I grew up at Temple Kol Ami in West Bloomfield. During the High Holidays each year, Rabbi Roman used to include a special sermon called Hineni or “Here I am.” Typically, Rabbi Roman told his congregants about someone who impacted the world around them in a significant way. These stories were always inspiring, and the concept stuck with me. However, what struck me was that at the core of the Hineni sermon, Rabbi Roman was teaching us about people who weren’t afraid to rise up and do the uncomfortable, hard or frightening thing. The lesson was about standing in the presence of Gd and raising your hand to say, “I will confront the truth of what is happening around me and attempt to do something about it.” With that spirit in mind, I invite readers to join me on a learning journey. 

From 2012-2016, I worked as the Director of Student Life at Frankel Jewish Academy. Beyond my daily responsibilities of working with student leaders and managing programming, I staffed the senior trips. In Poland and Germany, we mourned at the sites of some of the most unimaginable horrors of the Holocaust; in Israel, we celebrated the resilience of our people. Some of my former students are now the loudest voices on TV and online in defense of Israel and Zionism, and against candidates like Dr. Abdul El-Sayed. I understand the deep connection to Israel that so many Jewish people feel and I also understand the ways in which we, as Jews, seek to defend Israel’s right to exist. 

I understand that not only does Israel exist, but also, that it has the same right to exist as any other country. I also understand that Hamas is a terrorist organization and that Hamas, and groups like it, must be condemned. Their terrorism impacts Israelis and Palestinians alike and we must unequivocally condemn it. Holding both of these truths, and understanding the complexities of the moment, I refuse to use the rise of antisemitism in the US and around the world as a shield that keeps me from confronting the realities of Israel’s atrocities committed against Palestinians, especially in the three years since the October 7 attacks.

Arguments around Zionism and Anti-Zionism are not new, but the ways in which they have divided my Jewish community over the last few years are significant and, it may seem, intractable. I urge all of us to consider the words Noah Eckstein:

“The counter to division isn’t necessarily agreement. It’s understanding.” 

Eckstein’s 2026 Harvard commencement address is worth watching in its entirety. In it, he shares that he is the grandson of a Pakistani-Muslim and a Jewish Holocaust survivor. He recounts the many discussions, debates and disagreements by members of his family whose beliefs were shaped by their diverse and varied lived experiences. While they often disagreed, they always listened and learned from one another. “In most cases, understanding is difficult. Sometimes you have to fight for it,” he shared. The fight, however, is not to defend one’s own beliefs. Rather, the fight is internal – it requires us to resist our natural instinct to dig in and defend what we so confidently believe is right. 

With the High Holidays approaching, I am confident that in congregations around Michigan, from clergy sermons to congregant hallway conversations, Jews will be discussing whether or not they can support candidates like Dr. Abdul El-Sayed. I trust that some will make declarative statements about how no Jewish person should ever support a candidate who speaks about AIPAC the way he does, or who wants to end American financial support for the Israeli government, or who called Netanyahu’s government “bloodthirsty”, or who included the controversial phrase, “Hurt people hurt people,” in his statement following the terrorist attack on Temple Israel. I do not blame those who felt harmed by those words, especially coming the day after the attack.

I understand how that his words sounded like a justification for the attacker’s actions. However, I also understand that the rest of his 913 word statement matters just as much. One can choose to ignore the rest of the statement and dismiss people like El-Sayed. One can choose to label him as unsupportive of Jewish values (at best) or an antisemitic danger to the Jewish people (at worst). But what if, instead of dismissing him, we paused, pushed back on our initial reactions and the confident conclusions we may have drawn, and took a moment to consider how politicians like him, and many others who are winning races across the country, have come to their beliefs?

In his commencement address, Eckstein asks us to reframe our approach when we encounter those with whom we disagree. He says, “Whenever you meet someone you disagree with, state your case, yes, stand up for what you believe in, absolutely, but also ask the other person about their beliefs. Ask them how they got there. Place yourself in their shoes and ask, Why do I believe this? Listen like you might be wrong. That is the hardest and most important thing you can do in a world that is constantly telling you to pick a side.”

How many of us can truly say we listen like we might be wrong? Being open to having our beliefs challenged may be one of the most difficult things for any of us to do. It becomes that close to impossible when the beliefs in question are so deeply tied to our faith, our history – our very identity. But as close to impossible as this ask may be, our understanding of the world cannot be static. Our perspectives and beliefs should be shaped by new information, new voices and new perspectives. 

I have heard many Jewish community leaders (clergy, elected officials, and Jewish communal leadership) refer to themselves as “Zionists,” but acknowledge they obviously don’t fully support the actions of the Netanyahu government – as if the current actions of Israel, its military, and many of its people can somehow be disconnected from its government. They defend this stance by forcibly stating that Zionism isn’t about agreeing with Israel’s government but the unwavering belief that the Jewish people have a right to self-determination.

