This is not an easy piece to write. It is a painful, necessary intervention—a call for a deep and uncomfortable moral reckoning within our own communities. Our silence, our equivocation, and our institutional complicity are betraying the very ethical foundations of our faith.
The Deafening Silence and the Distorted Narrative
Across the diaspora, major Jewish organizations have largely failed to serve as a moral compass. Instead, they have acted as public relations arms for the Israeli government, unconditionally defending a military campaign that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians, displaced nearly the entire population, and systematically destroyed civilian infrastructure.
When we invoke the Holocaust to justify this violence, we do not honor the memory of its victims; we weaponize their suffering. When we label any and all criticism of Israel as antisemitism, we empty the word of its meaning and silence crucial moral inquiry. This conflation is a strategic tool that has paralyzed our community’s capacity for introspection and moral outrage.
The Myth of Unified Jewish Opinion
A pervasive and dangerous myth suggests that all Jews are in lockstep support of Israel’s actions. This is a fiction. There is a vibrant, long-standing tradition of Jewish dissent—from groups like Jewish Voice for Peace and IfNotNow to countless rabbis, scholars, and community members who are speaking out at great personal cost.
We are called "self-hating" or "traitors." We are shunned by our families and communities. Yet, we are motivated by a profound love for our people and a deep commitment to our ethical traditions. We understand that true love for Israel cannot be blind; it must be critical, demanding that it live up to its own proclaimed democratic ideals and the highest standards of Jewish morality.
Confronting the Ideology of Zionism
The heart of this crisis lies in the uncritical embrace of a political ideology: Zionism. It is essential to distinguish between Zionism as a political project and Judaism as a 3,000-year-old faith and culture. For decades, our institutions have treated them as one and the same, making any critique of the former an attack on the latter.
This is a fatal error. We must be able to critique the actions of a state, the ideology of ethno-nationalism that underpins it, and the ongoing project of displacement and occupation, without being accused of betraying our identity. In fact, to not do so is the real betrayal.
Jewish history is one of displacement, persecution, and yearning for safety. How, then, can we build our own safety on the displacement and persecution of another people? The Torah reminds us, 36 times, to love the stranger, for we were strangers in the land of Egypt. This core ethical imperative is being trampled in Gaza in our name.
The Path to Redemption: Breaking the Cycle
The path forward requires courage. It requires:
Breaking the Silence: Individuals must speak out in their families, synagogues, and community groups. Silence is complicity.
Challenging Institutions: We must demand that organizations like the ADL, AIPAC, and local Federations end their unconditional support and instead advocate for an immediate ceasefire, an end to the occupation, and equal rights for all.
Reclaiming Our Ethics: We must center Jewish values of justice and compassion over tribal nationalism. Our survival cannot come at the cost of our soul.
Standing in Solidarity: We must actively stand with Palestinians in their struggle for freedom and justice, recognizing that our own liberation is bound up with theirs.
The current path leads only to more bloodshed, more trauma, and the irreversible corrosion of our moral standing. The choice is clear: we can continue to be complicit in a genocide, or we can become the leaders of a moral resistance that honors the best of our tradition. Our history, our ethics, and our future demand nothing less.
Discussion