Erika Dreifus

Gary Rosenblatt, “The Editor’s Desk: 10 Lessons from the Gaza War” (The Jewish Week):
“One can only imagine, with horror, the result if Israel did not have the Iron Dome and if thousands of Hamas rockets had found their targets: Israeli civilians. Would the nations of the world have been more sympathetic then to Israel’s plight? Maybe, but it is better to have their anger than their pity.”

Ilana Curiel, “Hamas keeps up rocket pressure on Israel; man seriously hurt along Gaza border” (Ynetnews.com):
“In Eshkol, a man in his 30s sustained serious chest wounds when he was hit by rocket shrapnel. The man, who was at the kibbutz children’s house with his wife, pushed one of the nursery teachers and a child into the safe room, saving their lives. Three-year-old children live in the children’s house that was hit.”

Alexander Joffe and Asaf Romirowsky, “Stop Giving Money to the U.N.’s Relief Agency for Palestinians” (The New Republic):
“As it is, UNRWA is effectively a branch of Hamas.”

James Kirchick, “Excluded, for Zionism, at New York’s Inclusive LGBT Synagogue” (Tablet; I’ve opted for the article title that shows up at the top of the webpage, rather than the clickbait title you’ll see as you scroll down):
“Yet having finally won the acceptance from mainstream Judaism that had so long eluded them, some gay Jews now feel excluded at CBST because of their Zionism.”

Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, “The Hate that Starts with Jews Never Ends There”:
“The new antisemitism is different from the old. In the past Jews were hated for their religion, then for their race. Today they are hated for their nation state. But it was not long before I saw how seamlessly the old and new hatreds meshed.”

Ambassador Ron Prosor (via his Facebook page):
“This morning during a press stakeout I held at the UN, I talked about the word ‘disproportionate’. I can tell you that the only ‘disproportionate’ thing is the accusations being made against Israel by the UN and others.”

Liel Leibovitz, “Ctrl-F-Genocide” (Tablet):
“What followed was one of the finest pieces of contemporary theater I’ve read in years, equally remarkable for Harris’s level-headed and intelligent replies as it is for Sullivan’s rants, defying logic and morality in a wild effort to portray the Jewish State as a genocidal demon.” (more…)

Karen Lerhman Bloch, “Losing Facebook Friends Over the War in Gaza” (Tablet):
“As has been well noted, pro-Israel commentators were a little slow at the starting gate in the social media war, but within a matter of days, Israeli groups were sending out plenty of visually succinct PDFs and news stories that weren’t making it into traditional media, and a segment of my Facebook friends and I began to post and share them. Despite a residual discomfort in becoming a ‘public Jew,’ I actually never felt as though my skills were being put to greater use.”

Mayim Bialik, “Why I Wear My Jewish Star” (Kveller):
“Oh, Israel. What a month it’s been for you and me. I lost a lot of fans this month because of my love for you. But it’s OK. I love you more than popularity, even when you make me crazy. And even though I don’t always agree with Israeli policy, I’m still a Zionist.”

Rachel Azaria, “The People on the Train” (The Times of Israel):
“We need to make sure that those who attack and blame Israel are perceived as attacking human rights in Gaza or anywhere, because this is what they are doing. Supporting Hamas is supporting the annihilation of basic human rights for their people. In retrospect, it’s kind of ironic and at the same time completely logical that a man indiscriminately shouting at a woman and a baby on a subway is not really interested in human rights. We just need everyone else to see it that way.” (more…)