"Heartbroken"
Seattle resident Natalie Smith's family members were murdered by Hamas. Seven relatives are still missing. Her dream of a peaceful solution is being tested.
Today is the 85th anniversary of Kristallnacht, and the irony is not lost on many of us. Videos of Jews getting assaulted in the streets of Florida and New York; a 69-year-old Jewish man bludgeoned and killed by an activist’s megaphone at a rally in California; windows of a kosher cafe smashed in Houston and London; a mob storming a Russian airport looking for Jews and Israelis; crowds brawling outside the Museum of Tolerance during a screening of Hamas’s atrocities; a young woman in Canada calling a Jewish protester a kike; graffiti in Kirkland, Washington: “from the river to the sea,” and, perversely, “stop murdering babies.”
Anti-Semitism takes a lot of forms. One way it manifests, according to Yossi Klein Halevi, is by blaming Jews for the worst aspects of society at any given time or place. If communism is bad, Jews are communists. If capitalism is bad, Jews are capitalists. If whiteness, colonialism, and success are bad, Jews are rich, white colonizers.
You can see this in action from some of our civic leaders. Here is a line from a recent email from Missouri Rep. Cori Bush:
One of the obstacles in our race is AIPAC, a right-wing PAC that funded over 100 insurrectionist Republicans and is funded by Republican mega donors. AIPAC often targets progressive candidates of color, especially Black progressive women like Cori.
AIPAC is a smear machine. They twist our words, distort truth, and purposely mislead and spread misinformation. They’ve established an infrastructure in which they spend millions of dollars to buy politicians, but you know what: Cori will never be bought off. Her loyalty is to the people.
Spot the tropes: right-wing, ultra-rich Jews lie and cheat and control the narrative to overthrow society. Worst of all: they love to crush powerless people of color. But don’t worry, Cori Bush knows Shylock when she sees him. (Oh and would you please donate to her campaign, by the way?)
There’s also a blood libel going around: the claim that Israel is committing genocide against the Gazans. There is a war, yes. There is an enemy, yes. There are casualties, yes. But there is no genocide. This is simply an activist marketing strategy, just like the way they worked up “white” to mean an identity and “race” to mean power. While Hamas has literally stated in their mission that their goal is to wipe out Jews, Hamas sympathizers on our own soil turn the tables back on Israel and Jewish supporters by equating war with the horrid notion of genocide. No, no, no, “from the river to the sea” doesn’t mean more October sevenths, as Hamas leader Ghazi Hamad said on a Lebanese news station. It doesn’t mean the elimination of a Jewish state. Why would you think this? It really means a pluralistic democracy, just like America, ruled by the will of the people. We just won’t talk about what the people might will.
But this is not Germany and it’s not 1939. Between the moments of fear and wondering if this is the harbinger of the end of Jewish life in America, I’ve seen so much support for Jews and Israel. Never before have I heard from so many people I don’t even know saying how much they care, how they’re praying, how they’re worrying for our safety.
Some of you have asked about how a comprehensive list of rallies and ways to support Israel. I have provided a list in the announcements below and will continue to update it.
Shabbat shalom. Am Yisrael Chai.
Emily
“It’s just so complicated and just so tragic.”
This week, I’m honored to share the story of Natalie Smith, an Israeli-American woman who lost her aunt and uncle in the terrorist attacks on Kibbutz Be’eri. Seven other relatives are still missing and presumed to be in Gaza.
The Cholent: What’s your connection to Seattle and to Kibbutz Be’eri?
Natalie: My dad is American, and he met my mom on Kibbutz Be’eri. Later on, my uncle moved there because he met his girlfriend who was from there. So we have ties to Kibbutz Be’eri from all kinds of directions.
My parents moved back to the States and my dad went to medical school, and then they moved back when I was one year old. I grew up in Israel, and then seven years ago my husband got a job offer from Amazon at the drone project. I went to the master’s program in cultural studies at UW Bothell. I worked as a curator in Israel, both in the private sector and in the Haifa Museum of Art.
Would you mind walking me through what has happened to your family?
There’s a 10 hour difference, so it was Friday night here, around 11 pm, and my brother [who lives here, too] said, “Wow, I’m getting all these insane videos on WhatsApp and Telegram. There’s terrorist invasion in the south part of Israel.”
