Joan Rivers was stopped by an impromptu interviewer and asked about the war in Gaza. She answered that if New Jersey were shooting rockets at New York, “we’d wipe out Jersey.” The interviewer continued to pry her with questions about Gaza’s civilian casualties. Joan, incredulous, erupted, “They started it. You’re all insane. They started it!!”
In the eyes of Israel’s advocates, the necessity for the war against Hamas is as indisputable as a mathematical equation. Support for the ground invasion of Gaza spans Israel’s political spectrum. According to a poll taken last week, 91% of Israeli Jews support Israel’s military campaign (the first time in anyone’s historical memory that 91% of Israeli Jews agreed on anything!). To us in Israel it is simple and clear: Hamas, committed to the destruction of Israel in its Charter and in its actions, poses an existential threat to our lives and the lives of our children.
Yet, no matter how clearly Israel’s advocates state their case, diplomats around the world, leading news outlets, the UN, and even the American administration, all people who are certifiably sane and even smart, don’t seem to get it. In Israel it feels like we’ve fallen down a rabbit hole where everything is topsy-turvy, and nothing makes sense.
It doesn’t make sense that Israel is accused of “genocide” for killing a thousand Palestinians, most of them terrorists.
It doesn’t make sense that Israel is accused of “genocide” for killing a thousand Palestinians, most of them terrorists, when tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed or starved to death in Yarmouk, Syria, with barely a peep from the international community. It doesn’t make sense that according to a 2003 survey, most Europeans consider Israel “the greatest threat to world peace,” more than Iran, North Korea, or Afghanistan. It doesn’t make sense that of all the United Nation Human Rights Council’s resolutions, 38% have been directed against Israel, a democracy that grants equal rights to women, religious minorities, and gays. It doesn’t make sense that throughout America, colleges observe “Israel Apartheid Week,” while Israeli Arabs enjoy full citizenship, are enrolled in every one of Israel’s universities, get equal treatment in and are on the medical staff of all of Israel’s hospitals, are represented in the Knesset, and even boast an Arab member of Israel’s Supreme Court.
Since the beginning of Operation Protective Edge Israel has made a concerted effort to present the facts to the world: that Gaza is not occupied, that every Israeli soldier and settler left Gaza in 2005, that Israel did not impose a naval blockade until Gazans elected the terrorist organization Hamas in 2007, and that Israel warns civilians to get out of harm’s way by dropping thousands of Arabic fliers, phoning them, sending text messages, and “knocking on the roof” before an aerial attack. The world has responded to these facts by violent anti-Israel demonstrations, four South American countries recalling their ambassadors, America pressuring Israel to stop the war while leaving intact hundreds of infiltration tunnels, and a UN Security Council resolution condemning Israel.
The ever-cerebral Jews are left scratching their heads.
Blood Libels Then and Now
The cries of “disproportionate deaths” in the current war are as irrational as blood libels. Blood libels, the accusation that Jews murder Christian children and use their blood in making matzah, have persisted from the Middle Ages well into the age of computers. Anyone who knows anything about Judaism knows that blood is as unkosher as pork. The Torah forbids the eating of blood, and kosher meat must be soaked and salted to remove all blood. Notwithstanding these basic facts, for a thousand years individual Jews or whole communities were tortured and killed for allegedly murdering Christian children to use their blood in matzah. Even during the Renaissance, when medieval superstitions gave way to the rule of reason, when in 1588 a two-year-boy named Simon of Trent disappeared, 15 local Jews were sentenced to death and burned for his murder, and Pope Sixtus V canonized the “martyred” child.
The 20th century’s first pogrom, in Kishinev, Russia, which left 49 Jews dead and hundreds wounded, was incited by the accusation that Jews had murdered a Christian boy, Mikhail Rybachenko, and used his blood for matzah. Blood libels were also perpetrated in 1910 in Iran, in 1913 in Kiev, and in 1928 in Massena, New York.
In 1986, Mustafa Tlass, the Defense Minister of Syria, wrote a book called, The Matzah of Zion, accusing Jews of ritual murder. By October, 2002, the book was enjoying its 8th printing and was being translated into English, French, and Italian.
A thousand-year-old canard: All you need is a dead non-Jewish child to “prove” that the Jews are vicious bloodsuckers.
Dire Warnings
As long as you look through the lens of logic, the world’s prejudice against the Jewish State is incomprehensible. But when you’re in the optometrist’s office trying to read the letters on the chart through the black gizmo with different lenses, when you can finally see the “E” clearly, the optometrist knows he’s got the right prescription. The world’s attitude towards Israel only makes sense when you’re looking through one lens: anti-Semitism.
