A Light Unto the Nations

The tumultuous events in Israel over the past week have been agonizing for most Jews to watch. Whether pro or anti disengagement, the sights being broadcast as soldiers and settlers struggled with each other were too much to bear. Most of us had to turn our tear-filled eyes away from the screen. Jews from all over the world expressed feelings of anguish upon viewing these images. Whether left or right, orange or blue, we were united in this tragedy.

The newspapers flashed headlines proclaiming "Jew vs. Jew showdown," and "Jew vs. Jew violence." News reporters repeatedly commented, "In Gaza it's Jew against Jew" and "I never thought I would see this in a synagogue," their words a stab in the collective Jewish heart. Yet, in retrospect, those heartbreaking scenes did not match the typical visuals one conjures upon hearing such bold statements.

As one article ironically described it, "Violent protests quickly erupted, with officers and residents pushing each other." Since when is violence equated with pushing? Even the pullout from Sa-Nur and Homesh in the West Bank, heralded to be "the most violent phase of the Israeli pullout" was met with "surprisingly mild resistance for the most part." Was it really the discordant confrontation the world was warned about?

Although the media tends to sensationalize the news reports, when all was said and done not one Jewish citizen or soldier was critically hurt. Given that both settlers and soldiers were forced into a situation beyond their control, most heeded the warnings from their leaders against striking another Jew. Except for scuffles with the police and handfuls of sand and oil thrown, there was no serious physical harm inflicted from one side upon the other. What other nation in the world, if its government decided to forcefully uproot its own citizens from their homes, would come away from such an operation without a single life lost? Where else would soldiers walk into a building full of protesters without a single weapon? What other people would be hugging each other and crying as one dragged the other from his home? Where else would the evacuators join in a ceremony celebrating a Brit with a family who would the next day become their evacuees?

Before Isaac blessed Jacob, he felt his hands; finding them to be hairy like those of his other son, Esau, Isaac wondered out loud: "The hands are the hands of Esau, but the voice is the voice of Jacob" (Genesis 27:22). Our Sages comment that Isaac' swords expresses a profound truth about the Jewish people. There is no such thing as Jewish Jihad. We fight with our voices in prayers beseeching G-d. As witnessed time and again, in a show of protest, the Jews of Gaza prayed, sang and wept, and the police and soldiers prayed with them and waited for them to conclude their final services. In strict adherence to their rabbis' advice and following through on promises that "no one will lift a hand against soldiers" and "we will not physically harm anyone," the settlers and nearly all of the others who joined them in solidarity, put up a mostly symbolic resistance and waited to be dragged out in defiance and protest.

In countless reports speculating what the pullout would be like, experts predicted killings and suicides, G-d forbid, similar to the Waco incident on April 19, 1993 when 74 people were killed or the 1992 Ruby Ridge incident when two citizens and a federal marshal were shot dead. Yet in Israel none of this came to pass. 15,000 men, women and children were forcefully removed from 25 towns and villages, without a single fatality or serious injury. There was no shortage of arms accessible to both sides of the conflict, yet they were not used. Ultimately, both sides knew, deep in their hearts, that they would not be used, because we have a Torah that guides our every step in life and dictates proper behavior to be conducted under the most difficult circumstances and in the most trying situations.

The Talmud (Yevamot 79a) states that the Jewish people are innately created with three characteristics: to be merciful, bashful and kind. Thus, in spite of our well-documented stubbornness the three good qualities will always shine through. This week the world learned a great lesson, irrespective of the outcome of the disengagement. There can be disagreement, even pulling, kicking and screaming, yet the kindness and goodness of G-d's people guided by our holy Torah will come out on top. During one of the "worst" protests on the roof of a Shul I saw a young teenaged boy clinging and hugging the officer who was shouting through his bullhorn while gently stroking the boy's head. How lucky is our lot as Jews, that even in our most troubled times we serve as a light unto the nations.