Shut down the extremists controlling the Israel-Gaza narrative 

The ongoing war between Israel and Hamas is making our world feel off its axis, as if it has been hijacked by extremists. 

People aren’t thinking clearly, and there aren’t easy answers or simple solutions. It is a time of uncertainty, grief and profound pain for many. 

Recently, I returned from Israel, where I walked through the rubble of Kibbutz Be’eri with a survivor of the massacre. I saw bullet holes riddling the walls, doors blown off safe rooms and the charred remains of once-lively homes standing silent. Twisted metal and children’s toys littered the ground, a testament to the horrific consequences of unchecked extremist ideology. 

In Northern Gaza, I witnessed destroyed buildings, the sound of machine gun fire in the distance and the bone-rattling proximity of artillery. Smoke hovered over the desolate landscape. 

I returned to the U.S. deeply humbled by the realization of how little I understood about living under the constant threat of annihilation from multiple directions. It is absurd and arrogant for those who have never experienced such a reality to pretend they understand these cultures and worlds.

As the head of Jewish Family Service in Seattle, I am witnessing the increasing hostility directed at Jews and the Jewish community.  

For many Jewish people, there is a pervasive sense of being attacked, misunderstood and alone, as criticism of the Israeli government often devolves into antisemitism. History is being written in the present tense, with some attempting to erase the truth because it does not align with their preferred narrative. Victims are erased, brutality is denied and horrors are minimized. Language is abused, and reality is under assault. 

Grief unites us all, manifesting through a prism of human emotions — anger, sadness, denial and confusion. Everyone is trying to make sense of the trauma they have experienced and continue to endure. We must work through the suffering without getting caught in a spiral of horrors. 

It is far too easy to speak with righteous indignation, lacking humility or even a basic understanding that we live on the other side of the world. TikTok is not reality, and ignorance is often mistaken for insight and indoctrination for education. Many of us consistently encounter people who demonstrate a profound lack of knowledge about the complex history of this region and the Jewish people. 

We have grown accustomed to a climate of hostility and threat, justified under the guise of free speech and activism. At a time when we should be striving to listen and learn, too many are making vengeful declarations and passing meaningless resolutions that only serve to divide our communities into “us” and “them.” Children in schools are choosing between “team Israel” and “team Palestine,” as if this were a dystopian spectator sport. We should all be mourning the theft of another generation’s innocence. 

The lack of nuance and curiosity is troubling. People cling to simplistic narratives, unable to hold multiple truths — that both innocent Israelis and innocent Palestinians are suffering. It is reasonable to feel conflicted, but not to be willfully blind. 

When posters of hostages are torn down, it erases the humanity of Israelis. Ignoring the images coming out of Gaza, as the region teeters on the brink of famine, does not make it less real. When people attempt to engage in good-faith conversations and are dismissed or demonized, it is nothing short of antisemitism. 

Posters and graffiti reading “Death to Zionism” may as well say, “Death to Jews.” Instead of being appalled, too many leaders hide and people shrug — or worse — try to justify the unjustifiable. We must refuse to live in a simplistic, dualistic world that has never existed.  

I’m saddened that those chanting in the streets cannot see the hatred in some of their eyes. Those teaching one-dimensional versions of reality cannot hear the pain and confusion in their students’ voices. And those with a blind ideology cannot recognize the increasingly hostile environment they create for their neighbors in our communities. 

Slogans and propaganda are easy, but they are not reality. We want to believe we are pure and blameless, but the truth is that we all have blood on our hands. Believing otherwise is a fantasy. 

Those of us who inhabit the complex world of reality must start using our voices and marginalizing the extremes before it is too late. We must call out the toxic voices that normalize antisemitic rhetoric and not allow the fringes to dominate the conversation, no matter who they claim to represent. We must call upon our politicians, civic leaders, neighbors and coworkers to speak out and stand against those who attempt to erase, dehumanize, or reduce people to caricatures. Remaining silent risks dehumanizing us all. 

In this challenging time, we need more humanity and curiosity, and less certainty. My hope is that we will work to appreciate the reality of multiple narratives, even when our views differ. This is incredibly difficult work, but building and sustaining relationships is the only path to a better future for everyone.

Rabbi Will Berkovitz is the Schocken Family CEO of Jewish Family Service in Seattle. He is former senior vice president and Rabbi in residence at Repair the World.