Singing For Peace in Israel
The Jerusalem Youth Choir at the Chicago Cultural Center
Last week, we saw the Jerusalem Youth Choir perform in one of Chicago’s most beautiful buildings.
In songs and stories, we heard from Muslim teenagers whose friends were killed and Jewish teenagers whose families survived being forced out of other countries. They sang in English and Hebrew and Arabic, and there was much enthusiastic rapping (Perhaps it’s just my age, but I cannot understand rap in any language).
Last week, in contrast with the good folks trying to build bridges, like everyone involved in the Jerusalem Youth Choir program, I also received a hate-filled response from a person (or troll, hard to say) who claims to hold a DPhil in something or other but speaks in Iranian talking points. Here are my responses to four of the Professor of Hate-Studies’ many spurious claims:
1. “There is no Jewish DNA.”
My response: Judaism is not defined on a molecular level except by those who want to label us by race, like the Nazis. Chromosomal studies, however, have indicated a close connection between Ashkenazi (Eastern European) Jews and Middle Eastern Jews. Neither of these things affect our definition of who is a Jew. The question of Jewish identity is complex, but most of us agree that non-Jews do not get to define us, no matter how many degrees they claim to hold.
2. “The Palestinians are not Arabs. Genetically, they are the descendants of the Israelites.”
My response: Some Palestinians might be descended from Canaanites or Phoenicians, but many have last names derived from the names of cities in neighboring Arab countries. There is an entire group of Arabs whose ancestors were forcibly converted Jews, but that only matters to those like The Professor of Jew-Hatred, who twist history to delegitimize an entire people. As I’ve said before, he’s not the first and he won’t be the last to attempt to erase us. Many of those who tried (listed in the Bible) don’t exist anymore (Hello, Roman Empire), but we’re still here.
3. “If your family had been murdered by European Jewish terrorists, their land stolen and their houses squatted, and then you had been hunted and been the subject of assassination attempts, I doubt you would be particularly sympathetic to these terrorists or all their phoney ju-ju about being Israelites and “God’s Chosen”, which hardly legitimates murdering Palestinian families and stealing their houses in any event.”
My response: My family members were murdered in Europe by Jew-haters like those with whom the Hateful Professor sides. My family members were murdered by Arab terrorists who attacked Israel over and over, with armies bent on killing Jews and expelling them as they were expelled from EVERY SINGLE OTHER MUSLIM COUNTRY. In Israel, Muslim terrorists blew up buses, schools, and nightclubs, threw rocks at drivers, snuck into homes and slashed throats. Palestinian leaders continuously passed up offers of land for peace, clear about not wishing to compromise or share the land with Jews.
Judaism was formed in that land Israel over 3,000 years ago, with proof found in archeology, art, and written history. Although Islam didn’t appear until the 7th century, “No other people are mentioned in the Qurʾān as often as the people of Israel. They appear in sixteen sūrahs and approximately forty verses by name (banū Isrāʾīl).”
How do Anti-Zionists explain that?
Do they know that the Romans changed the name of Israel to Philistina? It’s hard to keep up with all the misinformation and lies by people like Herr Hateful, DPhil.
On a sidenote, being chosen means following a set of commandments, adhering to specific principles, living with intention. Jew-haters solely blame Israel for its retaliation for a barbaric massacre by those who since October 7, 2023, still hold innocent hostages (not to be confused with convicted murderers in Israeli jails). We Jews are enjoined to redeem our captives, and we’re not going to stop trying. Let my people go.
Not all of us commit or observe in the same way, and not all of us hold Judaism close to our hearts, but we are united against those, like The Jew Hating Professor, who spew misinformation and “phony ju-ju” about who we are.
4. Maybe you should, for once, consider how Palestinians actually feel being hunted down like animals for 80 years in such a cruel and barbaric way.
Hunted down like animals? That’s a bit of a mistatement considering that terrorists have a tendency to go into hiding after they kill entire families or stab old people on the street. Is there any country that allows murderers and terrorists to get away with their crimes?
Are you aware of the terrorist attacks going back decades, the rockets and drones, the continuous attempts to murder innocent children and people riding the bus, the hundreds of attempts to destroy Israel? Did you know that Hamas smuggled in enough materials to build 400 miles of tunnels, an armory of weapons, rockets, and launch pads, but not a single bomb shelter to protect innocent Gazans?
Do you know how many times Palestinian leaders rejected peace? There are right wingers in Israel who don’t want peace either and who have behaved shamefully in disputed territories. Perhaps we can agree that the extremists on both sides are responsible for the ongoing cycle of violence.
The haters, like the Confused-About-History-Professor, are calling for the destruction of Israel and the genocide of Jews. The rest of the world is pushing for compromise — does anyone remember how close Saudi Arabia was to forming an alliance with Israel on October 6th? The haters didn’t want to let that happen.
I know of many, both Muslims and Jews, in Israel and around the world, who are working to find common ground despite the years of conflict. They come from different backgrounds and cities, but they’re united in their desire to find a better way than terror attacks and retaliation followed by more of the same.
Kudos to all those who support the Jerusalem Youth Choir!
The kids sang about peace and unity and friendship. Their harmonies were gorgeous — way more sophisticated than you’d expect from high schoolers (who like teenagers everywhere, high-fived each other after solos and hugged after the performance). I cried when they sang Bridge Over Troubled Water (Paul Simon) alongside a fantastic group from Uniting Voices (formerly known as the Chicago Children’s Choir), and Home (Phillip Phillips), the song they performed so beautifully on America’s Got Talent.
These kids want what everyone should want. A home where they can grow up without war and rockets, fighting and hatred. Can’t the adults do something about it?
P.S. May those hurt last week in Hezbollah’s rocket attack on a football pitch in Majdal Shams (Golan Heights) have a full and complete recovery, and may the names of the 12 murdered Druze children be remembered as a blessing.
