I went on ancestry com.and found that being a Jew. I could not find any relatives who owned any banks or newspapers.No one should be anti Semitic to me,

SOME of the world's Muslims are also on our side. You have recently published 2 articles acknowledging them. You can also give the dear ones a voice by publishing what they have to say.

When the Good Muslims clearly gain the upper hand in Islam worldwide, there will be TRUE peace in Israel and Islam its greatest glory.

As a 62-year-old American Christian, I want to thank you for your kind words. As a child, I was raised to love and revere the Jewish people and, by extension, the nation of Israel. Israel was, is, and always will be the Chosen of God. I fear, though, that rising secularism in the US is beginning to erode our national support of Israel. I am certain that if we ever turn our backs on Israel, God will finally turn his back on us . . . but the Chosen people of Israel will remain.

Antisemitism is alive and well in the US. Yes, I love the US. And I love Israel. But please don't be blind to what is going on around us. Where I am, it's Jew or Muslim. And, it's terrifying. And for the most part, antisemitism is not just our problem but an Arab one, too. We say "not here". It is here. Especially in our Universities. And it is in our workplaces. Hopefully, our politics, which are under Hashem's control, will continue to be on our side. But as another beautiful person said. Every Jew needs a key. And every Jew needs a passport. NEVER EVER FORGET.

I am sorry. I used the above space to write my commentary.

Unfortunately,Canada is not like the USA but more like Europe.I work at a research place where out of 6000 professors I am the only jew. I get support from secretaries and low paid cleaners who go out of their way to find jewish things. For example I used to leave on Friday's according to shabbat but they did not believe a religion which goes according to sunset. So now I leave every Friday at 2:00PM they are happier ( and me too I have more time). I never felt antisemitism when I was in the US.
I tried to send an article to Canadian newspaper on how Israel treats its jewish refugees. (I am one of them, We came from Egypt, I was 17, when we arrived via Italy ( my father was one of the 32 jews put in jail because they lost the war with Israel) and I had not finished high school. I was told that it would be difficult for me to go to high school because lectures and books are in hebrew. They suggested me to go to the Technion, where a Professor with a very big heart (David Ginsburg) help me get in the Technion, study 4 years and be in the dormitory..and he told me ...when I will finish I will have to return all this money with a big interest. They never wanted me to pay anything. In the contrary, he gave me a great recommendation so I could do a Ph.D at Yale University and then a post-doctorat at harvard.
This is how Israel treats its jewish refugees.
Our son studies at a yeshiva in Brooklyn and we intend to move back to Israel all the family in a year or two.
Shavuah Tov
Lolita Cohen

The commentor below has truly lost it.



His argument simply is that since over 160 years ago the Christians have begun to support the Jews and their safety that somehow this is not a good reason to accept their friendship!!



In a world in which the Left and its associates in the secular and Muslim world are making the mass murder of Jews acceptable, we have apologists like this who would have us ignore one of the last resources that we have.



The real problem here is the fact that so many Jews are fundamentalsit about being Liberal that even if it means siding with Anti-semites, so be it!

Rabbi Lapin is, quite simply, nuts. To say that Christianity, as a thing, is friendly to the Jewish people is to ignore 2000 years of history. The Blood Libels, the Ghettoes, the Crusades and even the Holocaust were essentially Christian religious enterprises.

True, in America, among the Baptists and Baptist influenced Protestant denominations there is a different attitude. However, this 'philo-semitic' view only dates from the 1840's. 160 years is not a long time in historic terms, and it makes no sense to blame anti-Semitism on Islam and Secularism while holding Christianity out as the cure.

It is true that the Jewish people do have friends in the Christian community, and that America has (in the general) been friendly to the Jewish people. It is true that commentators like Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity (both Irish Catholics) have been very favorable to Israel and to American Jewry. It is true that many evangelical Protestant leaders like Pat Robertson, John Hagee and Jerry Falwell have pressured the GOP against aiding Israel's enemies. However, American Christendom is not the rule, it is the exception. I don't mean to demean the efforts of those in the Christian community who are supportive of Israel, but they are widely regarded as heretics by the larger global Christian community. Of course, they would say that they are the first "true Christians" to come down the pike. Who knows, maybe they are, nevertheless, while it's nice to have friends the security of the Jewish people has never been dependent on gentiles, not even righteous gentiles. Our hope, our Salvation, our Rock has always been the G-d of our Fathers. We forget this at our peril.

Europe's secularism is a murderous as her Christianity (the major Socialist movements, Nazism and Communism, were secularist and between them murdered over 30 million civilians. Almost 7 million of them Jews!). Islam, on the otherhand hasn't always been hostile to Judaism. Some Islamic leaders (including the chief Inam of Rome) have supported Israel's claim to the Land and to Jerusalem, citing the Quran to do so.