But what happens when that self-determination leads to the dehumanizing of Palestinians and the rise of almost daily Israeli terror attacks against Palestinians done in the name of the Jewish people? What happens when the unwavering embrace of Zionism as a safety net for the Jewish people against antisemitism is used as a blindfold to atrocities committed in the name of our protection? Must I simply ignore the detailed reports of abuse and inhumane treatment of Palestinians in Israeli custody because some of these people are Hamas? Or instead, do my Jewish values compel me to speak up, demand that our government officials influence Israeli societal change to comply with international law?

Over the course of almost three years, I’ve found myself wanting to deepen my awareness and understanding of the reality of life for Palestinians and Israelis in Gaza, Israel, and the West Bank. To this end, I have spent this time seeking out Israelis, Palestinians, and people directly connected to Israel and Palestine in online spaces. I’ve followed their accounts on Twitter (X) and bookmarked hundreds, possibly thousands, of posts. Yes, I know that Twitter is a cesspool of hatred and extremism but, also, if you use it to curate specific trusted accounts, it can capture real-time documentation of events happening around the world. 

I have a few simple rules when determining whom to follow. 

  1. They must not believe in the fallacy that either Israel or Palestine is going anywhere. In fact, the vast majority of people I follow openly express desire for a future of peace and prosperity for Israel, Palestine, and their people. 
  2. They must not blame an entire people for anything (all Israelis, Palestinians, Jews, Muslims, etc.).
  3. They must not believe that any type of terror (Palestinian or Israeli) can be justified for the cause. 

I am asking you to engage in this learning with me. I ask that you accept this invitation with an openness to read, watch, learn and reflect. I ask that you listen like you might be wrong. To participate, simply follow these accounts on Twitter. If you don’t want to add them to your personal account, create a new one just for this project. Be sure to only look at posts in the Following tab on Twitter. The For You section is an algorithm nightmare that I strongly recommend you ignore. 

From some accounts, you will see words that may give you pause, or may evoke a strong emotional response. Words like genocide, apartheid, occupation, prison abuse, and Jewish terror may shock you. I have experienced strong emotional responses, too. I recognize that your immediate reaction may be to drop this project and dismiss these accounts. In this moment, as this happens, I ask you to channel the wisdom of Noah Eckstein to do what is hard, look beyond the individual words that have previously pushed you to put up your shield, and resist the urge to attack back against those with whom you disagree. 

Instead, take the time to truly read the words, look at the pictures and videos, and reflect upon the ongoing pain and suffering of the Palestinian people. Not all of the posts will be in agreement. For example, Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, a Palestinian-American humanitarian activist from Gaza, regularly calls out some of the American pro-Palestinian activisits because of their embrace of Hamas and their antisemitic rhetoric that only serves to hurt the cause of Palestinian liberation. In fact, when Alkhatib and others like him make these critical comments, they are often called out themselves as “agents for the other side” because they dare to criticize their own community in their work toward the dream of a peaceful future. Taken as a whole, these Twitter accounts have helped me go beyond what I thought I knew. I am better for it. 

In the days, weeks, and months following the October 7 attacks, many in the Jewish community called for the world to see and bear witness to photos of Hamas’ deadly terror attacks and later, photos and videos of the torture and starvation of the hostages. It was and still is vital for us all to see and truly understand the scope of Hamas’ atrocities. 

Today, we must also bear witness to the scope of Israel’s attacks against Palestinians, as well as Israel’s continued role in ensuring that there will never be peace.

In the spirit of bearing witness, I ask you to follow these accounts for at least one week. At the end of the week, push yourself to continue. I expect what you see will be shocking, as Palestinians and Israelis document their lived experiences in Israel and Palestine in 2026. Their truths are often shocking to me, too. For example, you may read reports from Breaking The Silence, where former IDF soldiers reveal drastically unequal enforcement of laws in the West Bank, or lax rules of engagement in Gaza leading to the killing of children who were searching for food. Or you may read about the use of Military Enforcement Zones that protect settlers who attack Palestinian homes. Or you may read about Israeli and Palestinian partnerships attempting to protect Palestinian farmland and olive trees from being burned or bulldozed. I think you will come to find that we cannot simply dismiss these people and actions as outliers and that we, as a Jewish community, must raise our voices and call for action. 

