Rabbi Milgrom: From Gaza to Tehran, Israelis ‘hostage’ to permanent war
Speaking to AsiaNews, the activist slams the escalation with Iran. The Gaza War is no longer making headlines, but atrocities continue and the hostage issue remains unsolved. In Israel, normal life has been put on hold as Iranian missiles cause “scenes of destruction”. In this context, it is hard to see what the future has in store, except that “many Israelis would like to leave the country.”
Milan (AsiaNews) – Israel and its people are “hostage” to a government that seeks “permanent war”, and now is aiming to “hit Iran,” this according to Jeremy Milgrom, an Israeli rabbi and member of Rabbis for Human Rights, an Israeli human rights group.
He spoke to AsiaNews by phone, commenting on the escalation engulfing the Middle East, following the latest war that broke out on 13 June between the Jewish state and the Islamic Republic. “It is very sad and our lives are disrupted by this,” he lamented.
The few voices for peace and coexistence have fallen silent, starting with Gaza, overwhelmed by the official narrative. The relatives of Israeli hostages still held by Hamas can no longer take to the streets to protest, forced to meet online to talk and keep the fate of the prisoners alive.
Last night saw more heavy fighting between Israel and Iran, while everybody is waiting to see if US President Donald Trump makes the United States an active player in this war.
Iranian rockets hit the Soroka Hospital in Be'er Sheva, injuring several people and damaging the structure. More rockets hit Tel Aviv, Ramat Gan and Holon.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu slammed the “terrorist tyrants” assuring that, “We will exact the full price from” them.
On the Iranian side, Israel hit some nuclear sites, including Arak and Natanz. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei threatened “irreparable damage” in the event of a US intervention.
Meanwhile, in Gaza, people continue to fight and die in the vain quest for aid. At least 140 have been killed in the last 24 hours, report local sources who lament the shift of the world’s attention from the Palestinian territory to Iran.
In Israel, the atmosphere is surreal. Amid fears and feelings of suspended animation, the country will soon mark 650 days of war, first in Gaza, then Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and now against Enemy Number One.
“Because there is no school, children are home”, which “means that public life is not normal,” Jeremy Milgrom notes. “Many people have to stay home to look after the children, and offices are probably closed to a large extent.”
For the past few days, the Gaza issue has been pushed on the back burner. Mainstream media are focused on Iran, which has finally been caught up by a war that began almost two years and saw the involvement of the Houthis in Yemen and Iran out of solidarity with the Palestinians.
In the past week, the picture has become more complicated. Now that “the focus is on Iran, there isn’t much information or talk about Gaza.” For this reason, it is time “probably to worry that terrible things are going on there.”
One question nags Rabbi Milgrom: “Where is the world? Why doesn’t the world stop this? Why does the world let Israel continue to use such force?”
Israel’s use of force appears to be disproportionate, whether in response to an attack or to prevent others when there are no signs of imminent danger.
Israel is currently counting its losses, human and material, from Iranian rockets, which “are very powerful,” says Rabbi Milgrom. “We have scenes of destruction” which “is like sort of what Israel is doing in Gaza. So we see, we feel [the same] for the first time.”
“We also have more lives lost in Israel. We didn’t have this from the rockets[*] that Hamas was sending. So it is greater danger, and we are suffering more destruction.”
Tel Aviv and Jerusalem have been hit, but so has Haifa, a city where Arabs and Jews have been able to live together. Overall though, the “highest percentage of people who were killed were Palestinian.”
“Many people are worried that this [war] will be an opportunity for [Israeli Prime Minister] Netanyahu to gain support because it is popular, a popular thing, not only in Israel, but even in the world (the United States and Germany, for example).”
In the West, Iran has been seen as a problem, and “this was a chance for an attack on Iran. It seemed to be something that is desirable. This is a terrible thing.”
Looking ahead, Rabbi Milgrom warns that, “it seems that Israel will continue to use force and that no one is stopping it. It seems that even if Trump was not part of it, now it sounds like that he is maybe even more supporting the Israeli use of force.”
Today it is hard to read the future, whether “Iran will surrender or stop completely. It just looks really bad, more and more terrible”.
Pacifists, pro-rights groups, and hostages’ families have less and less room to act. These “voices are no longer heard,” admits Milgrom.
It would be hard for an anti-war movement to act. What is more, many Israelis feel like prisoners in their own country, hostages at home, under a government that has opted for permanent war.
It is “not a good time at all. One of the things that many people in the world don’t know is that many Israelis would like to leave the country, even temporarily,” says Milgrom. “But we cannot leave right now because the airport is closed. So we are feeling that we are all hostages of the situation. The government is not giving us freedom.”
For the rabbi, this is very personal. “I was supposed to go to a wedding and visit children and grandchildren outside and I can’t leave. I am feeling very frustrated.” But “My problem is small compared to the problem of the people whose lives and property” have been directly affected.
[*] Houthis too have fired rockets at Israel.
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