As a Jew, I was taught that it was ethically imperative to speak up and to speak out against arbitrary state violence. That was part of what I learned when I learned about the Second World War and the concentration camps.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
Our policy is very simple. The Jewish state was set up to defend Jewish lives, and we always reserve the right to defend ourselves.
It seems, though, that historically we have now reached a position in which Jews cannot legitimately be understood always and only as presumptive victims.
I have always believed in dialogue and in nonviolence, and if you look at my background you will see that it has always been my policy to talk to everyone.
No one said anything to my face, but I constantly heard comments denigrating Jews.
My mother should have been Jewish. She could have taught a class on how to induce guilt.
As a Jew, it is my historic responsibility to defend the Jewish people. I feel this responsibility for the survival of the Jewish people. We're not going to accept any decision by anybody else about security of the State of Israel. It is our role and only our role.
Being a Jew, one learns to believe in the reality of cruelty and one learns to recognize indifference to human suffering as a fact.
In terms of defending Jews, I'm a Jew.
As a practicing Jew, I have studied with Christian teachers whom I respect for who they are and what they are, including their positive concern with Jews and Judaism.
It required a strong heart to stand up against such talk, but I urged my people to be quiet and not to begin a war.