Weekly On-line Rabbi's D'var-Torah
September 5, 2024
2 Elul 5784
Parashat Shoftim
It was early last Sunday morning when the IDF recovered the bodies of six murdered hostages. It was a gut punch to all of us who had allowed ourselves to believe that they would make it home alive. In particular, many of us had felt a connection with Hersh Goldberg-Polin—in part because he was born here in the US and in part because of the strength and eloquence of his parents who spoke at the Israel March in Washington DC and at the Democratic National Convention.
Later that day, the Secretary General of the United Nations Antonio Gutierrez issued a statement on X (a/k/a Twitter): “I will never forget my meeting last October with the parents of Hersh Goldberg-Polin and other hostage families. Today's tragic news is a devastating reminder of the need for the unconditional release of all hostages and an end to the nightmare of war in Gaza.”
He did not mention that Hersh and the five other hostages had been murdered. He did not mention who was responsible for their deaths. He did not mention that it was a violation of international law. It was only after an urgent request by Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon that the UN Security Council agreed to convene a meeting to discuss these six murders.
It is yet one more example of the anti-Israel bias that has infected the UN virtually from the time that Israel was established. Mr. Gutierrez cannot speak about Israel’s war effort without mentioning international law and the number of Palestinian deaths. Yet, he could not say a word in condemnation of Hamas—widely recognized by UN member states (including the US!) as a terrorist organization. The anti-Israel bias is so pervasive that the UN will never be able to cure itself. It will require someone from the outside to improve the situation.
It is a strange coincidence that this happened as Jews around the world are reading the Torah portion of “Shoftim” which means “Judges.” It begins with these words, which were spoken by Moses to the Israelites: “You shall appoint judges and officials for your tribes, in all the settlements that Adonai your God is giving you, and they shall govern the people with due justice (Deuteronomy 16:18).”
These judges and officials were in addition to the religious leaders (i.e., the Kohens and the Levis). Religious leaders could focus on rituals and customs. These judges would focus on justice. It was too much to expect the religious leaders to take on the burden of adjudicating cases in addition to their ritual responsibilities.
In addition, just two verses later, we read one of the best-known verses in the entire Hebrew Bible—“Justice, justice you shall pursue.” In response to this commandment, Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel wrote: “The term ‘pursue’ carries strong connotations of effort, eagerness. This implies more than merely respecting or following justice.” Justice doesn’t just happen. We have to do something in order to make it happen.
At the UN, it will take the efforts of many to effect any changes. It certainly won’t happen on Antonio Gutierrez’s watch.
Shalom,
RAF.
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