Guest Post: The People Israel Is in Desperate Need of Wholeness

Grounded in her Judaism, Kerry Chaplin is an advocate for social justice. After devoting her collegiate experience to learning and educating about the intersection of oppressions, and subsequently representing janitors in the Service Employees International Union in St. Louis, she moved to Los Angeles for the weather, for women and for work as California Faith for Equality’s (CFE’s) first full-time staffperson. Now CFE’s Interfaith Organizing Director, she has helped to grow CFE from a staff of one to a staff of five, and from a network of 600 to a coalition of 6,000 diverse faith leaders and faith communities from across California. Kerry holds both a B.A. in Religious Studies and an M.A. in NonProfit Management from Washington University in St. Louis, lives in West Hollywood, and plays wing for her Santa Monica Women’s Rugby Club.

Moses said to the Lord: “Please, O Lord, I have never been a man of words . . .” and the Lord said . . . “Who gives speech? … Is it not I? . . . Now go, and I will be with you as you speak.” Exodus (4:10-12)

What is an appropriate response in words or in action to the tragedy in Tel Aviv? I don’t even want to call it a tragedy. I am embarrassed to say that I am angrier with the murderer than I am sad with the mourners. The murderer is no doubt a Jew, no doubt observant of the laws and traditions of Judaism, no doubt a killer, but therein is a profound cognitive dissonance. How can a Jew, especially one who studies and follows the laws of our people, commit an act so egregiously in violation of those laws by any denominational standard? And then how do we, as Jews, reaffirm our faith in one another and in our peoplehood?

I was nine years old when I visited the synagogue in St. Petersburg. Even though it was Shabbat, my family did not go there to pray. We went to be tourists to see the only synagogue the Nazis left standing, so they would know where to find all the Jews on Saturday morning. My mother, grandmother, aunt and the rest of the women sat in the upper balcony, while the men were close to all the action. While I was experiencing and really processing the sexism of traditional Judaism for the first time, my mother turned to me and said, “See you can go anywhere in the world, and the prayers are the same. It’s like being home.” I hadn’t even heard that they were reciting the shema, arguably the most central prayer in all Jewish prayer. I closed my eyes and used my ears, and the sounds were so familiar. I started singing along. Up high on that balcony, uncounted and only an observer to communal prayer, I was not home, but when I closed my eyes and used my ears, I was home.

My mother taught me a very important lesson: Wherever there are Jews in the world, you are home because we are a historied people. My experience taught me a variant lesson: Some Jews are more home together than others.

There are not many Jews left on this earth. Nearly one third of us were murdered during the Holocaust. So for one Jew to pick up a gun, target, kill and wound our youth is piercing. As a woman, and as a lesbian, I am reminded that even when I am home, in a majority Jewish and liberal-minded city like Tel Aviv, even among LGBT friends at an LGBT Center, I am never home.

The last sentence of the kaddish, which among other things is a prayer for mourners, reads Oseh shalom bimromav hu ya’aseh shalom aleinu v’al kol yisrael. May the One who creates peace above the One, create peace upon us and upon all Israel. The word shalom, often translated as peace, connotes a sense of wholeness. May the One who creates wholeness . . . create wholeness upon us and upon all Israel.

In the aftermath of this event, the people Israel is in desperate need of wholeness. The many, many vigils for the dead and the wounded across the world reflect our desire for this wholeness, some might say G-d is creating that wholeness among us, and again giving us a chance to maintain it. We may not be able to answer the question why, or even to bring the murderer to justice, but we can come together in wholeness.

Note from UTF: The video below is from the vigil in Tel Aviv held over the weekend. Tens of thousands participated. Israeli pop star Ivri Lider performs.

VIDEO: Israeli LGBT Say Tel Aviv Shootings Are Their Stonewall; Show Your Support

The identities of the victims of the Tel Aviv shooting have been released. The dead have been named as 26-year-old Nir Katz, a youth worker at the center where the shootings took place, and 16-year-old Liz Tarboushi, a girl described as quiet and "introverted" by her school classmates.

With the names and images of the victims available, the tragedy becomes more real for those who didn't know them. A face grounds what for many is an inconceivable act of violence and anchors the experience more, making it more personal and a shared, community experience. (Learn more about the victims.)

The Guardian has quoted those who gathered in solidarity in the streets of Tel Aviv this past weekend, saying of the attack, "This is our Stonewall."

Thanks to Care2, I was made aware of this video of the spontaneous march on the night of the shooting in Tel Aviv, depicting the solidarity that has grown out of tragedy.



On Top Magazine quoted Kadima Party Leader Tzipi Livini, who went to the scene of the tragedy shortly after it happened.

“I came here to show my support for those who live in the proud gay community and are grieving their dead. I hope that this terrible day will also give you strength and mark a turning point. This day should give children the strength to tell their parents 'I'm gay'. This day should give parents the strength to love their children for who they are. This day should give the strength to make a change within Israeli society, so that it will be proud of its gay community.”

ACTIONS OF SUPPORT: Care2 is asking the global LGBT population to sign this pledge to show support and solidarity with the Israeli LGBT community.

Tonight, New York Council Speaker Christine Quinn, LGBT Jewish groups, youth LGBT groups and others will join in remembrance of those killed over the weekend at the LGBT Center in Tel Aviv. The vigil will take place at Congregation Beth Simchat Torah at 57 Bethune Street (between Washington/West St), Manhattan.

Washington DC Holds Vigil for Tel Aviv Victims; Israeli Conservatives to Hold Evening of Reconciliation

The gay Jewish community and allies in Washington D.C. held a vigil Monday to express solidarity with the victims and their families of the Tel Aviv LGBT center shooting Saturday, where a masked man dressed in black entered the facility and started shooting. Currently, the attacker has not been caught.

Attendees carried signs that read "homophobia is not part of the Torah," "Jewish, out & proud," "prejudice against one is prejudice against all." They lit memory candles and sang songs in Hebrew. Gay rabbis addressed the crowd and shared their experience of being homosexual and religious.



Two have died and fifteen injured in result of the attack, but Police Commissioner David Cohen called on the public not to blame specific sectors of the community for the attack for no evidence has yet to arise that it was a hate crime.

A source of Haaretz involved in the investigation noted that "there is no clear evidence at this stage indicating that this was a hate crime." Other sources said the investigation was expected to be lengthy.

Jewish World reports:

The Masorti (Conservative) Movement will hold an evening of learning, song and reconciliation that will coincide with Tuesday evening's Jewish "holiday of love" - Tu Be'av - in response to the fatal shooting attack on the LGBT community in Tel Aviv."

Events in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa and Beersheba will use Jewish texts and melodies to encourage discussion about "unconditional love," "tolerance" and "bridging the divides" in society, said organizers.

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Rabbi Barry Schlesinger, president of the movement's Rabbinical Assembly in Israel, said the events were being held because "we could not celebrate Tu Be'av and sing and dance while the families of those killed were mourning their dead.

"I thought it was much more fitting to have an evening of Torah study and introspection as a way of beginning to process of repentance ahead of Yom Kippur."

It will be interesting to see who attends the night of reconciliation. Times has done an article titled "Gay vs. Orthodox: A Deadly Turn in Israel's Culture War?", shedding light on the growing tension between the communities.

Tel Aviv is not far from some of the more "inflexible Orthodox communities in the country..." If members of these communities show, maybe a dialogue could begin.