Rabbi Howard Morrison

From my friend, Michael Skliar - A professional singer, songwriter, and musician. He lives in New York city

"Israel and Gaza"

On October 7th, Hamas broke the cease fire
Raping and killing innocents, clearly their desire
They celebrated destruction, as those flames of hate grew higher

Music festival kids, they proudly shot and killed
Raped a few and filmed it, clearly they were thrilled
Peace activists murdered, it won’t be easy to rebuild

They kidnapped three year old kids , and the elderly
They’ve now let one third die, for all the world to see
They convinced half the world, this is how you fight to be free

If you’re gay in a Muslim country, they throw you off the roof
We don’t like to hear it, but damn it, it’s the truth
“Queers for Palestine”’s a slogan of misguided youth

Hamas took foreign aid, built tunnels underground
Hides behind their own people, don’t care who is mowed down
Innocent Israelis die, Gaza celebrates, how’d ya like that sound?

Let’s talk about the double standard, when Israel you condemn
While Gaza schools teach hatred and how to cause mayhem
Their charter proudly states ‘death to Jews, all of them!”

49 Muslim countries, for the Jews, only one
How many Palestinians have those 49 taken in? the answer is none
A sad vicious cycle, we’re all stuck watching reruns

And no we are not happy with Palestinians dead
Israelis don’t love this violence, despite what you’ve read

Don’t tell me this is all Israel’s fault, what would your country do?
If New Jersey attacked New York, would New Yorkers just sit and stew?

Anti-Semitism is rising, rising once more
Need I remind you its never Israel who starts these wars
you chant ‘river to the sea’ it's genocide against Jews you’re calling for

Jews and Arabs both live in Israel, its not an apartheid state
College kids don’t take the time to get their facts straight
We were happy to give half of Israel to the Arabs in 1948

"Before you call it Genocide"

When you say end the occupation, I say someone’s occupied your mind
Filled you up with bull, false equivalence of the most hateful kind
You accuse Israel of being Nazis and say they are committing genocide
But I submit you’re full of #$%!*, believing insidious lies

What do I know about genocide? My in-laws survived the Holocaust
Their families were marched into ovens, turned into black smoke exhaust
It was a systematic plan to kill every Jew who ever existed
You claim that’s what Israel is doing now to the Palestinians, but I say your logic is twisted

In all my trips to Israel, in Jerusalem and in Tel Aviv
've seen Jews and Arabs side by side, and before you say you don’t believe
In Israel proper, Arabs are full citizens, they can vote, and do quite well
But Palestinians living under Hamas, their life is a living hell

Hamas takes international aid and turns it into tunnels and bombs
Then hides behind their own civilians, children and young moms
On October 7, they broke the cease-fire, killed peaceful kids at a music rave
They took hundreds of hostages, do you even care if they are saved?

It’s a bloody bloody mess, with no easy answers, no way to turn the clock back
But simply saying ‘ceasefire’ lets Hamas prepare for the next attack
Yes, too many people on both sides have died
But don't tell me Israel defending itself is the same as genocide.

Written by Michael Skliar
Adapted by Rabbi Howard Morrison