistance during pogroms—organized, state-sponsored massacres—was based on the sheer futility of responding to such overwhelming force, rather than any moral or religious preference for pacifism. Jews were simply helpless against these bloodlettings.
21 century Antisemitism mutated, Jews are blamed for having a country.
Thank you for the powerful reminder and Torah application!
Exodus was a myth (see New Historians of Israel), and the land that the music festival was held on, was once Arab land where they had festivals and games.;...they were swept off their land and placed in a pen, a refugee camp named Gaza.......it was revenge....
So the bottom line is that if someone wants to harm or kill us, not only are we allowed to defend ourselves, but it is our duty to fight & kill them first if necessary. If that’s what the Torah says, it’s good enough for me. When someone says they want to eliminate you, your religion, or your country, believe them. Why would they be saying it if they didn’t mean it? Thank you for your essay 🦁
Krav Maga is the Israeli-developed self-defense system that blends techniques from boxing, wrestling, judo, and street fighting into one practical method. It was built for real situations, not sport, and it works for anyone — young, old, big, small.
After October 7th, I got an audience with several leaders of the JCC Association of North America — the NYC (Mamdanistan)–headquartered national body that connects and effectively speaks for the Jewish Community Center in every town. I paid to have two Krav Maga experts who've been teaching in the U.S. for years develop and present a plan. I made it clear from the start: I wanted nothing back. No profit, no cut, no name on anything.
The goal was simple. Build a cadre of instructors across the country and teach Krav Maga in every JCC. Give our people the ability to defend themselves.
The response? They were appalled by the idea.
Not surprised at all. The JCRCs an JCC and nearly all Jewish organizations are in a total state of denial and again expect others to save them from destruction. I got the same response from my contact at the AJC when I proposed that they hire ex-IDF and ex-US military/LEOs to teach courses in Krav Maga and small arms training. The response was basically one of "are you crazy?". On the other hand, I proposed that our local Krav Maga instructors offer a two session lesson to the teenagers at my Synagogue. Our Rabbi jumped on it and we had two Sunday sessions just to expose the kids to what it is and so very limited basics. I really think America Jews have no clue on what is going on. They continue to think that if they just work the political system all will be fine. News flash it didn't work for the German Jews in 1936 and it won't work here either.
I want to add that it's not even enough to know when to fight back. You have to vanquish the enemy in order to put an end to the threat. As Douglas Murray has often said, Israel is never allowed to win; it is always stopped half way with cries for a ceasefire. This is not how WW2 was won. The ceasefire comes AFTER the enemy surrenders and gives up
I had to stop watching the news, I was so angry for two years. It was so unhealthy for me. And at 50 years old I started to heal with that I live in a place that is somewhat progressive- my friend group has shrunk and I’m totally OK with that
How does this Parsha guide Israel today in its approach to Gaza and West Bank Palestinians? On the one hand I find it incredulous that Hamas is part of any negotiations, and demanding terms, and on the other, there are 2 million lives needing to be dealt with morally. This is a great conundrum. What next?
Michael - compare how Israel took in expelled Jews from the Middle East and Russia VS the Arab countries’ lack of acceptance of Arabs living in Gaza and Judea-Samaria (ie the goal is to to keep them in a “perpetual State of Victimhood” as others on Substack have previously mentioned.)
Send Arabs in Gaza & Judea-Samaria back to Jordan (where they belong)
Wonderful article. A reminder to us all when we are angry or attacked.
So timely and timeless. Thank you.