By Mark S. Freedman
Mark S. Freedman
Let us suppose for a second that your neighbor two doors down the block (we’ll call him Mr. Doe) announces to everyone at the community pool that he doesn’t like you (we’ll call you Mr. Goldberg), doesn’t think you should live in the neighborhood in your small and modest home and that he plans to burn down your house.
Furthermore, to demonstrate that he’s serious, he has begun collecting large numbers of matchboxes and a robust supply of kerosene and when your neighbor, Mr. Doe, has enough of a stockpile to set your house ablaze he’ll probably do it, even though he claims the collection of matches and the fuel are only intended to ignite the pilot light on his furnace to keep his house warm.
So, many of your other neighbors, all of them “close friends” intervene and tell you that they really, really want to help. Really, they do. Honestly, they do!
Your neighbors have a good solid plan. They decide they will call to all the stores in town that sell matches and kerosene and demand that these stores not sell any more combustibles to Mr. Doe. But somehow Mr. Doe still manages to get more of both. And, to ensure that no one will try to remove his growing stockpile he schleps all his matchboxes and his kerosene from the front patio of his home down into his basement.
Seems we’ve got a problem here. How much longer can Mr. Goldberg wait until Mr. Doe has enough flammables to torch Goldberg’s little house? Can Goldberg really depend on all his well-intentioned neighbors, including the neighborhood big shot, Uncle Sam, to keep Mr. Doe from running amok? “Hey, can’t we bring in the fire department to inspect Doe’s house and remove all this dangerous stuff?”
Okay, have I made my point yet? It has become pretty clear that Israel might soon be burning while a lot of fiddling is still going on elsewhere. Every sensible person — you, me — would do everything we could to protect our property, our loved ones and ourselves. Patience has its limits. Iran has stretched Israel’s patience, and whether we agree or not, Israel may strike Iran before Iran sets Israel’s house ablaze.
If Israel does strike pre-emptively there will be recriminations, condemnations and much more from the international community and from some voices here at home. We will find out soon enough which of Israel’s friends will stand by her. Will we stand with her? Will the Nashville Jewish community stand as one and support Israel even if the choice Israel is forced to make runs the risk of a regional or wider scale war?
Even if it means that by striking Iran, Israel will be showered with missiles from its Northern and Southern borders by Hezbollah and Hamas?
Even if it means that hundreds of thousands of Israelis will be displaced and bomb shelters will be filled to capacity across Israel for countless days or months?
Even if it means that a now fragile domestic and world economy might fall into a new recession or worse?
This Jewish community has stood by Israel when confronted with the very same kinds of existential challenges it faces today. We didn’t help build the house of Israel to watch it burn to the ground.
We stood with Israel in 1967 and 1973.
We stood by Israel through the challenging days of two intifadas and when the Iraqi scuds struck Tel Aviv and the Jewish heartland in 1991, we rose up to help Israel after the bloody hotel bombing during Passover in 2002 and we stood by Israel in 2006 as rockets rained down on Northern Israel from Lebanon.
Israel’s house is our house. If it burns we are diminished. We cannot let this happen. We will not let it happen.
Should scenarios play out from bad to worse over the next several months, we will be prepared. If Israel is attacked we will go and stand with them, in Israel, as soon as we can get there.
And whether Israel’s house is partially damaged, or if, G-d forbid it burns to the ground, we will be with them to repair and rebuild.
That is why we have a Jewish community and a Jewish Federation to stand with them.
We will be prepared.
Am Yisrael Chai!
Mark S. Freedman is executive director of the Jewish Federation of Nashville.