We, the People of Minnesota, are on overload. Processing the events of the last week are damn near impossible. We are living in a surreal war zone, where the government is bent on quelling a riot that has not happened. Facts are meaningless when the so-called leaders of this country continue to spew lie after lie, expecting us to blindly believe what they say instead of what we see with our eyes...over and over and over and over again. The circle on the right is over the hand of the ICE officer shooting pepper spray into the faces of Alex Pretti (the left red circle) and the woman who was shoved to the ground. The tape shows Alex attempting to help her up when they are sprayed. Mr. Pretti is then shoved face down to the ground and is beaten by the officers. He remains face down on the pavement. According to the New York Times, an agent fired a single shot into the prone Alex Pretti, and then 9 more shots were fired: 8 in rapid succession followed by a single shot.
A photograph taken that morning by NYT photographer, David Guttenfelder should also be viewed. This is what's on our streets: a paramilitary force with no training, no leadership, and absolutely no common sense. Take a very close look at the guy pointing the gun. At his crotch. Views who have examined this closely think he's going commando. I sure hope so. I only hope the big, brave urban guerilla got his tiny-weeny winkie frozen and it fell off. It's only fitting because this image belongs in a video game, not on the streets of an American city. I see images like this and I think I'm looking at some other country because we have checks and balances and this could never happen here.
Silly me.
As I'm sure you have all read, the demonstrations were astounding. Thousands of people showed up in sub-zero temperatures at the airport, the federal Whipple Building, and downtown Minneapolis and Saint Paul to protest the takeover of our state. I get that some people are in this country illegally and need to be removed. My issue is that tactics that are being used to terrorize all Minnesotans. This is domestic terrorism by the government.
Rabbi Emma Kippley-Ogman, friend of the Senior Son and once-upon-a-time a Beth Jacob kid, was arrested demonstrating against ICE at the airport on Friday, January 23rd, just hours before the start of Shabbat.
In an op-ed published by The Forward, she makes an profound connection between the plague of darkness and our own situation:
Standing there among them, on Erev Shabbes in the cold, I thought about the Torah portion we would read the next morning in shul: parashat Bo, from the Book of Exodus.
In it, the darkness of the ninth plague that befell the Egyptians is described as something that the oppressors — the mitzrim, which I’ll translate as “the ones of narrowed sight” — could actually touch. It was so thick that it kept them isolated from each other, unable to move.
In contrast, the dwellings of those seeking liberation were full of light.
I imagined that palpable darkness not as a punishment, but as a reflection of reality. The oppressors were unwilling to see the humanity of their neighbors. But if they had been, they too could have found themselves in dwellings full of light, able to clearly perceive the richness and possibility of living in a multiethnic community.
So too with the federal oppressors here in Minnesota, and those who collude with them. They are so welcome to join us in the light of that recognition. We were there at the airport to invite them in. Instead, they arrested nearly 100 of us, while we sang and prayed for the protection of our people in the languages of our diverse traditions. Doing this work in coalition builds the power we need to break through the oppression: Our differences make us stronger.
I want to believe that...that our differences make us stronger. I want to believe that all political persuasions will come together to stand for due process and the constitution. I have to believe that because I refuse to believe we are doomed.
Meanwhile, back on the ranch.....
Back in October, I arrived in Israel the day after the live hostages came home. There were tears of relief, hugs, kisses, but no celebration because some were not returned. They came back in drips and drabs in body bags. The hostages were honored, hugged, buried, mourned, but no one celebrated. So long as one hostage is missing, we do not dance.
Today, the last hostage held in Gaza came home. Ran Gvili's body was found in a cemetery in East Gaza by IDF soldiers charged with the task of finding him. There were photos of the last poster being removed, Israel's president, Isaac Herzog, removing his yellow ribbon pin. The entire country had been holding out for Ran Gvili's return. Without him, all Israel could not be whole. And now he's back.
President Pinocchio's peace plan is now supposed to begin phase 2. This is the part where Hamas lays down its arms. Sure they will.
The Wifely Person's Tip o'the Week
Even into the bleakest of times, a little levity must fall.
Here's this week's optimistic moment:
The Israeli Bobsled Team has qualified for the Olympics.
!תנו לאנשים שלי להחליק
Let my people slide!
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