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Archive for the ‘Islamic Extremism’ Category

Do We Celebrate the Death of Osama bin Laden?

Posted in In the news, Islamic Extremism, Rabbi Andrew Jacobs, Ramat Shalom, tagged on May 2, 2011 | 3 Comments »

Osama bin Laden has been killed. Many are celebrating his demise.  A few are confused – asking, do we celebrate the killing of this tyrant?

The Book of Proverbs teaches us: “at your enemy’s fall, do not rejoice.” (24:17) Related to this, the Talmud explains that when the Egyptians were swallowed by the Red Sea which had parted for the Israelites, the angels wanted to sing out in joy.  God, however, intervenes, silencing the angels by saying: “My handiwork (the Egyptians) is drowning and you want to sing!?”

As G-d silences the angels, Moses and Miriam, having safely led the Israelites to the other side of the sea, lead their people in a celebration – singing the song we all know as “Mi Chamocha”.  In joy, the Israelites sing out to G-d – saying who is like you G-d who has worked wonders and redeemed us from the evil of Egypt!?  This celebration is acceptable to G-d.  This song is still sung synagogues on a regular basis.

Why were the angels silenced while the Israelites were allowed to sing?  The angels wanted to rejoice as they were watching the violent death of their enemies.  Had they been allowed to proceed, this would have reduced the destruction of the evil Egyptians to a spectator sport.  And this is not acceptable.

The Israelites, while certainly relieved that the Egyptians were killed and, thus, unable to pursue them, were celebrating the incredible fact that evil had been crushed and freedom prevailed.  The Israelites were not celebrating the actual destruction of the Egyptian soldiers – rather, they were celebrating the destruction of everything these soldiers stood for.

You might argue that there is no difference between what the Israelites were celebrating and what the angels wanted to celebrate.  However, most of us, I would argue, who feel the urge to celebrate the end of Osama bin Laden, understand that there is a difference. We are overcome with emotion today because Osama bin Laden’s death is a symbolic end of a terrible chapter in our history.  While his demise does not bring “closure”, in many respects, his death is the closest we will get to justice for the murder of our family members, friends and countless other souls.  We are in awe of the strength and fortitude of our military and our security experts who tirelessly pursued this criminal.  We are awestruck that evil has actually been quashed – good has indeed triumphed over bad!

The angels who were silenced by G-d at the Red Sea were spectators – cheering on the actual fall of the enemy.  We saw similar cheering in 2001 as people in foreign lands celebrated as they watched the graphic images of the World Trade Center being destroyed on their TV screens.  The only people who were witnesses to Osama bin Laden’s demise were our brave Navy Seals and they were not spectators.  They were pursuing an armed terrorist who was evading justice by living in a fortified mansion.  The reality is, pursuing evil often involves the use of deadly force.

Osama bin Laden’s death will not bring back those who have been murdered.  His death will not stop the violence and chaos in the world.  However, his death does insure that the horrific evil he was determined to continue bringing into this world is no more. The details of what happened, the images of the battle that will soon appear, the fact that so much violence has had to take place to get us to this moment – this is not what should be celebrated!  Knowing, however, that the demise of this wicked man has eliminated some of the evil we on this earth are charged to overcome is reason to celebrate.

May the memory of all those who we have lost at the hands of this terrorist only serve as a blessing and may G-d bless the United States of America.

UPDATE: From JTA ARCHIVE, MAY 4 1945 – “Crowds of happy Jews gathered in Moscow’s synagogues last night after the announcement by Marshal Stalin that Berlin had fallen and the report that Hitler was dead. Around the aynagogue on Moroseike Street a throng remained discussing the news long after Moscow’s usual bedtime.” 

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Danger on Campus

Posted in American Judaism, In the news, Islamic Extremism, Rabbi Andrew Jacobs, Ramat Shalom, tagged on February 25, 2011 | Leave a Comment »

I have been following some very disturbing events taking place on college campuses both here in Florida and across the country.  The events involve an organization known as the Muslim Student Association (MSA). Anyone with a child on a college campus today must be aware of the MSA and the impact that this organization has upon our college students and the communities that they are a part of.

A little history…In 1963, the Muslim Brotherhood (the same organization linked to terror and jihad that you have been hearing about in Egypt) created the Muslim Students Association (MSA) at the University of Illinois in Urbana, Today, MSA chapters are present on many college campuses across the country.  I encourage you to watch this video in which a MSA leader offers the MSA’s “pledge of allegiance”, an oath that is based upon the beliefs of the Muslim Brotherhood.  If you watch the video, you will see for yourself the organizations commitment to jihad and the willingness of MSA members to die to establish Islam.

The links between the MSA and the Muslim Brotherhood have been well documented as a result of the 2007 United States vs. The Holy Land Foundation trial – the largest terrorism financing trial in U.S. history.

Today, at the University of Central Florida, Imam Siraj Wahhaj — who was an unindicted co-conspirator in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and a character witness for Abdel Rahman, known as the Blind Sheik — was invited by the Muslim Student Association to speak on campus.  TODAY!

A few months ago, on November 4, also at UCF, the Muslim Student Association invited Jamal Badawi, a former board member of the Muslim Brotherhood and a current board member for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) to speak. CAIR, as many of you know, was created by the International Muslim Brotherhood in 1994 and is widely reported to have ties to Hamas. CAIR was listed as an unindicted co-conspirator in the 2007 Holy Land Trial. In 2004 Badawi issued a fatwa (Islamic legal ruling) for “Islamonline”, detailing when a wife can be beaten as a result of her bad habits.  Furthermore, Badawi was involved in another 2004 fatwa which explained that it was a religious “duty” for all able-bodied Muslims to wage jihad against the American military. In 2006, Badawi justified Muslim suicide bombings, saying they were legitimate tactic of jihad. In the summer 2007 Holy Land trial Jamal Badawi was listed, along with CAIR, as an unindicted co-conspirator.

Last February, at the University of California Irvine, 11 members of the Muslim Student Union (an organization associated with the Muslim Student Association) were removed from a lecture given by the Ambassador of Israel, Michael Oren, after disrupting the lecture, attempting to shut it down and violating the UC Irvine’s free speech policy.  Watch it here.

UC Irvine disciplined the students.  However, upon learning of the planning that went into the disruption created by these students, the local District Attorney filed misdemeanor charges against them.  Many, including the ACLU, are outraged that these students are being charged and they are protesting – saying that the freedom of speech of the 11 MSU members was violated.  What about the freedom of speech of Israel’s Ambassador?

It is important to point out that a man who asked a challenging question, during a question-answer session, to Mr.  Badawi at his November appearance at UCF was forcibly removed from the lecture by uniformed police.  The ACLU has not challenged this man’s right to freedom of speech.

What’s going on here?

Clearly, there is a major problem going on our campuses.  The attacks against Israel, the presence of speakers with ties to terrorism, and the increasing support of Muslim student groups at the expense of Jewish student groups is on the rise on our campuses.  Our kids are at risk.  We need to educate them and ourselves.  Imagine what it is like to be a Jewish kid, a kid who supports Israel, to be on a campus where pro-Israel voices can be suppressed while voices with connections to terror can be heard loud and clear!  We have a problem!

Given this, I am happy to announce that on April 13th at 7:00PM, we invite all of you, any of our college students who are around and our high school students to a special viewing of  “Crossing The Line” – a film that deals with the struggle college students face when it comes to supporting Israel and the values we hold dear.  This is not to be missed.

Please call Ramat Shalom for more information (954-472-3600)

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Soros’ Absurd Blame Game

Posted in In the news, Islamic Extremism, Israel, Rabbi Andrew Jacobs, Ramat Shalom, tagged , , on February 4, 2011 | 2 Comments »

When it comes to the crisis in Egypt, Israel is the problem. So says George Soros a well-known and very controversial Jewish philanthropist. “The main stumbling block is Israel,” writes Soros in Thursday’s Washington Post, claiming that Israel’s refusal to embrace change and accept the new democratic regime that will step into power in Egypt will undermine the chance of freedom in the Middle East. It is all Israel’s fault. This coming from a Jew, a powerful one, whose voice is heard across the globe.

Soros’ anti-Israel stance is nothing new. He has gone so far as to blame Israel for the rise of global anti-Semitism. His comments in the Washington Post capture how absurd his position is. Since 1979, Israel has been at peace with Egypt. If this peace were to disappear, the nightmare that could replace it would be disastrous.

There are many who are standing in solidarity with those taking to the streets against the Mubarak government and certainly many of the protestors deserve our support. However, we cannot overlook or downplay the role that Muslim extremists are playing on the streets of Egypt – particularly the Muslim Brotherhood. The Brotherhood is not a moderate, democratic, freedom loving organization. On the contrary, it is an organization that is committed to spreading Islamic law through jihad. It is represented by and connected to radical, anti-Semitic xenophobes who are often associated with terrorist groups like Al Qaeda. Many do not realize that the Muslim Brotherhood was linked to the assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat who made peace with Israel. The Muslim Brotherhood is not interested in peace with Israel. Just the other day, Rashad al-Bayoumi, a Muslim Brotherhood leader, said that “after President Mubarak steps down and a provisional government is formed, there is a need to dissolve the peace treaty with Israel.”

