Last year in Israel, I spent two months of my gap year in an army program in the south called “Marva.” The purpose of the program is to provide Jewish young adults from all over the world with the experience of the physical and emotional hardships of the State of Israel, through the perspective of the Israeli army. The experience was a Jewish melting pot, with people from the United States, England, Canada, Spain, South America, and France.
Although all participants were a part of experiencing the same Zionist program, it seemed to me that only the French Jews were intent on actually joining the Israeli Defense Forces, and “Marva” was their stepping stone to joining the IDF.
For those of us from the United States or other European countries, we simply viewed “Marva” as a cool experience during our gap year and planned to attend university back home afterwards. And that’s exactly what I and many of my peers ended up doing. The French Jews, however, did end up joining the IDF. I found it extremely interesting that even though all of us spoke so passionately about Israel, only the French Jews made Aliyah that year and joined the army, while the rest of us went back home.
After the recent terrorist attack in a Jewish supermarket that killed four Jews in Paris, I now realize that perhaps the French “Marva” participants chose Israel as their home because they no longer viewed France as their home. Although it was the deadliest attack on Jews in three years in France, it most certainly was not the first. When I heard about it, I was upset and emotional, but definitely not surprised. It saddens me that we are used to the concept of Jews getting murdered simply because they are Jews. The fact that they got murdered while innocently going about their day and preparing for Shabbat sickens me; I do the same thing every week, which makes it hit that much closer to home. French Jews have been undergoing a highly scary reality that we have yet to experience here in America.
It is no wonder that so many French Jews are fleeing to Israel for refuge, and that all of the French participants on “Marva” were willing to put their personal lives on hold to protect Israel and its ideals. Jews should be able to feel secure in a country that is considered to be part of the free world where all doors are supposedly open to them, yet they chose Israel. In my eyes, this makes a huge statement about the Jews’ place in Europe. A threat to Judaism is also a threat to democratic ideals, as the terrorist attack on the Charlie Hebdo headquarters that killed twelve people just two days before the Jewish supermarket attack testifies.
I’d always liked to believe that the pen is mightier than the sword, but clearly that statement was proven wrong by the attacks on the Charlie Hebdo headquarters. Indeed, I was outraged by the attack on our democratic ideal of freedom of speech and the press. The attack really shed light on the tensions between radicalism and free speech, and naturally I was extremely supportive of our right to freedom of speech. Just as I was quick to state “Je Suis Juif,” or I am a Jew, I was also originally quick to state the slogan, “Je Suis Charlie.” After looking further into the magazine publication though, I realized I am not 100% Charlie Hebdo. The magazine describes itself as atheist and far-left wing, and is known for publishing articles mocking religion, politics, and culture. Though I fully support the magazine right to publish whatever it may please, I do not support much of the offensive content that goes into the magazine. Though “I am Charlie” in the sense that I support freedom of speech and the press, I am definitely not Charlie when it comes to the views the magazine espouses.
I also do not think the that the magazine’s rebuttal to the terrorist attacks was the best way to handle the situation. Shortly after the terrorist attacks, Charlie Hebdo published an edition depicting Muhammad holding a “Je Suis Charlie” sign, and above the cartoon are the words “all is forgiven” in French. The decision to depict Muhammad in the issue right after the attacks is definitely courageous and defiant, and I respect that. However, in light of the seventeen deaths that occurred in only one week, publishing another cartoon of Muhammad simply to make a point about freedom of speech is not worth endangering people’s lives.
Some may argue that we should not let fear of another attack hinder our right to freedom of speech. That is not what I am saying; I think the magazine should continue following the beat of their own drum and continue to publish whatever they want.
I do think that that they should have shown respect to the victims of the terrorist attacks and they should have depicted something on the cover having to do with the victims, rather than retaliating by depicting Muhammad once again to make a statement.
Putting lives on the line just isn’t worth it.
I hope that the seemingly neverending battle between radicalism and the Western world will come to an end one day. We should be able to feel safe in our own beliefs, not only as Jews but as humans as well. We should continue to strongly abide to democratic ideals, whether it be freedom of religion or freedom of speech. We must stand together against the supermarket and Charlie Hebdo attacks, otherwise these ideals will be lost. Maybe it’s naïve to hope for a world in which we don’t feel the need to flee our country simply for being who we are, or getting killed for having an opinion different than that of someone else.
After such horrifying attacks, that world seems like a distant, impossible utopia.