Open Letter to Josh Broomberg

Anthony Reich

 Dear Josh,

You have managed to get yourself into a very unfortunate set of circumstances. How can you honestly state that you did not intend to create an uproar or to offend or upset? How can you say that “it was not about politics, or about states”? Your apology, based as it is on this absurd statement, is extremely difficult to accept.

What did you think could be interpreted from a boy posing as a representative of KDVP, with a Palestinian scarf draped around his neck? If you are sincere about standing with humanity, you have numerous other ways to do so. By choosing this particular “humanitarian” gesture, you are clearly making a statement which is highly charged and highly political. Perhaps it would be more honest for you to acknowledge that taking a political stand of this nature was a big mistake on your part. As a former South African living in Israel for the past 16 years, I believe that there are a few important points that you may wish to consider about the conflict between Israel and the Arabs who now call themselves Palestinians. It may surprise you to learn that most Israelis have a great deal of sympathy for the innocent Palestinian civilians, who are probably the greatest victims of this conflict. Despite this fact, you will not find them parading with Palestinian scarves around their necks. Doing so demonstrates support for the political cause and for the Palestinian leadership, rather than for the humanitarian difficulties experienced by innocent civilians. Support for the politicians and their cause is the position that you are clearly taking by your actions. We pity the Palestinians because of the way in which their own leadership treats them. Whereas the Israeli civilians under fire have a government and an army that make every effort to protect them wherever possible, the Palestinians do not. Not only does their leadership not take any action to protect them at all, their leadership actually uses them against Israel. This is because they know that Israelis care more about the Palestinian children than they do. They know that Israeli pilots will rather not release a bomb from their plane if they know that it risks injuring innocent people. The fact that this decision could cost Israeli lives in the future due to the rocket launch site being used again to launch further missiles, does not enter into their immediate consideration. Where is your protest against the lack of humanity shown by the Palestinian leaders against their own people? Where is your acknowledgement of the IDF field hospital

that has been set up on the Gaza border to treat Palestinians injured in the conflict? Where is your protest against the fact that their leaders are preventing them from taking advantage of this treatment, but also not offering alternative methods of treatment? Although we have infinite sympathy for the innocent civilians, we do not feel the same for their leadership. These are individuals who feel no qualms about allowing their own children to be strapped with explosives in the name of being martyred. If this is how they treat their own children, how can we expect them to respond to ours? Whereas they rejoice in the fact that their children have been martyred for the cause, we grieve for each and every Jewish life lost. Whereas they spend all their foreign aid on building an infrastructure to attack and destroy Israel, even if this means that their children go hungry, we spend our money on building bomb shelters and developing the Iron Dome so that our children will be safe and sound. Whereas we think twice and three times before taking action that could hurt their innocent civilians, they throw their children in the path of our bombs to gain world sympathy and PR advantage. And they fire their missiles aimlessly into the centres of Israel’s most densely populated civilian areas. These are facts that have been proven on more than one occasion. Whereas we are prepared to take a risk in order to allow them the opportunity to prove that they are sincere about the “two states for two peoples” concept, they use every opportunity to destroy us so that they can have all the land, Jew-free, for themselves. Please do not be fooled into believing that this is about the “occupation”. This is about the future existence of a Jewish homeland. The words in the charter of the PLO and in the Hamas charter, stating that their objective is to completely destroy the State of Israel seem blatant enough. If they are not, the events in Gaza over the past 9 years should be clear enough for those who are interested to listen. We all know that the Palestinians only arose and claimed the West Bank and Gaza as a Palestinian homeland after Israel captured these territories in the Six Day War of 1967. Until Israel had possession of this land, there was never a reason for them to lay claim to it. When the Israeli government turned Gaza over to them on a silver platter in 2005, we all hoped that times had changed and that they would use the opportunity to build on the two states for two peoples. Instead of grabbing the chance to really build a state and a future for their people, they have spent millions of dollars and 9 years to build an infrastructure that is designed to attack and destroy Israel. In wars and conflicts, you cannot support both sides. You cannot bat for both teams. At best, you can be a disinterested, objective bystander that takes neither one side nor the other. More likely, you will take the side of one of the parties in the conflict. When taking a stand, you are by definition in opposition to the second party to the conflict. Despite your nice words about believing in Israel’s right to exist and her right to defend herself, you chose to don a Palestinian scarf at a time of war in Gaza. You cannot sympathise with Israel, and appear with a Palestinian scarf around your neck at the same time. Your actions speak much louder than your words. When it came to making a public statement, you chose the Palestinians at the expense of Israel. Why do you feel that it is acceptable to say that your “sympathy also lies with innocent Israelis exposed to threat at the hands of terrorists”? Why does your sympathy not lie primarily with innocent Israelis, who have taken the risk time after time to search for the elusive path to peace in our land? After all, these are your people. These are the people who will look after you in the event that you may, G-d forbid, find yourself in serious trouble. When you turn up at Ben-Gurion airport with your parents’ ketuba in your hand asking for citizenship of the Jewish homeland, they will not remember that you appeared in public with a Palestinian scarf. You will be welcomed home to your ancestral homeland like all other Jews. The Palestinians, for whom you stood up so brazenly in public, will also conveniently forget your scarf when they are searching for Jews to annihilate in the search for their version of the “final solution”.

