The country – and indeed a good part of the world – is riveted by the story of the abduction of Nancy Guthrie, mother of TV personality Savannah Guthrie. The scene is horrific: an ailing 84-year-old mom being taken to a place unknown, by persons unknown, to a fate unknown.
Watching the family plead with the mysterious abductors is gut-wrenching. One can only imagine the torture they are undergoing.
Now multiply that by several hundred. That is what it was like for the families of the abducted hostages in Gaza: countless Jewish family members not knowing the fate of their loved ones for years.
Yet the world was rather silent about those hostages. None of the “Free Palestine” protesters or celebrities gave it a moment’s notice. The UN had nothing to say. Western European leaders were in total silence, as was the prime minister of Canada.
Recently, United Nations Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese claimed that humanity now has a common enemy – namely, Israel. She spoke at the same conference as Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. It is beyond belief that a UN representative would share a platform with a mass murderer and hostage-taker as well as the foreign minister of a country that just murdered thousands of its own citizens and spreads havoc and terror throughout the world.
The Israeli foreign minister wrote a scathing letter to United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, asking how he could allow such a gathering under UN auspices. He also pointed out that the UN did nothing to try to reach the hostages and offer them care and food.
It is truly remarkable how, in the whole conversation about Israel committing genocide, nobody goes back to the awful date of October 7, 2023. In fact, on October 8 – well before Israel mobilized its forces – chants were already being heard calling Israel the aggressor. Remember, in the beginning of the war, protesters were screaming “Cease fire now!”?
How many calls did you hear for Russia to have a ceasefire, despite its clear aggression against Ukraine? How about protesting Russian bombing of nursing homes and hospitals, and the killing of tens of thousands?
We are indeed an am l’vadad yishkon, a nation that dwells alone. It’s not always comforting to know that, but it is a reality that reminds us that we may dwell alone – yet we continue to dwell thanks to our being alone with the G-d who watches over us.
Rabbi Yoel Schonfeld is the Rabbi Emeritus of the Young Israel of Kew Gardens Hills, President of the Coalition for Jewish Values, former President of the Vaad Harabonim of Queens, and the Rabbinic Consultant for the Queens Jewish Link.