On Tuesday, I told a colleague that after several visits to UCLA's campus this week and last week, it was possible that a group of pro-Israel people would lose patience with the university and simply storm the "Palestine" encampment.
I joked that L.A. Jews weren't Ashkenazi intellectuals like me, but rather Persian Jews who fled the Iranian revolution. As one sign at the pro-Israel counter-protest Sunday at UCLA said: "My parents didn't leave Iran for this shit."
Insert compulsory condemnation of vigilantism here, but note that it was only the arrival of the vigilantes that triggered local and state law enforcement to do anything, after letting the thugs at the encampment bully people for days.
Local media are picking up the activists' mantra that police took too long to arrive at the scene of the battles overnight. No -- police were told to stand down from the moment the encampment arrived. UCLA coddled the thugs.
Jews lived through a version of 1930s Germany as the thugs, running security and giving orders to university contractors, were able to police the perimeter of their own encampment, denying students access to classes and the whole area.
I personally was assaulted by the thugs when I tried to exercise my right as a journalist (and a member of the public) to film the encampment. The whole situation was intolerable and the university and the governor were OK with it.
After Sunday's counter-protest, and counter-counter-protest, I told friends that I was surprised there hadn't been violence already. There were no police around and UCLA was relying on the Palestinian activists/thugs for security.
So you'll hear complaints this morning about the long time it took police to arrive. The fact is that UCLA, the UC leaders, and the governor kept police out and let the thugs run things for a week. A reaction was almost inevitable.
If you watch video of the confrontations, you'll hear pro-Israel vigilantes cheering the arrival of the police, chanting "USA! USA!". That's what they wanted all along. It's a shame that it took violence and vigilantism to get it.
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
