The Jewish Community Needs Brave Leadership

Whether it's the six hostages murdered by Hamas earlier this month, the despair the families of the hostages, along with so many Israelis feel under the rule of Netanyahu, the increasing violence in the occupied West Bank, or the continued devastation in Gaza - there is no shortage of heartbreak, of news that feels almost incomprehensible.

Given this, it's easy to get sucked into despair and sadness over the latest horrific news item, or anger over increasingly divisive and partisan discourse that so often wholly erases the humanity of either "side" to score points.

It feels insurmountable to think about a better way forward, a different way to imagine the future, but it is exactly because this all feels so heavy that we must think about the day-after, and about a radically different future now.

Even in the early days of the war with Hamas, many warned about Israel's messianic right-wing's desire to re-occupy Gaza. Many respected commentators were quick to disagree, and point out that there is no advantage to Israel re-occupying Gaza, that even a maniacal Bibi Netanyahu would not want that. Yet, as Netanyahu doubles down on his insistence of continued IDF presence along the Philadelphi Corridor, it is becoming clearer that if there is any vision at all for the future coming from this current Israeli government, it indeed does involve the re-occupation of Gaza.

This doesn't necessarily mean that Netanyahu is personally ideologically aligned with the more messianic fringe in his government, but it does mean, at the very least, that that same messianic fringe can, and is, taking advantage of Netanyahu's thirst for lasting power to back him into a corner that accomplishes their goals in exchange for his power.

If the past 11 months have taught us anything, it is that there really is no limit to the lows to which Netanyahu will sink, there is no promise or value he won't abandon in order to maintain power - including leaving the hostages languishing in Gaza.

Since this Netanyahu government was elected, we have been warning of their extremism, that when extremists tell you who they are, you ought to believe them.

That continues to remain true, perhaps truer than ever and it is why we must ramp up our work and provide a clear, strong antidote and opposition to this vision of Israel that occupies another people while sacrificing it's own.

Perhaps it is true that, following the horrific Hamas terror attacks on October 7, many Israelis and many supporters of Israel in the diaspora cannot fathom a two-state solution, cannot fathom how one could make peace following such a devastating attack.

But the role of leaders is not to succumb to the fears of their people, and it is even less so to play into and elevate those fears, which Netanyahu has been doing long before October 7, and for almost the entirety of his rule lasting over a decade.

It is the hardest place for Israeli and diaspora Jewish leadership to find itself in right now - to bravely lead toward a drastically different future, to hold the very real and legitimate fears that many feel but also show how giving into these fears will only lead to further war, insecurity, and pain.

Labour MK Naama Lazimi did this in the Knesset this week, as she spoke out forcefully against the annexation happening in the occupied West Bank under the cover of the war in Gaza.

Lazimi tied Smotrich's plan directly to the war, stating, "During the war, Smotrich is moving authority from the Civil Administration to the Settlement Administration… these are all huge steps on the way to annexing the West Bank. This is why we don’t have a hostage deal. For their messianic vision, they are sacrificing hostages.”

The real fear is what may become of Israel if Smotrich and his cronies get their way. The real fear is what could happen if we don't bravely stand up to fight for an alternative. The real fear is that ceding the future to an extreme, authoritarian, right-wing because we feel that "now is not the time" to push back guarantees that there will never be a time again to fight for the just future Israelis and Palestinians deserve.

That's why, on October 6, we're coming together with our friends at New Israel Fund of Canada and Canadian Friends of Peace Now, and many others in the progressive Canadian Jewish community to both hold onto our pain as we ready ourselves to mark one year since October 7, but to also imagine a radically different future, and choose to fight for peace not in spite of this pain, but because of it. Because we know it's only through a different future that we can avoid such pain, fear, and insecurity again.

In planning this event, many leaders in the community have been hesitant to join us or engage in this conversation at this time. We know it's not easy, we know that many are concerned about endorsing any message that talks about peace or two states at this time.

But that is what being a leader is - taking the scary but necessary steps to lead toward the future we want to see. 

We will continue to do this work, especially at this time, because what's at stake for Israelis, Palestinians, and all who care about these two nations, and this region, is far more important than what some may say, or who may push back.

And we're not alone - over the next few weeks, we'll be announcing the guests joining us for this event - brave Israelis, Palestinians, Canadian Jews, Muslims, and many others who are with us in this fight, and understand just how high the stakes are right now.

Through our pain, we fight for peace. Through our despair, we cling to hope. And together, we'll build the future we all want to see - because there is no other choice.