Israel is no stumbling block. She is, like the rest of us, a bystander. Plus, she is a neighbor. And she is watching the crisis in Egypt escalate. There is no one in charge of this country. And if the extremists get their way, the new government will seriously jeopardize the safety and security of Israel. If Israel expresses concern it is not because she is refusing to embrace change – it is because she is committed to the well-being of her people.

To accuse Israel of hindering change in Egypt, as Mr. Soros has done, only fans the flames of anti-Semitism that are already burning throughout the Middle East.

Last week, 400 of my colleagues signed a letter sponsored by the Jewish Fund for Justice condemning a controversial talk show host for his use of Nazi images to describe George Soros. The letter, which appeared in the Wall Street Journal, left some of us in the Jewish community baffled. Jeffrey Wiesenfeld, the Vice-President of the American Gathering of Jewish Holocaust Survivors, an organization that is quoted in the letter and appears to lend its support to the letter, responded earlier this week, writing:

“This absurdity and the fact that these rabbis have never seen fit to comment on Mr. Soros’s support for entities that have harmed Israel and Jewish interests (and in my view, Western interests generally), force me to speak out…I…know that in my 30 years of participation in large-scale annual commemorations I have yet to meet a survivor who expressed support for Mr. Soros.”

I do hope that my colleagues who signed the letter in support of Mr. Soros take a firm stance against his dangerous words about Israel. I for one find his words reprehensible. By all means, I support the creation of democratic government in Egypt – but not at the expense of Israel – the Jewish state and the only democracy in the region. This doesn’t make me a stumbling block. This makes me a Jew.

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Don’t Tell The Bride She Is Ugly Even If It Is The Truth: What Happened to Juan Williams

Posted in In the news, Islamic Extremism, Israel, Rabbi Andrew Jacobs, tagged , on October 23, 2010 | 1 Comment »

This week, the Torah tells us how Gd informs Abraham that Sarah – at the old age of 90 – will give birth to a son. Abraham himself is 100 years old. Sarah overhears Gd tell Abraham that she will bear a child and she laughs, saying, “After I have withered, will I (now) have smooth skin? And my husband is old!” In the very next verse, Gd says to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Is it really true that I will give birth, even though I am old?’” No, I did not write that incorrectly. When Gd repeats the incident to Abraham, Gd changes Sarah’s words. She said, “Abraham is old,” but G-d tells Abraham that she said that she is too old! Gd lied!?

Why?

The Talmud teaches us that Gd changes Sarah’s words to keep peace between Abraham and Sarah. Abraham would not have wanted his wife to call him old!

This week, we watched another member of the media lose his job because of something he said.

In an interview on Fox, Juan Williams of NPR and Fox said:

“I’m not a bigot. You know the kind of books I’ve written about the civil rights movement in this country. But when I get on the plane, I got to tell you, if I see people who are in Muslim garb and I think, you know, they are identifying themselves first and foremost as Muslims, I get worried. I get nervous.”

(It is important to note that Williams went on to say that America is not at war with Islam and anyone who attacks a Muslim or attempts to deny Muslims their rights is a “nut.”)

Just recently, CNN fired Rick Sanchez for implying that Jews control the media. Before that, Helen Thomas ”retired” after telling Jews to “get the hell out of Palestine” and go back “home” to Eastern Europe. In addition, Octavia Nasr, a senior Middle East editor at CNN, was fired after writing in a post on Twitter that she was “sad to hear of the passing of Sayyed Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah…. One ofHezbollah’s giants I respect a lot.” Hezbollah is a terrorist group. And Fadallah was a supporter of suicide attacks against Israel. He was placed on a terrorist blacklist by the US.

There is no question that all the reporters mentioned above have said or wrote things that express personal bias. Is this something that should lead to their termination?

NPR CEO, Vivian Schiller stated that Williams is entitled to his opinions. As a new analyst, Williams was paid by NPR to give his opinions on various issues. At the same time, Schiller insisted that NPR journalism must be objective so that the “public can make their own decision about…issues.” Schiller stated that NPR’s code of ethics requires that staffers “cannot say things in other public forums that they could not say on NPR’s airwaves.” Schiller also stated that “news analysts may not take personal public positions on controversial issues; doing so undermines their credibility as analysts…”

There is no question in my mind that the hate spewed by Helen Thomas and the absurd statements by Rick Sanchez undermined their credibility. They both deserved to lose their jobs for using their position to spread lies. Nasr expressed her opinion on Twitter. Unfortunately for her, her opinion showed the world that she respected a terrorist. Certainly, this was not a wise professional move.

The case of Juan Williams is, in my opinion, different. He shouldn’t have said what he said. However, when you look at his words in context of everything else he said – Williams was differentiating between the uneasy feelings that many Americans feel and the acts of hatred that are directed at the Muslim-American community. He condemns this hatred. In addition, he makes it clear that his fear is what he feels. It is not fact. He does not praise his fear. He simply states it. Is it wrong for a news analyst to state his feelings?

In addition to all of this, according to NPR’s CEO, Williams’ words violated the company’s policy that its reporters present fair, unbiased, accurate, complete and honest reports. However, one simply needs to look at NPR’s reporting on Israel to see that many NPR reporters do not adhere to company policy. So, why was Juan Williams fired while other reporters who expressed their bias were able to keep their jobs?

Returning to the Talmud, we read about the great rabbis Hillel and Shammai who often had arguments about Jewish law. One of these arguments was over whether one should tell a bride on her wedding day that she is beautiful even if this is not true. Shammai asserted that it would be wrong to lie. If she was not pretty, you don’t tell her she is pretty. Hillel held that a bride is always beautiful on her wedding day. Fortunately for all of us, Hillel won the dispute. Judaism demands that we are honest – but, at the same time, reminds us that there are times when honest comments can be unnecessarily hurtful and bring about discord.

Fair or not, Juan Williams was fired for speaking honestly about his feelings.

His colleagues at NPR might be leaving out extremely important facts and, in turn, doing NPR listeners an injustice by not giving them the whole picture – but to the best of my knowledge, they have not come out with statements that express their own discomfort with Israel. They keep their personal feelings hidden behind their “reporting”. Obviously, those of us in the pro-Israel world do not listen to NPR or we do not bother to share our frustration strongly enough with the powers that be and work to change the way NPR reports on Israel. This is our fault.

CAIR – the powerful American-Muslim “civil rights” group with documented links to Hamas did what they do best – they took action and put out a press release soon after Williams’ comments were made demanding that NPR take action. And NPR did just that, firing Williams, doing what they could to keep the peace.

In essence, Williams told the bride she was ugly on national television. Compared to some of his recently fired colleagues, Williams’ words were not hateful lies – but they were brutally honest – too honest for many. And, it is clear that in today’s world, whether we like it or not, the ancient wisdom of Rabbi Hillel still applies – no matter what, tell a bride that she is beautiful.

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Wise Words from Professor Ajami

Posted in American Judaism, Islamic Extremism, tagged , , , on September 21, 2010 | Leave a Comment »

By FOUAD AJAMI

Wall Street Journal Op-Ed 9/20/2010

From his recent travels to the Persian Gulf—sponsored and paid for by the State Department—Imam Faisal Abdul Rauf returned with a none-too-subtle threat. His project, the Ground Zero Mosque, would have to go on. Its cancellation would risk putting “our soldiers, our troops, our embassies and citizens under attack in the Muslim world.”

Leave aside the attempt to make this project a matter of national security. The self-appointed bridge between America and the Arab-Islamic world is a false witness to the sentiments in Islamic lands.

The truth is that the trajectory of Islam in America (and Europe for that matter) is at variance with the play of things in Islam’s main habitat. A survey by Elaph, the most respected electronic daily in the Arab world, gave a decided edge to those who objected to the building of this mosque—58% saw it as a project of folly.

Elaph was at it again in the aftermath of Pastor Terry Jones’s threat to burn copies of the Quran: It queried its readers as to whether America was a “tolerant” or a “bigoted” society. The split was 63% to 37% in favor of those who accepted the good faith and pluralism of this country.

This is remarkable. The ground burned in the Arab-Islamic world over the last three decades. Sly preachers and their foot soldiers “weaponized” the faith and all but devoured what modernists had tried to build in the face of difficult odds. The fury has not burned out. Self-styled imams continue to issue fatwas that have made it all but impossible for Arabs and Muslims to partake of the modern world. But from this ruinous history, there has settled upon countless Muslims and Arabs the recognition that the wells are poisoned in their midst, that the faith has to be reined in or that the faith will kill, and that the economic and cultural prospects of modern Islam hang in the balance.

To this kind of sobriety, Muslim activists and preachers in the diaspora—in Patterson, N.J., and Minneapolis, in Copenhagen and Amsterdam—appear to be largely indifferent. They are forever on the look-out for the smallest slight.

Islam in America is of recent vintage. This country can’t be “Islamic.” Its foundations are deep in the Puritan religious tradition. The waves of immigrants who came to these shores understood the need for discretion, and for patience.

