To understand these responses it is best to read or re-read my article “Free the Kidnapped Israeli Teens” from earlier this week.
The responses mostly fall into one of 3 categories:
a. They liked the article very much (so I’m not going to print a lot of those).
b. They were annoyed that I even mentioned the suffering of other kidnap victims around the world, and especially annoyed at my referencing tens of thousands of Palestinians who have been kidnapped (albeit supposedly “legally”) and incarcerated for weeks or months without trial or formal charges, some even tortured, and many of these were Palestinian teens arrested near their own homes.
c. They were annoyed that I didn’t emphasize the suffering and oppression of the Palestinian people.
I’m still curious about your reactions. If you haven’t sent me your response to my article, now it would be best to respond in part by responding to the letters we received below in this small but representative sample. I also invite you to read my recent book Embracing Israel/Palestine (order it for Kindle through Amazon, or hard copy at www.tikkun.org/EIP). Send your responses to me: RabbiLerner.Tikkun@gmail.com
Warm regards and Shabbat Shalom!
Rabbi Michael Lerner
READER RESPONSES:
Shalom
Bishop Dr. Ramsey H. Saffouri, DO, PHD, MBA
Bless You!
John Azevedo
(Editor’s response: We’ve made many editorial statements condemning the unfair imprisonment of teenage Palestinians which if our mind is unjustifiable behavior by the government of Israel. But as my article makes clear, that in no way justifies kidnapping Israeli teens.)
9.While you’re at it, please express proper outrage at how Palestinians are, once again, being collectively punished for thiskidnapping. Please read below.
I think there is some critical history here that has been overlooked. Allow me to explain what I mean.
Naftali Frenkel and Gilad Shaar are both students at theThe Makor Chaim Yeshiva located on Kibbutz Kfar Etzion where close to 300 boys currently study. Your characterization of this yeshiva as being “in a right-wing settlement” and as “participating in discriminatory practices that are part of the daily reality of the Occupation” reflects a major gap in historical knowledge at best, or an intentional revision at worst.
Kibbutz Kfar Etzion was founded in the early 1930’s when Shmuel Holtzman purchased the abandoned land from the founders of Migdal Eder. In fact, the names Kfar Etzion and Gush Etzion are direct derivations of Holtzman’s name. Holtz is Yiddish for wood (eitz in Hebrew). Etzion means the “wood of Zion.” This land was not violently taken, stolen or appropriated from anyone. It was legally purchased from local residents. Here is a picture of Mr. Holtzman buying that very piece of land in 1933.
Unfortunately, the kibbutzniks were forced to flee for their lives just a few years later during the Arab Revolt of 1939. In 1943 the residents of Kfar Etzion returned to rebuild their homes and reestablish the kibbutz from the rubble of destruction that the Arabs left for them.
Sadly, this too only lasted for a few years until they were once again attacked by Arab forces in 1948. The kibbutziks held off the attacks for ten days until Kfar Etzion fell. In the Kfar Etzion massacre on14 Mayof that year, 157 Jewish inhabitants of the village were murdered. I have stood over the bunker and gazed into what became a mass grave of these heroic men. My body convulsed and I tried to hold back the tears in front of my then ten year old son.
This remained the status quo for the next 19 years. The few survivors of the massacre, mainly the women and children who had been evacuated before May 14th, could only look out from a hilltop in West Jerusalem and gaze upon the ancient Lone Oak tree that survived the Jordanian presence in Gush Etzion between 1949 and 1967 and that came to serve as a symbol of the hope of the residents of Kfar Etzion that they would one day be able to return and rebuild their homes and their kibbutz.
In 1967Israelgained control over the West Bank in the Six-Day War and theIsraelicabinet decided to allow for the re-establish Kibbutz Kfar Etzion. The children of those killed in the May Massacre returned and rebuilt. Today a few hundred families live on the Kibbutz and the Yeshiva that Naftali and Gilad attend was established about 25 years ago.
Now, please reread your characterization of this yeshiva as being “in a right-wing settlement” and as “participating in discriminatory practices that are part of the daily reality of the Occupation” and ask yourself if perhaps you haven’t allowed your political views to skew your memory of recent history.
I have been to Kibbutz Kfar Eztion many times. I have visited the yeshiva and I have spoken with residents. I have sat under the Lone Oak and pondered the story of these brave men and women who, armed with little other than their burning faith in the Almighty and a determination to live and learn Torah in a village that belonged to them, never let go of their dream.
Please, I beg you, let’s never allow our personal political agendas to diminish the contribution of the peaceful, faith-filled heroes of our people.
Be well,
David Begoun
www.lchaimcenter.org
YOUR RESPONSES TO ANY OF THESE LETTERS OR TO MY ORIGINAL ARTICLE OR TO THE SITUATION AS IT DEVELOPS ARE WELCOME:rabbilerner.tikkun@gmail.com
It is difficult to take a stand that looks like you are pro/con both sides of a ‘battle’ – so painful to witness all of this – we all get caught up in our own small lives, it is often just too difficult to think about the rest of the world – right now I just hope these kids have been spared torture and can go home – I do not understand the world – and unlike you am not spiritual – I think we can just be basic cruel animals – but there are people who try to make the world better – for whatever reason
Rabbi Lerner, I agree with you completely that kidnapping of teens of any nationality is a very bad thing. Violence cannot be stopped by advocating violence. People need to sit down together and talk. We need to respect our common humanity and proceed from there.
Is there any evidence this was a kidnapping, and not an Administrative Detention for the War Crime of inhabiting land stolen during war? Yes, it may have been paid for prior to Nakba, but as with the massive amounts of land stolen from Palestinians in the partition of 47, ownership is irrelavent after the partition.
The euphimism of “gained control of the West Bank” when one really means “illegally occupied the West Bank” rather undercuts any claims that these War Criminals were anything other than “right wing” – it is about as credible as if Pravi Sektor was to say Svoboda was “not right wing”, or Stormfront saying the GOP is not “right wing” – in otherwords, meaningless.
I think Mr Begoun is intentionally leaving out some critical history, such as the land swaps that accompanied the partition. It also seems to be basically delusional in trying to explain that somehow an illegal settlement (again, a War Crime under the Geneva Convention) on stolen land is somehow doing something other than “participating in discriminatory practices that are a daily reality of the Occupation”.
How many Palestinian children are kidnapped from their homes every month? Or is that their fault for resisting an illegal, oppressive, and Anti-Semitic occupation by a colonial army?
Yes, IF this is actually a kidnapping (or even an “Administrative Detention”), it is EXACTLY as bad as when Palestinian children are kidnapped by those who follow orders from the Golden Calf in Palestine. Thus, this possible kidnapping (or “administrative detention”) should be condemned with the same level of scorn as every 3 Palestinian kids who are kidnapped (or taken into “Administrative Detention”) by the forces of the Golden Calf. (As of April, 2014 – the latest figures I can find, there are 27 children between 12 and 15 that were currently being held captive by the Golden Calf. That is 9x as many captives as the Palestinians are accused of holding captive, all of whom are younger – the Golden Calf does not even consider people the age of these hitchhiking settlers to be children, if they are Palestinian.)
And since the alleged kidnapping of these 3, the Golden Calf has kidnapped 400 Palestinians.
What is it with the followers of the Golden Calf and a complete lack of perspective or proportion?
There is no evidence it was a kidnapping, It was a kidnapping AND triple murder