I am Jewish. Not overly religious, but certainly aware of my heritage and proud/saddened by what my family has endured, RE: the Holocaust/escape from Germany. I feel like I know what it means to be Jewish, and whether I go to synagogue every weekend or not (I don’t), I still bleed the blood of my religion.
That said, I am mad.
I live in a heavily populated Jewish town; send my daughter to nursery school at a Jewish Community Center and to a camp populated by many Jewish kids. What frustrates me—no, infuriates me—is the endless stream of Jewish parents driving around town in monstrous, gas-guzzling SUVs. Simply put, there is a hypocrisy here that many of my fellow Jews are surely missing: You go to synagogue and pray for Israel; you support the nation’s health with donations … with visits … with words and actions. And then, back home, you pay $75-$100 a pop to fill your God-awful vehicle with oil supplied by Middle Eastern nations that have made it their mission to destroy Israel.
Inane.
For the record, I am not one of these Jews who cheers Israel! Israel! Israel! every chance I get. The country often infuriates me with its stubborn indifference toward the welfare of the Palestinian people. There seems to be woefully little empathy, and even less support. Yes, there are many Palestinians who see Israelis and see blood. But there are many, many, many others who simply crave peace and togetherness.
I’m babbling. The point is, actions result in actions result in actions. That money spent at the pump is going somewhere … and it ain’t Disney World.