It wasn’t belligerence that carried the Catholics and the Jews into the great American mainstream. It was the swarm of daily life—the grocery store, the assembly line, the garment industry, the public schools, and the big wars that knit the American communities together—and tore down the religious and ethnic barriers.

There is no gain to be had, no hearts and minds to be won, in Imam Rauf insisting that Ground Zero can’t be hallowed ground because there is a strip joint and an off-track betting office nearby. This may be true, but it is irrelevant.

A terrible deed took place on that ground nine years ago. Nineteen young Arabs brought death and ruin onto American soil, and discretion has a place of pride in the way the aftermath is handled. “Islam” didn’t commit these crimes, but young Arabs and Muslims did.

There is no use for the incantation that Islam is a religion of peace. The incantation is false; Islam, like other religions, is theologically a religion of war and a religion of peace. In our time, it is a religion in distress, fought over, hijacked at times, by a militant breed at war with the modern world.

Again, from Elaph, here are the thoughts of an Arab writer, Ahmed Abu Mattar, who sees through the militancy of the religious radicals. He dismisses outright the anger over the “foolish and deranged” Pastor Terry Jones who threatened to burn copies of the Quran. “Where is the anger in the face of dictatorships which dominate the lives of Arabs from the cradle to the grave? Would the Prophet Muhammad look with favor on the prisons in our midst which outnumber the universities and hospitals? Would he take comfort in the rate of illiteracy among the Arabs which exceeds 60%? Would he be satisfied with the backwardness that renders us a burden on other nations?”

The first Arabs who came to America arrived during the time of the Great Migration (1880-1920). Their story is told by Gregory Orfalea in his book, “The Arab Americans: A History” (2006). The pioneers were mostly Christians on the run from the hunger and the privations of a dying Ottoman empire. One such pioneer who fled Lebanon for America said he wanted to leave his homeland and “go to the land of justice.” Ellis Island was fondly named bayt al-hurriya (the house of freedom). It was New York, in the larger neighborhood of Wall Street, that was the first home of the immigrants.

Restrictive quotas and the Great Depression reduced the migration to a trickle. This would change drastically in the 1950s and ’60s. The time of Islam in America had begun.

It was in 1965, Imam Faisal Abdul Rauf tells us, that he made his way to America as a young man. He and a vast migration would be here as American identity would undergo a drastic metamorphosis.

The prudence of days past was now a distant memory. These activists who came in the 1990s—the time of multiculturalism and of what the late Arthur Schlesinger Jr. called the “disuniting of America”—would insist on a full-scale revision of the American creed. American liberalism had broken with American patriotism, and the self-styled activists would give themselves over to a militancy that would have shocked their forerunners. It is out of that larger history that this project at Ground Zero is born.

There is a great Arab and Islamic tale. It happened in the early years of Islam, but it speaks to this controversy. It took place in A.D. 638, the time of Islam’s triumphs.

The second successor to the Prophet, the Caliph Omar—to orthodox Muslims the most revered of the four Guided Caliphs for the great conquests that took place during his reign—had come to Jerusalem to accept the city’s surrender. Patriarch Sophronius, the city’s chief magistrate, is by his side for the ceremony of surrender. Prayer time comes for Omar while the patriarch is showing him the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

The conqueror asks where he could spread out his prayer rug. Sophronius tells him that he could stay where he was. Omar refuses, because his followers, he said, might then claim for Islam the holy shrine of the Christians. Omar stepped outside for his prayer.

We don’t always assert all the “rights” that we can get away with. The faith is honored when the faith bends to necessity and discretion.

Mr. Ajami is a professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution.

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From This Place I Am Not Moving by Rabbi Ed Farber

Posted in American Judaism, Islamic Extremism, Israel on September 20, 2010 | Leave a Comment »

Beth Torah – Benny Rok Campus

Kol Nidre Night – 2010 – 5771 – Rabbi Ed Farber

Mee Po Ahnee lo Zaz – from this place I am not moving

You all know the classic Jewish joke which defines a Jewish telegram as having the message: “Start worrying – details to follow.” It’s classic because it so well describes our people. We are always worrying – every generation of Jews worries – will this be the last generation? Every generation of Jews agonizes over how to keep the next generation connected – connected to our people; our religious and cultural heritage. But this generation faces something that no other generation faced for 2000 years – how to keep the next generation connected to the Jewish State of Israel. All previous generations wondered how to keep the idea of a Jewish homeland alive – how to keep a connection with a land that most Jews had not or ever would visit in their lifetimes and which had a tiny Jewish community. But we have the state – we have the reality – and the community inIsrael will soon be the largest Jewish community in the world. It would seem that in this world of instant communication, easy travel and shrinking distances – keeping that connection alive and vibrant would be so much easier. My grandmother never visited Israel. She went from Poland to America and the opportunity to travel to Israel just never presented itself. But her identification with and love for Israel was boundless. I didn’t make my first trip to Israel until my third year of undergraduate school but I went there already connected to and in love with the land and the state – instilled in me by my family, my synagogue and my Rabbis. Given Israel’s incredible accomplishments and the attractiveness of the state on both a secular and religious level – connecting the next generation should be easy. Well – not exactly.

A few months ago a group of 35 MIT and Harvard students, 20 non-Jews and 15 Jews were gathered together to talk about the Palestinian/Israeli conflict with public opinion guru Frank Luntz.  Luntz describes how within 10 minutes, the non-Jews started with ‘the war crimes of Israel,’ with ‘the Jewish lobby,’ with ‘the Jews have a lot more power and influence’ – stuff that’s borderline anti-Jewish.  They had nothing to say about Palestinian terror attacks that had killed over a 1000 Israeli citizens – men, women and children having pizza in a Sbarro restaurant – or a seder in a hotel – or just riding in a bus. All these students could talk about was Israeli aggression, Israeli oppression – Israeli imperialism. And remember these are MIT and Harvard students. What did the Jewish collegiates do while this attack on Israel’s ethical values, on her right to defend herself raged on? Did the Jewish kids at the best schools in America stand up for themselves? Did they challenge the assertions? Not a word – they sat their silently. Frank Luntz was so stunned that he couldn’t control himself. The Jewish students – these Harvard and MIT Jewish students – the best and the brightest didn’t say a dam thing in response – they sat there silently as Israel and American Jews were being maligned. Luntz points out that amongst the Jewish students in the group was the leader of the Israeli caucus at Harvard. 49 minutes of ‘it’s all Israel’s fault – American Jews have too much influence – the media is controlled by the Jews and the American gov’t by the Israeli Lobby’ -  49 minutes – he timed it – before any Jewish student actually responded to the attacks – 49 minutes before one of them opened their mouth and challenged those baseless anti-Israel – anti-Jewish attacks.

After three hours – the discussion ended and Luntz dismissed the non-Jews and confronted the Jews. With them alone in the room he turned to these Jewish MIT and Harvard college students and screamed: You didn’t say ‘crap’ – for 49 minutes you sat there silently –  while your community and your Jewish state were being maligned -and when you finally opened your mouths you were timid and almost apologetic. Then writes Luntz:

“And it all dawned on them: If they won’t say it to their classmates, whom they know, who will they stand up for Israel to? Two of the women in the group started to cry. … The guys are like, “Oh my God, I didn’t speak up, I can’t believe I let this happen.” And they’re all looking at each other with horrible embarrassment and guilt like you wouldn’t believe.”

Luntz challenged the Jewish students. What’s wrong with you? Israel with all its flaws – is still a far better example of American values such as freedom, democracy, tolerance, and human rights, than any of its enemies. Why didn’t they talk about the oppression of women and homosexuals in the Arab world? Why didn’t they remind Israel’s attackers in the debate that there is no religious freedom for Christians or Jews in any of those Arab countries they are defending so articulately? Why didn’t they remind them that a woman can’t drive a car in Saudi Arabia, a Jew or a Christian can’t be a citizen and no churches or synagogues are allowed in that country? Why didn’t they remind them that Israeli Arabs have more rights and freedoms than they would have in any of Israel’s neighboring countries? And why did these Harvard and MIT geniuses have nothing to say about suicide bombings, the killing of Israeli citizens, the purposeful murder of Israeli children, pregnant Jewish women shot to death at point blank range, and the 1000’s of missiles indiscriminately launched into Israelis towns and cities?

We learn two very painful lessons from this episode: 1) so many of our children are afraid to speak up for Israel; 2) many don’t even know how to speak up for Israel.  And from recent studies we learn something even more disturbing – far too many of our children now entering adulthood don’t even care about Israel in any significant way. It has no special pull on their heart strings. They are either alienated from Israel or indifferent. Some studies put the percentage as high as 40% of the next generation of Jews who have no special feeling for – or connection to – the land, the people or the Jewish state. In fact many find it just a source of irritation – always bad news – always bad PR for Jews.

The greatest existential threat to Israel’s survival is an Iran with nuclear weapons – not Hezbollah – not Hamas. But I want to tell you a secret that you may not know. I do not have the power to stop Iran from going nuclear. So I’ll say only one thing about that threat. We must support Israel’s right to use even military force – if necessary – to stop Iranfrom going nuclear and we must encourage our representatives – our government – to stand behind Israel or even cooperate with Israel if military intervention becomes the only means to stopping Iran from going Nuclear.

