The Status Quo for Jews, part 1

14 Menachem Av 5775

Status Quo:  Latin, the existing state of affairs. [source] 

The 10^th of Av 5775, the postponed fast day of Tisha b’Av, saw violence once again on Har haBayit (the Temple Mount).  The 26 July 2015 edition of the Jerusalem Post, at the time of the incident, noted:

… the Jerusalem police said they would "continue to have zero tolerance towards any attempt to disrupt the order and harm the status quo," and said the police would arrest anyone rioting at the site and would work to bring them to justice to the fullest extent of the law. (emphasis mine)

Towards press time, this quote did not appear; however, the use of the term was attributed to the Arabs.  I wonder why I am having this 1984 moment, because this is a typical example of The Status Quo as it applies to Jews — even between Jews — and I want it stopped. How about you?

Usually, the term status quo is experienced as neutral, or even positive, and perceived to keep peace unless someone has caused, or is considered to have caused, a breach within it. When it comes to the lives, property and rights of Jews and Israel, whether subtly or overtly, it is as though a complete shattering would take place if we were left alone in peace, to rest and rebuild in our homeland from all the persecutions, exiles and murders that have been brought upon us for the last 2,000 years …the world would simply...collapse.

Rashi warned us right in the first pasuk (verse) of Bereshith (Genesis) that we would be accused of thievery when we came back to our land, and how to reply, very simply:

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 א בְּרֵאשִׁית בָּרָא אֱלֹהִים אֵת הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֵת הָאָרֶץ

 1 In the beginning of God's creation of the heavens and the earth.

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בראשית: אמר רבי יצחק לא היה צריך להתחיל [את] התורה אלא (שמות יב ב) מהחודש הזה לכם, שהיא מצוה ראשונה שנצטוו [בה] ישראל, ומה טעם פתח בבראשית, משום (תהלים קיא ו) כח מעשיו הגיד לעמו לתת להם נחלת גוים, שאם יאמרו אומות העולם לישראל לסטים אתם, שכבשתם ארצות שבעה גוים, הם אומרים להם כל הארץ של הקב"ה היא, הוא בראה ונתנה לאשר ישר בעיניו, ברצונו נתנה להם וברצונו נטלה מהם ונתנה לנו:

 In the beginning: Said Rabbi Isaac: It was not necessary to begin the Torah except from “This month is to you,” (Exod. 12:2) which is the first commandment that the Israelites were commanded, (for the main purpose of the Torah is its commandments, and although several commandments are found in Genesis, e.g., circumcision and the prohibition of eating the thigh sinew, they could have been included together with the other commandments). Now for what reason did He commence with “In the beginning?” Because of [the verse] “The strength of His works He related to His people, to give them the inheritance of the nations” (Ps. 111:6). For if the nations of the world should say to Israel, “You are robbers, for you conquered by force the lands of the seven nations [of Canaan],” they will reply, "The entire earth belongs to the Holy One, blessed be He; He created it (this we learn from the story of the Creation) and gave it to whomever He deemed proper When He wished, He gave it to them, and when He wished, He took it away from them and gave it to us. [source]

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But. It seems to others that we, too, prefer the status quo. We lose human rights, we get beat up and forcefully evicted from our homes and neighborhoods, towns and cities; we get all kinds of insult thrown at us, and YES, WE PROTEST! — and virtually no one hears about it — because, bottom line, whatever we do is wrong. We’re the Jooooooos, the tail of the nations, the rejects of the world. Yes, they may say "Israelis," but once in a while they slip and say "Jews" - as this article from Canada articulately notes. That is the Status Quo; and we, especially our leadership in Israel, do not react as though anything is wrong with the rank embarrassment happening to us “in front of G-d and everybody” at the hands of the nations, even though we have our own country. If anything, they join the world in our degradation, as if they do not share it with us. Does anyone else see anything wrong with this situation? Here is a partial list of items many Jews believe about ourselves:

•  There will always be hatred between groups of Jews, coming from both sides. We don’t just dislike our brothers and sisters who disagree with us; we despise them, we can’t discuss anything calmly with them, we HAAAAATE them; and it goes both ways for those who indulge in it. Would we have to paint everyone with such a broad brush if we could speak in a more composed manner with one another?

• There will always be a mixture of laws wherever Jews are, even in our homeland, Eretz Yisrael, even when it hurts us.  

• The mainstream media pretty nearly always lies about Israel and Jews, including highlighting charges of discrimination and bigotry, when in reality it is we who experience these humiliations. 

• Jews going up to the Temple Mount aren’t allowed to pray at our holiest place. Ever.  Even when the courts affirm the right. Can’t even get a drink of water, for crying out loud!  

And I could go on, and on, and on. But there is... 

• One bright spot on this list: Jonathan Jay Pollard, Yehonatan ben Malka, who spied for a friendly country (you know who) back in the 1980s, is finally being released this 20th of November. What is the difference between him and the likes of Edward Snowden and Julian Assange? They are lionized, while at least one commenter on Ynet notes that Mr. Pollard could possibly be, G-d forbid, murdered with malice aforethought during his 5-year parole in the USA. May haShem protect him and his family until he can return home.
  
  But some say he could return sooner, and they have their reasons. In any case, the outcome haShem decides will stand, and not necessarily that of man. Of course, we should pray that Jonathan returns as soon as possible!
  
  Others say Mr. Pollard's release is The Key to Redemption, not only for himself, but all Prisoners of Zion throughout the world.

As always, haShem has created a cure ahead of the disease, but it is for us to discover and take the food or medicine for our own good. Let’s take a look at it in Part 2.

DISCLAIMER: I consider my small post to be, at best, a tiny introduction to a proper treatment of this enormous topic. I hope someone (and I believe Someone) is keeping track. Already this past Shabbat Nahamu 5775, Jews in Israel were attacked by Arabs in more than 4 dozen separate incidents. The list is still being updated by the Jewish Press, translating this haKol haYehudi (Hebrew) page — and does anyone else care?  H/T Tomer Devorah