We wept and rallied for the return of the Israeli hostages; we mourned those who were murdered; and we tried to help those who survived begin to heal.
asserted
who → weep → those
Nothing we experienced here in California can compare to what our brothers and sisters in Israel had been living with.
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brothers → experience → Israel
Yet the effects in Orange County have been real, and continue to reverberate in our daily lives.
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asserted
Sign → continue → California
Multiple friends have received death threats for supporting Israel.
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friends → receive → Israel
I’ve had property vandalized.
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property → have → ?
I’ve been accosted by men, faces wrapped in keffiyehs, eager to tell me that the youngest Israeli hostages, a toddler and an infant, “are dead.”
asserted
hostages → accost → me
Those children had been murdered by their captors, but, without apparent irony, those same keffiyeh-clad men then called me a “baby killer.”
asserted
men → murder → me
I now remove Jewish symbols before taking a loved one to a new medical appointment, fearing that a health care provider could be affected by their political ideas in how they treat — or fail to treat — my family member.
uncertain
they → remove → member
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None of this was happening before Oct. 7.
asserted
None → download → Oct.
Hamas built its military infrastructure within and underneath schools, mosques and hospitals, to ensure any Israeli response to the Oct. 7 attack would produce imagery that would spark outrage.
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that → build → outrage
Many in the West ignore Hamas and direct their hatred only to Israel and to anyone who supports it.
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who → ignore → it
The extreme left was already primed to accept Hamas’ narrative, thanks to words like “genocidal” and “racist,” which were hurled at Israel decades ago by the Soviets.
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which → prim → Soviets
Hamas’ imagery fit that framework.
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imagery → fit → framework
And, so, we American Jews landed in the crosshairs.
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we → land → crosshairs
Against this backdrop, Congressman Dave Min recently addressed members of the Orange County Jewish community.
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Min → address → community
During this forum, he expressed concern about the rise in antisemitism since Oct. 7, and pledged to “continue to call it out,” citing his condemnation of a swastika that students created out of solo cups at an Orange County party in 2019.
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students → express → 2019
Indeed, when it came to calling out symbols from the far right, his words were strong and unequivocal.
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words → come → right
But when it came to the hate our community now faces from the far left, his remarks offered little reassurance that he understood the particular threat facing Jewish Americans.
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he → come → Americans
Indeed, I fear much of what the congressman said only added fuel to the fire.
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congressman → fear → fire
At the town hall, for example, Min accused Israel of using “excuses” to destroy hospitals in Gaza.
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Min → accuse → Gaza
When shown that Hamas did in fact use hospitals for military operations, the congressman maintained that this was not something he had been “briefed on.”
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he → show → operations
For a member of Congress, with access to a treasure trove of intelligence at a moment’s notice, to stand on ignorance was alarming.
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stand → stand → ignorance
He also claimed Israel’s conduct did not comport with modern norms and the laws of war.
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conduct → claim → war
Yet Min — a former law professor at UC Irvine — could not cite a single law or norm that Israel had violated.
uncertain
Israel → cite → that
Moreover, the congressman accused Israel of “expanding” the war into southern Lebanon, in order to “wreck a bunch of stuff.”
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congressman → accuse → stuff
He failed to acknowledge that the Lebanon-based terror proxy Hezbollah had planned its own Oct. 7-style attack; built its own network of terror tunnels in southern Lebanon; and was funded and supplied by Iran.
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proxy → fail → Iran
Israel only took the fight to Southern Lebanon in earnest after a Hezbollah missile slaughtered twelve Druze children playing soccer in a field in the village of Majdal Shams.
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missile → take → Shams
Min’s campaign, when contacted about these concerns, said they would be passed along to the congressman.
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they → contact → congressman
The problem with the congressman’s ignorance is that it translates into votes in Congress.
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it → translate → Congress
It also creates a permission structure to make Orange County unlivable for many Jews.
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County → create → Jews
None of this is to suggest that the congressman himself harbors any animus toward the Jewish people.
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congressman → suggest → people
He recently supported funding for added security at Jewish institutions.
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He → support → institutions
But I am dismayed that Min cannot see that the kinds of libels he repeated at the town hall are the very reason we need increased security in our community.
asserted
we → see → community
To fight the hate we face today — to return to a world where extraordinary measures are not required to ensure the safety of American Jews — we need our public officials to be willing to engage with the facts, and to call out blood libels and anti-Jewish bigotry, even when they come from their own side of the aisle.
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they → fight → aisle
True leadership in a moment like this means an informed response to lies, and the courage to set the record straight when our community is under attack.
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community → mean → attack
The Aporia