After Iran - the next greatest threat to Israel’s survival is the world-wide attempt to deny her the legitimate right of self defense and to make her a pariah in the world community – the way that S. Africa was isolated and ostracized for her apartheid policies. But S. Africa’s  policies were in fact racist and appalling. No Public relations campaign could have helped her and the apartheid government fell. But Israel is not S. Africa and not racist. Yet Israel’s PR failings are innumerable – I quite frankly don’t understand it. The case for Israel is not hard to make even to people on the left but Israel has not done it well. But if the next generation of American Jews as represented by those MIT and Harvard Jewish students don’t get it then the failure is ours – the American Jewish community – and not the Israeli government. We have failed to successfully communicate to a large segment of the next generation both the justice of Israel’s cause and the critical and vital importance of Israel to all of world Jewry and all democracies. And when I say we – I mean all of us – parents, Rabbis, Jewish educators. And this is the third greatest threat to Israel’s survival – the possibility of a serious shrinkage in support from the American Jewish community. The Orthodox community has succeeded in imparting this love and support in their next generation but they are a tiny percentage of American Jewry. How did they do it?

1)      Israel is talked about with enthusiasm and passion in their homes, in their synagogues and in their schools. Is that true in our homes, in our synagogues?

2)     They make sure to get their teens to Israel either during High School or college. Because once you’ve been to Israel the justice of her cause and the fact that her goodness far outweighs the problems in her society becomes self-apparent.

3)     And in our synagogues – in the Conservative and Reform movements – and I say this with embarrassment and shock – so many Rabbis focus on Israel’s mistakes, her problems even blaming Israel for a lack of a peace treaty. I saw on line that many American Rabbis have given sermons this year about the conversion controversy in Israel. We’ve got Hezbollah with 1000’s of missiles on Israel’s northern border, Hamas with thousands more on Israel’s southern border and an Iranian regime trying to go nuclear while at the same time proclaiming that Israel should be wiped off the map. We’ve got people who represent the Palestinians pronouncing that the Holocaust never happened, that there was never a Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. We’ve got much of the world saying that of course Israel has the right to defend herself and then every time she does she is condemned at the UN for doing just that. We had Time magazine with a cover that said – Why Israel doesn’t want peace! All this and Rabbis want to talk about the conversion crisis in Israel! All these visceral threats to Israel’s very survival and in some synagogues our college kids will hear at High Holy Days this year how Israel has to give up this, retreat from there, apologize for that. It has been the Palestinians who have blocked the path to peace by refusing to recognize a Jewish state and by continuing their terror assault on Israel. What we need to worry about is why those Jewish kids from MIT and Harvard were so hesitant to defend Israel. What we have to worry about is why so many of our kids are ready to travel to every ferkockta place in the world on vacation except Israel. What we have to worry about is the anti-Zionist and anti-Semitic trends on University campuses throughout our land. We are sending our kids totally unprepared into the seat of anti-Zionistic thought and agitation in our country – the AmericanUniversity campus.

Let me tell you a true story – a story we should know because it’s the story of our people in the past 70 years.

An American by the name of Judy makes aliyah – meets an Israeli – gets married and has a baby boy. She is visiting in America when the war in the north with Hezbollah breaks out – she’s stuck here – her husband goes into army reserves in Israel. Let’s go back a generation to Judy’s mother-in-law – Zahava – who was pregnant with Judy’s husband – Boaz – when the Yom Kippur war broke out in 1973 and her husband – Boaz’s father – was off to war. He survived – the baby boy was given the name Boaz which is the Hebrew name for a redeemer – one who brings hope – as Boaz was the great grandfather of David from whom the Messiah will come. Now let’s go back another generation to Boaz’s grandmother – who was pregnant with his mother – Judy’s mother-in-law – when she was living in an internment camp in Cyprus having just survived the holocaust and her husband – Boaz’s grandfather – was preparing to fight in the War of Independence in 1948! Now – it’s 2008 – Judy is sitting there in LA – thousands of miles away from her husband and family in Israel – watching this war in Lebanon and for the fourth generation in a row – the fourth generation in a row – in that family – a Jewish woman is pregnant while her husband is off fighting to save the Jewish people. That’s the story our children need to hear – not the story of someone being given a hard time by the narrow-minded antiquated, corrupt and medieval Israeli Chief Rabbinate. What our children need to know is that after 9/11 the community which had the loudest cheering in the world, the people who danced in the streets with joy – that fired machine guns in the air celebrating the slaughter of 3000 innocent American, that burned American flags in the streets – were the Palestinian communities in the West Bank and in Gaza.

The simple truths are:

1)      Israel cannot be defeated if the Israeli people, American and World Jewry and the United States government stand together and firm on Israel’s security and her right to defend herself with the full force of the Israeli Armed forces if necessary. Iran would back down from her nuclear intentions if she believed that Israel and America would act militarily if necessary to put an end to her nuclear ambitions. Do not be so foolish or naïve as to think that a second Holocaust is not possible. Should we dismiss Iran’s threats to destroy Israel as the threats of a loud mouth bombastic and crazy President – Achmaninajab? Here I rely on the words of Elie Wiesel – the eloquent writer, teacher and Holocaust Suvivor – trust in the threats of your enemies more than in the promises of your friends.

Chaim Weizman, the modern founder of Zionism and the first President of Israel was once asked, “Why don’t you just accept the offer to establish a Jewish State in Uganda?” He answered, “That’s like me asking why you drove 50 miles to see your mother when there are so many other nice old ladies so much closer to your home.”

We drive the 50 miles because she is our mother. And we stand up for Israel because it is our homeland, the cradle of Jewish civilization and home to almost 6 million Jews – more than 1/3 of our people – a very haunting and at the same time hopeful number. That is what we – all of us collectively – have failed to communicate to far too many American Jews and that may be the greatest threat of all to Israel’s future.

Laurie and I were in Israel when the missiles began landing on Haifa in the first days of the Hezbollah war four summers ago, one scene stood out forever in my mind.  A newscaster was interviewing the dazed and shell shocked Israelis who were standing amidst the rubble of a shattered apartment building in Haifa. One of them asked a man why he didn’t leave and move away?

The man turned to the camera, he pointed to the broken building and screaming in defiance like a broken refrain – over and over and over again: “This is our home. This is our home – mee po ahnee lo zaz – me po ani lo zaz.” Mi po ani lo zaz – from here I am not moving – from here I am not moving – from here I am not moving.

Why – why not just leave for a few weeks until the war was over and then go back home. The reason that particular Israeli and so many others refused to move – refused to evacuate was simply this: They understood that the war was not about creating a Palestinian State – it’s about whether there will be a Jewish state at all. Let me repeat that – the war with Hezbollah, the recent war in Gaza, the conflict with Iran – they are not about establishing a Palestinian state – they are about whether there will be a Jewish state at all. Once the Palestinians truly give up on replacing the Jewish state with a Palestinian one – and are ready to create a Palestinian state side by side with a Jewish state – peace negotiations will proceed quickly and successfully.

I have quoted Elie Wiesel and Chaim Weizmann but maybe they are the wrong ones to quote to our college kids and our young Jewish adults because they are Jews and Jews are expected to speak up for Israel. Let me instead quote a non-Jew – a Spanish journalist who lives and works in a country which often takes very strong stands against Israel – a country with a very large Moslem population and strong economic ties with Moslem states. This Spanish journalist is a woman by the name of Ms. Rahola. This is what she wrote:  ”I am not Jewish. Ideologically, I am left and by profession a journalist. Why am I not as anti-Israel as my colleague? Because I believe that to fight against anti-Semitism is not the duty of the Jews, it is the duty of the non-Jews. As a journalist, it is my duty to search for the truth beyond prejudice, lies and manipulations. The truth about Israel is not told. As a person from the left who loves progress, I am obligated to defend liberty, culture, civic education for children, coexistence and the laws that the Tablets of the Covenant made into universal principles -principles that Islamic fundamentalism systematically destroys. That is to say that as a non-Jew, journalist and lefty, I have a triple moral duty with Israel, because if Israel is destroyed, liberty, modernity and culture will be destroyed too. The struggle of Israel, even if the world doesn’t want to accept it, is the struggle of the world.”  That is the message that we need to convey to each other – to our children – to our government – to our fellow American citizens. That is the message – that Israeli Jew – standing in a blown out apartment building in Haifa was trying to say when he screamed – mee po anhee lo zaz – from this place I am not moving. I have to believe that he had in mind one of the most beautiful poems ever composed about Jerusalem – about Israel.

May al pisgat Har Hatzofim shalom lach yerushalayim –

From the heights of Mount Scopus I greet you

Alfay Golim miktzot kol tayval nosim aylayich aynayim

Thousands of exiles from all parts of the world, lift their eyes to you

B’alfay b’ruchot hayee b’roocha – Mikdash Melech ir melucha

With Thousands of blessings you will be blessed – this city of holiness and royalty

Yerushalayim – yerushalayim ahnee lo azuz mee-po

Jerusalem, Jerusalem, I won’t move from here

Yerushalayim – yerushalayim – yavo hamashiach yavo.

