I’m writing to publicly congratulate Robert Jacobs of StandWithUs Northwest for his leadership and advocacy during this heart-wrenching month of conflict in Israel.
We reside in a community in which there’s a “multivocality” of opinions regarding the Middle East. It is essential that Seattle’s Jewish community have an atmosphere in which these diverse — and sometimes divergent — sentiments about Israel’s future are heard and respected. That said, the 2014 Hamas-Israel War has proven to be an inflection point for global Jewry, one that has galvanized Jewish communities around the world. Indeed, while civilian casualties are always tragic, the moral clarity of Operation Protective Edge — a defensive action to protect the citizens of Israel and preserve the security of its borders — is for many Americans — Jewish or otherwise — beyond question.
In Seattle, I believe that no individual has done more to proactively engage our community, educate the public at-large about the core facts concerning this war, and defend Israel’s actions against those who choose to vilify it than Rob Jacobs.
Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel famously stated, “The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it’s indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it’s indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it’s indifference.” To Rob and the leadership of StandWithUs, todah rabah for raising your voices, mobilizing our community, and making a difference on behalf of Israel and the Jewish people!
David Chivo
Mercer Island