American evangelical Christians have been friendly, but that may change. Islam, in general, is hostile but it wasn't always so. Again, it is folly to rely on gentile opinion. Our only Hope is in G-d and His ways. If the Jewish people would return to Torah and Mitzvos, we would be more secure than any army could make us, we would be safer than all the gentile goodwill in the world could make us.

Rabbi Lapin needs to consider that instead of toadying to the Christian Right.

I could not agree with you more. Its also important that many if not most of these love Israel Christians also want to convert all Jews. They despise what makes A Jew. The laws & commandments. They I find are also vicious against our Holy writing's & literature. Ask some of these people who claim to love us what do you think of The oral law, Talmud, Midrashic and codes. You will then see what type of people they really are.
I believe they love us despite of their scripture. They are just what I would like to call normal & moral bound people. When they learn more and more of what the Christian bible says they become more against us & our ways.
This Christian friendship is nice to see yes. But we must be on guard. It is also very dangerous. As it leads our people astray and into the hands of foreign gods that our fathers warned us over and over of.

Thank You Andrew Gelbman for posting your post. I myself just wanted to post reply to you so you may know that there is at least one other here that fully supports your views.

B"H Today our lives are comfortable in America, but many Jewish Germans considered themselves German instead of Jewish and refused to beleive that they were any different from the population.

What a short memory jews have! It was just 50 years ago that Qmerica turned away boats full of Jews fleeing Nazi Germany. At that time Roosevelt refused to bomb the train tracks leading to Aushwitz when 12,000 Jews were killed each and every day. Even now the U.S. is half-way behind Israel. It is only that its in America's self-interest to have a balance in the middle-east againt Islam that they want Israel around. The same as theirbacking og vietnam and korea against the communists.
Rabbi Lappin - don't be a fool!!

With all due respect, Rabbi Lapin, shame on you! Antisemitism certainly IS present in the United States! Take, for example, the events directed toward students and staff at San Francisco University's Hillel, for instance--perpetrated by Palestinians and their supporters. That is the most recent major event in memory. Two years ago two of our local synagogues were attacked--one with arson, and one with vandalism--and we have a relatively small community. Don't forget the six Orthodox Jews shot in Chicago on their way home from shul, and the JCC in LA that was shot up a few years back, either.

Indeed, it is rare in the United States, but to make such an absolute statement as the U.S. is "free" of antisemitism is irresponsible. If it were "free" of it then synagogues across the country wouldn't be beefing up security in the aftermath of Sept. 11th, and the deteriorating situation in Israel. We anticipate it to grow and flourish here in our open society as well, just as much as it does in Europe. Let's just pray that it doesn't, and that our caution will be for naught.

I think it's vitil that the Jewish community fully realize that we are their true friends. We are so blessed to have so many of you among us.

I was not just shocked by what you wrote but appalled about the mediocrity and the lack of your knowledge not about religions but about the essence of human beings .
You are definitely the last person on earth to speack about the holy Koran , Muslims and Islam , about the Bible and Christians ... How dare you publish such a untruthly article ? How do you want people from other ethnicities and religions to respect a jewish point of view if it`s based at the beginning on discrimination ?
Christianity , Islam and Judaism are the 3 book religions , they all agree that there`s one and only one supreme God , creator of every single thing , capable of anything and everything ... that said , there`s no " Muslims non-believers ... " the terrible tragedies in the USA and Israel are the fruit of the evil brain wash based on a false and flexible self interpretation of Islam , who prohibits to any Muslim to fight women , children , old pple , in sum , people who aren`t willing to fight you , it prohibits suicide in all its forms , it prohibits any and all kind of human discrimination , it prohibits using force ... Well , terrorist attacs are the long term brain wash of uneducated and/or disasperated pple made by a personal hatered of the USA and Israel ( b.laden ) , i also think that what bothering you writer of this article is not that pple are suffering from terrorist attacs made by Arabs but the whole " thing " : their ethnicity , their traditions and especially their religion ... I think that you got far from the main issue : what are the solutions to the abolition of terror not only in Israel but on planet earth !
Nowadays , suddenly , jews are seeing christianity as their " best friend " after criticizing it for decennies and hating it for centuries ... after criticizing the pope for his silence about the holocaust ... Now , christianity and christians seem to be respecting jews !!!! Wasn`t what you wrote aimed to discriminate and even to make false statements of Islam and true Muslims , how dare you say this when you pertinally know that Israeli soldiers are killing every years hundreds of Christians and Muslims while they`re praying ... Is killing pple while thay`re the most close to God a fact of believing in it ? I don`t think so !Although i think that you`re a person who forgot that jews lived in harmony with muslims and christians under the arabic-islamic kingdom of Indalusia centuries ago , i think that you might have forgot about jewish communities living in a perfect harmony with other religions in arab countries until today and that they`re safer than jews in Europe .
Get up , read some versees of the holy Koran , of worldwide history , of the good and its signification in Islam , about the divergences and pain that TRUE Muslims are feeling when they hear somebody claiming to be a Muslim and blowing himself and innocents up and saying: i`ll be in heaven .In Islam , only martyrs of the war go to heaven , beside of course faithful pple etc... and not criminals , suiciding pple ...

