Israel on Trial Lessons from the OJ Simpson Saga

It was fall of 1995. I was riveted to the television, eagerly awaiting the verdict of the Trial of the Century, the murder trial of legendary football Hall of Famer OJ Simpson. Everything inside of me screamed, justice would be served, the evidence against him was overwhelming.

And then the stunning results; OJ acquitted of all murder counts. I thought to myself, how could this be? The bloody glove, the DNA evidence, the motive, the means, and so much more? How could a jury be so naïve? And then, just when I thought OK, it was just a jury, but most of the country will see the obvious truth, the headlines said the opposite. Nearly half the country cheered the verdict, falling for the theatrics of his talented team of lawyers, allowing past biases to cloud their judgement, and believing him to be somehow innocent. The world, it seemed to me, had gone mad.

There is a fascinating passage in the Talmud which states that when we all reach the Next World, it will be an Upside-Down world. What does this mean? The Next World is often referred to in Jewish literature as The World of Truth. This can mean that often people in this world who are powerful and are celebrated in the Next World won’t be given such status, and those who are often overlooked here will be relegated to the status that they truly deserve. Another interpretation is that verdicts and perceptions that are considered to be true in this world, will be shown their falsehood in the Next World. For there is only One True Judge.

I believe OJ now will go to meet his Maker, and this is when the real Trial begins. And he will not have Johnny Cochran and the “Dream Team” lawyers to defend him this time. And I believe the verdict will be very different this time.

And now let us turn to Israel. Once again, we seem to be living in a world that has gone mad, with few voices of sanity still being heard. A world which saw the complete horrors of October 7th, knows that the enemy here vows for nothing less than our complete total destruction, an enemy which has shown just how cunning, determined, and resourceful they can be. 

And yet the world is choosing to ignore the obvious truth sitting right in front of it, once again allowing their previous biases to cloud their own judgements. A world that chooses to ignore an enemy that uses their own people as human shields, builds their terror networks under schools and hospitals, all to inflict maximum civilian casualties. 

And the world condemnation against Israel sadly enough, continues to grow. The world chooses to believe a terror group’s tally of the number of people dead. And refuses to even consider how many of them were terrorists.  And the world chooses to overlook that Israel always warns civilians in the area to leave. I believe those who are unfairly judging us based on their own biases will have their day of reckoning as well.

But I believe there is another factor often at play among the people who are against Israel. And this is simply ignorance. Many people simply don’t know many of the facts concerning Israel’s plight, both past and present. They see a headline which says how many people were allegedly killed in Gaza, without knowing any other factors or circumstances, and their opinions begin to form in their heads. For these people, I believe the answer is simple: Education. Inform them of the facts that we all know to be true.

I saw this one day with one of my own children. My older son, who is ten years old, came home one day and said “Daddy, why is Israel right? I saw on TV that so many people are getting killed by Israel.” Children are so often more perceptive than we give them credit for. The walk by a TV, see headlines, and their minds begin to form opinions just like adults do.

It was then, that I decided to write my first children’s book “What Does Israel Mean to Us? Explaining to Your Tweens Israel’s Significance and Moral Standing.” To not just educate my own children, but to help other children understand as well.

I believe our mission is our children. This coming Passover is the time to not only teach our children about our ancient oppressors, but our modern-day oppressors as well. Teach them our modern-day history. Teach them why Israel is still a pillar of moral clarity even though the headlines may not seem so. Teach them why Israel is so special, and our deep Jewish connection to our Homeland. And how Israel truly is a beacon of light to the world, even today. Our children are our future. Helping them to see this is part of the beautiful “Mesorah,” the Tradition which has helped preserve us for thousands of years. So, they can one day teach it to their children. 

During the Haggadah we read the words “And this is what has stood by our fathers and us. In every generation, there arises an enemy which threatens to destroy us, and the Holy One Blessed Be He comes and saves us from their hands.” This too shall pass. We will live to see the day of Hamas is destroyed. And we will celebrate our victory just as we did over our Egyptian taskmasters. Let it be soon!

If you found this content meaningful and want to help further our mission through our Keter, Makom, and Tikun branches, please consider becoming a Change Maker today.