Dear Friends:
On Wednesday night, Jon Polin and Rachel Goldberg-Polin, parents of Israeli-American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, spoke at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. (A month earlier, Orna and Ronen Neutra, parents of hostage Omer Neutra, spoke at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.)
In our society which is so bitterly divided, there is a tendency to see the world in binaries, black and white. Either you support Israel or you support the Palestinians; if you are pro-Israel you are a supporter of genocide, if you are pro-Palestinian you are a supporter of terrorism. But the Middle East conflict is not a baseball or basketball game where there can only be one winner and one loser.
If you saw the speech on Wednesday night, you saw that Jon and Rachel moved many of the delegates to tears and received long and supportive applause from the vast majority of the delegates -- including those carrying Israeli flags and those wearing Palestinian keffiyehs. How can this be so?
Because Jon and Rachel -- like most of the relatives of the other hostages, and I daresay like most Israelis (I cannot speak knowledgeably or confidently about Palestinian attitudes) understand that today, both sides are losing and that a win for one side can also be a win for the other.
To quote Jon’s words on Wednesday night:
“There is a surplus of agony on all sides of the tragic conflict in the Middle East. In a competition of pain, there are no winners.
In our Jewish tradition, we say: Kol adam olam umlo’o; every person is an entire universe. We must save all these universes.
In an inflamed Middle East, we know the one thing that can most immediately release pressure and bring calm to the entire region: a deal that brings this diverse group of 109 hostages home and ends the suffering of the innocent civilians in Gaza.
The time is now.
As a reminder, I am having drop-in hours on Thursday afternoons from 2 to 4 at the shul. For my drop-in hours, you do not need to make an appointment -- that would negate the whole point of drop-in hours -- but I’d urge you to check and make sure I am there regardless as sometimes there are unavoidable pastoral or other emergencies which might take me away from the building.
As always, if I can do anything for you or you need to talk, please contact me at rabbi@kehilatshalom.org or 301-977-0768 rather than through the synagogue office. I am happy to meet you at the synagogue by appointment; if you want to speak with me it’s best to make an appointment rather than assuming I will be there when you stop by.
Additionally, if you know of a Kehilat Shalom congregant or another member of our Jewish community who could use a phone call, please let me know.
L’shalom,
Rabbi Charles L. Arian
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