Local opinion: We had no choice but to visit Israel

The following is the opinion and analysis of the writer:

“If you don’t need to be home right now, it’s best you aren’t.”

This call has become far too common in my life from the Tucson Police Department. As a Jewish State Representative in Arizona, I have been a target of antisemitic attacks for years, and sadly, I’ve witnessed a significant surge in such hatred since Oct. 7. The rise of antisemitism is not just a local issue; it’s a global epidemic that threatens the very fabric of our society.

Antisemitism is not a new phenomenon; it has deep roots in history, fueled by prejudice, ignorance, and intolerance. However, in recent times, it has reared its ugly head with alarming frequency and intensity. The sad reality is that Oct. 7 was an earth-shattering event for all Jews. It reminded us that our sense of security was a thin veil that could be pulled aside to reveal a simmering hatred at any time.

I’m a vocal Zionist who believes in the right of the Jewish people to have self-determination in their ancestral homeland. I’m not shy about my beliefs and never will be, but it’s not just elected leaders who support Israel being targeted. Just in the last two weeks, a dear friend who is progressive and works as a public defender was attacked and spat on in downtown Tucson for the transgression of being a Jew, not because he had an Israeli flag on his car but a star of David. That proves what I have been saying for years: Anti-zionism is antisemitism, and those who are protesting do not separate Jews from Israel because you cannot. All Jewish community events, regardless of whether there is a mention of Israel, are a target. That’s why so many of my fellow Jews have gotten used to having a police presence at community and religious events. In 2024, being a Jew means you are called upon to justify your existence and the policies of the Israeli government.

I’m being criticized for recently leading a bipartisan delegation to Israel. No one batted an eye when lawmakers have taken trips to Mexico, Ukraine, Canada, Germany, and Taiwan, to name a few. Yet when I led a trip to Israel, I was attacked. There was no attempt to ask why the trip happened or what we did; instead, there was the instinctual mistrust and assumption that something nefarious was happening because it was Israel. So, once again, in the face of personal attacks and Jew-hatred, I must stand up for myself and my community, feeling that their mere existence is constantly under threat.

I’m reminded of a quote Golda Meir, the first female head of state in the Middle East, used to be fond of: “Ein breira.” Simply, it means “no choice.” As I’ve sadly had to learn, Jews have no choice but to stand up for themselves because the alternative is our demise.

So, I wanted to tell people in my own words why we took a trip to Israel just a few short days ago.

Our delegation took a 4-day trip and met with diverse voices in the region.

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We met with Bedouins, who are Muslim citizens of Israel, who shared with us their fight to improve the lives of their fellow Arab Israelis. We also heard from a young man who is Muslim and has two family members who were taken hostage on Oct. 7. Despite them being Muslim, they were not spared the horrors that so many saw on that dark Saturday by Hamas terrorists.

We had dinner with a prominent Palestinian journalist from the West Bank who had a frank conversation about how, despite what has happened, we can still fight for peace between Israelis and Palestinians. He criticized both leaders in the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority for failing their respective peoples.

We also heartbreakingly met with families who had loved ones murdered in cold blood or taken hostage by Hamas five months ago. Oct. 7 was the single worst day for Jews since the Holocaust.

We ended our trip with a visit to Yad Vashem, the national holocaust museum, where we saw how antisemitism ended with the murder of over 6 million Jews in Europe. So when people ask why we took this trip, I answer simply because we had to.

We had to go and see firsthand how, despite all that has happened, there are people like Elana Kaminka, whose 21-year-old son was murdered protecting civilians on Oct. 7. She is pushing for peace with her Palestinian neighbors in the West Bank.

We had to go to hear from Itzik, a 70-year-old man who has to go to dialysis three times a week, like my own father, and despite the physical and emotional toll it takes on him, he goes to meet with leaders like us to tell us about his two sons taken hostage and still being held in Gaza by Hamas.

We had to go because five months in, there are still over 130 people still being held hostage by Hamas. This awful war could end if Hamas cared more about helping Palestinians than they cared about killing Jews. We had to go because even though we live in Arizona, we have young people who don’t know what the Holocaust is or why anti-Semitism isn’t merely a Jewish issue.

We had to go because, as Golda used to say … “ein breira.” We had no choice.