Never , ever talk about something that you ignore absolutely ... Uneducated !

It is increasingly evident that Jews have the most to fear from anti-religious secularists and little to fear -- in modern times -- from Christianity. When one thinks of the horrors perpetrated on the Jewish people in recent history, it is the height of foolishness not to acknowledge that those acts were committed by governments and peoples that denied G-d. Stalinist Russia and Nazi Germany were bastions of secularism, and those people who risked their lives, property, and social standing to assist Jews were largely those of faith. Ah, but that pesky Inquisition you say? Atrocities committed by the Catholic Church, not by Protestants, and in a time when Catholicism had more to do with politics than spirituality.

If the United States is not the most enthusiastically Christian nation then which is? If the Evangelical Christians have a hidden plot against the Jews than what is it? Jews fear Christians not due to anti-Semitism but because of the proselytizing of the church. But competition for Jewish “souls” shouldn’t strike fear in our hearts! For what is there to fear? Torah is Truth. Those steeped in Torah know this, and the flimsy arguments of Christian missionaries do nothing to sway our beliefs.

But, as the anti-missionary organizations point out, those without knowledge of the Torah are vulnerable to proselytizing, and we ultimately lose more Jews to intermarriage and assimilation than to Holocausts and Pogroms. But this is why these organizations exist! To reach out to the spark in every Jewish soul that is drawn to Truth. At least in the battleground of Ideas we have an army, whereas in the bombing of synagogues and murder of innocents we must stand helpless (at least in Europe). And I propose that education in Torah to those hungry for spirituality is a far better and more effective weapon than attempting to stamp out any references to other faiths, especially when the peoples of those faiths have proven themselves to be allies in many issues.

Sure, my Christian friends (and sadly, family) try to convert me at every opportunity. But they also vehemently agree that Israel belongs to the Jews, and that we are (in their words) “G-d’s Chosen People.”

I'm affraid this article hasn't really captured the true picure of what is happening. America may be showing the utmost support for Israel but as ever there is self gain invloved. But thats too long to get into. As Jews we do have a biblical claim to Israel but we must respect the fact that Quranically Muslims do to. Lets not be greedy that has always been our downfall.

I think this article is appropriate and I would like to urge all the Jews to stop their anti Christian propagandas in the media. Unless they want to see America to be totally secularized like Europe and lose American supports. Actually what can America gain by supporting Israel? Americans can gain more by supporting the oil rich Arab nations. But Americans choose to support Israel because of one thing the majority of Christian Americans had in common with the Jews - BIBLE. BIBLE LOVING CHRISTIANS WHEREVER THEY ARE WILL LOVE HEBREW AND ANYTHING JEWISH. SO PLEASE STOP ANTI-CHRISTIANS PROPAGANDA!! JEWISH ANTI PROPAGANDA IN AMERICAN HAD CAUSED A LOT OF DAMAGE TO THE CHRISTIANS THERE AS MORE AND MORE PEOPLE ARE EITHER BECOME SECULAR OR TURN TO ISLAM.

This is the most absurd comment i have ever heard:
And America, quite simply, is the most enthusiastically Christian nation on earth.

I"m not sure why America bends over backwards to support Israel, but one thing is for sure, it is not the most enthusiastic Christian nation on earth. One request to the Rabi, please get your facts straight and not write emotionally, but rather intellactually based on current reality of the world.

re,
Mostansar

I respectfully disagree with your analysis, Europe hasen't shed its christianity
and never will, if anything their built in hatred of Jews is based on their belief
of Christianity, i.e. Jesus being the son of G-D whom the Jews killed etc. etc.
I think the reasons for these anti-semitic episodes, currently being perpetrated
around Europe are many. For one, anti- semitism has deep roots in europe,
close to 2000 years of jewish blood flowing freely in the streets of Europe are
enough to convince anyone that the europeans don't need any complex excuse
for their open and blatant jew hatred. Any slight reason is enough to incite their
true feelings towards Jews. Whereas in the US, a country that never in it's entire
history ever persecuted jews for simply being jews. The United States government,
regardless of the party in power at any time, NEVER EVER sanctioned or tolerated
anti-semitism. Further, the political clout of Jews in Europe doesn't begin to compare
with their counterparts in the US. And last but not least, the Europeans are far more
dependent on Arab oil imports than is the US. Thus, the true colors of europe are
begining to seep out from under them.

