The Truth is Always Somewhere In Between

The juxtaposition of the joy of the opening of the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem and the continued attempts by Hamas to infiltrate Israel through the guise of mass marches and “protests” at the Gaza border, has left me reeling with confusion and angst. I, like I imagine many of you, are torn between our love of Israel and believing in its right to defend herself, and our moral dilemma over what we think transpired at the Gaza border this week.

Sadly, the media’s coverage does not help matters. Hamas is adept at using the media to spin its story and Israel has a long history of losing at the PR game.

What is the truth? Did the Israeli Army indiscriminately fire live rounds into a peaceful gathering of men, women and children? Were sixty innocent Palestinians gunned down in cold blood as the Prime Minister celebrated the opening of the U.S. Embassy? Were the protests simply a rouse to allow Hamas terrorists to try and penetrate the border so they could kidnap Israeli soldiers or kill Israeli citizens in towns along the Gaza border? Were the young innocent Gazans pushed by Hamas to storm the border in order to force the IDF to respond with lethal means? Were there alternative options that the IDF could have used to prevent the collapse of the border?

Reading the articles and seeing the pictures put out by the extremist on both sides it is impossible to get a handle on the truth. Inevitably complex situations, like this falls somewhere in between.

Of all the articles and writings I have read this week, there are two pieces that I think go a long way in paring out the loud voices of the extremes and work to get at what is really happening right now.

I encourage you to take a moment and read them.

May we come to know peace, soon in our day.

The first is by Matti Friedman in the NY Times, click here.

The second is series of tweets is by Yair Rosenberg, click here.