Jerusalem will usher in the Messianic era

Yerushalayim – yerushalayim ahnee lo azuz mee-po

Jerusalem, Jerusalem, From this place  - from this country – from this Jewish homeland – we will not be moved!

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Yom Kippur 5771: Reclaiming Our Right To Be Tough, Strong Jews

Posted in American Judaism, In the news, Islamic Extremism, Israel, Jewish Holidays, Rabbi Andrew Jacobs, tagged , , , , , , on September 19, 2010 | Leave a Comment »

As I mentioned yesterday, the Imam behind the Ground Zero mosque claims to be afraid to move the location of the mosque.  He is afraid that the radical Muslim world will be outraged and react with anger, or worse, violence.

When the pastor up in Gainesville threatened to burn the Koran last week, powerful US officials, even the FBI got involved to stop the burning because the act would illicit a horrible reaction from Muslims – a reaction that would threaten our soldiers overseas and perhaps even us at home.

Remember the slogan for E.F. Hutton, (the old US stock brokerage firm):   “When E.F. Hutton talks, people listen”?  Well, whether we like what they have to say or not, when the radical Muslim community speaks – especially from a place of anger – people listen.  The world listens!  And the world acts to calm the anger.

There is something to be said about this.  Granted I am totally opposed to the violence and murder that is often a part of the anger that comes from the radical Muslim community.  But, this being said, I am in awe of the powerful voice that comes from this community when they feel wronged.

Did you know that the Gainesville pastor threatened to burn the Talmud too?    Let’s say he did – what would we have done?  I can tell you: not much.  Some of us would have kicked and screamed.  But, for the most part, there would have been silence.  I dare say many Jews wouldn’t have really cared.

We’ve got horrible anti-semitic incidents going on all over the world all the time – whether it the beating deaths of Jews in Europe, the hate speech coming from political leaders in South America, the lies being told by celebrities like Oliver Stone, the two bomb threats phoned in to Dor Dorim and B’nai Aviv this past week, or the violence and bloodshed in the Middle East.   And what do we Jews do with all of this?  We remain silent.

We’ve got Israel’s very existence in jeopardy – the fate of six million Israelis in the hands of President Ahmadinejad and his nuclear bomb – and yet we go about our lives as Jews in America – carefree.  When it comes to standing up for ourselves, we Jews are pretty pathetic.  And to me, this is a sin.

We don’t like controversy. We would rather just go about our lives and stay out of the fray. It started centuries ago in the Jewish ghettos of Europe where we were persecuted, tormented and killed because we were Jews.  We got used to living in fear and somehow, along the way, forgot that we had the power to fight back – except for a group brave souls who did fight, following the footsteps of their brave forefathers.  We submitted.  Hid.  Avoided the oppressors.  This made it safer.  Until they went looking for us.

The Holocaust annihilated six million of us.  Gone.  Destroyed us.  But we were not done.  We came back.  And many came here.  Our grandparents, parents, some of us.  And for the first time in a long time, we lived in relative safety and security.  But we did not want to rock the boat.  Did American Jews rise up and demand that their government do something about the Holocaust?  Do we turn out in droves today to demand that Iran be stripped of every possible chemical and tool it could use to make a nuclear weapon?  When a swastika is painted on one of our synagogues or a politician makes an anti-Semitic remark, do we cry out as an American Jewish community?  When Israel is attacked over and over again for defending herself, do we take to the streets and protest?  Do we make it explicitly clear to the world that you better not mess with us?  As a community, we don’t do this.  Some of us raise our voices.  But most of us do not. We don’t have the time.  Or the desire.  Life here is good.  It is easy to be Jewish.  Or maybe we just don’t have the guts. Inside of us, we still have that fear – the fear passed down to us from our grandparents and their parents…it is best to be quiet and just not draw too much attention to ourselves.  It will pass.

Spending time in Israel this summer made me realize just how apathetic we are as a community.  Apathetic – and darn lucky that we can be apathetic.

In America, when a Jewish kid gets ready to go to college, he is often handed a credit card and a car key and sent off to a posh university with new sheets and a comforter for his dorm room.  His biggest concern is – will he pass his first semester at college?  Or worse, how is the party life on campus?

In Israel, as a kid finishes high school, he is always handed a gun and keys to a military vehicle and sent off to a bare bones military barrack with no comforts of home.  His biggest concern is – will he live to see his next birthday?

Walking the streets of Israel and seeing young Jewish soldiers, men and women carrying machine guns – made me count my blessings to be an American Jew.  I can’t imagine knowing that my oldest kid would be off to the military in 9 short years.  No guarantee that she would survive the experience.  At the same time, seeing these soldiers made me realize how much we have lost as American Jews.  How wimpy we have become.  How we have lost the strength and courage of our ancestors – King David and Solomon, the rebels of Masada, the Maccabees, the leaders of the Jewish Resistance during WWII, the early Zionists, even our relatives who risked it all to travel to America.  While they did, we don’t have to fight to be Jewish today.  So we’ve lost, in many respects, our Jewish strength.  Our Jewish muscle.

There is a Yiddish/German expression – Muskeljuden (created by Zionist leader Max Nordau in the late 1800′s) – Muscle-Jews – an expression that is used to describe strong, powerful, assertive Jews who are willing to take their lives and the lives of their community in their own hands and do what they need to do to protect the Jewish people.  American Jews have lost the concept of the Muskeljuden.

For the most part, we teach our children to avoid violence and confrontation.  The typical American Jewish parent would be horrified to learn that their child smacked another kid at school.  The typical American Jewish family opposes the very idea of guns and weapons.  So very different from Israeli Jews.

Sadly, I have learned that not many of us are willing to stand up and defend our Judaism.  Many of us are not willing to put our lives on the line for our Judaism.

“Are you willing to call yourself a Jew during the good times and the bad times?” I ask this question to every one of my conversion students before I accept them into the Jewish community.  They all say “yes”.  If they didn’t, I wouldn’t convert them.  But, when I pose this same question to Jews who were born Jewish and explain that calling yourself a Jew during the bad times might threaten your life – I often get a very different answer.  What would your answer be?

“Are you willing to call yourself a Jew during the good times and the bad times?” I am shocked and saddened by the number of Jews who have told me that they would not be willing to openly call themselves a Jew or to openly stand up and defend their Judaism during the bad times.  Many tell me that they would hide their Judaism or, worse, give it up if need be during the bad times.  “Its not worth it,” I’ve had Jews tell me.  When you think about how many Jews have died to insure that we are sitting here alive and well today; when you think about all that is incredible about our faith, our history, our culture – I think you will understand that I find the response “its not worth it” to be a sin.

Most Jewish parents today, we are raising our children to be tolerant and accepting of other cultures, religions and races.  This is great!  The problem that I find is that while we raise our kids to love and accept everyone, if someone says something bad about Judaism, Israel, or Jewish people – we don’t give our kids the tools needed to respond.  We’d rather they ‘turn the other cheek’.  But, this is a Christian concept – not a Jewish concept.  It is great to be accepting of others – but when you can’t stand up for yourself – either because you are afraid or too ignorant to know how to – something is wrong.  And something is wrong with our American Jewish community.

Judaism teaches us that we are obligated to stand up for and defend ourselves from those who are out to undermine, harm or destroy Judaism.  We can defend ourselves in many ways.  We need to learn and be ready to stand up for Judaism and Israel by speaking up and expressing the facts.  We need to have courage.  We need to realize that we have the right to express the truth about our religion and our spiritual homeland.  We need to know what that truth is.  And we have an obligation, an obligation, to be proud of who we are and what we stand for.  We must stand with the Jewish community and support Jewish causes and – when we have the financial resources – travel to Israel.  We must push ourselves to correct those who speak poorly of Judaism and Israel.  We need to make a stink when our kid’s school attempts to penalize students when they choose to attend Rosh HaShanah services instead of going to class.  Most importantly, we must live wonderful Jewish lives – by living our Judaism – we strengthen our Judaism.  And strength is the best defense there is.

Yes, Judaism loves peace.  But Judaism is not naïve.  Jewish law explicitly states that we are required to stand up to those who threaten our existence.  War is bad.  But, Judaism teaches us that sometimes, war is necessary.  That is simply the truth.  To think otherwise is naïve.

War is what Israel and her citizens deal with every single day.  She is a country at war.   Israeli soldiers are on the defensive constantly because they know that the enemy is out there waiting to attack.  The soldiers in Israel openly carry guns – even when they are not on duty – because their job is to protect the Jewish nation from those set on destroying us.  The other side is waiting for Israel’s soldiers to put down their guns – waiting for an opportunity to strike.  But Israel’s soldiers know better.  They are highly trained to defend themselves and us.  And no one makes any attempt to hide the fact that they are there, actively protecting the Jewish State.  For those of you who have been to Israel, you know what I mean when I say that the sight of armed Israeli soldiers in the street is extremely comforting.

