Syria: A Lose- Lose Situation

For the past two years we have watched the civil war in Syria spiral into more and more human tragedy. As we go to press the death toll stands at 90,000 (more by some estimates) and our government has announced that Assad has crossed the “red line” as solid evidence mounts that he has used chemical weapons on the rebels. For many of us it is very hard to be concerned- Syria is an enemy of Israel- so we take some solace in the fact that our enemies are on a course of self-destruction. Our solace will be very short lived if we only take a look at the bigger picture. I would like to offer some thoughts about why you, an American Jew, should be concerned about Syria.

First, as a human being, you should be concerned about the loss of human life. There is nothing more precious than a single human life no matter what his or her religion or politics. To tolerate a government that murders its citizens with chemicals is wrong- the world should react quickly and strongly to end Assad’s rule. He has joined the ranks of Hitler and Stalin by killing his own people and ignoring the international consensus that chemical warfare is immoral. Although it is not something that I say or write lightly, I hope that America will lead the way in helping the rebels defend themselves.  I also recognize that that too is a lose-lose situation because of another reality.

Everyone who calls himself a friend of Israel should be concerned about the civil war in Syria. We cannot just stand back and watch with the “let them kill themselves” attitude. If the lessons of the so-called “Arab spring” have taught us anything it should warn us to be careful about what we wish for – the Arab spring brought groups into power that are filled with more hate than the governments that fell. It seems as if the Middle East is on a non-stop course from bad to worse. Do not believe the naiveté of those who speak about democracy and freedom in the Arab world- that is a dream that will never happen. Assad has been a constant threat to Israel but there are many indications that a rebel-lead government would be even worse. Again a catch 22 – do we hope that Assad will survive the challenge because he is a known quantity? Do we just sit back and hope that a new regime won’t be “that much worse?”

Many Americans have grown war-weary. In retrospect we see that Iraq was a mistake. We see that Afghanistan is a fiasco only waiting to get worse. We are bitter about the loss of so many American lives that, in the view of many, will have been for nothing. We are also bitter about the economics of war- millions of dollars spent fighting wars and helping other countries at a time in which our own country and our own people are in desperate trouble. The money keeps getting printed. People make less. Everything costs more. Against that background it is very hard for many of us to really worry about a civil war in a country that most Americans could not find on a map. Again a lose-lose situation. It is a little too late to become isolationists but it is also a little too late to continue to believe that America can police the entire globe.

Bottom line? We will have to take a terrible gamble- to leave Assad in power is an insult to humanity. The world has to have a shared voice and take a shared action against every regime that murders its own people- it is a moral obligation. We must make the loss a power an immediate threat to any government that sanctions murder. It is the only way we have of protecting humanity against the tyranny of self-appointed rulers. We also have the obligation to be alert – there is no promise that the new bully on the block won’t be worse that his predecessor.

Getting To Know You




When I speak to veterans of World War II there is one story that seems to be repeated all the time- boot camp. The young Jewish draftee is dumped in some camp in a place that he never heard of and finds his way to the barracks filled with soldiers who had never met a Jew before. You know the rest of the story—the young Jewish draftee is asked to show his horns! As crazy as it sounds to us I know those stories are true and, yes, the other soldiers really did expect to see horns.

If anything positive came of such encounters I hope it was a barrack filled with men who learned that Jews do not have horns and, in fact, are just like them in so many ways. It was a reciprocal education- many young Jews learned to live out in the “goyisha velt” and many non-Jews learned that all the stereotypes they had heard were not true. I believe it was a positive encounter. I have always believed that anti-Semitism is bred by ignorance. People will believe almost anything about someone they don’t know. As a rabbi I feel it is a real mitzvah any time I can teach a non-Jew about our religion.

It seems strange but these veterans’ stories came to my mind as I read about a recent vote in the Israeli Knesset. No, not a story about Israelis and Palestinians getting to know each other but about Israelis getting to know each other. Last week a bill was passed that requires young Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) men to be drafted into the Army at age 21. Until now that community had been exempt from service. Needless to say, this has caused much bitterness from those who serve. This move is not a done deal- religious political leaders are still threatening to pull their votes from the coalition government and, as written, the law does not take effect for four years.

There will be much more political fallout to come and no one knows what will happen but I believe there could be one very beneficial effect- by serving in the IDF religious and secular Israelis will be forced to live together and to get to know each other. These two worlds exist side by side in Israel- the secular and the Orthodox. They live in physical proximity but they live in different worlds. This creates a wall that very few ever bother to scale. It only creates hatred and mistrust in both communities

There are several truths that stand behind this new bill. Israel needs a standing army- universal service is not an option it is an unfortunate necessity. Until the burden of protecting Medinat Yisrael is shared equally by all, such service will remain a point of friction and resentment. I know that the Haredim have their own reasons for not wanting to serve in the military but I believe their service and the interaction that it will foster could go a long way toward uniting two parts of Israeli society that have been and remain total strangers to each other. It will be a bitter medicine to many but I believe the patient will be healthier and stronger in the end.