Posting on behalf of a reader who emailed me (with their consent):
"I see your question, and, a couple days ago I would have agreed with you, but the past couple days have shifted my perspective on these large-scale announcements.
I work at a BigLaw firm in New York City and my wife is a student in an NYC law school. Both of our institutio…
Posting on behalf of a reader who emailed me (with their consent):
"I see your question, and, a couple days ago I would have agreed with you, but the past couple days have shifted my perspective on these large-scale announcements.
I work at a BigLaw firm in New York City and my wife is a student in an NYC law school. Both of our institutions issued statements, albeit late and tepid. While I originally would have been dismissive of such statements, I’ve come to realize they can serve a more important goal than I once thought.
Since the events unfolded, neither my wife nor I—both of us obviously Jewish—have received any words of compassion or comfort from any of our non-Jewish colleagues or classmates. The Jews in our institutions have banded together, but no one outside of the Jewish community has even acknowledged any of the events to either of us. I don’t know if they fear weighing into politics, or haven’t been following what’s going on too closely, but I think those of us that follow the news a little too closely can forget that most people don’t.
Most people aren’t addicted to the day to day news cycle, and maybe brush off major international stories. It’s possible most people don’t realize the viciousness with which Hamas operates, and merely rubber-stamps their terror as 'conflict in the Middle East.'
Surely we can agree that it’s each individual’s responsibility to follow the news on their own, especially individuals at such intellectual institutions, but these sort of announcements can have an important function—to inform your constituents that egregiously immoral behavior is occurring overseas and it may be affecting the people next to you. Recognize evil when you see it, and offer compassion to those who need it. It shouldn’t take a firm-wide or school-wide email for people to realize such atrocities, but a strong condemnation of an evil terrorist organization is a good step in that direction."
Posting on behalf of a reader who emailed me (with their consent):
"I see your question, and, a couple days ago I would have agreed with you, but the past couple days have shifted my perspective on these large-scale announcements.
I work at a BigLaw firm in New York City and my wife is a student in an NYC law school. Both of our institutions issued statements, albeit late and tepid. While I originally would have been dismissive of such statements, I’ve come to realize they can serve a more important goal than I once thought.
Since the events unfolded, neither my wife nor I—both of us obviously Jewish—have received any words of compassion or comfort from any of our non-Jewish colleagues or classmates. The Jews in our institutions have banded together, but no one outside of the Jewish community has even acknowledged any of the events to either of us. I don’t know if they fear weighing into politics, or haven’t been following what’s going on too closely, but I think those of us that follow the news a little too closely can forget that most people don’t.
Most people aren’t addicted to the day to day news cycle, and maybe brush off major international stories. It’s possible most people don’t realize the viciousness with which Hamas operates, and merely rubber-stamps their terror as 'conflict in the Middle East.'
Surely we can agree that it’s each individual’s responsibility to follow the news on their own, especially individuals at such intellectual institutions, but these sort of announcements can have an important function—to inform your constituents that egregiously immoral behavior is occurring overseas and it may be affecting the people next to you. Recognize evil when you see it, and offer compassion to those who need it. It shouldn’t take a firm-wide or school-wide email for people to realize such atrocities, but a strong condemnation of an evil terrorist organization is a good step in that direction."
As a non-Jew, this is disappointing to read. With all the news about Israel, I can't imagine how Jewish people are coping. Saddening and infuriating.