Last week I looked
into buying tickets to a Dolphins game in the fall. I was flabbergasted to discover that it would
cost us about $90 a person for mediocre seats in the Robbie, Pro Player, Landshark
Sunlight Stadium; without parking! How
do families afford to go to the game?
What does one get for their $90?
A very hot seat in the sun stroke, nose bleed section. It just isn’t fair!
For the last several
weeks Israel had been scolded by the world and in the media for “bombarding”
Hamas with firepower in Gaza. There have
been scores of protests against Israel, a concerning increase in Anti-Semitic
acts around the world and a barrage of ignorant comments by public figures
(whoops, did I say ignorant? I meant
uninformed of course) Hamas has ignored most attempts at ceasefire negotiations
and there is documented proof that they use innocent civilians to build human shields
of protection, however, Israel continues to be in the wrong. Her offense?
Disproportionate response.
I fail to see the
problem with Israel’s actions. Am I
bias? Proudly yes, but I teach my
students that it is important to understand all sides of an issue and I want to
set a good example, so I set out on a journey for answers. I searched for two things: What is a
proportionate response; and what do “they” think Israel should be doing
differently or better.
What I learned is
that there is no such thing as a proportionate response; big
surprise! Synonyms for proportionate are “comparable”, “equivalent”,
“balanced” and “fair” Parents & teachers, myself included teach kids that
life is not always fair. Sometimes the
bully or the bad guys win; Javier Bardem & Penelope Cruz fetch between 4-7
million a film; My Internet service never works right; most extremists &
racists grew up in households where bigotry was celebrated; people who are too
thin can’t gain weight and people who are too fat can’t lose weight; war
veterans and retired soldiers have trouble getting jobs; and I could spend a
week on that $90 seat for a Dolphin’s game from how much the players make to
how much a bottle of water costs. I have a few suggested proportionate responses
of my own share. While you are reading
them, think about planning a protest or rally with me to advocate for
them-Ok?
- · People who text and drive should lose their right to have a cellphone and a car; they can only handle one or the other.
- · People convicted for vehicular manslaughter should have to be live organ donors and recruit 50 others to do the same.
- · Parents who break the rules in school carpool line should have to wear a sandwich sign during carpool hours for one week which says “I will stop teaching my children that rules do not apply to us” and then run carpool line for the second week.
- · Cheating on your spouse should effect the cheater’s credit negatively for 7 years.
- · Unethical kosher food venders who raise the prices before Rosh Hashanah & Pesach should have to give double ma’aser (tithing/an extra 10% of their earnings) to people in need.
Are you
laughing? They’re not meant to be
funny. You don’t think we could put
together a rally or protest? Why
not? Aren’t they “proportionate
responses”? People don’t feel passionate
about them? Wouldn’t it be great to make
a drunk driver who kills someone have to donate a kidney and maybe a piece of
his liver (if it isn’t diseased) to save someone’s life? Why do we let people who endanger lives to
continue to keep their weapons- like their cellphone? Why doesn’t the media and public figures
spend some time on these issues? Just
asking.
As far as what “they”
think Israel should or could be doing differently, the answer is….it all
depends”. It depends on who you ask and
how you define “they”. Anyone who said or says that Israel should do
nothing is living in La La Land. Israel
has essentially been doing nothing for years and allowing Hamas to terrorize Southern
Israel. To “them” I say wake up and pay
better attention or return those progressive lenses someone sold you. Anyone who feels that Israel should try
harder to peacefully negotiate with the Palestinians should look closer at the
objectives of Tzuk Eitan. Israel cannot
get to the Palestinians without getting past the terrorists; and with all due
respect, who put those terrorist on the front line? Did Hamas terrorize the Palestinians into “democratically”
putting them into power? Probably. So tell that story to someone who can help
you to get them out of your way and show Israel some good faith. Has that happened? No, so we are left to
believe that the Gazians are ok with Hamas in power and we are forced to
neutralize them. To those who say that
the Gazians are the innocent victims of both sides, I say- SERIOUSLY? Do you really believe that Hamas was
successful in constructing all of those strategically well-built tunnels by
themselves or without the Palestinian authority knowing? REALLY?
Are there innocent Palestinians who just want to work, raise a family
and have a normal life? I am sure there
are and I do feel empathy for them, but the pendulum swings in both
directions. I have friends in Netivot
and family in Omer and Beersheva. They
also want to work, raise and family and have a life. Are there almost 100 innocent families who
have lost their sons & daughters before they ever had a chance to work,
have children and have a life? They are
my concern. Israel is responsible for
their safety, and frankly, no one else’s.
So it isn’t fair
that we are not going to see the Dolphins play the Cowboys and it isn’t fair
that 3 seconds after the end of a 72 hour “ceasefire” Hamas was at it again-
raining missiles on my friends and family in Southern Israel. It isn’t fair that I don’t have a
proportionate response, because there isn’t any…..it just is what it is.
This is Shabbat Nachamu. It is the beginning of a series of Haftorot leading up to Rosh Hashana. It is a time when we are being consoled after the destruction of the Temple and are given reassurance that it will be built again. At that time we will have God to proportionately respond. For now……Shabbat Shalom.
