What is right is not always popular and what is popular is not always right

As I was thinking about this week’s parasha, Shelach L’cha, I decided that it might best be summed up by the thought that “what is right is not always popular and what is popular is not always right.” When the 10 spies went to look over the land of Canaan, they returned with a negative report. The report was one that the Israelites who were questioning why they had ever left Egypt, wanted to hear. From a Torah perspective, their report was false because it did not take into account G-d’s promise of the land. The negative recordings of those 10 spies actually swayed the people. They refused to believe the positive report of Caleb and Joshua.

If you’ve been listening to the news reports involving Israel recently, it would appear that the world has gone haywire. In the words of a U-tube video about the flotilla incident, it is possible to con the world into believing that Hamas is Mother Theresa. There are marches and demonstrations in cities around the world that insist on demonizing the state of Israel and move into anti-Semitic rhetoric while spewing hatred for the Jewish State. It has become fashionable to equate Israel with an apartheid state. Unless you’ve been to Israel, walked in the streets, gone to its markets, it is easy to be swayed by the negative recordings of the press. But when you’ve spent time there, seen the land with your own eyes, it appears that the popular reports are not always right. Jerusalem under Israeli control is a unified city. Arab residents do spend time with their families in Gan Sacher, a major park in the middle of the city, as do Jewish residents. Shopping malls in west Jerusalem are frequented by residents of East Jerusalem. Despite the reports that come from the media, good things do happen in Jerusalem. For example there’s the Peace Pre-school co-existence program for Jewish and Arab children and the tennis doubles coexistence program where dialogue and interaction are in Arabic and Hebrew for participating Arab and Jewish children. There’s also the social working together program sponsored by the Jerusalem Foundation that promotes coexistence by emphasizing the respect for all human beings regardless of their race, religion, or politics.

It is easy to get caught up in only the negative reports, to be swayed by the negative anti-Israel sentiment that seems to be sweeping the globe. But we should not be fooled by the negative press. We need to ask ourselves what the motivation is to portray Israel as a country that wants to interfere with humanitarian aid. Why not mention that Israel delivers 15,000 tons of humanitarian aid weekly to Gaza. Why forget to mention that the peace activists chanted in Arabic, “Jews remember Khyabar the army of Mohammed is returning.” (in the 7th century Muslims murdered and expelled the Jews of this city in what is now modern day Saudi Arabia).

When we look at today’s parasha, we must remind ourselves that it is possible for large groups to accept false and negative reports, especially when they carry the message that the group wants to hear. Our job as Jews living in a democratic society is to recognize the inherent dangers when groups that do not believe in co-existence between Muslims and Jews promote anti-Israel and anti-semitic slurs. Their views might be very popular, but they are not right!

Zach, you are about ready to head off to life on a college campus where you will be exposed to a variety of cultures and religions. It is likely that you will even run into anti-Israel and antisemitic sentiments being expressed. This year, for example, 40 college campuses in the U.S. and Canada had groups that sponsored the 6th annual International Israeli Apartheid Week. It is important that you appreciate your ability to live in an open society and to attend a university that has no institutionalized discrimination policies. And it is also important that you recognize the values your parents have worked so hard to instill in you. Those values recognize that there is no room for hatred even if some groups on campus try to convince you otherwise. You will need to continue developing your critical thinking skills as you search for truth and determine whether what you hear is indeed true or not.