The Cost of Amnesia

“Forgetfulness leads to exile. Remembrance leads to redemption.”

(Ba’al Shem Tov)

Hevre/Friends,

Shabbat Zachor. Time to remember the savage Amalekites who attacked us in the desert. To blot out their evil presence and power from the world. A biblical commandment for every Jew to hear and heed. Read just days before Purim when we retell the story of Esther and our people in ancient Persia (modern-day Iran) and the vicious Haman - a descendant of Amalek - who tried to destroy us. Sadly, a timeless tale.

It’s one thing to remember the enemy before you. If you forget about, ignore, or downplay them, we know only too well what happens. But what happens when you neglect the enemy within? Even as Israelis prepare their safe rooms for the risk of imminent war, many have suggested that the greatest threat to Israeli independence today isn’t Iran or Gaza. It's Israeli leaders' amnesia when it comes to the responsibilities of sovereignty.

Five raging stories that are unfolding with little or no intervention by Israeli military or political leaders and their representatives illustrate this internal implosion of accountability to the promise of Israel. Two female IDF soldiers were brutally attacked by a mob of Haredim opposed to the draft requiring them to do their share to protect the country they live in and the people they share it with. Radical settlers continue to violently - even murderously - assault Palestinians and their property in the West Bank. Arab-on-Arab crime escalates causing destruction, death, and fear throughout Arab Israeli communities. A Knesset bill threatens to criminalize egalitarian worship at the Kotel. Crude and hostile demonstrators harass Lucy Aharish, a widely-respected Channel 13 anchor who is the first Arab Muslim journalist to present news for a mainstream Hebrew-language media platform. 

What does it say about Israel's leaders when they refuse to exert their own ability to protect Israel's citizens - all of them, regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, or sex - and the people who continue to live under its rule? When they abdicate their responsibility to govern? When they refrain from punishing the unruly and the unlawful? When they disregard their own power? When they forget to exercise sovereignty in its most fundamental dictates?

Israel’s enemies around its borders remain untenable threats to its survival and we pray everyone will remain safe and unharmed. But neglectful, negligent leaders inside who threaten Israel’s dignity, integrity and vision are no more tolerable. May this Shabbat of Remembrance deepen our vigilance against not only the evil on our outside, but also the evil that lurks deep within.

With blessings for a Shabbat Shalom, one of strength, stability, responsibility, and peace, and for a meaningful Purim,

Dini

ps -For a deeper reflection on these themes, listen to this episode of Donniel Hartman and Yossi Klein Halevi’s podcast, For Heaven’s Sake.

Photo by Ronen Avisror