Taming Phyllis: A Letter To An Occupied Jew

The following letter was sent to peace activist Phylllis Bennis who was interviewed on Grit TV.


Ms. Bennis,


    I recently saw your interview on "Grit TV," and I wanted to share with you some of my thoughts on your comments.  Firstly, it is appalling to see apparent members of the Jewish people making a comparison of the Israeli presence in the West Bank (and Gaza) to an "occupation."  One cannot say that "as a Jew" they oppose such a presence.  Why?  Any peoples who have a connection to the "Biblical tradition" recognize the Land of Israel as belonging to the Jewish people.  The idea of Israelis "occupying" their own Land is absolutely absurd and is the unfortunate consequence of the botched Torah education that many Jews (and I suspect you included) have received in the past several generations.  Should observant Jews be on the receiving end of such ignorance?  How can a Jew calmly go before the world and attempt to implicate his fellow Jew in something that is far from a crime-rather a mitzvah to do.
    Too often I have seen Jews of your "baby-boomer" generation wildly and ignorantly campaigning for gentile values-the values of the other nations of the world and not for the values of the Jewish nation.  I realize that someone who wasn't raised in a Torah environment might not understand the arguments I have presented above, but that is no excuse.  I am a convert to Judaism, and obviously I wasn't taught Torah Judaism in my youth.   Consequently, it is that much more painful for me to see "peacenik" members of the Jewish community pursue peace-and not Shalom.  Peace comes from the word pax (tranquility)-the Roman attempt to silence Jewish autonomy in the Land of Israel.  Shalom comes from the root "shalem," or completeness-the completeness of Jewish life and sovereignty in Israel-a Land that has been occupied by non-Jews for some two thousand years.
    Moreover, it is profoundly disturbing to see elements in the Jewish community purposely and devilishly misuse the term "occupation."  The occupation is, in fact, within you.  The use of the term occupation is a nefarious one-those of you who continually use this term to describe the Israeli presence in the West Bank and Gaza do so in order to hijack the real meaning of the term occupation in this context.  Occupation, as it should be correctly used, describes the occupation of the Jewish spirit and misuse of Jewish energy-a kind of auto immune disorder-whereby the very connection between the Jewish people and the Land of Israel has been replaced by a kind of self-loathing and ignorance of one's own tradition.  The Jew's disconnection from his spiritual heritage has occurred throughout the ages-and is in fact the greatest of occupations that exists on earth today.
    With all due respect-and love for my fellow Jew, you may want to use this time-the Days of Awe-to reconsider the truth of your relationship between yourself and your ancient tradition.  This wonderful tradition is so inspiring that billions of people amongst the nations have desperately tried to connect with it.  Many of them have even attempted to usurp the birthright that is implicit in the Jewish tradition.  You along with your companions in the Jewish peace movement have only served to aid those who seek to undermine the unique relationship between the Creator and Nation of Israel.


Have a wonderful New Year,
Justin White
Jerusalem, Israel