Rabbi Jeremy Markiz

I’ve been reflecting deeply on the concept of עמיות, peoplehood.

This feels like underexplored space right now. Deeply felt, under-articulated.

Does that resonate?

How many times can we tell you that Substack is a problem?

I don't have a personal attachment to those places, so my feelings are less strong.

In the broad sense, I attempt to care about other people.

So yes, I'd probably say it is non-partisan. The government of those places does not dictate how much I care for the people.

I've been loving Haviv Rettig Gur's podcast episodes/lectures on history lately, really solid summaries.

It has been a while since I read any other history books (probably not since my Judaic degree in college and then in Rabbinical school)

This is also why caring for Palestinians doesn’t mean you agree with Hamas or want to see Israel destroyed.

Caring for people doesn’t mean you care for the governments.

Stop treating this conflict as if it needs to be zero-sum.
The only way forward is to see a shared future.

7/7

No one asks me, as an American, to care less about the US because Trump is using ICE like the gestapo.

Rather, the demand is to care more!
To fight for the place I care about, not to desire its destruction.

6/x

You don’t have to care for another country, that’s your choice.

Feeling attachment to a people and a place is personal, and it doesn’t have to be partisan.

5/x

Yes, in a democracy, we vote, but our care is non-partisan.
I
notice that when the demand is we stop caring for people due to governments, that’s when I see tremendous misunderstanding.

4/x

I don’t want to speak for others, but I suspect that for many American Jews, their care for both the US and Israel is non-partisan.

3/x

My care is not limited to a single government administration, but to the people as a whole. My care doesn’t disappear because I disagree.

My care for Israel is non-partisan. I feel many of the same things about it as for the US, some things differently.

2/x

My care for the US is non-partisan.
My care for Israel is also non-partisan.

I think some of what the government is doing is wrong, illegal, and immoral. I believe people who do those things should be held accountable.

I also believe that it can be better than it is.

1/x

Notice what doesn't appear.

It is important to be responsible with your media intake.

Don't delegate your awareness to an algorithm that doesn't care about you.

2/2

Remember that an algorithm controls what you see on this platform (and almost every platform).

Be wary of this.
It is designed to show you what you engage with and what is most likely to make you engaged.

Take time to get outside of it.
Actively search for information beyond it.

1/2

Standing Together is an incredible organization so I am donating to help them in their work. If you also feel as I do, link below for the crowdfunding campaign!
causematch.com/standing_tog...

I love that.

But don’t waste it trying to justify your existence. You don’t need to.

Find your grounding and your footing amidst the culture of your own people, not with strangers who demand fielty to their worldviews.

Finally, everyone is different. These are good places to start, but you know you better than anyone else. Find your own path.

It is engagement with big ideas, complicated issues, and living a life of meaning.

Sefaria is an essential resource for any Torah learner today.

- learning and engaging with Torah is one of the ways that the Jewish people have used their creativity when they were prevented from joining the broader society.

Audio book cover: Palestine 1936: the great revolt and the roots of the Middle East conflict by Oren Kessler

I’m currently learning about the 1936-39 revolts and fighting in Palestine. I’ve already learned a ton!

- I’m always learning more about Jewish history. There’s so much of it to learn! Don’t assume you know it all. If you’re in North America, learn Israeli history, or South American Jewish history, or the opposite. Whatever.

Ok I have more to say:

Here’s why each of those are a decent option:

- Hebrew is justifiably the language of the Jewish people. It is the language of the Tanakh and the Mishnah. Our people have continued to use it for 2000 years.

Let your heartbreak lead to empathy, not extremism.

2/2

- learn and improve your Hebrew
- rediscover some of our history that you’ve never explored
- learn a Jewish text (using Sefaria)
- strengthen your connection with your people another way

Don’t waste time trying to justify our existence to those who will never accept it.

חזק חזק ונתחזק

I invite those who find it exhausting to argue with antisemites online to explore these alternatives instead:

1/2

Our understanding should come from reality, not the other way around.

Assumptions and ideology are great ways to miss the full picture.

In our crumbling, chaotic present, we must be thoughtful and judicious, not impatient and reactive.

The greatest decision we can make as consumers of news is have a little patience.

Headlines aren’t the whole story.
One report is not the whole story.
Corroboration matters.
Facts matter.

May Gazans get the food they need.
May the hostages come home.
May Hamas give up.
May the war be ended, quickly.
May the heartbreak end.

A new future can be charted.
A new dawn is possible.

I refuse to give up hope.

But the truth is that when we look at the world, it is so much more complex, nuanced, and chaotic than our heuristics can provide.

It is good to resist the temptation to over-simplify and flatten the world around you.

On almost every subject, the more I learn, the more I realize how much more there is to learn.

The very human desire for things to be simple is so reasonable. Our brains want to have those patterns that we can apply and reapply as we encounter more.