Rabbi Heller's Blog

Shabbat Shalom Re'eh

Earlier this week, I read a report which is unsettling, but not remarkable. There are few reliable sources of information as to what is going on in Palestinian areas. One that I sometimes consider is the Palestinian Survey Research Institute (PSR), which attempts to be neutral. This week the IDF raided a Hamas facility and uncovered evidence that Hamas had taken systematic efforts to corrupt and distort polling information collected from the residents of Gaza. For example, a March 2024 poll showed support of Hamas and its atrocities of October 7 at 60%-70%, but the real numbers are closer to 30%. PSR was not involved in this deception. Its senior staff are not able to enter Gaza and Hamas was able to falsify the data that it was sent.   

To be sure, having 30% of the population supporting the most horrific atrocities is still a devastating sign, but the fact that the majority is looking for a different solution will have implications for what might be possible in times to come. Those solutions are over the horizon and in any case, not in our hands.

What we should note is that Hamas is less popular among its own people than it is on college campuses. Those who have been hoodwinked into standing with Hamas because they think they are supporting Palestinians need to be exposed to these numbers.

This is a column about Torah, and when I started writing that aspect of this article, I realized that I had already essentially written exactly what was needed-- in 2015. Rather than update it, I have posted it as is below. Tragically, little has changed in the world, so that only about 10 words need to be changed to bring it up to date for 9 years later.

My words from August 2015:

Just because you’ve presented evidence does not mean you are speaking the truth. Our Torah potion this week speaks of the false prophet, who presents a sign or a miraculous prediction as “proof” to lead the Israelites astray.  The Israelites are warned that even though the prophet brings support for his words, their moral compass must guide them to find the lie beneath the veneer.

This summer, as we have watched events in Israel and Gaza, we have come to understand even more deeply that evidence, pictures, and statistics, may be twisted in the service of falsehood. Many media outlets have fallen into the trap of the false prophet, presenting skewed pictures, words and numbers that raise ratings and bury the truth. We need to be reminded of the facts.

Hamas has targeted Israeli civilians and fired thousands of rockets into Israel, broken every ceasefire, and dug tunnels into Israel specifically for the purpose of attacking civilian villages, women and children.

Any civilian casualty is regrettable, but Hamas has been firing at Israel from civilian areas, including U.N. schools, so that Israel cannot defend itself without putting Palestinian civilians in harm’s way. 

Hamas claims that the majority of those killed in Gaza have been civilians, when in fact the ratio of men to women, adults to children, indicate that Israel, facing tough choices, has been more restrained in its response than any other nation would be under similar circumstances.

Hamas has intimidated journalists, and victimized and killed many of its own people (including those calling for peace and even those who dug the tunnels) to prevent word getting out of its strategies.

Many have sought to establish equivalency between Hamas, as an aggressor that denies the most basic rights to its own people, and Israel, which, while not perfect, offers essential freedoms to its citizens of every religion.

Many have sought to focus on demonizing  Israel for those caught in the crossfire, while ignoring the intentional massacres of thousands of Christians and Moslems in the larger region.

We are fortunate, living in America, that for the most part, our neighbors understand the challenges that Israel faces with Hamas. There have been incidents of vandalism and violence, but they are on a small scale compared to the intensifying attacks on our brothers and sisters in many European communities.

The Israelites, when faced with a false prophet, were obligated to call out his falsehood, and we, too have an obligation to speak the truth.  We can continue to share the truth with our friends.  We can remind our government leaders of the importance of continued support of  Israel against extremists even as we come to realize the atrocities being committed by Hamas’ allies in Iraq and elsewhere.

We can also remember the reasons why we love Israel, and why it is worth defending- it spiritual inspiration, technical innovation, culture and cuisine, and share those as well, and we can pray for a day of true and lasting peace.