Today, Israelis headed to the polls for city elections. We are making our voices heard. Next week, Americans will have the same opportunity for mid-term elections. Throughout the year and around the world, citizens have the right and the obligation to have their voices heard.
On Nov 4, 1995 Israeli Prime Minister Rabin was murdered just after speaking in Kings Square, Tel Aviv about the Democratic process. Part of his speech that night read: “I have always believed that the majority of the people want peace, are prepared to take risks for peace. And you here, by coming to this rally, along with the many who did not make it here, prove that the people truly want peace and oppose violence. Violence is undermining the very foundations of Israeli democracy. It must be condemned, denounced, and isolated. This is not the way of the State of Israel. Controversies may arise in a democracy, but the decision must be reached through democratic elections”
This morning I read several articles and heard stories about the Muslim community of Pittsburgh, the larger community of Pittsburgh, and communities around the globe, coming together to aid and support the members of Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh and the larger Jewish community. Each person returned a small light to the world with their participation.
It brought me back to Sukkot 2016 when after more than five years in Hamas captivity, Gilad Shalit came home. This deal, which saw the release of 1027 Palestinian prisoners was highly controversial and little had brought out the Israeli public as the plight of the young soldier. In a country where conscription is mandatory, his fate represented the worst nightmare of many parents and there was significant domestic pressure to bring him home – whatever the price.
Today, my eldest daughter voted for the first time. The same daughter who is spending the year volunteering with kids in the Gaza area to share with them some of the joys of nature. The same kids who three summers ago lived through the last war with Hamas in Gaza. The same kids who re-live that summer each time the air raid siren goes off. Which is not infrequent. Thankfully, to date, each time the air raid siren has sounded because of incoming rockets we, her parents, have received a simple text – all OK. Her draft date is September… this is just the beginning of a new stage for us.
I was reminded by the response of the Pittsburgh community of something remarkable that happened that October of 2016. During Sukkot, when the people of Israel are commanded to live in temporary booths, Gilad Shalit left his temporary captivity and returned home. He returned to an Israel divided over the exchange which led to his release, yet united in joy at his return.
Noam and Aviva Shalit had kept the nation’s attention focused on their son by maintaining a tent and vigil outside Prime Minister Netanyahu’s office for years. Photos of Shalit in his army uniform were a ubiquitous reminder for many Israelis of a young man abandoned by his government. A government which, agree or disagree, has promised to always bring her soldiers home. Each time I would drive by the Prime Minister’s house the large placard, which showed the number of days Shalit had been in captivity, forced me, as it was designed to do, back into the conversation.
Many days this white tent had a partner across the street. It happened to be a black tent. As the Shalit family maintained their vigil for release, mothers, siblings and others who had lost loved ones in terror attacks sat across the street protesting against any prisoner swap. In some cases, the perpetrator of the attack that killed their loved one was on the possible release list. Almagor, an Israeli organization representing victims of attacks, criticized the Shalit deal as “a victory for terror and Hamas.” At that point, according to Almagor, terrorists freed in past prisoner exchanges cost 180 Israelis their lives. These and others would continue their legal battle against the final release of prisoners up until the moment of actual release.
Yet, while literally standing on two sides of the street, there was never enmity between these groups. Harsh words were not spoken and when the Shalit’s release finally happened, the two groups came together to laugh and cry in joy. The conversations which had occurred on and off over the months and then years did not change the minds of those who stood on the other side of the street, but they did increase understanding and compassion. And in the end, when all was done, they remained one community committed to moving forward.
In Shmot/Exodus we read “And Moses gathered the congregation, all the children of Israel, and said: These are the words which God has commanded, that you should fulfill them.” (35:1) What follows are detailed instructions for building the Tabernacle – a tent, a tent of meeting. The tent, a temporary dwelling – a place to gather so that the many will be united as one. Every community needs a symbolic collective ‘tent’. Our tents today come in many forms – synagogues and community centers, churches, mosques and homes, sukkot booths and dinner tables, and the State of Israel. They are all tents that bring us together, as one, if only briefly.
Let us honor the words of PM Rabin, the words and actions of the Muslims and other neighbors in Pittsburgh and around the world who struggle against hatred and violence. Let us give honor to those who shed blood and life where a tiny boy was giving his own blood in circumcision as he entered the covenant of Judaism. Let us step away from the violence and toward light as in the shadow of Pittsburgh and our own Israeli shadows we make our voices heard. Let is build and inhabit the tents with the conversations. We don’t have to agree but we can still learn from each other and work together.