As the missiles were flying last week between Israel and Gaza, verbal missiles were flying between two prominent Jews: Rabbi Sharon Brous in Los Angeles and Rabbi Daniel Gordis in Jerusalem.

The crux of their dispute: What is the appropriate Jewish response when the Jewish state is at war?

Rabbi Danny Gordis accused his former student and friend, Rabbi Sharon Brous, of abandoning Israelis.

Gordis kicked off the brouhaha with a piece on the Times of Israel Web site titled, "When Balance Becomes Betrayal," castigating Brous for her statement about the war in an e-mail she sent to her congregation.

Evidently, he was so offended by Brous' attempt to "balance" her support for Israel with her humanitarian concern for the welfare of innocent Palestinians that he characterized it as a form of "betrayal" or abandonment.

His accusation was clearly incendiary, and by making it so personal and public, he risked undermining his own message of Jewish solidarity in times of crisis. But if Gordis went too far with his charge of betrayal, Brous, in my view, didn't go far enough by failing to condemn the evil of our Hamas enemy.

I'm friendly with both rabbis and understand where they're coming from. Gordis feels that, especially during times of war, supporters of Israel are not duty-bound to show empathy for those who attack the Jewish state.

Brous doesn't see the two impulses as mutually exclusive. She strongly supports Israel's right and obligation to defend itself, but also sees "a real and profound need for all of us to witness with empathy and grace."

There's something compelling in each of these views. Gordis appeals to a type of familial loyalty that one feels especially when under threat. If Jews are like family, he seems to be saying, isn't it OK to be a little overprotective? Can you blame him for not mustering any empathy for an enemy who's bombing children's bedrooms or trying to kill them on the battlefield?

At the same time, Brous has a big enough heart to remember, even in times of war, the suffering of innocent civilians in the enemy zone and the need to seek peace, no matter how hopeless the situation.

So, while Gordis leans tribal and Brous leans global, which way do I lean?

When I see Jews under attack, I lean toward knowing my enemy.

Read the rest of this piece HERE.

David Suissa is president of TRIBE Media Corp./Jewish Journal and can be reached at davids@jewishjournal.com