When leadership forgets what we’re fighting for - opinion

To say I was infuriated by the recent letter signed by 80 Modern Orthodox rabbis would be an understatement. I speak not out of anger, but from deep sorrow, because this letter is not only misguided, it’s dangerous.

Let’s be clear: This war is not over. Not even close. Gaza is one front, but we are fighting on many:

• Underground in Gaza, Israeli hostages are still held in cruel, unimaginable conditions.

This is not a time for equivocation or appeasement. It is certainly not the time for spiritual leaders to issue rebukes that weaken our resolve and strengthen our enemies.

If the signatories of this letter were not rabbis, my response would be far more direct. But because they are, the consequences of their words cut deeper. They sow doubt and division precisely when clarity and unity are essential for Jewish survival.

Their critique is much worse than simply unhelpful. It reflects a deeper problem, one I call “galut (exile) thinking.”

This mindset is a residue of centuries in the Diaspora, where Jews survived by staying quiet, appeasing those in power, and trying to prove our moral worth. Many, if not all the rabbis who signed the letter grew up and/or were educated in the Diaspora.

The instinct to appease may have helped in exile, but today, in our homeland, with Jewish sovereignty – and Jewish lives at stake – it is outdated and dangerous.

This war is not about land or borders.

The letter penned by these rabbis mentions none of this.

There is no mention of Egypt’s role in keeping Gazans penned in, or of the ideological nature of the enemy we are fighting.

There is no mention of the ongoing trauma of hostages or survivors.

There is no mention of Israel fighting a war for its very existence. Instead, the letter urges Israel to exercise “more restraint.” As if that were the problem. As if Israel were too strong, too assertive, too Jewish in defending ourselves.

Some of the signers responded to criticism by saying, “If you’re hurt by the letter, it wasn’t meant for you.”

But when you speak as a rabbi in public, every Jew is your audience.

And when your words confuse, divide, and weaken our people, it is not divisive to push back. It is a moral responsibility.

I believe many of these rabbis are sincere. However, sincerity does not absolve them of the consequences of their actions. Their words are being weaponized by those who seek our destruction; they are being shared on anti-Israel platforms and used to erode the moral legitimacy of our fight for survival.

At this time of intense global antisemitism, amid a multi-front war, Israel needs support, not sanctimonious rebuke. We need courage, not guilt.

We need truth, not appeasement. We are in the fire. We are still fighting. We are still burying our dead and praying for our hostages. This is not the time to shrink from Jewish power. It is the time to embrace it – with wisdom, yes, but also with strength and clarity.

Instead, they chose to validate the discomfort of Jews who are uneasy with what it means to survive in a morally complex, hostile world. But leadership isn’t about validating discomfort. It’s about providing clarity when others are confused, strength when others are afraid.

I remain hopeful. We will overcome not just our external enemies, but the internal weakness this moment has revealed. The Jewish people are resilient. We have survived every empire, every exile, every blood libel, every pogrom. We will survive this war, too. But let us not pretend that appeasement or abstraction will get us there.

What we need now is leadership rooted in truth, not guilt, in Torah, not exile, in love for Am Yisrael that sees clearly who we are, and what we’re up against. May we all have the strength to speak with courage and compassion – and to stand, proudly and unapologetically, with our people.