We have gone into a routine that every summer there’s a round of rockets fired at all these kibbutzes and the south part of Israel. You always text them and see how they’re doing. It’s awful. It’s traumatizing. My aunt is a clinical social worker that has been working with kids with post-trauma from the missile attacks for years. She published this book that helps parents and professionals work with kids with songs and games. So there’s always this routine of, “Hey, how are you guys doing? How are you holding up? We’re thinking about you.” But we know they're in the safe room and it’s going to be okay. This time we called and my uncle didn't answer. Then my aunt texted when I called [and said that ] it’s better to text and not call.
She said they’re hearing gunshots and they’re waiting for the army to come. I asked where my cousins are, I said, “We love you, we’re sorry.” And then I tried again. After 40 minutes, again, “Hey, are you guys still in the safe room?” She never replied. And then we started calling frantically. Her phone was ringing, but there was no answer. My uncle had an autoimmune disease, so he needed close care. He had a Filipino caretaker. He was living with them, and he was also in the safe room, and we know from his wife that at 9:37 he texted that there people who went into their safe room. In another house where my aunt’s sister, her husband, their daughter Dee, her husband Tal, and two kids, 3 and 8, who came for the holiday, all of them are missing, and also my aunt’s sister’s 12 year old daughter. So that's seven other people that are missing. We think they have been kidnapped to Gaza. The body of my aunt's sister’s husband has been identified and buried.
For a while, there was no one that reached out to us from the government. Our family was just left to fend for ourselves, grasping for any kind of lead or information about what happened to our beloved family. Then after I think four days, the army came and told my cousin that there's a high probability that my aunt and uncle were abducted to Gaza. And that started another world full of insanity, because the thought that my uncle who needs medication in order to survive is basically dying and suffering.
We tried to connect with the Red Cross. My aunt and uncle are Italian citizens. We reached out to the embassy, we reached out to foreign press in Italy. We reached out to foreign press here. There wasn’t a stone unturned. After two more days of thinking they were abducted, the police asked for another DNA test, and then we were notified that my uncle is dead. They were able to identify his body. My brother and I got a plane ticket and just flew to Israel from Seattle. While we were sitting shiva after four days, the army came and said they were able to identify my aunt’s body.
The army said that [the others] are currently in Gaza. We still know that there are bodies that are still unidentified. They’re talking about 1,300 casualties. And I read today that only 1,100 are identified. We are thinking that they are there and that is driving us crazy.
I’m so sorry. What do you think should happen now on a practical level?
There’s so many ripples to this crisis and to this human tragedy, right? There’s our very dear and close circle of my uncle and that have been murdered, and we have our own personal kind of grief. And then there’s this constant worry about 240 people who have been kidnapped, their ages ranging from nine months to 85 years.
A lot of them we know are wounded. A lot of them have disabilities. I just feel that every day that they’re not being freed, you know, they might die there. I think the families of the hostages feel that the government is just not doing enough to free them. The agenda is more about collapsing the Hamas regime rather than doing everything and their power to free them. And they were basically just left and forsaken. They weren’t guarded. It took almost eight hours for the army to come.
Do you think a ceasefire is the way to go to get them to get the hostages out at this point?
Yes, for sure. The US government is standing by Israel in terms of financial aid for the war, but I would like to see urgent and immediate diplomatic pressure on having a ceasefire and just taking the hostages out and bringing them safe back home.
And then what do you think would happen? How would you imagine we proceed with this conflict? Like you were saying, this happens every summer. And now here’s this turning point. What do we do now?
I’ve been thinking about this so much, and it’s just so complicated and just so tragic. There have been so many mistakes that have been done by this government, and I hold them at fault for everything that happened. I really don’t know what you can do now. My family, we’re all political activists who have fought all our lives against the occupation of the West Bank and truly believe that it is possible to live peacefully with our neighbors. The fact that they are victims of this conflict and victims of bad decisions or indecisions that were made by our government is heartbreaking. And there’s also so many casualties on the other side of innocent people, which is devastating for us also.
How are you responding emotionally to the reaction here in the States, which is sort of divided between support for Hamas and hard line support of Israel?
Honestly, the word is heartbroken. I think I see myself as being on the far left and being a liberal, and the fact that people can’t just say that what Hamas did is war crimes — hideous, heinous war crimes — on innocent civilians, that it should have never happened and cannot happen in a society. I don't understand how that contradicts innocent people, children, and women and men killed in Gaza. I just don't understand how you can say, “Oh, you need to see this in context. Oh, yeah, well, you know, your family are colonialists who had it coming for them,” or all kinds of things that are just ignorant. They have no idea what they’re talking about. And they’re simplifying this conflict into black and white and good and bad.
