No Excuse for This

As those who know me well may know, I am half Jewish. Mother’s side which, in the Jewish religion, is the side that counts. Also, in my youth I was quite pro-Israeli. I spent the greater part of my 20s in Israel, learned to speak the language, even had a passport and served in the IDF.
This is not something I’m proud of. In fact, when I see what’s happening in Israel today, I am downright ashamed to be Jewish. I am sure there are a lot of half Jews like me who feel the same way, and undoubtedly some of purer lineage as well. Because it is disgusting. It is inhuman.
When I saw this story on Facebook, I almost didn’t click on it, because I thought “Oh, that’s old news. That incident happened a couple of years ago. Which it may well have, but it happened again on Friday. From the article in Mondoweiss:

Hundreds of Palestinians were injured and dozens were hospitalized on Friday night across the city of Jerusalem, as Israeli forces stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and continued to crackdown on protests against the imminent evictions of Palestinians in Sheikh Jarrah. 

The height of the violence took place inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, where tens of thousands of Palestinian worshipers had gathered inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the surrounding courtyard for evening prayers on the last Friday of Ramadan. “

It’s one thing for police to violently disperse a protest demonstration. It’s still not good, but this is a different, and much worse thing. They were in a mosque. They were praying. They were already on the floor, facing down. Houses of worship are traditional places of refuge. The police are supposed to respect that. Just like “a man’s home is his castle.” Police are supposed to respect that. Now, in today’s world, there is no place the police cannot go. There is no place where people are safe.

They were in a mosque. They were praying. And it was a religious holiday. Now, I am not a religious person. That’s how I usually phrase it, because I don’t want to argue with people about religion. But, the truth is, I think religion is absurd, and anybody who believes there is an omnipotent being watching over this madness, this failure of modern civilization, is badly deluded. But, as long as they are in a church, or a mosque, or a temple praying, they are not out robbing, and killing, and raping. And they should not be arrested, or beaten.