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that terrorizing one’s own people does not bode well for these people once a state of their own is
achieved. Egypt recognizes this as well, which is why it has supported Israel in its attempts at weakening
Hamas, and why it too uses force (sometimes a questionably excessive amount) to quash the Egyptian
Muslim Brotherhood whenever it rears its head in Egypt, since Egypt recognizes the extent to which the
Muslim Brotherhood seeks to undermine the common interests of its citizens.

I believe that a moral person living in the world today is obligated to support the creation a of
Palestinian state, so that once and for all the Palestinian people can live free and fulfilling lives – we all
want a Palestinian leadership that can promote this cause, and can negotiate with Israel’s next prime
minister to make this a reality. Hamas’ words and actions over the years make it clear that this is not its

primary aim, and that it will not be a partner in bringing about this dream. Although it’s easy to be
cynical about the timing of the recent Israeli invasion of Gaza (Israeli election time, the final days of a
sitting duck U.S. president) – and there’s likely some truth to this cynicism – the fact remains that
Hamas’ existence and power in Gaza, and its strong connection to Iran and the Muslim Brotherhood, is a

threat to the continued existence of Israel, and as long as Hamas exists in Gaza with any amount of
power, Israel will be justified in attacking it. We Israeli citizens rightly rely on our government and
army (comprising our friends and family) to protect our lives from this terror.

When it comes to educating our chanichim about the war, the universal Socialist Zionist values we have

always educated towards continue to apply, for all human beings in the world. This means that we have an
obligation to help our chanichim be sympathetic to the suffering and of the Palestinian civilians as well
as to the suffering of the Israeli civilians. We have an obligation to help our chanichim understand that
there are two opposing political forces in the world today: progressive and reactionary/regressive,
serving to respectively free/advance or shackle/constrain their citizens, and discerning which of these
forces a political entity promotes is based on the consequences of actions taken by politicians, and not

by their stated words. We have an obligation to understand the true meaning of democracy, and to
denounce factors on both the Israeli and Palestinian sides that undermine democratic process. We have
an obligation to continue to strive for peace, even in times of war. The reality in Israel and the world
today is complicated, and it is difficult to remain moral and committed to our beliefs in the face of so

many factors encouraging us to give in, to live in the moment, to let the politicians sort it out so that we
can enjoy life. In our tzvatim in the movement here today, we’re struggling together with the difficult
moral questions raised by this war, and our role in shaping the society we want to live in. We’ve started
coming up with goals for peulot and processes that can help our chanichim develop a moral stance
regarding the current conflict, which also has ways to express this stance, since as educators we all

know that education that does not define or demand action/actualization leaves us feeling passive and
helpless. The primary action called for today is to be moral educators in the Jewish communities around
the world and in Israeli society, and being part of creating a nuanced stance within the various
movement countries.

Our best bet at counteracting the people who cynically refer to this as “The First Gaza War” is our work
to strengthen and unite the progressive forces among the Israelis, Palestinians, and around the world,
who share a common vision of two sovereign countries living peacefully side by side, containing citizens
that are able to live free, self-determined, non-alienated, fulfilling, and full lives. This is our Socialist

Zionist vision, applied to all peoples and starting at home.