Yesterday was Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, beginning ten days of penitence that culminate on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.
This year, the period includes the conclusion of twelve months of genocide being committed by Israel — and the US — in blatant violation of international law and the genocide convention. (BTW, most Jews are not zionists — and most zionists are not Jewish!)
The following piece by Brant Rosen explains the significance and the mandate for action.
We Charge Genocide: The Shofar Calls Us to Account on Rosh Hashanah
In the Jewish new year, we must confront the carnage that Zionism has wrought.
Every year at Rosh Hashanah… synagogues across the world sound the shofar, a ram’s horn that represents the signature moment of the holiday.
Over the centuries, Jewish commentators have offered a variety of explanations for this ritual. Moses Maimonides famously called it a wake-up call to personal atonement; others view it as a call to action or a tribute to God’s power. This new year, however, I believe one reason stands out among all others. Today, we sound the shofar as a call to moral accountability
At Rosh Hashanah, we begin the holiest season of the year for the Jewish community: the 10 Days of Awe, which conclude on Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement). Over the next ten days, we will be challenged to break open the shells of inertia and complacency that have built up over the past year. The shofar is sounded on Rosh Hashanah to herald the inauguration of a deep, collective soul searching: to look deep within, to face honestly what must be faced, if we are to truly begin our new year anew.
I cannot remember a Rosh Hashanah when the collective moral stakes were any higher for the American Jewish community than this year….
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