The reality, unfortunately, is so much more complex and tragic. Take Jewish Voice for Peace. I totally support a lot of things they have said over the years, and I’m against our occupation. But getting newsletters calling Hamas freedom fighters, or saying “Stop genocide in Gaza” without saying anything about the hostages, it’s just heartbreaking to me. I don’t understand why it’s a contradiction.
That’s been my question, too. Activists didn’t waste a minute before they came out in defense of these atrocities. How come we couldn’t pause and say “Wow, that was really bad. We don't support that.” And then, okay, how do we do peace building?
Yeah. Jewish Voice for Peace has gotten bigger over the years and there’s a lot of activism coming from them or in partnership with them. I’m afraid also that people use Jewish Voice for Peace as an example of why Jews don’t need to support the basic right of Israel to exist essentially. So that’s a really disturbing problem for me.
They [JVP] even like called me and asked, “Can we rely on your support and stand with us in the rally in Washington?” And I said, “Okay, if you say free the hostages and ceasefire in Gaza and stop the war.” She’s said, “We’re against all violence.” I was like, no, you’re not saying that. She’s like, “Well, if you change your mind…” And I’m like, okay, I won’t.
Why do you think they’re not taking a stand on the hostages and the reality of the violence of Hamas?
I honestly think they unfortunately are unable to see reality. Reality is so complex, it's just full of gray, and they’re just seeing it and very black and white. You could see how human rights organizations in Israel, because they’re on ground, because they have been working tirelessly and for years and years…they are able to say, “We’re devastated. These are our people who got killed and murdered and abducted, but we’re also opposing what is happening in Gaza.” They're able to do that. But somebody who sits in some college and does not understand the conflict, has not even been in Israel, has not even been to Palestine, just is quoting or re-quoting or retweeting, it’s just irresponsible and not fair. And it’s heartbreaking to me.
Community Announcements & Resources
Check out the Seattle Jewish community calendar and the virtual calendar.
Candlelighting in Seattle is at 4:20 p.m. The parasha is Chayei Sarah.
Mercaz Seattle will be running its Building Together Crowdfunding Campaign from December 3-5, 2023 for its next Mercaz home.
Learn more and contribute at http://mercazseattle.org/capital-campaign. Tizku l'mitzvot!
List of rallies and events on the Federation website
Congressman Adam Smith (D-9) will speak at Sephardic Bikur Holim this Shabbat, 11/11 at 10:30 a.m.
Rally in support of Israel: Sunday, 11/12, at noon in Bellevue at NE 8th and Bellevue Way
Let’s Talk About Israel, Monday 11/13 at 6:30 p.m. at Hillel (Jconnect young adult event)
Linktree of advocacy tools, ways to help and donate to specific kibbutzim and causes, from uXeptable
Another comprehensive list organized by Israelis for donations to specific causes
Have an event you want to share? Reply to this email or send it to thecholentseattle@gmail.com.
A note from an anonymous subscriber: While it may be shocking for some Jews to see our progressive “allies” abandon us, and then celebrate the deaths and mutilation of our people while also uplifting the banner of terrorism... do not be surprised. I'm not. Several of us saw this coming. Ethnic studies laced with Judenhass run rampant. Soviet ideology recycled and made fashionable. Apologies each and every way for ideologies and movements that seek to destroy us and our progeny. Where will you be when it all comes crumbling down upon us? Appeasement will never save our people. Let us not be led like sheep to the slaughter.
“In dictatorships you need courage to fight evil; in the free world you need courage to see evil.” ― Natan Sharansky
Shoutouts
A big shoutout to all of our community organizations who are collaborating during this challenging time to meet the emergent needs of our community with special emphasis on the needs of the Israeli community. Am Yisrael Chai! —Nancy Greer
Jacob Rosenblum is donating a kidney next week! Wishing him and his recipient hatzlacha. If you are curious to find out more about kidney donation, check out kidneyregistry.org
Shoutout to Russ & Daughters on the Lower East Side. It was a divine taste of the old country on my first visit to NYC in four years. Pastrami-cured salmon comes highly recommended. —Greg Scruggs
Grateful to Congresswomen Kim Schrier and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez for voting to censure Rashida Tlaib, who has never offered any constructive suggestions on what her side could compromise on in order to achieve peace. Show some love on their Facebook pages.