Why are the people of Israel famously resilient? When you think of the hatred and persecution they have faced over the last 3,000 years, it is amazing they persevere with normal lives as an isolated democracy in a hostile region.

It is not as though Israelis pretend the pain is not real, or that the existential threats have ceased. They are mostly realists in that regard. I suspect one of their strengths is that they know how to lament.

Originally, I thought lament was an expression of irrepressible sadness, but in one of my periods of study, I decided to dig further. A lecturer, who was gently spoken and clear of mind, simply said, ‘Stephen, being able to wholeheartedly lament to someone is a sign of affection.’ His suggestion was that the Jewish tradition understood lament as one way to express their close relationship with the Creator God.

My thoughts went to home life. Who hears my laments most? My wife. Who is the person with whom I revisit all the junk of the day? My wife. Who is the person with whom I rehearse what I need to say about that person? My wife.

The lecturer was right. When we are close to someone, we are more open-hearted, even with the ugly aspects of life. The Israelites learned this throughout their history. Opening the pain of the heart is different to dumping one’s ugliness. The lament is the former; self-destruction is the invitation of the latter.

Here are some examples from an ancient scripture appropriately called Lamentations. These lines of lamenting are when the citizens of Israel were dispersed by their enemies: 

She weeps bitterly in the night,

     with tears on her cheeks;

 among all her lovers

     she has none to comfort her;

 all her friends have dealt treacherously with her;

     they have become her enemies.

Notice that her ‘lovers have gone’? How does that translate today? Easy. Look at all those nations who, during the second world war, worked to release the Jews from the evil hand of Nazism. What has happened to those nations, given the rise in Antisemitism? Look at Australia. Despite all that the Jewish community has contributed to this nation while being grateful to be here, we have deserted our responsibility to keep them safe. We are treading history with 3,000 years ago, when there was nothing to comfort the Jewish people. The authorities, government, and police in particular have been pseudo peacemakers while letting violent threats and celebration of their desired death go without recourse. Again, doesn’t this reflect how ‘all her friends have dealt treacherously with her’?

Here is more from the same lament:

When her people fell into the hand of the foe,

     and there was none to help her,

 her foes gloated over her;

     they mocked at her downfall.

Haven’t we seen Australians – yes, Australians – gloat over the atrocities of October 7? Haven’t we seen opposing religious leaders mock those who were abducted, never to be seen again? Haven’t we seen so-called feminists with dry eyes, unfeeling for the inhuman acts of degradation visited on Israeli women?

Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by?

     Look and see

 if there is any sorrow like my sorrow,

     which was brought upon me?

What are the many Jewish people living in Australia supposed think when their children no longer feel safe at school? When men and women cannot walk down the street with signs of their religion on display for fear of being abused?

Their strength is found in their God. That threatens the politically powerful. When someone’s will cannot be broken, what do you do if you see them as a people you desire to control, but cannot? History says of the Jewish people that they will persist with their survival.

And for those who call themselves Christians, they should also reflect, and perhaps learn to lament. They are taught that they have been ‘grafted’ (like a new branch) into the original vine, the Israelites. First, they come for the Jews. Who are they coming for next?