Remember that, like you, the vast majority of Israelis seek peace and not war. Unfortunately, this is a war that we are forced to fight, rather than doing so by choice. Even when forced into something against our will, our new type of Jew does not shy away from this challenge. We are brave and willing to do all that is needed to protect ourselves. We are determined to succeed. Your actions insult thousands of young men and women of the IDF (including my own sons) who go out of their way to fight a war in the most humane and humanitarian way possible, and whose actions give you the freedom to be a Jew representing your country in debating competitions in safety around the world. You are most fortunate to have been born into a world that has a Jewish homeland. I feel sure that your grandparents and great-grandparents would have wished to do all that they can to make you understand what it was like to live in world without one. This privilege that you have, is also the one that allows you to live in relative safety and security as a Jew in your bubble in Victory Park. It allows you to have a comfortable life in the knowledge that you have somewhere to fall back to in the event of any emergency. Beware of taking this for granted. Anti-Semitism is ever prevalent around the world. The only force that prevents anti-Semites from destroying the Jews as they tried to do during the Shoah, is the State of Israel. My recommendation to you is to appreciate, value and protect this huge asset. Be grateful to those who are prepared to risk and to give their lives in the interests of ensuring that our Jewish homeland continues to exist, and continues to strengthen. Do not be misled and misguided by those in the international press who confuse you into protecting our enemies at the expense of our Jewish state. Her actions are not always perfect, and there is a great deal that you can criticise. But nobody is perfect and no country is perfect. If you search for faults, you will surely find them. But be grateful and proud for the wonderful things that have been achieved, and for the way in which Israel gives all Jews around the world the backing to live as proud Jews wherever they are. Israel will always protect you, and will give you much to be proud about. Try to envisage for a moment what would happen if Israel unilaterally laid down its arms today, and refused to fire another bullet or missile. Now try to envisage what would happen if the Palestinians did the same thing. Which situation do you think is most likely to lead to peaceful coexistence between the parties? I cannot hide the shame and anger that I felt in seeing you grab your five minutes of fame with that scarf around your neck. You have shamed yourself, your family, your school and your community in my eyes, and in the eyes of many others. You have misused your position in an unforgivable way. I hope that, one day, you will have the huge honour to experience life as Jew in Israel, and will be able to understand the error of your ways. Only when living here can you really understand the significance of what you have done. I never wish you to lose your sympathy and support for the weak. This is a characteristic that Jews have, and should be proud of. But this should not be confused with the insult that you have dished out to Israel and her people by your actions at this time.

Shame on you.
Regards Anthony Reich