Dear Demi,
In light of recent attacks against you from all sides, I write this to you as a voice of reason and support. While many jumped at the headlines, I took a few minutes to read what you did, what you were criticized for, and how you subsequently reacted on Twitter. As a Jewish American and a Zionist, I find it incumbent on me to write you this letter of support.
Not surprisingly, the anti-Israel, anti-Jewish mob came right after you. For what? For doing nothing other than visiting the holy land, having a very spiritual experience, and thanking those who welcomed you and took care of you while you were there. Since nothing less than a land without Jews is acceptable to those who ambushed you, they predictably made every attempt to shame and intimidate you. Since I am not one to speak to another’s feelings, I do not know if they were successful or not in their efforts. I do know that it is very possible and very forgivable if your reaction was something along the lines of ‘I don’t need this shit. I was just taking a vacation’, and since it is not what one might call ‘your fight’, you did what you felt was the decent thing and apologized to anyone you might have offended.
A pet peeve of mine has always been when people go after the wrong people. This is one of the reasons I am taking the time to write to you. I believe almost nothing exists in a vacuum. I recognize the fact that you are not far removed from personal issues that put your life at risk and I respect and appreciate the fact that Israel was a place you chose to visit as part of your healing process. Regardless of whether or not you and I share the same religious beliefs. I also know that in this situation you are the victim. These people who came after you do so from the position of one of the most disingenuous and corrupt false narratives ever perpetrated and come after you in an effort to use you as a pawn in their self-serving, Jew hating, power driven agenda.
When these same people, the supporters and activists of the BDS movement came after the Rolling Stones for performing in Israel, guess what they did? They added another concert. When they came after Paul McCartney he basically told them to shut up and leave him alone. When they attacked Lady Gaga for having the time of her life in Israel she ignored them. And if they criticized Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez for their trip to Israel, it was drowned out by their praise of the country. But in fairness, the celebrities I mentioned are significantly older than you are and are more seasoned in responding to attacks from various people and at least on the surface seem to not be recently overcoming battles to face personal demons that almost cost them their life. Of course nothing would make me happier than for you to stand up to these people, but in light of what you’ve recently been through and what you are fighting to overcome, I have no trouble understanding why you do not want to be in the middle of a political firestorm over an issue you never intended to be involved in.
So Demi, I am glad you had a wonderful time in Israel and when the time comes that it enters into your mind to go back and visit once again I hope you won’t let those who master intimidation and fraud stand in the way of what you want to do and I believe know is right. I wish you good luck in all the battles you face in the future and a wonderful time on all your future trips.
Sincerely,
David Groen
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