Facebook, WhatsApp and other social media platforms are certainly not the best place to discuss serious social and political issues, such as President Trump’s plan to relocate the Palestinians to other countries while the United States takes over Gaza and rebuilds it.

Political discussions usually turn into name-calling between factions, and they rarely result in any meaningful dialogue.

However, this past week I have engaged in some important conversations with others on Facebook about this issue—and I have in fact become more acutely aware of what Israelis have been facing over the past 500 days and why it seems so many of my Israeli friends (some of whom have generally been more liberal about political issues) support the Trump proposal.

And I owe much of my new understanding to Rabbanit Mali Brofsky, a senior faculty member and in-house mental health professional at Michlelet Mevaseret Yerushalayim. She also teaches for the Wurzweiler School of Social Work at Hebrew University and runs a clinical practice in Gush Etzion. And she is an extremely thoughtful individual.

Mali recently posted an emotionally charged message that helped me to better understand what is going through the minds of Israelis at this difficult time … and why many Israelis are feeling hopeful and positive about the Trump proposal.

I am posting it in full here, with her permission:

I know you all care deeply about us, our future, our soldiers, and our hostages. Still, here in Facebook world, it feels like this is what it sounds like on the American side of the conversation (this is not a critique; just an observation):

This is an opportunity to discuss a relevant ethical and political dilemma, and express my moral approach to this situation, filtered through the language and concepts being magnified in the public discourse. I will also touch on my position regarding the current political situation in America. I am engaging in a conversation on a serious issue that has implications for my brethren in Israel and also for the Gazan population.

However, for many Israelis, it feels more like this:

Dear God:

Will this administration be different? How will that affect everything?

(Where are we in the timeline again? What’s happening this Friday? Who is being released?)

What will be with the next round of hostages? The young men? The bodies that need to be buried?

How long will the ceasefire last? Will the war end? How can we both get our hostages back and also be finished with this nightmare?

Will we ever find a solution to the impossible situation where we have a large population who wants to destroy us in the most heartrending and terrifying ways sitting right on our border? The population that has Hamas propaganda in every house? (Our sons told us.) The population where even the children spit on and curse the Jews? (Our hostages told us.) The population that sees any concession on our side as their victory and celebrates by giving little boys guns and having little girls do a victory dance in which they slit our throats? Where an old man almost collapses, and a young woman fears for her life as they are taken through a jeering and almost uncontrollable mob? Dear Lord, is there any hope for the future?

Will my two sons currently in active service, even as we speak, even during this “ceasefire,” be plunged into a terrifying and even more aggressive war? (Please God, please no.) If so, how soon? How many more weeks do I have until that hell starts again? (Oh, and is the arms embargo over? And will we still have to worry every time we hear that an American politician is making a statement/coming over here for a visit? Will any of that affect the length and severity of the battle?)

Should I encourage my daughter not to do national service next year down south? In the Old City?

When will this nightmare end? Will I ever get a full night’s sleep again?

How is what’s happening now in America going to affect all the above? Now. Today. Tomorrow. Next month. Is there an opportunity here for change?

Please Hashem, help us. Annenu Hashem Annenu.

Interestingly, unlike many Facebook posts that bring out the worst in people, this one stimulated some very sensitive and thoughtful responses.

Perhaps the most important one was written by Dr. Elana Stein Hain, rosh beit midrash and a senior research fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America, who is living in Israel this year. Here is what she said:

I think one of the hardest parts of having online conversations is that people are living in such radically different contexts and having different nightmare scenarios that they are focused on. Many Americans who are talking about the moral and ethical issues related to President Trump’s Middle East declaration are also reflecting their worry about different and very contextually local nightmares than yours—worries about what will happen to American democracy and just America itself under Trump … what will happen with a backlash against the Jewish community regarding Trump in the Middle East … what will happen to fellow Americans and non-Americans … what will happen to Jews under Trump … what will happen if the Orthodox community just completely valorizes a man with no moral commitments … etc., etc. So I don’t think it’s a matter of cold moral discussion vs. true nightmares. I think it’s a reflection of different nightmares … but when I see your post (and from living here for the year), I realize how tone-deaf it sounds when we each speak about each other’s context without giving and showing proper awareness of those nightmares.

How to do it in a way that isn’t just lip service is something I’ve been thinking about a lot. Thank you so much for sharing your (and so many Israeli parents’) nightmares here and helping make us all more attuned to it.

The question of how much Diaspora Jews can fully understand and appreciate what is happening in Israel—and whether they have the right to involve themselves in discussions about Israeli politics—is not a new issue. It has been raised many times in the past on different occasions. But it has taken on a new dimension now, especially with the latest proposal for Gaza by President Trump. And it’s interesting to see how divided Jews living in Israel and America are on this subject, with Israelis overwhelmingly in favor of at least giving Trump’s proposal a chance to succeed, as a pragmatic solution to post-war Gaza, and Americans mostly focusing on some of the sticky ethical problems of the proposal instead.

With that said, I am still very hopeful about a better understanding between the Jewish communities in America and in Israel about what is best for our shared future. I have witnessed many incredible acts of kindness since October 7. We are one people. We are all feeling the same anxiety, anguish and pain. We laugh together … celebrate our simchas together … cry and mourn for our losses together. And whatever ends up happening with President Trump’s Gaza proposal, we all want what’s best for Israel. May God grant us the privilege to see all of our hostages come home soon and the opportunity to live peacefully in a safe and secure Israel, speedily in our day.

Michael Feldstein, who lives in Stamford, is the author of “Meet Me in the Middle” (meet-me-in-the-middle-book.com), a collection of essays on contemporary Jewish life. He can be reached at [email protected].