Shooting at Seattle Jewish Federation

Barukh Dayan haEmet. I wasn't at Federation on Friday, thank G!d, but this is a close-knit Jewish community, and we're all feeling the tragedy acutely. Mobius provides a news brief and initial commentary, so I made my own short statement there. Here in duplicate is what I wrote:

My friend Ethan spent the first half of Shabbat trying to comfort a friend whose girlfriend works at Federation and who was missing until she turned up at the hospital with injuries from jumping out of a second-story window into a dumpster to escape the shooting. Then on his way home he walked past a big "No More War for Israel" banner and he wanted to cry.

Israelis aren't all in support of every Israeli state action any more than diaspora Jews are; and, you know, I would rather not be attacked for the U.S. government's military campaigns myself. So now perhaps we know how the Lebanese civilians feel who "we" have callously allowed Hizbollah to use as human camouflage and shields.

Yet, Seattle Federation did just host a big public rally "in support of Israel." I didn't attend, because I don't support the action in Lebanon and the rally's gist seemed fairly obvious and blunt. But I do support Israel, and I am perfectly pleased to take pride in Israel's constructive achievements even though they aren't "mine."

This guy Haq was obviously crazy. (Kind of like trying to deter suicidal radical militants by bombing a liberal Arab state's civilian infrastructure all the way back to Tehran.) I don't want crazy people to shoot me because of what my Jewish brothers do. Really, though, I just don't want crazy people to shoot me.