You may have noted my apology on Twitter, regarding something I said last Saturday. I'm reiterating that here.
https://twitter.com/joelpollak/status/1713230201537376497
I am taking down the first tweet I posted on X when I learned about the terror attack by Hamas against Israeli civilians last Saturday. And I'm apologizing for it, because it's hurtful, and it's dangerous if it's left up and serves as any kind of justification for evil. (cont ->)
My first reaction when I heard the shocking news from Israel was to do whatever I could to defend the people -- my people -- from attack. I raced home from my synagogue, interrupting the Sabbath and the Jewish holiday. I felt I had to do something, anything.
I sent a tweet urging Israel to "wipe out" Gaza after evacuating civilians aside from military-age men. My exact words:
"I have broken the Sabbath and Jewish holiday to deliver this message: Israel should wipe out Gaza. Allow 48 hours to evacuate women, children and the elderly. Destroy everything that remains, plow it under, and annex it to Israel. This is the end for Hamas and Palestinian terror."
We have all said things we regret in moments of anger and fear and sadness, even to people we love. Generally, I avoid social media when I am angry, or upset, for precisely this reason.
I don't want to see Palestinians killed. I just want Israelis to live.
If I had to write the same tweet today, it would be something like this:
“I have broken the Sabbath and Jewish holiday to deliver this message: Israel should do whatever is necessary to defend its people. Hamas must be destroyed, and Palestinians must reject violence. This is the end for Hamas and Palestinian terror.”
So I'm taking down my tweet. I could leave it up, defiantly, but that's not who I am. I do believe in clarifying, and I also believe in making amends.
I want Israelis and Palestinians to live together in peace. I also want Palestinians to stop murdering Israelis. That's a precondition for any kind of peace.
I'm greatly encouraged by the fact that Arab and Muslim Israelis have stood together with Jewish Israelis, and I'm deeply grateful to the friends, including Arab and Muslim friends, who have reached out to me.
I want people who say they care about Palestinians to start criticizing terrorism and stop defending -- even celebrating -- terror.
The fact that they are still justifying terror does not excuse my own tweet last Saturday; we are all individually morally responsible for our own actions and words. And I don't believe what I said was correct.
So -- I'm sorry. My words were wrong. I overreacted. I'll try to do better.
This is the portion that all journalists should love: the Torah tells the story of the 12 spies, only two of whom tell the truth when the other ten shade it in a negative away (perhaps to suit a political agenda that is opposed to Moses).
It's not that the ten "lying" spies misconstrue the facts about the Land of Israel; rather, they interject their opinions that the land is impossible to conquer, which strikes unnecessary terror into the hearts of the people.
We have many examples of such fake news today -- from the Iranian propaganda outlets spreading false claims that they are winning the war, to California politicians spreading false horror stories about ICE raids in L.A.
The people realize, too late, that they have been fooled, and once they are condemned to die in the desert, they try to rush into Israel -- only to be defeated by the inhabitants, as the spies predicted that they would be.
But as consolation, God gives the people new commandments -- focused on things they must ...
This week's portion discusses the procedure for lighting the menorah, the holy seven-branched lamp, in the Tabernacle (and later the Temple). It also describes an episode where the people crave meat, and God punishes them by giving it to them in excess. We also read the story of Miriam, Moses's sister, who is punished with the spiritual skin blemish of tzara'at for speaking about her brother, thus violating the prohibition against lashon hara (evil tongue).
I heard a fantastic sermon this week about the lighting of the menorah: that while only the priests were qualified to clean and purify the menorah, anyone could light it. A reminder that each of us can inspire others along the way.
This week we study the vow of the Nazirite; a reminder that sometimes trying to be too holy is excessive, and the best we can do is to be the best that we are.
https://www.chabad.org/parshah/torahreading_cdo/aid/2495720/p/complete/jewish/Naso-Torah-Reading.htm
