Real Ignorance

In an interview that lasted a little over a minute Rabbi David Nesenoff sparked a firestorm that led to the “retirement” of lifelong journalist Helen Thomas after a nearly 70 year career. What follows is a transcript of the now infamous interview that took place on May 27, 2010 at the White House Jewish Heritage Celebration.

Nesenoff: Any comments on Israel? We're asking everybody today, any comments on Israel?

Thomas: Tell them to get the hell out of Palestine.

Nesenoff: Oooh. Any better comments on Israel?

Thomas: Remember, these people are occupied and it's their land. It's not German, it's not Poland ...

Nesenoff: So where should they go, what should they do?

Thomas: They should go home.

Nesenoff: Where's the home?

Thomas: Poland. Germany.

Nesenoff: So you're saying the Jews should go back to Poland and Germany?

Thomas: And America and everywhere else. Why push people out of there who have lived there for centuries? See?

There is a lot to be said about this incident but what is so striking is how quickly Helen Thomas’ career came to an abrupt end. Almost overnight she lost her agent, her coveted seat in the White House and her job with Hearst Publications. But what is at the root of it all? How did a news icon like Helen Thomas unravel so quickly? What follows are some thoughts and lessons that we can take away from this unfortunate episode.

Lesson #1-Someone is always recording what we say. Imagine if we would inculcate into our belief system with clarity that our words were being recorded and that one day they would be played back for us to hear? This is a basic Jewish belief that we are accountable for our words and deeds. Helen Thomas learned this the hard way and that was only one episode in her life that lasted a little over a minute. The playback of our words and deeds will be a lifetime of conversations, comments, remarks, jokes etc!

Lesson #2-Age does not exempt anyone from offensive comments and accountability. Remember that Moses was 80 and his brother Aaron was 83 when they began their careers. The elderly are capable of making wonderful contributions to society and we do not write anybody off. Likewise, if they chose to harm society, they are fully responsible. As part of Operation Last Chance the Simon Wiesenthal Center is hunting down Nazi’s in a last ditched effort to bring to justice the criminals of the Holocaust. As long as the mind is sound, even if the body is frail, age exempts no one.

Lesson #3-Discussing Israeli politics or the Arab-Israeli conflict is legitimate. Anti-Semitic outbursts however have no legitimacy in the dialogue. Make no mistake. Helen Thomas was not castigated because of her anti-Israel stance. If that were the case half of the Obama administration would be gone! It was the fact that telling Jews to go back to Poland and Germany, overtly implying that we have no right to live in the land whatsoever, is an anti-Semitic position. In fact, on the opposite side of the coin the Kach Political party in Israel was banned as racist because they advocated removal of the Arab population.

Lesson #4-And finally…Ignorance is extremely dangerous. If I had to boil it down to one thing that is really getting under the skin of the Jewish community I would definitely say that it is Helen Thomas’ incredible ignorance regarding the Bible and history. Here is what Jay Leno had to say:

“She said Jews should leave the Middle East and go back to where they came from.

The problem is that’s where they came from.

It’s the Middle East.

It’s in a book called the Bible. And a great movie too!”

After the Helen Thomas video surfaced it became abundantly clear from e-mails to Nesenoff’s website that there are many people that actually believe that the history of Israel began in 1948. It is as if the Jews showed up from outer space and displaced the Arabs in the land of Israel with absolutely no trace of any attachment to the land whatsoever! In an interview after the flotilla incident I actually saw a young man proclaim with complete assurance that the Jews came to Israel in 1948 because they were upset about what had happened to them in Germany and so they decided to come to Israel to take out their frustrations on the Palestinian people. No one likes a bully. If that were the true narrative, I would also be against Israel. However that is not the true story. Not by a long shot. When asked about the Jewish presence in Israel before 1948, like King Solomon in the bible, the boy’s response was “I don’t know about that stuff.” There are a lot of people in the world that “don’t know about that stuff.” But what is most frightening about starting history in 1948 is its implications. It causes intense hatred and the will to harm innocent people. It causes a perversion of justice and rewards evil. This is the danger of ignorance. Not only in regard to Israel but to the world in general.

In this short article I cannot give you a long lesson on the history of the Jewish people and the Middle East but I can give you the overall context. The Bible clearly states in numerous places that God gave the land of Canaan (Israel) to the Jewish people. Since our entry into the land close to 4000 years ago there has been a constant Jewish presence. Period. Even when we were exiled by our enemies -- the first time by the Babylonians and then again by the Romans -- there were always those that remained. The Jewish people that did have to leave the land never left willingly and have always dreamt of returning. Since the last exile 2,000 years ago Jews prays 3 times a day for the return to Zion, and the direction that he faces is not Mecca. It is towards the only Jewish capital that there ever was and ever will be; Jerusalem. Even for those who don’t believe in the Bible the constant presence of Jews in the land for 1000’s of years is proof enough of our claim to this land. It just takes a simple cursory understanding of the Bible and/or history to see the strength of the Jewish claim to Israel.

We are living in a time of extreme confusion. It is up to each and every one of us to shine the light of truth wherever we go. Educate yourself. Share the knowledge with your loved ones. Know how to answer those who don’t know -- or don’t want to know -- the real story. The future of the world is being written now. We can play a role in how the story unfolds by exposing lies and affirming truth. King Solomon, once the King of Israel, writes in proverbs 12:19 that “the lips of truth are established forever while the lying tongue is but for a moment.” The Helen Thomas’ of the world may have their moment, but in the end they slip away. A lifetime of achievement and admiration is gone in a single instant. In contrast, all we need to do is pass on the truth in a sentence or two or three. Our words may not be much, but their impact is forever.