Rabbi's Musings

In these difficult times, many of us feel overwhelmed by the flood of information surrounding the war in Israel and Gaza. We see shocking headlines and harrowing images. We hear casualty numbers, often reported with heartbreaking certainty. And yet, it is crucial—especially as Jews who value truth—to ask: Where is this information coming from, and can we trust it?

The “Gaza Health Ministry” is often cited in media reports as a source for death tolls and injury counts. But few pause to clarify that this “Ministry” is not an independent public health institution. It is an arm of Hamas—a designated terrorist organization whose charter calls for the destruction of Israel and whose tactics include deception, disinformation, and the use of civilians as human shields. Furthermore, any reporting from the Strip must be vetted by Hamas, which is why the reporting cannot be trusted.

This is not to say that suffering in Gaza is unreal. The loss of any innocent life, whether Israeli or Palestinian, is a tragedy. We are taught in the Talmud: “Whoever destroys a single life, it is as if they have destroyed an entire world.” Our compassion should never be diminished. But compassion must not cloud judgment.

When Hamas-controlled sources reported inflated or misleading numbers—often without distinction between combatants and civilians, or between those killed by Israeli forces and those killed by misfired Palestinian rockets—it became part of a broader information war. Numbers became weapons, and truth became a casualty. They say in war, a lie goes around the world while the truth is still putting on its pants. Since October 8 there has been a willful spread of lies about Israel and a great paucity of truth.

As Jews, we must hold fast to the principle of honesty. Truth-telling matters, especially in the face of lies. It matters for the sake of peace, justice, and the dignity of all human life. And it matters because we are commanded to be a light to the nation, not by accepting propaganda, but by seeking clarity. This doesn’t mean we ignore Palestinian suffering. Rather, we advocate for a deeper moral accountability—one that asks: Who is truly protecting life, and who is using it as a pawn?