This summer Cheryl, the kids and I traveled down to the Negev, the Israeli desert, on the exact day Israel was attacked on the border with Lebanon.  That afternoon, Abigail and Jonah were playing in a park, very close to an Israeli air force base.  As they played having no care in the world, an Israeli fighter plane took off, broke the sound barrier, and raced up to the Lebanese border.  I knew where the plane was off to and what it was doing.  That plane and the pilot that was flying it – probably a kid not much older than our bar mitzvah kids – was insuring that my kids could play safely in that desert playground.  It was amazing.

Every day, Israel is under attack.  And every day, Israel defends herself.  Every day Israeli soldiers put their lives on the line – and too often we lose some of them.

Too often the world condemns Israel for being Musklejuden   – strong Jews who defend themselves with one of the strongest, most well trained militaries in the world.  Israel’s attempts to stop rockets from being fired from Gaza into her cities, or halt the flow of terrorists from the West bank by constructing a security fence, or preventing ships loaded with weaponry from entering Hamas controlled Gaza are all completely justified, moral and necessary for the very survival of Israel.  But the world screams when Israel acts. Where is the outraged, worldwide Jewish voice at these moments?  Where is the anger?  The mass protests in the streets!?  What about when a European Jew is beaten to death in the street simply because he was a Jew or when the crazed world leader starts spewing hatred about us or when a celebrity begins to trash our homeland?  Where is the Jewish voice at these moments?

There is a American cartoonist in a hiding today for declaring, rather foolishly: “Draw Mohammad Day”.  She had so many threats against her life that she has, at the FBI’s urging, changed her identity completely.  No one knows where she is.

When the radical Muslim world feels threatened, look at what they do!  Again, I am not suggesting we as a community react with violence.  Not at all. I oppose that completely.  But, do you know how often in cartoons, tv shows, movies, books, political speeches, the media – how often we are wrongfully portrayed as disgusting, violent monsters!?  Why isn’t Mel Gibson afraid of the Jewish community? Why do we tolerate the abuse?  It is time for us to act.  I am suggesting that we act – not irresponsibly – not immorally – not violently – but do something, say something that shows the world that we will not tolerate this type behavior any longer.

The problem is here in South Florida, in New York and Los Angeles – we feel disconnected from the craziness.  We don’t have to worry – at least that’s what we think.  BUT the fact is – we do.  Because one day, in the not so distant future – Iran will have that bomb.  And with the push of a button – Israel could be history.  Another six million Jews could be gone in a flash.  No matter how well trained our soldiers are – they can’t stand up to a nuclear weapon.  And God forbid, if this happens, how will you feel?  How will you feel if there is no Israel tomorrow!?  What will you tell your grandchildren when they ask you: “Grandma/pa what did you do to stop Iran from hurting Israel?”  What will your answer be?

This Yom Kippur, determine what you will tell your grandchildren if they were to ask you what you did to stop Iran.

Upon returning from Israel, I decided it was time to find the MuskleYid (musskel-yid) hidden inside of me.  I have begun training with a former high-ranking, Israeli soldier – a security expert who runs a self-defense program here in South Florida that helps train many of our law enforcement officers.  He is basically putting me through Israeli boot camp.  It is hard work.  Physical work – but more significantly, hard mental work.

I am, for the most part, a nice Jewish boy. Nice Jewish boys, I’ve always thought, don’t go out of their way to stand up for themselves especially if it means putting themselves in harms way.  Through my ‘boot camp’ experience, I am learning otherwise.  I am being pushed out of my comfort zone and learning from an Israeli soldier that I am obligated to put my neck out and stand up for myself, my family and my people.  This is not something that is part of our contemporary American Jewish mentality.  But it really should be. There is nothing about it that is violent or reckless.  This is about being responsible.  It is extremely empowering – and reminds me that being Jewish is not about being the victim – it is about proudly owning our faith and insuring her well being as we move into the future.  And a nice Jewish boy can be a Muskleyid.  (I am happy to say that my teacher will be coming to Ramat Shalom this year and offering self-defense classes for our community.)

Being a Muskleyid means that you “get” that every Jew needs to stand up for every other Jew – loudly, strongly, forcefully.  Because we are all in this together.  There is simply no excuse to do otherwise.  We were once a brave, strong group of Musklejuden.  We need to reclaim our strength.  We need to learn how to stand up for ourselves.  We need to learn to be vocal.  We need to learn how to express our outrage.  We need to learn our facts so we can stand up to the opposition.  We need to learn not to turn the other cheek – but to do the Jewish thing: actively, responsibly and appropriately stand up for ourselves as needed.

There is no reason that pastor in Gainesville shouldn’t fear the reaction from the Jewish community if he burned a Talmud.   Why not let the nuts associated with that Westboro Baptist Church from Topeka Kansas know that the next time that they choose to come to South Florida to picket synagogues and JCC’s  - as they did recently – they will be met by a very powerful group of Musklejuden?  When celebrities and political leaders across the globe decide to trash the Jews, let’s not forget that we, as a community, have the responsibility and the power to make them think twice before they bad mouth the Jews again.  And when the media distorts the truth about Israel and her right to defend herself – lets insure that we raise our voices and let the cry of Jewish voices be heard across the globe.

I know talk like this feels so un-Jewish.  But, it is not.  It is what has allowed the State of Israel to survive countless attacks, it is what has allowed the Jewish people to survive for thousands of years, and it is what we must do as a people as we move forward and face the challenges that lie in the future.

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Kol Nidre 5771: Legal Right vs. Moral Responsibility – The Ground Zero Mosque

Posted in In the news, Islamic Extremism, Jewish Holidays, Rabbi Andrew Jacobs, tagged , on September 19, 2010 | 1 Comment »

Tonight, many of us owe someone an apology for doing something we had the right to do – or for saying something we had the right to say.

Despite the fact that we had the right to say what we said or do what we did – our words or our actions were irresponsible.

For example:

  • One of you had every legal right to yell at the waitress for screwing up your order the other day;
  • A bunch of us had every legal right to put our work before our family this year and spend time gossiping about our friends to others;
  • A few of us had every legal right to come up with an excuse so as not to help someone in need.
  • Someone here had the right to be brutally and unnecessarily honest with your mother.
  • Someone else lied to his spouse.
  • A handful of you have cheated on a test.
  • And how many of you have paid more attention to your cell phone while driving than to the road in front of you?

While some of these offenses are more serious than others, not one of them is illegal.  But, they are all morally wrong, irresponsible actions that reflect poorly upon us and have the potential to harm our relationships with others.

We engage in offenses like these when we fail to use our moral compass – the part of us that allows us to know what is good and what is not.  Unfortunately, many of us haven’t used our moral compass much this year.  Sadly, this is not a big deal as society has made the moral compass obsolete by embracing an “if it is legal, it is moral” mentality. Morality has been reduced to law.  What is right and what is wrong is now determined purely by what our legal rights are.

Everywhere you turn these days, people are hollering and yelling about their “rights’.

What is a ‘right’ anyway? And just because you have a right to do or say something does that guarantee that your words or actions are ‘right’?  Could a right lead you down the wrong path?  Sure – just think about some of those things we have said and done this year that were legal – but immoral, irresponsible, or inappropriate.

Tonight and tomorrow, we have the opportunity and the obligation to unpack our moral compass and examine the words we spoke and the things we did last year. Ideally, we won’t pack the compass back up after this holiest of days and we’ll continue using it on a daily basis.  But, before we move forward, we must use our compass to help us remedy last year’s wrongs.  In most cases, it is not too late to rectify the damage that our irresponsible words and actions have done.  That is, of course, if we genuinely take appropriate action and change our ways.

On Yom Kippur, we should not only use our moral compass to evaluate our own personal lives.  We should also evaluate moral and legal issues that affect us as a community, as Americans and as Jews.  In wrestling with issues outside of our immediate lives and sharing our opinions with others and urging respectful debate and discussion, we play an important role in bringing about Tikun Olam – healing the world.  Oftentimes, the debates and discussions can be heated – but this does not excuse us from pursuing them. Judaism teaches us that arguments that are for the sake of Heaven – arguments for the sake of God and the wellbeing of God’s creations – including the wellbeing of our world and the people who dwell on it – these arguments are worth pursuing.

I say this because my words, the opinions that I express tonight, might provoke some arguments.  There will be some who disagree with what I say tonight.  While you might agree with me, the person sitting next to you – they might disagree with what I have to say.  And there is nothing wrong with this.  As a community – we can handle this.  Ideally, I hope that any disagreement that results from my words tonight will lead to healthy discussion and debate over a complex issue that is part of our national discussion.

Tonight, I ask us all to use our moral compass to examine the proposed Cordoba House also known as the Ground Zero mosque and community center.  The building of this mosque is an issue that directly affects us all as we continue to wrestle with the emotions and trauma associated with the death and destruction of 9/11.  It is also an issue that affects us as a Jewish community that values our right to build and maintain a religious building in the heart of a major metropolitan area.  And it affects us all as Americans who continue to live in a world where the threat of Islamic terror is very, very real.

