It is because of my Jewish heritage and my family\u2019s history in pogroms, ghettos, and concentration camps that I am speaking out against Israeli treatment of Palestinians, most especially the nightmare being visited on the people of Gaza right now. It is because I was told the stories of my people, because of the losses, the displacement, the systemic nature and institutionalization of our oppression, that I cannot be silent. It is because the trauma is generational, because it was generational on purpose because my own people ensured that I would never forget, that I cannot pretend I don\u2019t know what\u2019s happening or the power of the masses who do nothing to stop it.<\/p>\n
The attack from Hamas triggered every story told to me around the Passover table when I was a child, and along with it, the ferocity instilled in me to fight, fight, fight when they come for us. I was not spared the stories of rape, of torture, of unbearable suffering, and I was not spared so that I would teach my children and they their children, because this is how we protect ourselves. When Hamas bombed Israel and took people from their homes, I knew what I was supposed to do. I was to gather with my people and stand together to make sure they take no one else. Survive at all costs. Never again.<\/p>\n
But, it is because of my Jewish heritage, my family\u2019s history, and the trauma handed down to me that I cannot stay silent when people are being displaced, when new ghettos are being built, and when systems of oppression are targeting entire peoples.<\/p>\n
I side with the people. They do not have to be My People. Never Again means Never Again.<\/p>\n
Rev. Peggy Clarke<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It is because of my Jewish heritage and my family\u2019s history in pogroms, ghettos, and concentration camps that I am speaking out against Israeli treatment of Palestinians, most especially the nightmare being visited on the people of Gaza right now. It is because I was told the stories of my people, because of the losses, … Continue reading I Side with the People – They Do Not Have to Be My People<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1313],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26284","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-commentary"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/uusj.net\/wp1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26284","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/uusj.net\/wp1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/uusj.net\/wp1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uusj.net\/wp1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uusj.net\/wp1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26284"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/uusj.net\/wp1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26284\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26285,"href":"https:\/\/uusj.net\/wp1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26284\/revisions\/26285"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/uusj.net\/wp1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26284"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uusj.net\/wp1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26284"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uusj.net\/wp1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26284"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}