More, Please

More like this, yes. The Jewish people are the inheritors of a beautiful prophetic tradition of protecting and uplifting the poor, the downtrodden, the strangers in our midst. What happens today, yesterday, and what will undoubtably happen again tomorrow (how many tomorrows?) in Gaza, in Rafah, flies straight in the face of that tradition.

As an understandable if not productive result of the shell-shock from three years of intifada, the Israeli populace has given free reign to a man whose policies, in my mind, go against the very grain of Jewish belief. Of all people, we should know better. 'Never again' does not mean, nor condone, the oppression, occupation, and continued military operations against another people. In fact, I'd suggest that perhaps the most crucial aspect of 'Never again' requires us to be the light upon the hill and not merely strong enough this time to resist our enemies. My $.02. Here's Israeli Justice Minister Lapid's:

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - A senior cabinet member touched a sensitive nerve in Israel Sunday by appearing to compare its destruction of Palestinian homes in Rafah refugee camp to Nazi atrocities against Jews during the Holocaust.

Justice Minister Yosef Lapid, a Holocaust survivor, called in a cabinet meeting for an end to the demolitions, describing such a policy as inhumane and liable to lead to war crimes charges against Israel in the International Court of Justice.

"I saw on television an old woman picking through the rubble of her house in Rafah, looking for her medicine, and she reminded me of my grandmother who was expelled from her home during the Holocaust," political sources quoted him as saying.

***Update, May 29, 2004***

While linking back to this post from my most recent Israel-related post, became aware that Rueters had removed the story which held lapid's quote. Here is a better piece, anyway, from The Scotsman.