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Explaining the war to our children By Rachel Fish As the light of Chanukah fills our homes, it will be hard to avoid making connections between the thousandsyear-old story of Jews fighting oppression in their homeland and current events that tell a similar tale. For two months now, our children have been seeking answers and understanding, requiring parents to step into conversations in ways they may not necessarily feel equipped to do.
Meanwhile, last week, discussions of hostages returning to Israel (in exchange for convicted Palestinian prisoners) filled the headlines. For many adults, let alone children, this information deserves greater contextualization and unpacking. I am a professor of Middle Eastern history, Jewish history and Israel studies, and the mother of four pre-teens and teens. So it is both as an academic and as a Jewish mother that I offer this advice. 1: Don’t assume your child’s school
or teachers are prepared. Sadly, not all teachers act in good faith or understand the issues. So it’s up to parents to lead the discussion in their homes rather than outsource it. 2: Be ready to explain what Zionism is … and is not. Zionism is the movement for Jewish self-determination, free from persecution and discrimination. It is not a sinister disguise for apartheid or ethnic cleansing. It is a longing to return See Talking about Gaza on page 2
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Dec. 8, 2023 25 Kislev 5784 • Vayeshev • Vol 22, No 38
Schumer rips leftist Jew-hate
Says social-justice allies abandoned his people By Andrew Bernard, JNS Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer warned against rising antisemitism on the political left in the wake of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks, in a 40-minute speech on the Senate floor last Wednesday. “Not long ago, many of us marched together for black and brown lives. We stood against anti-Asian hatred. We protested bigotry against the LGBTQ community. We fought for reproductive justice out of the recognition that injustice against one oppressed group is injustice against all,” Schumer said. “Apparently, in the eyes of some, that principle does not extend to the Jewish people.” Schumer said that the American Jewish community has felt increasingly alone. He implicitly criticized Black Lives Matter and other left-wing advocacy groups that have taken extreme anti-Is-
Read Schumer’s speech, beginning on page 6 rael positions, often justifying or even celebrating Hamas terrorism. “Many of the people who have expressed these sentiments in America aren’t neo-Nazis or cardcarrying Klan members or Islamist extremists,” the senator from Brooklyn said. “They are in many cases people that most liberal Jewish Americans felt previously were their ideological fellow travelers.” Young Americans, in particular, are being exploited for antisemitic purposes, and “our friends and allies” on the left have “brushed aside” conSee Schumer rips leftists on page 2
Israel key to post-Santos race Among pro-Israel candidates, Mazi Pilip stands out
I
t’s rare for an individual to be blessed with a “fresh start,” no less so for a community. That’s the enviable position residents of the 3rd Congressional District find themselves in, following George Santos’ ouster from Congress. In 2022, Republican Santos handily defeated an inept Democratic nominee in a nominally blue district, only to be exposed as a personal, professional and political fraud. Nearly everyone — local Republicans as well as Democrats — wanted Santos gone. A special election on Feb. 13 to choose Santos’ replacement offers voters in the 3rd CD a fresh start.
THE JEWISH STAR EDITORIAL Who will be on the ballot is up to Republican and Democratic leaders (there’ll be no primary), and that decision may be known by the time you read this. he 3rd CD, which hugs Nassau’s North Shore and Northeast Queens, includes a significant Jewish vote in Great Neck, Roslyn, Plainview and neighorhoods in Queens. So Jewish issues — especially Israel (after all, this is a race for Congress, not town council) — will loom large. Without prejudging the end game before
T
the first down (we’ll evaluate each party’s nominee after we’ve taken our measure of their campaigns), we offer the Republicans a pre-nomination suggestion: If Republicans opt for Mazi Melesa Pilip, a two-term Nassau County legislator from Great Neck, they’ll have nominated a powerful voice for Israel who, as a fresh face on Capitol Hill, would likely emerge as a unique asset to the national party. Imagine Pilip — an Ethiopian-born former IDF soldier and Orthodox Jewish mother of
seven — facing off against Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, her diametrical opposite! Just as AOC represents antisemites and Israel-bashers nationwide from her pulpit as Congressmember in the adjacent 14th CD, Pilip would speak truth to power, fighting antisemitism in America and amplifying the righteousness of Israel’s cause. Certainly the Democratic nominee (or a different Republican nominee) will have something to say about this, and perhaps they’ll be equally persuasive. We know where Pilip stands; we’ll look forward to hearing their pitch.