Truth...Speaking out against lies perpetrated by the media and terrorist organizations

Emet, truth, is an interesting word.  Some say there is no such thing as the truth.  Some say the truth is elusive. Others say no one has a monopoly on the truth.  Jews say G-d is a G-d of truth, meaning wherever there is falsehood, G-d is missing.

In this week’s Torah portion, Jacob ventures forth to Haran where he meets his uncle, Laban, a less than truthful individual.  Jacob discovers after 7 years of working for the right to marry his beloved Rachel that he has been deceived on his wedding day.  He has married Leah as a result of Laban’s premeditated deceitfulness.  Of course the story goes on with Jacob accepting his lot in life and working another seven years for Laban until he is able to secure his true love, Rachel, as his wife.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve always found Laban to be quite a despicable character.  He negatively influences the lives of others by lying merely for the sake of promoting his own well-being.  He gains power over others and influences their behaviors by lying.

Perhaps it is a good thing that Laban is a major character in this week’s Torah portion.  We have just witnessed a media blitz that was based on lies by Hamas in Gaza during the eight days of the IDF Operation Pillar of Defense campaign.  Although a ceasefire was negotiated, I am reminded of the prophet Jeremiah’s words:

Some liars mislead their neighbors into believing that they are friends, who have their welfare at heart, but their real purpose is only to win their neighbor’s confidence so as to be able to harm him. Of those it is said: “One speaketh peaceably to his neighbor with his mouth, but in his heart he layeth his wait for him” [Jeremiah 9:8]. The verse goes on to say: “Shall I not punish them for these things? saith the Lord; shall not My soul be avenged on such a nation as this?”

Let me share some observations from my brother who has lived in Israel for more than 4 decades about truth.  He wrote:

 It's interesting to note that half of the Israelis killed during Operation Pillar of Defense were killed during an attack on Kiryat Malachi, Israel. The rocket killed three people in an apartment, and the IDF later made public that the attack occurred when the Iron Dome battery protecting (inter alia) that city showed a mistake that had to be corrected. According to the IDF, it took half an hour to fix the problem, and during that half hour the deadly attack took place. It's not a pleasant thing to admit, and seems to show a persuasion to reveal the truth. On the other hand, during that deadly attack on Kiryat Malachi not only were three people killed, but others were wounded, including a baby girl. She was photographed after being wounded while being carried in her pink striped suit, and the Palestinians later published her picture (in that pink striped suit) as a Palestinian baby hit by Israeli fire.

Personally, the problem as I see it is that we tend to forget the truth behind the intent in those who are ruling Gaza with an iron fist.  Hamas made its intent clear when it wrote its charter in 1988. In article seven of its covenant it says, “The Islamic Resistance Movement is one link in the chain of jihad in confronting the Zionist invasion. It is connected and linked to the [courageous] uprising of the martyr 'Izz Al-Din Al-Qassam and his brethren the jihad fighters of the Muslim Brotherhood in the year 1936. It is further related and connected to another link, [namely] the jihad of the Palestinians, the efforts and jihad of the Muslim Brotherhood in the 1948 war, and the jihad operations of the Muslim Brotherhood in 1968 and afterwards. Although these links are far apart, and although the continuity of jihad was interrupted by obstacles placed in the path of the jihad fighters by those who circle in the orbit of Zionism, the Islamic Resistance Movement aspires to realize the promise of Allah, no matter how long it takes. The Prophet, Allah's prayer and peace be upon him, says: "The hour of judgment shall not come until the Muslims fight the Jews and kill them, so that the Jews hide behind trees and stones, and each tree and stone will say: 'Oh Muslim, oh servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him,' except for the Gharqad tree, for it is the tree of the Jews."

We may hope and pray that peace will come to the region, or even that the ceasefire will lead to a spirit of non-violence in the region.  But we should never forget the words to which Hamas has committed itself. There is a problem with truth when the media refuses to condemn Hamas for using their civilian population as human shields, when countries don’t condemn Hamas for establishing their rocket launching pads adjacent to hospitals, playgrounds and schools, when rather than condemning Hamas for utilizing residences to warehouse their terror arsenal, the world treats Israel as the aggressor and urges the cessation of Israel’s efforts to defend herself.( Zehava Eglard)  It is at times like this that we need to be able to respond to our neighbors (including fellow Jews) with words of truth. Truth is not elusive and lying should not be treated as if it were the truth.