Every year, as Elul arrives and the High Holy Days draw near, I begin making my list. Who have I hurt? Whose feelings have I ignored? Where have I spoken too quickly, judged too harshly, or failed to show kindness?

Judaism asks something extraordinary of us. Before we ask G-d for forgiveness, we must first seek forgiveness from those we have wronged. It is one of the most demanding and deeply human principles of our faith. Teshuvah is not simply about regret; it is about accountability. It requires honesty, humility and the courage to admit that we have caused pain.

Most years, I can do that. This year, however, another question keeps interrupting my prayers.

Who is prepared to ask forgiveness of us? Since October 7, I have found myself waiting for more recognition that something terrible happened to the Jewish people. I have waited for those who repeated outrageous accusations to acknowledge they may have been wrong. I have waited for those who rushed to condemn Israel while barely acknowledging the greatest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust to pause and reflect. I have waited for some act of teshuvah. Mostly, I have waited in vain.

The journalist Zoe Strimpel recently wrote an Article in regards to Boy George’s pro Israel song in The Daily Telegraph about those “rare individuals who somehow manage to resist the tidal wave of misinformation surrounding Israel. They see through the slogans, recognize the distortions and understand how ancient prejudices have simply found new language. People like that have become precious.”

This brings me to another form of responsibility of the media. The media has enormous power to shape what people believe. Most of us cannot personally investigate a war, interview every witness, examine every piece of evidence or independently verify every photograph and video. We depend upon journalists to do that work for us. That is an enormous ethical responsibility. When reporting is based on uncorroborated claims, when allegations are presented as established fact, when important context is omitted, or when images and stories are selected in ways that create a one-sided narrative, the consequences can be profound. People form opinions, condemn others and sometimes even hate entire communities based on information that has never been adequately........

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