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Mercy for Justice

Critical Considerations

A monthly series of in-depth, curated articles exploring Mercy's Critical Concerns and their intersection with current events and the work of justice.

The challenge Gaza war presents for American Jews

February 2024 – In a recent article posted on the TomDispatch website, journalist and former New York Times sportswriter Robert Lipsyte reflects on what it means to be an American Jew in light of the war now raging between the State of Israel and Hamas. He notes that being a Jew, even a secular one like himself, “entailed certain responsibilities. A people who had suffered so much yet survived were obligated, if not honored, to serve as witnesses and supporters of other oppressed people and to live in the public interest, to model ethical lives.”

Lipsyte grew up in a predominantly Jewish neighborhood in Queens, New York, where relationships between Eastern European and German Jews were often strained.  He struggled with religion, anti-Semitism, and a bout with cancer.

His reflections provide valuable insights into the complex relationship between American Jews and the State of Israel. He recognizes the tension between the Jewish need for a security in light of their history of persecution and the injustice toward Palestinians which is the hallmark of the current State of Israel.

He closes by saying “How can we use the “ethical monotheism” of Judaism to find common ground and a country for each? We don’t have that answer and don’t even know if it’s possible, but at least we should know what the only true goal is: to end the present horror. And that would be good for the Jews, with or without God.”