For American Jewish progressives who are feeling shocked and betrayed

This is based on a letter to a cousin who's been doing DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) work for years, as an ally of historically marginalized communities in the US:

Dear cousin,

I am grateful for your postings, and my heart aches for you. You are not the only American Jew I know who is shocked and appalled and pained and traumatized by the bloodthirsty words of people they have been in solidarity with for years.

People who don’t know that Jews actually do have a historical connection to the land, as attested in thousands of prayer books and the Talmud and historical records…

People who don’t know that at this point, a huge percentage of Israeli Jews, maybe the majority, have family roots somewhere other than Europe. Neither "Jew" nor "Israeli" equals "white."

People who have been fed a flat, one-sided view that Zionism is a colonial European project.

People who are either unaware of, or have rhetoric to explain away, the fact that even now, there are Palestinian leaders working for peace and coexistence (or despairing, believing they have failed). Even now there are Palestinian leaders condemning Hamas’s attack, even as they fear for the welfare and lives of friends and family in Gaza.

My sister says: This is a wedge that is being driven between progressive American Jews and much of the rest of the progressive community. Which makes me wonder: Who benefits if we withdraw from each other? If we no longer work together? Is someone driving a wedge? It is, after all, a tactic of long standing, for people in power to divide the resistance.

Check in with the Jews of Color that you know: This may be a tough time for them too.

And please, dear one, take care of your precious neshamah (soul). Going out in the green world is a really good idea. Take the hives on your hands as a sign to keep your hands off of social media and LinkedIn as much as possible; if you can do an electronics-free Shabbat, do.  

This is trauma for all of us, including, of course, the people you’ve worked with in communities that have suffered plenty of trauma. For you, it is also a huge feeling of betrayal. If you can’t find balanced voices among people you actually know, please connect with other progressive Jews, who are experiencing the same thing. Please hold onto the people who really are espousing human values in this horrible time.

If you can’t find them, I can connect you to some people and some writing.

You’re not alone, even though it probably feels like it.

Sidenote to everyone: If you're really struggling, especially if you have depression and/or anxiety in yourself or your family, please consider talking to your prescribing doc about whether new/increased medication might help give you a more stable emotional platform to stand on during this time. And if you have or can find a therapist you trust, ask for extra sessions right now. These are also avenues to support your emotional health. You may not need either one for long, but you deserve to be able to breathe, to sleep, to have some breadth to your life right now.