At the outset, I remind you that I was directly impacted by the horrors of 9/11 – as a resident of New York, I saw American Airlines Flight 11 moments before it hit the World Trade Center.  I heard the explosion.  I smelled the smoke.  As I clutched my newborn daughter in my arms, I frantically searched for friends and family and would learn, in time, that Cheryl and I had indeed lost one family friend that day and thousands of others we never got the chance to meet.  As a rabbi, I stood in a burn unit in New York City, days after the attack – visiting a congregant who was clinging to life and other victims who were burned beyond recognition.  I was there.

Here we are 9 years later and our country is in an outrage over the proposal to build a mosque at Ground Zero.

As American-Jews, we take pride in the fact that our country is a place where freedom of religion is respected.  Our Constitution protects this.  Our nation was founded on this basic idea.  Legally, there is absolutely no reason not to build the mosque.  No reason.  Whoever owns that small piece of land in downtown Manhattan, as long as it is approved by the appropriate offices in the city of New York, they have the right to build whatever they wants on that land.  Period.  As far as I can tell this is a black and white issue.

However…as in our own lives, we must ask just because we have a right to do something, in this case build a mosque, is it the morally responsible thing to do?  On this holiest of nights, where we explore our own morality, we must wrestle with this question as Americans who value our freedom of religion.

Recent events teach us that a religious group having a right to say or do something does not mean that the group’s words or actions are ‘morally justified’.

  • Consider that just a few months ago, Israel had the right to announce that she was going to build in East Jerusalem.  This poorly timed and provocative announcement infuriated the Palestinian community and the larger Arab world and drew condemnation from our own county.  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, realizing the ‘irresponsible’ nature of the announcement, apologized to Vice-President Biden and soon after, building plans in East Jerusalem were changed.
  • More recently, the Dove Outreach Center in Gainesville had the legal right, whether we like it or not, to burn the Koran. Fortunately, the pastor of the church, Terry Jones, was talked out of going ahead with the burning.  Even talk of the burning sparked outrage in the Muslim world.  On many levels, burning the Koran would have been extremely irresponsible.  Even proposing it was morally wrong.

These two events remind us that just because a religious group has a right to do or say something, it does not mean that it is the right thing to do or say.

Before I continue, let me make myself explicitly clear: it is wrong to condemn all of Islam and all Muslims for the attacks of 9/11. We cannot in any way condone the burning of the Koran and other acts of bigotry and hatred against the Muslim world.  As Jewish Americans we must speak out against such immoral behavior.  And we have a legal and moral obligation to insure that all religious groups have the right to practice their religiou freely here in the United States.

This being said, I believe that it would be morally irresponsible for the Muslim leadership behind the proposed mosque to move forward with the project at Ground Zero.

The leaders behind the mosque have a responsibility to listen to the fears and concerns of the American people and understand that the terrible wound created by a group of Muslims, albeit a radical group, is still raw.  The leaders have a responsibility to reach out and create healing by responding to the fears and concerns of Americans in a way that shows compassion and genuine support for the vast majority of people who are still traumatized by the events of 9/11.

As a rabbi, I believe strongly that a religious leader is responsible for strengthening his religion from within while, at the same time, fostering positive relationships with other religious, ethnic and cultural groups.  This benefits everyone.   I am worried that the religious leaders behind the mosque appear to be extremely concerned with protecting their “rights” and advancing their cause while having little interest in calming the uneasy feelings that non-Muslim American have towards Islam in the post-9/11 world.  This is not doing anything to build bridges and create positive relationships.

In some respects, I can understand why the religious leaders behind the mosque are behaving this way.  As a Jew, part of a religious minority that is often discriminated against, I am very concerned about the rights of Jewish Americans.  Muslims in America do have rights – the same rights that we have.  They have a right to practice their religion freely and safely in our country.  And this, I am certain, is not always easy in the current climate.

At the same time, the leadership behind the mosque has a moral responsibility to insure that the free practice of their religion does not violate sacred space or jeopardize the safety and wellbeing of other Americans.  I do not believe that, at this time, the leaders are living up to their responsibility.  I pray that they will change their ways.

A vast majority of Americans of all faiths (including Islam) are opposed to the building of the mosque at Ground Zero because, in our minds, this mosque is throwing salt into that 9 year old, raw wound that has yet to heal.  The proposed site for the mosque is located in an emotionally charged area – an area that sits about 600 feet from where the World Trade Center stood and just ½ a block from where World Trade Center Building 7 stood prior to falling down on that dark day.

When United Airlines Flight 175  struck the South Tower of the World Trade Center, part of the plane’s landing gear and fuselage  came out the north side of the tower and crashed through the roof of the building where the proposed mosque is to be built. The plane parts destroyed three floor beams and severely compromised the building’s internal structure.  For many, understandably so, the proposed mosque site is part of the disaster zone and potentially a grave containing the ashes of my friend and all those murdered by Islamic extremists.  To build a mosque and an Islamic center on this sacred site clearly shows a blatant lack of sensitivity and compassion for the victims, their families, and every other American traumatized by the horror of 9/11.

Dr. M. Zuhdi Jasser, a devout Muslim and the president and founder of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy is just one Muslim American who is opposed to the building of the mosque.  He gets it.  He has publicly said that this issue “is not about religious freedom. It is about the importance of the World Trade Center site to the psyche of the American People.”

I was pleased to learn that the Imam, the religious leader behind the mosque, Feisal Abdul Rauf, says he now knows how important this site is to Americans.  He asserts that had he known earlier how upset people would be, he would have chosen another location.  His reason for not moving the site elsewhere, however, troubles me: he fears that if the mosque is moved, the headline in the Muslim world will be that Islam is under attack – meaning what?  That the radicals will strike once again?  This begs the question – is this mosque being built at Ground Zero because the same groups that brought about 9/11 are calling the shots?  If this is the case, doesn’t this make the building of the mosque even more inappropriate?

Imam Rauf  asserts that he is a bridge builder and committed to improving the relationship between Islam and the western world. He worked with the FBI after September 11th. Unfortunately, he is linked to organizations and statements that support a dangerous ideology.  I don’t want to go into them tonight.  You can do your own homework and read about them in the papers and on-line.  Please do your homework.

I do want to mention, however, the title of the Imam’s book – a book that offers the Imam’s views on how to rebuild the American-Islamic relationship.  The title of the book in the U.S. is What’s Right With Islam Is What’s Right With America.  However, overseas, the title is The Call of Azan from the Rubble of the World Trade Center: Islamic Da’wa in the Heart of America Post-9/11.  Let me explain some of the words in this lengthy title.

The “Azan” is the Islamic call to prayer. It consists of a number of sentences repeated several times including the phrase “Allahu Akbar” (Allah is great).  Throughout history, this phrase was called out by Muslims from newly conquered sites and has become a phrase shouted by a terrorist before an attack.  “Allahu Akbar” was shouted by the terrorist at Fort Hood as he killed 12 people, by the EgyptAir co-pilot as he shut off his plane causing it to plummet to the ground, by the terrorists as they decapitated American Nick Berg, by Palestinian militants as they attack Israel and, most importantly, by the hijackers on Flight 93 as the plane crashed in Shanksville, PA on September 11.

Most Americans don’t want this phrase being called out from the ‘rubble of the World Trade Center.’

The Call of Azan from the Rubble of the World Trade Center: Islamic Da’wa in the Heart of America Post-9/11. ‘Dawa’ is the missionary work by which Islam is spread.  Dawa is proselytism. The purpose of Dawa is to implement, spread, and defend Sharia or Islamic law, which, it must be pointed out, many Muslims would say does not condone terrorism.  However, the terrorists who flew planes into the World Trade Center believed in their sick minds that what they were doing was in accordance with and supportive of Islamic law.  Given this, is the ‘rubble of the World Trade Center’ the proper place to implement, spread and defend Islamic law?

And what about the name of the mosque and community center?  The Cordoba House?  In order to understand just how troubling this name is we need to talk history.  Cordoba is a city in Spain.  In 711, Muslims took over the Iberian Peninsula (what is now Spain, and Portugal).  Cordoba was proclaimed the Islamic capital of the region.  The city fell to the Muslims in the Battle of Guadalete during which whole cities were razed and a grotesque number of people were slaughtered in a general destruction that sent non-Muslim civilians fleeing to the hill countries.  Over the years, the Islamic leadership of the Iberian Peninsula would extend its control into Africa under the authority of the Caliphate of Cordoba.  The Caliphate of Cordoba is often described as giving religions freedom to non-Muslims.  This is not accurate.  The Caliphate of Cordoba gave non-Muslims the status of dhimmi (a non-Muslim subject of a Sharia law state). The non-Muslim in the region had three choices: 1.  Accept the dhimmi status, pay a tax levied on non-Muslims and exist as second-class citizen; 2.  Convert to Islam;  or 3.  Die.  This is part of the legacy of Cordoba.  It is also very important to note that the first “Cordoba mosque” (the first mosque built in Cordoba) was built upon the ruins of a Christian church.  That mosque was a symbol of triumph over the previous religion and culture of the region.  And now, the proposed 21st century Cordoba mosque will stand on the ruins of Ground Zero.  The symbolism, the message is truly disturbing.  Could this be why Cordoba House is now often referred to as the “Park51” project? Does this name change make a difference?

