As Israel marks another Yom Ha’atzmaut, the contrast is unavoidable.

We celebrate independence while still carrying the trauma of October 7. We demonstrate extraordinary unity from the ground up, yet feel fragmentation from the top down. We are stronger than ever—and yet deeply unsettled.

And into this moment comes the double Parsha of Acharei Mot–Kedoshim, offering not comfort, but clarity.

Rabbi Eliezer Melamed writes:

“The destiny of the Jewish people is to bring blessing to all the families of the earth through the establishment of an exemplary society in the Land.”

This is not aspirational. It is a demand.

The Return of the Scapegoat

Acharei Mot opens with the ancient ritual of the two goats—one sacrificed, the other sent into the wilderness, carrying the sins of the people.

The origin of the term scapegoat.

Today, that image feels strikingly current.

Israel is once again cast in that role:

Blamed disproportionately

Accused with moral certainty detached from fact

We have seen this before. Europe blamed Jews for centuries—even for its own crimes. Today, accusations are recycled in modern language, often stripped of context and truth.

It brandishes the word Genocide in Gaza like a fact when it does not even meet the definitions of the term and the atrocities of the Nazis. It portrays Israel and Zionists as evil. It projects its own society and accountability of their country’s colonial sins, discrimination of the Jews onto the scapegoat – the collective Jew – Israel.

But the........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)