MARCH 14 • 2024 | 25
In the months following
Oct. 7, the author of The
Wrong Kind of Jew: A Mizrachi
Manifesto, has been on a lecture
circuit. Speaking from his hotel
in New York City, where he had
events scheduled throughout
the tri-state area, Mazzig said
he spoke with the Jewish com-
munity in Cleveland and also
sat courtside at the NBA All-
Stars game in Indiana, where he
accompanied hostage survivors
and Israelis whose family mem-
bers were murdered by Hamas.
Unlike the extremely tight
security inside and outside the
building at Temple Beth El,
Mazzig said a speaking engage-
ment held at a Connecticut
church was canceled due to lack
of security when the church
could not guarantee his safety.
As pro-Israel speakers and
events are being threatened
or even canceled across the
globe, Mazzig remarked that
the other side is becoming even
more emboldened and are not
concerned about going under-
ground with their protests and
marches that are often disrup-
tive to the public. Mazzig said
he welcomes civil debate while
the other side does not and
goes as far as causing violence
and glorifying the self-im-
molation of a U.S. Airman in
front of the Israeli embassy in
Washington, D.C., as a form of
protest.
“The ‘Free Palestine’ move-
ment claims that they are not
safe, but the truth is they are
so safe,
” Mazzig retorted. “How
often do you see Palestinian
protesters on the streets wear-
ing a keffiyeh unafraid, yet a
woman who wears a Star of
David or a man who wears a
kippah is afraid for their safety?
We [Jews] are the ones who
constantly need to have security
at our protests and our events.
Yet, we are not the ones call-
ing for the genocide or ethnic
cleansing of anyone.
”
Mazzig acknowledged that
Detroit’s Jewish community
lives among the largest Muslim
and Arab population outside of
the Middle East. He is troubled
by the “dangerous and scary”
online and congressional state-
ments of Rep. Rashida Tlaib
“that reads like a Hamas press
release and puts Jews in danger
in many ways.
”
However, he cautions Jews
living here to walk a careful
line between calling out the
extremism of radical Islamic
ideology and asking Muslims
to self-reflect about the strains
of antisemitism and other
bigotries that run in their com-
munity.
“This is not an issue with
Muslims or Arabs, but with
radical Islam,
” explained
Mazzig. “Muslims are not about
killing or committing acts of
terror, but this lies within rad-
ical Islam. We have to have a
hard conversation about what
is this ideology and why is it so
prevalent without shaming any-
one or attacking their religion.
To hold radical Islamic ideas is
actually anti-Muslim.
”
The soft-spoken Mazzig
served for five years in the
IDF as an openly gay com-
mander and lieutenant in the
Coordinator of Government
Activities in the Territories unit.
In this capacity, he worked with
Palestinian civilians in coor-
dinating humanitarian efforts
such as building hospitals,
roads, overseeing environmen-
tal projects and making sure
Palestinian civilians received
medical care in Israeli hospitals.
“To say that the IDF has such
a position is very telling about
what values it upholds,
” Mazzig
said. “I have been a soldier
in wars, and it is hell. No one
wants to be in a war zone. I
have seen how far Israel goes to
support Palestinian lives. It is a
reminder to me and should be a
reminder to all that Israel’s fight
is not against Palestinians but
Hamas.
”
Hen
Mazzig
Hen
Mazzig
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