Blood is blood

In the last several hours, the body of a 16 year old Arab boy named Muhammad Abu Khdeir was found dead in a forest. There are rumors flying around that he was killed in an "Honor Killing" because he is gay, or that his killing was an act of revenge by Jewish extremists in response to the abduction and murder of three Israeli Jewish boys, Eyal Yifrach, Naftali Fraenkel, and Gilad Shaer.

If it was in fact an honor killing, this boy met a tragic end because of a culture that refuses to accept him. I pray for him and that his family should find peace, and hope the perpetrators are brought to court to be tried for their crimes. 

If this killing was indeed at the hands of Jewish extremists, I condemn them. More than condemn, I release them of any connection to the Jewish people. They do not represent the Jewish people. They do not represent the nation of Israel. And they do not represent our Torah.

• They represent the hatred that boils within them. 
• They represent year after year of failed peace and nationalistic violence that continues to plague our country. 
• They represent the inaction of the government in stopping Jewish extremists before they even think of talking about harming someone. 
• They represent the squashed hope that we could ever coexist. 

If this poor boy was indeed murdered by a Jew,I refuse to accept it as a response to the tragic murder of my three Jewish brothers. True to ourselves, we Jews and Israelis worldwide will continue to diminish, banish, and excommunicate lowly Jewish extremist thugs from our nation until they represent nothing but their pitiful evil selves. 

In the words of Benji Lovitt, 

"If a Jew vandalizes a mosque, burns a field of olive trees, throws someone in jail without due process and basic human rights, it doesn’t matter that the Arabs said no in ’48, attacked us in ’67, or blew up buses during the Second Intifada. It’s not always about moral equivalence. Sometimes it’s about taking responsibility for ourselves and not always pointing to what they’re doing."

I really hope that this poor child did not lose his life to revenge. If he did, you know where I stand. 

To read Benji Lovitt's post, click in the link below.

Read more: It's not always about them: It's about who we want to be | Benji Lovitt | Ops & Blogs | The Times of Israel

Weeping for my Brothers

A little over 10 months ago I moved to Dallas, Texas from Tel Aviv, Israel. I had been living in Israel for seven years to the day when I embarked on the unknown in a new place where a loving boyfriend was waiting for me. Each day I recall life in Israel, think about my friends and family, and lament the loss of living in the only Homeland the Jewish people have ever known. 

Eyal Yifrach, Gilad Shaer, Naftali Fraenkel

Today, that pain screams within me. Just a little over two weeks ago three Jewish Israeli teenagers were kidnapped by two soulless men with the backing of Hamas, a terrorist organization hell bent on killing Jews and destroying Israel. For more than two weeks, Jews from around the world gathered together, praying, hoping, and awaiting their safe return. In Dallas alone, nearly 600 people came out for a rally, enthusiastically chanting "Bring back our boys". 

Today, the Israel Defense Forces brought back our boys. Dead. Murdered within hours of being kidnapped on their way home from school. Sought after for two weeks while their bodies were decomposing in a shallow grave in the holy land of our ancestors, their blood joining those who gave their lives for the fulfillment of our 2,000 year old dream- to return to our homeland. 

As I sit here in the middle of America, my heart yearns to be in Israel, comforted by a nation in mourning. We are all family. We all live and breathe through one larger soul- the soul of the Jewish people. I send my love and comfort to the families of the slain boys. I call on my Arab cousins to stand with us in peace and in yearning for an end to suffering, and I weep for my brothers, Eyal, Gilad and Naftali.