Last night, at Brooklyn Tech High School, the forces of darkness garnered 653 votes. Their opponents mustered 1005.
One of the participants at what was evidently a packed and stormy meeting (fisticuffs occurred and the NYPD paid a visit), Rabbi Andy Bachman, comments:
'Before I entered Brooklyn Tech for the debate and the vote last night, I had a brief engagement with an anti-Israel agitator. I know of no other way to say this except to say that he had hatred of Jews in his eyes. You know when you know. The blood quickens; defense mechanisms engage. I can’t believe that in the twenty-first century, there are still those who believe that Jews are the root of all evil. My first impulse—I won’t lie—was to break his nose. My second impulse, after cogitating upon the fact that I was a father, husband, rabbi and leader—was to demure. Thank God for second impulses.
It helped me tolerate the intolerable comments I heard from a few speakers last night: Jews control the media; Jews control Congress; Jews in America have shut down the debate about Israel. Fuming while listening, I remained paradoxically calm, even bemused: for in my profound discomfort, I was hearing what I didn’t want to hear. Which meant, of course, that my opponents were subjected to the self-same rules.
And when the votes were counted, our side won. Israeli products stayed on the shelves. And in turn, we were privileged to articulate a way forward that was rooted in reason, tolerance, justice and peace.
Incidentally, as Elder of Ziyon notes, it's "Buy Israeli Goods Day" this Friday, and there are fine products from which to choose. He suggests a few...While on one hand the “moral equivalency” rules that “everyone’s opinion is valid” struck me as classic cooperative sophistry, I knew that in the end, the reasonable argument would prevail. That people would recognize that neither Israelis nor Palestinians are perfect. But that with enough food and room around the table, there may be something to discuss after all.'
