The war between Hamas and Israel drags on, with Hamas yet again rejecting the cease fire proposed by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. But this post isn’t about ascribing blame, it’s about the increasingly difficult challenge of talking about the Middle East in any way that doesn’t focus on just that – on winning the blame game, as opposed to allowing the safety we have here in America to encourage conversation that might actually make a positive difference, whether our passion is for Israel or for Gaza. And based on a recent Daily Show sketch, Jon Stewart shares my concern.
His commentary reminds us that so often, when we talk about contentious issues, we are actually talking about so much more. For many Jews, for example, discussion relating to Israel isn’t only about Israel. It’s about their own Jewish identities, Jewish identity in general, the fear of losing touch with sacred traditions, etc. That’s an awful lot of baggage to carry into a conversation.
The same can be said for many supporters of Hamas and Gaza. That may be the overt topic, but their responses are driven at least as much by a deep sense of historic victimhood, identities that are nurtured more by resistance than by achievement, etc. than they are by the facts of the situation at hand. Again, a great deal of baggage to carry into an already weighty topic.
With so much baggage, perhaps it’s time to call for a bell hop! Seriously, unless we are prepared to mindfully limit the scope of these conversations, the amount of baggage we bring to them, more and more of those with something constructive to say – something which could actually be heard by those who may not already agree with them – will simply walk away from the whole topic, leaving the conversations to those who shriek the loudest while saying the least.
Of course, this challenge is not only relevant to the war in Israel and Gaza. It’s killing intelligent, meaningful conversation about virtually every divisive issue we face, from the Middle East to immigration, and from abortion to same-sex marriage. It’s present in our debates about Obama-care and taxation, driving progressives and Tea Party’ers to increasingly fanatic positions.
So ask yourself as you form opinions about any of these topics, what’s really driving you? What larger fears, resentments, and concerns are really driving you? At the very least be honest with yourself and others about that, and then maybe, we actually will be able to talk about Israel and Gaza, or any other issue that we know needs to be a whole lot better than it currently is.
Listed for many years in Newsweek as one of America’s “50 Most Influential Rabbis” and recognized as one of our nation’s leading “Preachers and Teachers,” by Beliefnet.com, Rabbi Brad Hirschfield serves as the President of Clal–The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership, a training institute, think tank, and resource center nurturing religious and intellectual pluralism within the Jewish community, and the wider world, preparing people to meet the biggest challenges we face in our increasingly polarized world.
An ordained Orthodox rabbi who studied for his PhD and taught at The Jewish Theological Seminary, he has also taught the University of Pennsylvania, where he directs an ongoing seminar, and American Jewish University. Rabbi Brad regularly teaches and consults for the US Army and United States Department of Defense, religious organizations — Jewish and Christian — including United Seminary (Methodist), Yeshivat Chovevei Torah (Modern Orthodox) Luther Seminary (Lutheran), and The Jewish Theological Seminary (Conservative) — civic organizations including No Labels, Odyssey Impact, and The Aspen Institute, numerous Jewish Federations, and a variety of communal and family foundations.
Hirschfield is the author and editor of numerous books, including You Don’t Have To Be Wrong For Me To Be Right: Finding Faith Without Fanaticism, writes a column for Religion News Service, and appears regularly on TV and radio in outlets ranging from The Washington Post to Fox News Channel. He is also the founder of the Stand and See Fellowship, which brings hundreds of Christian religious leaders to Israel, preparing them to address the increasing polarization around Middle East issues — and really all currently polarizing issues at home and abroad — with six words, “It’s more complicated than we know.”