Israel at 77

Israel at 77

By Rabbi Boaz D. Heilman

May 2, 2025

I got my COVID vaccination jab yesterday. I don’t remember what number this one was, but at this point I’m pretty used to the side-effects: The arm ache, the sleepless night, the general dis-ease for a couple of days. In any case, that’s a lot better than being actually sick, even at this point in the history of COVID-19. I remember when it first burst on the scene, the misery it caused, the loneliness and isolation that came from quarantine, the uncertainty of life and death, long COVID, and of course the more than a million and a quarter lives it took in the United States alone.

Life is never secure. Diseases, accidents, wars and other acts of hate and violence are constantly at humanity’s heels. This week’s double Torah portion, Tazria-Metzorah, addresses health and illness, and the challenges to our wholeness, personally and as a society, that diseases pose.

The symptoms described by the Torah are vague—possibly on purpose. It isn’t only a specific skin disease that the Torah speaks of, but rather all disease—physical, social, emotional and cultural.

Viruses come and go—we don’t always understand why or how. Over time they evolve and change, making diagnosis and treatment even that much more difficult. Prejudices and mistrust of science often hinder research, sometimes getting in the way of necessary changes to our attitudes and behavior. 

One disease, however, that hasn’t changed in the eons since it first appeared is the hatred of Jews and everything Jewish: Antisemitism. It has had several variants in the course of its long history, but all in all, the symptoms are pretty much the same. Jews are too powerful, Jews control government, Jews control money and the economy, and so on and so on.

The latest variant of this disease is anti-Zionism, a wolf that doesn’t even pretend to be in sheep’s clothing. Supposedly it’s about human rights—specifically Gazan Arab—but no mask or keffiyah can hide the murderous sentiments behind the lies and cries. The one big change is that now it’s Israel that’s too powerful, Israel that controls Congress, Israel that manipulates the White House. Israel—the Jewish State. The equation is pure and simple. No other country or government is as hated as Israel. No other country has to defend itself against daily calls for its destruction, is singled out for cultural, academic and economic boycotts, or faces vile accusations of genocide or at least the exercise of excess of power. No other county is target of widespread denunciations as Israel—eliciting violence not only against Israeli citizens who dare defend themselves, but against all Jews, wherever they might live, whatever political views they might hold. Not Syria, which currently is conducting massacres against its Alawite and Druze populations; not China, Russia, Iran, Pakistan, Congo, Sudan or scores of other states that engage in the worst possible acts of violence. Only Israel, the Jewish state.

Antisemitism is a disease that flares up periodically, usually at a time of social, political and economic changes. All of which we see around us today. The world today is polarized, with little or no middle-ground between right and left. Vile hate language and terrifying violence characterize each side. The one thing that unites all the extremists is the hatred of Israel and the Jews. 

The past two weeks have been particularly difficult for Israel. Israel observes two memorial days: Yom Ha-Zikaron, Memorial Day, to remember and honor those who fell in the defense of the State of Israel; and Yom Ha-Shoah, to remember the millions of Jews who lived—and were exterminated—in a world without Israel. These are the toughest days. But even Independence Day, which Israel observed only yesterday, traditionally a day of joy and celebration, this year was darker than in the past. The war Israel has been fighting for more than a year and a half now and the hatred it faces, have darkened the mood. Israel was intended to be a safe haven for its citizens. But on October 7 2023 it failed in this mission. Israel’s goal was to be a light unto the nations; its contributions to medicine, technology, alternative energy sources, eradicating world hunger and thirst, and empowering women and minority groups are legendary. It is truly an exemplary pillar of democracy—no matter how much we may disagree with one political party or another. The fact that there are so many parties—of all religions and ethnicities—active in its government, economy and judicial system are proof of Israel’s political and social vitality.  

Yet the hatred, if anything, has increased a hundredfold. The fact is, the most vile lies against Jews and Israelis take immediate hold, while the simplest and most obvious truths are simply ignored or disbelieved.

That is true, sadly, not only among others, but also among Jews. None of us is happy when we see people die in war. But there are those Jews who fail to understand the source of the violence directed against us and see it as reasonable; who join supporters of the terrorist organization Hamas; who advocate international calls for investigation of Israel and the IDF (as though Israel’s own investigations, ongoing, frank and open—just take a peek at the news from Israel) aren’t enough; individuals as well as  groups such as Jewish Voices for Peace and J Street, that are either ignorant of the facts, filled with self-loathing, or at the very least don’t have the slightest inkling of where these calls come from, what they are based on, and against whom they are directed.

One doesn’t have to agree with Israel’s politics. It’s easy to feel angry when we see millions of shekels diverted from dire public needs—such as defense and fire-fighting equipment (Israel has just suffered some of the worst wildfires in decades, some started by Arab terrorists)—in order to ensure support for those who contribute little to Israel’s immediate and crucial needs. It’s maddening to see the rights of minorities, such as the Queer Community and the Reform Movement in Israel, chipped away in favor of ignorant, narrow-minded and self-righteous groups that claim to have the final word on faith and religious observance. And it’s frustrating to witness power games conducted by publicly elected officials who on the one hand call for unity, but on the other sow divisiveness and mistrust. There’s no question in anyone’s mind that Hamas took advantage of these divisions among Israelis to perpetrate its savage attack on Oct. 7.

Eradicating disease from the world is impossible. The oldest hatred and prejudice, the virus of antisemitism, has proven its endurance in dark ages as well as more enlightened times. All that we Jews can do is to strengthen ourselves—physically and spiritually. At times like today, we need to support Israel more than ever and stand staunchly and proudly by its side. The time for reckoning and accounting will come, without a doubt. But not while Israel is under attack and fighting for its survival. As Jews, we need to study not only Torah and Talmud, but also history. We cannot and may not abandon our traditional values; but neither are we free to align ourselves with those who want to see us ostracized, rejected and eradicated. New alliances must be formed and strengthened. Systemic antisemitism, built into universities as highbrow and pedigreed as Harvard, Columbia and Yale, must be exposed at every echelon. For decades now, traditional “liberal” organizations such as Amnesty International, Doctors Without Borders and Human Rights Watch, have gone out of their way to change and corrupt genuine human rights in order to vilify Israel. These organizations might be doing good work too, but we Jews need to understand what their antisemitism actually advocates and stands for: the destruction of the State of Israel and yet another pogrom and genocide against the Jewish People.

The Jewish People have existed for more than 3000 years now. The State of Israel has just celebrated its 77th Independence Day.  We have survived many obstacles, tyrants and attacks on our existence. Sadly, we cannot rest at this point in our history. For the last few decades we may have been under some delusion that we could, that antisemitism is finally gone from the world. After the Shoah—the Holocaust—we believed that the world has seen its erroneous ways and begun to at least accept us, if not actually love us.

Sadly, we now see that this is not the case. And so we need to remain on our guard, to strengthen ourselves inwardly and outwardly. I have no illusion of unity among us; after all, as they say, two Jews, three opinions. But when it comes to our survival, if we learned nothing else from the Shoah, it is that we need a safe haven to go to and a strong army to protect us at times of violence and hate such as our own. It’s nice and good to trust in God, but self-defense is just as crucial when it comes to our lives and the lives of our children. 

Happy Independence Day, Israel. May you enjoy many more years of life, health and strength.  And may the Jewish People continue to thrive and prosper despite all our haters and oppressors.

May God grant God’s People strength; may God bless us all with peace. Amen.

© 2025 by Boaz D. Heilman