The tragedy in Paris on November 13, 2015 left us all in shock and sadness. Just minutes before the attack, people were spending their leisurely weekend hours just like any of us would: enjoying a concert, watching a game, sipping on wine. Then all of a sudden, in a single night, fear pervaded the streets of Paris.
In these difficult times of unexplainable suffering at the hands of baseless hatred, one cannot help but think of Israel. Many Jews have been comparing the events in Paris to what has been going on regularly around Israel. The stabbings, shootings and car-ramming attacks have similarly left Israelis afraid to leave their homes and live their daily lives. The enemies in Israel have the same goal of instilling fear in all civilians.
The gravity of tragedy and the inexplicable evil is one and the same—Paris, Israel, anywhere in the world. At the same time, many Jews feel a distinctive loss when it comes to Israel that is not always universal. The world mourns together for Paris, but does the world mourn together for Israel?
Students at Stern College weighed in on their thoughts following the Paris attacks. Junior Elana Perlow expressed her common sense of loss for all victims of terror. “The value of every human life is immeasurable. Whether in Israel, France, Kenya or Lebanon, the potential extinguished by the hands of hatred is devastating. As a caring Jew, I feel the pain of all of humanity.”
This is, in fact, a big part of what it means to be a Jew. Even in the absence of empathy from the rest of the world for Israel’s suffering, we stand up for all human rights, not only our own. Israel works and fights to ensure the safety within and beyond her borders.
Rina Ben-Benyamin, a senior at Stern College, sees the terror that goes on in Israel as a deeper and more personal harm precisely because of the reaction seen from Israel compared to the rest of the world.
“It is different because Israel stands for truth when no one else does. When the world is calm and pretends everything is alright because a city like Paris is safe, Israel continues fighting for morality, for goodness and for truth. It is different because Israel constantly endures this terror, and yet does so alone, and still goes beyond what any other country does.”
Antoine Leiris, whose wife was killed in the shooting at the concert hall in Paris, posted a tribute to her, directed at the enemy, just three days after the attacks. At the end of what was an emotionally stirring piece, he said, referring to his son who no longer has a mother, “He is only 17 months old, he will eat his afternoon tea as always and then we will go and play as always, and this little boy’s entire life will be an affront to you, by being happy and free.”