As a nation, we have not yet finished mourning the horrific events of 9/11 that were perpetrated by fanatics screaming “Allahu Akhbar” and embracing distorted Islamic ideals. For this reason alone the proposed mosque is pushing Americans too far too fast.   It is totally and completely legally justified but morally irresponsible.

The affiliations and the words of the Imam and the symbolism associated with  Cordoba only reinforce for me, my opinion.

Tonight and tomorrow, as we use our moral compass to reevaluate our words and deeds and work to rectify the damage that our words and deeds might have done, we have to believe that everyone has the ability to live up to their responsibilities by correcting their mistakes.  Sometimes, we need others to jumpstart our moral compass by pointing out our mistakes for us.

Imam Rauf, if you sincerely want to teach peace, love and understanding, you need to take some bold steps. It is time to focus less on what your “rights” are as a religious leader and more on what your “responsibilities” are as such a leader. Don’t hide behind the threat of your extremist brothers and sisters.  Disavow terrorism completely.  Disassociate with groups that support terror. And show the compassion you claim your religion has by immediately doing the responsible thing: find another place to build the mosque.  The rubble of the World Trade Center is not the place to build.  You could create such good will by doing the right thing!

Imam Rauf, if you live up to your moral responsibility, I believe that you will do what is needed to begin rebuilding and repairing many broken bridges that were destroyed in the name of Allah.  You will indeed be the bridge builder you claim to be and I believe that over time the wound of 9/11will heal and the building of a mosque will not have to be forced upon a neighborhood – rather it will be welcomed as a sign of true healing, growth and peace.

To those who feel that this will never happen, let us remember that tonight is a night of hope, renewal and change.  Let us remember that there are Muslim leaders out there, like Dr. Jasser, who I mentioned earlier, who have publicly stated that the mosque at Ground Zero should not be built.  Let us remember and believe that anything can happen tonight.  We can all change our ways.  We all have the potential to begin again tonight.  You must believe this.  And I pray that this year will be the year that liberal and moderate Muslims in America, in Israel and across the globe will courageously step forward and put an end to the irresponsible behavior of their extremist brothers and sisters.  And when this happens – may we have the courage to reach out to them and do our part to insure that the children of Abraham can live in true peace and understanding.

May it be God’s will.

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A Breath Of Fresh Air

Posted in In the news, Islamic Extremism, Israel, tagged , , , , on June 17, 2010 | Leave a Comment »

The following article by the former Spanish Prime Minister José María Aznarwas published in the British newspaper ‘The Times’ on 17 June 2010:

If Israel goes down, we all go down

Anger over Gaza is a distraction. We cannot forget that Israel is the West’s best ally in a turbulent region

By José María Aznar

For far too long now it has been unfashionable in Europe to speak up for Israel. In the wake of the recent incident on board a ship full of anti-Israeli activists in the Mediterranean, it is hard to think of a more unpopular cause to champion.

In an ideal world, the assault by Israeli commandos on the Mavi Marmara would not have ended up with nine dead and a score wounded. In an ideal world, the soldiers would have been peacefully welcomed on to the ship. In an ideal world, no state, let alone a recent ally of Israel such as Turkey, would have sponsored and organised a flotilla whose sole purpose was to create an impossible situation for Israel: making it choose between giving up its security policy and the naval blockade, or risking the wrath of the world.

In our dealings with Israel, we must blow away the red mists of anger that too often cloud our judgment. A reasonable and balanced approach should encapsulate the following realities: first, the state of Israel was created by a decision of the UN. Its legitimacy, therefore, should not be in question. Israel is a nation with deeply rooted democratic institutions. It is a dynamic and open society that has repeatedly excelled in culture, science and technology.

Second, owing to its roots, history, and values, Israel is a fully fledged Western nation. Indeed, it is a normal Western nation, but one confronted by abnormal circumstances.

Uniquely in the West, it is the only democracy whose very existence has been questioned since its inception. In the first instance, it was attacked by its neighbours using the conventional weapons of war. Then it faced terrorism culminating in wave after wave of suicide attacks. Now, at the behest of radical Islamists and their sympathisers, it faces a campaign of delegitimisation through international law and diplomacy.

Sixty-two years after its creation, Israel is still fighting for its very survival. Punished with missiles raining from north and south, threatened with destruction by an Iran aiming to acquire nuclear weapons and pressed upon by friend and foe, Israel, it seems, is never to have a moment’s peace.

For years, the focus of Western attention has understandably been on the peace process between Israelis and Palestinians. But if Israel is in danger today and the whole region is slipping towards a worryingly problematic future, it is not due to the lack of understanding between the parties on how to solve this conflict. The parameters of any prospective peace agreement are clear, however difficult it may seem for the two sides to make the final push for a settlement.

The real threats to regional stability, however, are to be found in the rise of a radical Islamism which sees Israel’s destruction as the fulfilment of its religious destiny and, simultaneously in the case of Iran, as an expression of its ambitions for regional hegemony. Both phenomena are threats that affect not only Israel, but also the wider West and the world at large.

The core of the problem lies in the ambiguous and often erroneous manner in which too many Western countries are now reacting to this situation. It is easy to blame Israel for all the evils in the Middle East. Some even act and talk as if a new understanding with the Muslim world could be achieved if only we were prepared to sacrifice the Jewish state on the altar. This would be folly.

Israel is our first line of defence in a turbulent region that is constantly at risk of descending into chaos; a region vital to our energy security owing to our overdependence on Middle Eastern oil; a region that forms the front line in the fight against extremism. If Israel goes down, we all go down. To defend Israel’s right to exist in peace, within secure borders, requires a degree of moral and strategic clarity that too often seems to have disappeared in Europe. The United States shows worrying signs of heading in the same direction.

The West is going through a period of confusion over the shape of the world’s future. To a great extent, this confusion is caused by a kind of masochistic self-doubt over our own identity; by the rule of political correctness; by a multiculturalism that forces us to our knees before others; and by a secularism which, irony of ironies, blinds us even when we are confronted by jihadis promoting the most fanatical incarnation of their faith. To abandon Israel to its fate, at this moment of all moments, would merely serve to illustrate how far we have sunk and how inexorable our decline now appears.

This cannot be allowed to happen. Motivated by the need to rebuild our own Western values, expressing deep concern about the wave of aggression against Israel, and mindful that Israel’s strength is our strength and Israel’s weakness is our weakness, I have decided to promote a new Friends of Israel initiative with the help of some prominent people, including David Trimble, Andrew Roberts, John Bolton, Alejandro Toledo (the former President of Peru), Marcello Pera (philosopher and former President of the Italian Senate), Fiamma Nirenstein (the Italian author and politician), the financier Robert Agostinelli and the Catholic intellectual George Weigel.

It is not our intention to defend any specific policy or any particular Israeli government. The sponsors of this initiative are certain to disagree at times with decisions taken by Jerusalem. We are democrats, and we believe in diversity.

What binds us, however, is our unyielding support for Israel’s right to exist and to defend itself. For Western countries to side with those who question Israel’s legitimacy, for them to play games in international bodies with Israel’s vital security issues, for them to appease those who oppose Western values rather than robustly to stand up in defence of those values, is not only a grave moral mistake, but a strategic error of the first magnitude.

Israel is a fundamental part of the West. The West is what it is thanks to its Judeo-Christian roots. If the Jewish element of those roots is upturned and Israel is lost, then we are lost too. Whether we like it or not, our fate is inextricably intertwined.

José María Aznar was prime minister of Spain between 1996 and 2004.

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THE US CAN’T BACK A UN PROBE AGAINST ISRAEL

Posted in Action, American Judaism, In the news, Islamic Extremism, Israel, tagged , , , , , , on June 11, 2010 | Leave a Comment »

FROM WEEKLY STANDARD

Sources: Obama Administration to Support Anti-Israel Resolution at UN Next Week

BY WILLIAM KRISTOL

THE WEEKLY STANDARD has learned that senior Obama administration officials have been telling foreign governments that the administration intends to support an effort next week at the United Nations to set up an independent commission, under UN auspices, to investigate Israel’s behavior in the Gaza flotilla incident. The White House has apparently shrugged off concerns from elsewhere in the U.S. government that a) this is an extraordinary singling out of Israel, since all kinds of much worse incidents happen around the world without spurring UN investigations; b) that the investigation will be one-sided, focusing entirely on Israeli behavior and not on Turkey or on Hamas; and c) that this sets a terrible precedent for outside investigations of incidents involving U.S. troops or intelligence operatives as we conduct our own war on terror.

While UN Ambassador Susan Rice is reported to have played an important role in pushing for U.S. support of a UN investigation, the decision is, one official stressed, of course the president’s. The government of Israel has been consulting with the U.S. government on its own Israeli investigative panel, to be led by a retired supreme court justice, that would include respected international participants, including one from the U.S. But the Obama administration is reportedly saying that such a “kosher panel” is not good enough to satisfy the international community, or the Obama White House.

PLEASE CONTACT THE WHITE HOUSE AND ASK THE PRESIDENT NOT TO SUPPORT A UN PROBE: http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact

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