I was dismayed to read that our President is himself and evangelical Christian. That really scares me since I know that the evangelicals have their own agenda with regard to the Jews and, it is one that is detrimental to the survival of the Jewish people as Jews.

I think it is slightly naive to pin antisemitism solely on Islam and atheism. The author obviously wishes to give his chrixtian colleagues a pat on the back for their 'overwhelming' support. Let us not forget however the long years of chrixtian butchery of Jews throughout Europe in savage pogroms and blood libels to the hideous murders of the crusades and Spanish Inquisition. In fact, in the past, the muslim world was far more tolerant of Jews than their chrixtian counterparts. G-d created anti-semitism for a reason- to remind Jews who they are and what they have to do in this world. The reason anti-semitism continues is, in a sense, the Jews' own fault. Until world Jewry accepts this, the disease will remain.

In the past few decades, the strong wave of political correctness that swept over North America has benefited Jews, blacks, women and homosexuals. The downside to this political correctness was seen after Sept. 11: the perpetrators were all of the same religion and similar nationalities yet any increased vigilance against people with similar backgrounds was totally forbidden. Ironically, these people were seen as the victims and not the perpetrators.
What I have found with some Christian factions in N. America is that they love to support the underdog and they refuse to take sides, blindly loving all their brother the same. When Jews were perceived as victims, they flocked to reassure us that they would never allow the events of the Holocaust to happen again. However, they now perceive the Muslims to be the victims because of one or two isolated incidents, so all their support has turned towards them. In addition, they have allowed their sympathy for Muslims/Palestinians as the oppressed people to take precedence over their reverence for their holiest religious site. They have put PC before RC.

One should be cautious in with such rhetoric. When we were celebrating the “new millennia” we were also celebrating a chrixtian era, yet it is not that, which upsets me. Rather, these two millennia were literally characterized by rivers and rivers of Jewish blood. Our alliance should be with HaShem any friends we make along the way good. However, we should wary that HaShem controls the world and that these “friends” can quickly be flliped to the other side of the coin when ever HaShem chooses to do so.

Rabbi,
I agree with your reasoning about American conservative Christians supporting Israel but I disagree with much of what you say about secularism and the roots of anti-Semitism and your conclusions about the majority of American support. I was raised by very secular parents who still made a point of teaching and modeling ethical and moral behaviour. Without any scripture to guide them they are still at a place now where they are supportive of the Israeli people and understanding of the strain and pressure on the Israeli government as it makes difficult choices for protection of the nation.

One of the things that help Israeli causes in the US is that as a whole we are less anti-Semitic than the rest of the world, and this (I believe) comes from the fact that we not only still have a significant Jewish population but also they are among our leaders and popular figures, so that even those living in regions with almost no Jews still feel as though they know who they are. Jews are a wonderful part of the American family and they continue to enrich our collective spirit and vision.

Alright, perhaps it's not an apt heading but since there doesn't seem to have been a mass movement against Israel or the Jews of Europe perhaps you are reading too much into the actions of a few hoodlums. Decent people don't burn synagogues whether they are Christians or not. The average European is more interested in his own problems than making the lot of Jews even more miserable. Maybe American riffraff haven't been attacking synagogues the way the ones in Europe have but that could be because they haven't run out of other mayhem to get involved in here yet.
At least Scotland wasn't included on that list of countries accused of anti semitism. Well, not yet anyway.

Maybe there aren't so many up front anti semetic attacks here in America. However, our newspapers, a lot of them and our news reporting is very biased. While our President publically supports Israel I think that support is limited. Our newspapers are full of pictures of the poor Palastinians that Israel has possibly committed war crimes against. It is plain propaganda and leads me to wonder why my country *says* it supports Israel and yet keeps telling her to pull back when she tries to defend herself from merciless suicide bombers. Is there some anti semitism at work here? Like the war on terrorists is very important everywhere else in the world except Israel, after all, an anti semite would think, Israel is only a "bunch of Jews". I think the shadow of anti semitism is lurking in the background. Yes the U.S.A. tells Israel to defend herself and also to pull back it seems every time Israel is successful in flushing out terrorists. Arafat had ample opportunity in the past to have a Palestinian state and he refused. In my opinion as a Jew, given the atrocities perpetrated on the Israeli people, let the Palestinians EARN the right to have a state by actually doing something about their violence. Having a state does not mean Israel goes back to the borders of 1965 or whatever they want. So back to my original point. Why is the media talking about actually investigating possible war crimes by Israel? Because there is anti semitism all over the place. It is just not as visible as the attacks in Europe. Words are powerful and biased media reporting is dangerous to us all and as a Jew I find this as frightening as the anti semitism in Europe. Synogages have been burnt and destroyed in the U.S.A. too.