Here is a small sampling of posts I have seen in the days prior to writing this piece:  

  • August 23: Alon-Lee-Green documents how a single Israeli, with the protection of the IDF, terrorized a 20,000 person Palestinian village.
  • August 23: Ihab Hassan shares a report from Amnesty International on Hamas’ arrests, torture, abuse, and executions of Palestinians.
  • August 23: Ihab Hassan documents the speedy arrest of a Palestinian following a stabbing attack in the West Bank, in comparison to the many Israeli settler terrorist attacks and murders of Palestinians that have seen little to no consequences.
  • August 23: Peace Now maps the growing number of outposts and farms around Qusra, a West Bank village, that are being used as staging points for attacks against Palestinians to hinder their access to their land and drive them out of their homes.
  • August 23: Yoel H. documenting an Israeli bombing in the al-Zuwayda neighborhood, killing a four year old boy. There is no ceasefire in Gaza. Scroll into Yoel’s post and you will see images of the dead child being held by a family member. 
  • August 23: Standing Together documenting two Palestinians (age 17 and 70) in the West Bank shot by Jewish settlers, killing the 17 year old all while the IDF stands by.
  • August 22: Khalil Sayegh documents a statement made by Gadi Eisenkot, who has a chance to replace Netanyahu as Prime Minister, and his conviction that there will never be a Palestinian state.
  • August 21: J Street documenting the murder of a 17 year old Palestinian and serious wounding of a man in his 70s, by Israeli terrorists in the West Bank.

The list goes on. We must bear witness to this recent statement by the Chief Sephardic Rabbi of Israel, where he says that the Palestinian people do not exist or have rights. We must listen when we hear Itamar Ben Gvir calling for the assassination of 30-40 Palestinians in Gaza each night. We must watch and read about the settler terrorists who besieged the home of a Palestinian-American family for several days, and the ways in which the IDF decided to displace the family from their home and ransack it, instead of holding the settlers accountable. These events are true. We cannot look away.

When we encounter these truths, painful as they may be, we can choose to dig deeper in the name of learning and deepening our understanding. We can scroll back through the past months or years of these accounts to see that the posts I’ve highlighted are not isolated incidents. 

As you engage in this learning, find others to join you and follow these accounts together. Talk about them. Ask yourself if you were aware of all that has happened, all that is happening, and whether or not this knowledge changes your perception of how our political and communal leaders should act. If you found new information that shocked, distressed, or angered you, ask yourself why our legacy Jewish institutions and congregations haven’t been vocal in the face of such injustices. Ask why we haven’t been reading about the atrocities being committed in the name of Jewish safety in our regular updates from our Jewish communal organizations. If you want someone to have a nuanced and detailed discussion about this, reach out to me. I am always open to talk and willing to listen. I can be reached at michaeldiscussions@gmail.com.

I believe that we have a responsibility to do this work within our own community. The loudest voices against Jewish terror should come from within the Jewish community. Our leaders must be vocal. In this moment, our leaders must make a choice that is different from the status quo that we’ve held for close to 80 years: we cannot continue to unequivocally protect and support Israel with our words, our policies, our funds, and our weapons. We cannot simply travel to Israel, visit the Kotel, enjoy the beaches of Tel Aviv, experience the shuk, enjoy delicious food, and pretend like this is a complete picture. We cannot and should not ignore the reality of the devastation and destruction being done in our name, in this place that so many refer to as The Jewish State. We must use the influence that we have to push for change.

But I have hope. While I believe that we must confront the truth of what is happening now, and has been happening for many years, we must also be able to look forward and believe that a peaceful future is possible. I want all of our elected officials and community leaders who truly believe in peace to use their influence to highlight and support the growing number of Arab and Israeli peace movements. We can replace the vitriol and hate with a future built around peace, cooperation and coexistence. 

Reach out to your favorite local bookstore and order The Future Is Peace by Maoz Anon and Aziz Abu Sarah. Invite friends to do the same. Eat dinner together and discuss the book. See if your congregation would be open to a virtual author visit. 

Rally the community around building coalition support, in and out of Israel, for Alon Green and Rula Daood, co-founders of Standing Together, who launched a new Arab/Israeli political party, Makom Lekulanu: A Place For Us All, or any number of organizations working cooperatively toward a peaceful future.

As a people, we continue to create new commentary on ancient texts as we find meaning and connections to the modern world. We must apply that same principle to conversations around antisemitism, Israel, Palestine, and the safety and security of all people. We can chart a new path that isn’t defined by what’s impossible, but instead lifts up those who are working to build a true future of peace and equality in Israel and Palestine. 

Let’s have hard conversations. Let’s ask hard questions. Let’s push leaders like Dr. El-Sayed to engage in real and honest conversations with the broad and often contradictory views of the Jewish community. But let’s do this with openness and a desire to understand.

Let’s listen like we might be wrong. Let’s resist the urge to put up our protective armor. Instead, let's engage in our timeless traditions of debate and discussion in the name of the future of our people and all that is happening in our name.