The Megillah of Purim tells the dramatic story of the post-First-Temple Jews in Persia threatened with annihilation at the hands of Haman and King Achashveirosh. In the end, under the leadership of Mordechai and Esther, the tables were turned, and the Jews vanquished their oppressors. “V’nahafoch hu... and it was turned about, the Jews gained the upper hand over their enemies (Esther 9:1).” This has become one of the most noted phrases in the Megillah, and a very lively song containing those words is a Purim favorite.
Everything that is happening today is upside down. The Israeli victims of the most vicious terrorists in recent times are the condemned as the killers. The killers are the victims of “genocide.” The terrorists’ word is taken as gospel by all the major media outlets in the world.
The Left champions women’s rights (remember MeToo#?), Democracy, LGBTQ, and decries racism. Incredibly, the Left has sided with anti-Semitic racists, supports the Palestinians, an entity that commits the ultimate abuse of women, and routinely executes gays. (One commentator on Fox News said that if a gay person shows up to Gaza, he will be given quick flying lessons on how to fly off a roof.)
The greatest universities, which live for free speech, now suppress anyone who differs with their radical hate.
How did this happen? Of course, Hashem runs the world and is playing out a familiar drama for the Jews; but how did we get here?
I knew that the media’s embrace of Israel right after the massacre on October 7 would be short-lived. The media loves Jews when they are victims. The moment they rise to defend themselves, they are aggressors, murderers, and war criminals. I was going to predict that in my first article on this tragedy two weeks ago, but I didn’t want to come off as a pessimist.
This whole upside-down attitude did not come in a vacuum. For years, I’ve been telling people that what is scariest about Leftism is that facts and science mean absolutely nothing. You are a female because you identify as a female. You are male because you identify as one. Can men give birth? Yes. Is transgenderism normal? Yes. Is it acceptable to teach five-year-olds about “drag queens”? Yes. This baseless credo will be used to vilify Israel with absurd accusations, I feared.
BLM, which rots with hatred for whites and Jews, are victims, and the whites defending their own property are racists.
Looters are hailed as heroes for trying to get the necessities of life (TV sets, jewelry, electronics, etc.). Those defending their stores are indicted, as are those who overcome villains in the subways.
[Last week, I referred to a former Jewish New York City councilman who helped paint a big Black Lives Matter sign on Fifth Avenue. I challenged him to fess up and admit that he now knows what we all knew: that BLM is an anti-Semitic organization. Leftist Jews preferred to virtue-signal rather than be concerned about Jew-hatred coming from their beloved cause. I assume the good councilman read or heard about my article. A few days after the article appeared, he sent me a link to an article he wrote in the New York Daily News about the awful history of anti-Semitism. I told him that I would be glad to write about his repudiation of BLM in this week’s paper, but so far, nada. Thank you, Mr. Councilman, for being such a courageous defender of Jews.]
If flipping facts on its head upon demand is acceptable, then it follows that Israel is committing genocide because the Leftists say so. Israel is apartheid because they say so. Israel is occupying Gaza because they say so. Hamas are resistance fighters because they say so. Israel is guilty of war crimes because they say so. This is pervasive on college campuses today. If you watch or listen to any one of these college kids being asked on what basis is Israel an apartheid state, they are mum or say idiotic things.
The obvious is never considered. Gaza has not been governed by Israel since 2005. Before 1967, it was occupied by Egypt. Israel has done nothing to suppress them. No genocide. No apartheid. But my biggest question is: If this is all about brutal Israeli occupation, then why is Iran involved? They were never occupied. Why is Hezbollah involved? Why did Iraq fire SCUDs against Israel? If occupation is the issue, why did the Arabs seek to destroy Israel before the Six-Day War of 1967, before any land liberation? Apparently, facts do not matter. I wish Israel would not let the Arabs control the agenda.
Then there is the media. Is there a single outlet that has done more damage to Jewish and Israeli interests than The New York Times? They have constantly violated every journalistic standard when reporting on Jews, especially the Orthodox. Their egregious bigotry was put on full display when they splashed huge headlines about that hospital being bombed “by an Israeli strike causing 500 deaths.” It was a complete lie. Not a hospital. No 500 dead. Most of all, it turned out to be a rocket from Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The Times’ source? Hamas! As a result of this broadcast lie, violence erupted throughout the Arab world and caused untold damage to Israel’s standing in the world. Oh, well – mistakes happen.
I wrote an email to the leadership of the following organizations: the Agudah, the OU (Orthodox Union), the National Council of Young Israel (NCYI), the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA), and the Presidents Conference (PC). I neglected to include the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York (JCRC). It is also possible I had an outdated email address for the PC. I pleaded with them to organize a protest rally in front of The Times offices while the iron is hot. The Times may be the epicenter for much of the anti-Semitism in the world today.
The only one who had the courtesy to respond was Rabbi David Warshaw of NCYI, who embraced the idea but acknowledged the complexity in putting it together. I’m surprised at the ZOA, an organization that I otherwise admire.
Do you understand this? We have so many well-established, connected, influential, and monied organizations, yet it’s too difficult to organize a rally. The Muslims, on the other hand, have no established organizations to speak of, yet they put together rallies all over the country in a flash. Very disheartening, to say the least.
It should also be noted that incredible work on behalf of Israel is being done by individuals here and in Israel – plus Hatzalah, which is always amazing. The established organizations are good for announcing lectures and T’hilim campaigns or collecting funds through other campaigns – nothing that needs boots on the ground and hands on the phone to coordinate. I will be in touch with StandWithUs (SWU), which does all the ground operations in the streets and college campuses.
Think about this: Three weeks ago, Jews were tearing down mechitzos on Yom Kippur in Tel Aviv. Chareidi Jews were being treated like vermin. Civil war in Israel was about to erupt in Israel. Today, all Jews are united and literally embracing each other: the most chasidish with the most secular. The yeshivah world has found new respect for the IDF, with many of them voluntarily joining the army.
Haman derogatorily described Jews to Achashveirosh as a “disbursed and scattered people” (Esther 3:8). We were vulnerable. But once the royal decree was proclaimed to destroy the Jews, things changed rapidly. As the Chazal put it succinctly in the Gemara (Megillah 13a): “Greater was the Jewish response to the handing of the king’s ring to Haman than were all the words of 48 Prophets!” The threat of destruction of the Jews united them as never before.
In the merit of this unity – and with Hashem’s help – Israel, the IDF, and world Jewry will live to speedily see the fulfilment of “V’nahafoch hu.” It will all turn back on its head, with our enemies vanquished, we being victorious, and truth restored.
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.
