We Pray for Peace In Jerusalem
Friends,
Yesterday Merav and I were meeting to discuss High Holy Days, religious school, adult education and more. During our meeting her phone was buzzing constantly. Each vibration echoed the explosions of another rocket falling in Israel triggering a tzeva adom, a red alert siren. Merav was checking to ensure that her family was OK – which at this moment they are. We pray for their safety and for all friends and family of those in our community.
As the rockets increased in frequency and distance, my Facebook feed filled with pictures of my friends inside bomb shelters, some even set up like school playgrounds because they are used so frequently. For so many of us, especially those who have family members living in the Jewish homeland, these attacks are deeply personal. The images and news of violence and the burning of synagogues in Lod is especially troubeling. We mourn the Israeli’s killed.
The State of Israel is defending itself against Hamas by targeting militants, commanders and missile launch sites while doing their best to prevent the deaths of civilians, which tragically we witnessed yesterday. We also mourn the Palestinian civilians killed.
As Rabbi Joe Black notes, this latest conflict is the result of multiple factors including, but not limited to:
The fact that Yom Yerushalayim (Jerusalem Day – commemorating the day that East and West Jerusalem was united during the 6-day War in 1967) and the end of the Muslim holiday of Ramadan are taking place in very close proximity to one another. Historically, these two holidays often become flash points for conflict.
The tense situation around the [amoral evictions of] Palestinians Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in East Jerusalem.
The cancellation of elections for the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank by Mahmoud Abbas.
The failure of four successive Israeli Elections to create a successful governing coalition.
The governments of Iran and Turkey actively promoting violence – either directly or through their terror proxies.
The fact that radical extremists in both Israeli and Palestinian circles feel emboldened and called to act in a time of political transition and chaos.
And many more factors too complex to list in such a restricted space.
People have vilified both Israel and Palestine for their actions – squarely laying the blame on one side or the other. The intense complexity of this century-old conflict cannot be understated. We join together in condemning violence and the murder of innocent civilians. Killing, especially indiscriminate bombing of civilians, will never bring a peaceful resolution for Israeli’s and Palestinians.
Rabbi Josh Weinberg, vice president for Israel and Reform Zionism for the Union for Reform Judaism, quoted Rabbi Michael Marmur who wrote that:
“The call of the Psalmist שַׁאֲלוּ שְׁלוֹם יְרוּשָׁלִָם should not only be translated as ‘pray for the peace of Jerusalem.’ It must also mean that in these dark moments we should ask what needs to happen for Jerusalem to have a chance of a sustainable and equitable peace?"
We need the leadership of both the Isrealis and Palestinians to end the violence and build peace. As a Zionist, someone who believes that Israel is essential for the Jewish people, I will continue to do all I can to partner with organiziations here and in Israel that build peace. I hope that you will join me at 2:00 PM for a presentation sponsored by the Union for Reform Judaism to learn more from Israeli and Palestinian scholars about this horrific situation.
שַׁאֲלוּ שְׁלוֹם יְרוּשָׁלִָם יִשְׁלָיוּ אֹהֲבָיִךְ׃ יְהִי־שָׁלוֹם בְּחֵילֵךְ שַׁלְוָה בְּאַרְמְנוֹתָיִךְ.
Shaalu sh'lom Y'rusahlayim yishlayu ohavaich: Y'hi shalom b'cheilech, shalvah b'armenotaich.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem; May those who love you be at peace. May there be well-being within your ramparts, peace in your citadels. (Psalm 122:6-7)
L'shalom,
Rabbi Brian P Immerman