Rabbi Cosgrove: An Empathy Deficit (January 11, 2025)

Shalom. Blessings from Brazil 🙏💙

[@lishykitty]

And exactly who among the Palestinians would you empathize with? The Gazan doctor who held Israeli hostages in his home? The Gazan ice cream vendor who tried to sell the head of an Israeli soldier he had in his freezer? The UNWRA workers who slaughtered Israelis on Oct 7th? Whose "truths" are you so willing to empathize with?

[@lowell418]

Bravo. I taught at the PAS, and too many kids were clueless about the situation in Israel and with many parents thinking Israel should behave like an extension of Old Brooklyn where your neighbors didn't murder and rape you but were content to call you Christ killers and give you a bloody nose. We are dealing with genocidal, exterminationist enemies, so sorry, Rabbi, my empathy will have to wait a while.

[@asherroodcreel640]

Hey you guys sound exactly like pro slavery southerners during the Civil war😊

[@marvinrosenthal6158]

We, all, want empathy from others, but, rarely do we desire to give empathy to others, especially to those we view as our enemies. I guess this is because we see empathy as weakness, as dangerous, in a zero sum battle of wills, where we think and FEEL that only one side can win. If only one side can win, we want to be on that side. In the case of Israelis, and Palestinians, however, what a majority don't realize, yet, is that the zero sum game will only end if both sides win, or both sides lose. Both sides think they can force G-d's hand in this matter, but no one can do that. Both peoples will, in the meantime, have to learn to accept each other, and live together, unless or until G-d decides differently.

[@reuvenrobinson]

I wonder if you have ever read the book of Yehoshua....Joshua. If you had, you'd realize that much Cananite blood had to be spilt as per the Almighty's very mitzvot (commandments)..there was a time for bloody slaughter and this is followed by the book of Shoftin in which the Bnai Yisrael have entered Eretz Yisrael and are actually dwelling amongst and with the Canaanites...as my uncle Morris would say "go figure?" What I am trying to say is that only a naive, protected twenty year old would believe in Peace with these blood thirsty, savage people who are delusional enough to believe that Israel is would ever so simple minded to sit down with them, smoke the peace pipe and sing kumbayah...it's like stupid twenty year old ME who ran a native american tribal youth camp as a Volunteer in Service to America (a Kennedy-Johnson administration brain child org. to keep thousands of boomers off the streets and "busy") and I was so simple that I had Indian kids at a camp fire sing Kumbayah.

[@YB-ok1ny]

Empathy for who? It’s unfortunate that the west thinks politeness will penetrate and change an ideology that did that day. Many were Gaza citizens with Hms. Every day the pls are doing non empathetic evil in the West Bank.The side doesn’t want you and I to be here. One has to be Israeli to truly understand the mentality. Watch the documentary brides of Allah. I mean no disrespect rabbi but what you’re doing is criticising Israel and before what happened to our people, I had empathy especially for the the children, but after what they did, I don’t any more for them and I have now hate inside me, I never had before and I really hate feeling that way. They will do it again at every opportunity. Israel helped them and gave them opportunity and look how Israel was repaid.

[@lowell418]

Exactly. We in Israel live it every day. I think it takes a hefty dose of chutzpa to deliver a speech like this. One question Rabbi: Did you, on your personal quest for empathy, visit the site of the Nova festival? Did you listen to survivor testimonies and testimonies of parents, such as a woman in Sderot who lost her husband and daughter, both police officers, one day apart?

[@reuvenrobinson]

No normal Jew or any goy who had lived amongst the Muslims would ever speak like this rabbi...Muslims are an intolerant people and this is a more positive description of them. When one is raised to believe that his religion is the only one, and the whole of non Muslim humanity must submit to Islam or be enslaved or worse murdered, well , what else is there to say?

[@asherroodcreel640]

​@@lowell418hey are you guys quoting the idf as they're terror bombing campagn killed 4/5ths of the hostages

[@simonewoodwell7354]

Exactly! I am not sure Empathy can be taught. Without empathy I am not sure we can continue. War is a dirty business but this war should have been over a year ago. I will never be convinced that this war has not been prolonged to assure that BiBi will not have to go to jail. I agree with every word you said.

[@MissJoy16]

100% re: BiBi

[@michaelg.golden7327]

This type of antipathy is here too.

[@tzipporahv3619]

Wow, Rabbi. With all due respect, you are quite naive.

[@asherroodcreel640]

Gods, he really is

[@user-bo8nb2mi]

Imagine same sermon in '45 appealing for empathy for those murdering 6 million. Or sermon in seeking empathy also for Imperial Japan after Kamikaze attacks on Pearl Harbour day. Or for Indians ammeter?attack at Alamo. When no such sermon about empathy for subway attackers a mile away from him. No that won't influence annual dues of thousands by his congregants.

[@asherroodcreel640]

I think he really just doesn't get it, the enemy here is fascism that's what's fueling this confict just like with German or Japan, there's only so much people can do when they refuse to understand that