As rabbi of Congregation Brith Sholom in Bethlehem, chair of the Jewish Clergy Group of the Lehigh Valley and founder of the Bethlehem Interfaith Group, I was shocked and appalled by the hurtful words uttered by a few Christian colleagues on the day before Christmas at Payrow Plaza in Bethlehem.
It is unimaginable that they knowingly intended to promote virulent antisemitism and perversion of history. Ignorance however, is no excuse for antisemitism.
For centuries Jewish communities suffered violence, oppression and mass murder based on the antisemitic trope that the Jews killed Jesus. And yet 10 of my Bethlehem colleagues declared, “if Jesus were to be born today, he would be born under the rubble in Gaza.” These words are not only hurtful, hateful, and wrong — they feed the already rampaging fires of antisemitism in our world and right here in our country.
First, Jesus was born a Jew in the city of Bethlehem in the homeland of the Jewish people. Second, he lived, practiced and preached as a Jew. Finally, he was tortured and died at the hands of the Romans — again as a Jew.
Their brutality, oppression and murder of countless Jewish sages as well as early Christians is well known. They suppressed two Jewish revolts and any attempt to win back our independence. They destroyed the 2nd Temple in Jerusalem and renamed the Land of Israel to Syria Palestina and its capital, Jerusalem, to Aelia Capitolina. The Romans, Caliphate, Crusaders, Mamluks, Ottomans and British would not, however, crush the dream that one day, the Jewish people would again be free in the homeland of our ancestors: the prophets and King David.
Zionism is the belief that Jews have a right to live in dignity and peace in our ancient homeland — the only Jewish country on the planet. Attempting to alter history and the Biblical record by delegitimizing Israel’s right to exist is shameful. This only gives legitimacy to attacks on Israel and on the Jewish community here and abroad. It does not further understanding, reconciliation and the hope for peace.
"The plight of the Palestinian people is real and needs to be heard. We do not turn away from difficult conversations or another’s pain."
I want to be clear. There are legitimate discussions to be had about Israel’s conduct of the Hamas war. One can be critical of the Israeli government and yet not venture into antisemitism. Many Israelis are extremely vocal and critical of the Netanyahu government and some of its policies as well as violence perpetrated by settlers. But my Christian colleagues’ actions and words empower Hamas and antisemites everywhere.
To again be crystal clear, Hamas seeks to murder every Israeli from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea. Their charter endorses genocide, which is the systematic elimination of every man, woman and child of a people based on race, religion or ethnicity. We should know because the word genocide was created to describe the Holocaust — an event in which the Nazis along with willing collaborators throughout Europe murdered 6 million Jews, or one third of all Jews in the world from 1939-1945.
On October 7, 2023, during a Jewish holy day, Hamas launched hundreds of missiles at Israeli cities and towns. Hamas terrorists then murdered in cold blood 1,200 Israelis and foreign Thai workers. Victims included whole families, attendees at the Nova music festival (like Musikfest), the elderly, the young, Holocaust survivors and babies in their mothers’ bellies and in their mothers’ arms. Hamas raped and tortured. They brought 250 hostages, alive and dead, including American citizens, to Gaza. Hamas hid in schools, hospitals, mosques, churches.
They built hundreds of miles of terror tunnels throughout the entire Gaza strip. Again, there can and should be thoughtful debate about Israel’s actions during the war and even before Oct. 7. There never was or will be a “good” war.
The suffering of innocent Palestinians and Israelis is a tragedy. It has been ever since the Palestinians and their supporters rejected the 1947 United Nations partition which created Israel and a Palestinian state. Both peoples have endured too much pain and too many cycles of violence and dehumanization since. The plight of the Palestinian people is real and needs to be heard. We do not turn away from difficult conversations or another’s pain.
But how was Israel to make peace with the homicidal terrorist rulers of Gaza who murder even their own people who would make peace with Israel? History also bears witness that Israel and the United States twice attempted to forge a peace agreement (however imperfect). Yasser Arafat instead walked away both times.
Yet, notwithstanding history, I hope for peace between Israelis and Palestinians. I would love nothing more than for each to live in dignity, respect and peace. No more war, no more hatred and no more terror, loss and anguish. Instead prayers of thanksgiving sung to our one shared Creator.
As religious leaders of faith — I extend an invitation to my Christian colleagues who I hope only out of ignorance fan the flames of antisemitism — come and meet with me. Listen to the pain of your Jewish neighbors.
Let us be guided by truth, love and God’s calling for peace. Let us be the model of a Bethlehem that brings people together, not tears them apart.
Rabbi Michael Singer is chair of the Jewish Clergy Group of the Lehigh Valley and founder of the Bethlehem Interfaith Group.