Israel

I have been part of a discussion about the Matzav...the current "situation" in Gaza. In a way, it's very painful. The woman I find myself "facing off" with is a dear friend who has been a wonderful support since I first began thinking of conversion, and who has been of the same mind for many of the political discussions this group of ladies has had over the past few years. I find myself wanting so much to agree with her, but I can't. She has a personal connection with a Palestinian family in a refugee camp in the north, and that fuels her end of the discussion. Since it's very immediate for her, she is very emotional about the situation, and I can feel that as she makes her points.

I can't argue with personal experience, but I know, too, that one person's or one family's experiences do not give a full account. The actions of individuals are not the actions of a country, and while certainly even the country may have made decisions that were poorly thought out and which lead to individual heartache, it does not immediately follow that the current situation is therefore evil and wrong. War is not fair, it is does not take account of persons, and it does lead to death and destruction. That is the nature of war. When a group knowingly instigates a country into self-protection, the people who are led by or who protect and sanction that group can't cry foul because they aren't themselves a part of that group.

As I find myself becoming a part of this family, Bnei Yisrael, I recall the sentiment that "blood is thicker than water." I stand up for Israel, because Israel is us. Hamas and other Islamist groups aren't simply "standing up for their rights." They want to push Israel and her people off the map entirely.

I feel for the Palestinian people who are suffering through this, for those who have been killed, and those who have lost. But my heart is with Israel. With her I will stand.