Rabbi Ari Shvat
Question
We're having a serious problem now on our university campus in debating large pro-Palestinian groups regarding the war in Gaza. Do u have any suggestions?
Answer
It's best to simplify the issue with 2 clear & undebatable (unless their anti-Semites) points: 1. The Israel Defense (!) Force is by definition: defending when attacked, as opposed to the Hamas whose charter, by definition, unabashedly calls for the offensive eradication of the Jewish State. It's like R. Yosef Albo (Sefer HaIkarim 4, 35) writes: that by man, the example of gevurah (strength) is like a champion boxer whose goal is to knock down his standing opponent, sending him to the hospital, as opposed to Hashem who is described as the exact opposite ""אתה גיבור לעולם ה' מחיה מתים אתה ורב להושיע, מחיה מתים... סומך נופלים, רופא חולים ומתיר אסורים"", "You are strong: reviving the dead, raising those who fall, healing the sick, saving the hostages". Jewish heroism as seen through the Tanach is a life-giving (!) gevura, as opposed to our enemies who idealize a life-taking gevura. During Operation Chomat Magen, while stationed in Arab Ramallah, I saw that the streets, avenues, parks & traffic-circles are named to glorify terrorists, where the more Jews that each killed, the greater his respective avenue! Contrarily, in the IDF, we teach Moreshet Krav (IDF history classes) educating the next generation's soldiers through examples like company commander Ro'i Klein who saved his platoon in Lebanon by jumping on a grenade, i.e. life-giving gevura. Baruch Hashem we are the opposite (!) of our enemies, but that doesn't mean that we are less resolved or weaker! Second: Everyone knows that if the Hamas lays down their weapons their will be quiet, but if Israel lays down our weapons, we will be slaughtered, raped & mutilated. Anyone who doesn't see the difference is unobjective & not worth wasting time on trying to convince. With Love of Israel, Shabbat Shalom (!!), Rav Ari
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