”We are potentially looking at the beginning of another Holocaust.”
In an emergency session at the Knesset on July 28, Vladimir Sloutzker, head of the Israeli-Jewish Congress, declared, “Never before since the Holocaust have we seen such a situation as today. We are potentially looking at the beginning of another Holocaust.” And he warned portentously, “These events will only grow in scale across Europe.”
The meeting, which included representatives of Jewish communities and diplomats from France, Greece, Hungary, Belgium, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Denmark, Austria, Germany and Italy, noted that in the violent demonstrations sweeping across Europe, the cry is not, “Kill the Israelis,” but rather “Kill the Jews.” The fig leaf of anti-Zionism, which in the seven decades since the Holocaust has been the respectable disguise of Jew hatred, has been ripped off by the war in Gaza.
As Hebrew University Prof. Robert Wistrich, an expert on anti-Semitism, declared, “We have entered a new, very difficult era in all of Europe.” He asserted that there is no longer a facade of anti-Zionist expressions not being anti-Semitic.
Although all the Jewish representatives gave hair-raising accounts of anti-Semitism in their countries, the few solutions offered, such as demanding that the national governments condemn anti-Semitism, were like erecting a picket fence to hold back a tsunami. In order to deal with anti-Semitism, you have to start by understanding that it operates by no logic and no rationality.
Two Solutions to Anti-Semitism
The 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries witnessed two massive attempts to combat anti-Semitism. The first, Reform Judaism, which originated in Germany in the mid-18th century, was based on the concept that anti-Semitism arises because Jews stubbornly dress differently, eat differently, and act differently. The solution of Reform was to eliminate those differences. In the early period of the movement, Hebrew was replaced by German, Germany was declared the “New Zion,” and the Sabbath was celebrated on Sundays with organ music and other trappings that imitated the Protestant Church. After doing away with mitzvot such as kashrus, Shabbat, and circumcision, Reform German Jews became almost indistinguishable from their gentile neighbors. By 1933, the intermarriage rate in Germany was 42%.
Rather than quell anti-Semitism, Jewish assimilation became the excuse for the rabid Jew-hating of Nazi Germany.
Yet, rather than quell anti-Semitism, Jewish assimilation became the excuse for the rabid Jew-hating of Nazi Germany. The Nuremberg Laws of 1935 pointedly prohibited Aryans from cohabitating with Jews, and banished Jews from practicing professions and teaching in universities, where Jews were blamed for trying to take over. The German “Final Solution,” of course, made no distinction between an intermarried Jewish jurist and a Hasidic Jew with long beard and peyos. Assimilation-as-antidote-to-anti-Semitism went up in the flames of the crematoria.
The second logical answer to anti-Semitism was Zionism. Theodore Herzl, the founder of modern political Zionism, believed that Jews were persecuted because they lacked a state of their own, and the only way to extirpate anti-Semitism from Europe was to physically remove the Jews to Palestine. Herzl, the dreamer, could not have dreamed that once a Jewish State was established, anti-Semitism would simply transmogrify into anti-Zionism. Jews who had been vilified for their homelessness would now be vilified for their homeland.
The Covenant
Anti-Semitism, which defies all natural laws, is in truth supernatural. The history of the Jews is unintelligible without God. And God’s will for the Jewish People is clearly stated in the Torah: "A nation that will dwell in solitude and not be reckoned among the nations." (Numbers 23:9)
Jews are bidden to be "a light unto the nations." (Isaiah 42:6) A light stands separate from that which it illuminates. The Divine charge to the Jewish people is to "be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." (Exodus 19:1) This is a mission from which we cannot resign because it is embedded in the Covenant between God and the nation of Israel.
The Covenant, which God introduced in His promises to the Patriarchs and which was accepted by the entire Jewish nation at Sinai (where all Jewish souls were present), stipulates the following:
On God's side, He promised:
- That the Jewish people will never cease to exist (Genesis 17:7).
- That He will never totally abandon the Jewish people (Leviticus 26:44).
- That the Jewish people will inherit the Land of Israel (Genesis 12:7; Genesis 15:18).
On Israel's side, we promised:
- That we will be faithful to God and keep His Torah (Exodus 24:7).
Unlike most covenants, this one is unconditional. Even if Israel reneges on its obligation, God, in the merit of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs, will never annul His Covenant with us.
Just as a teenager wants to be accepted as “one of the guys,” Israel wants to be accepted as one of the nations. This was the oft-repeated ideal of the early Zionists. Even Benyamin Netanyahu entitled his first book, A Place Among the Nations. The Torah’s designation of Israel as "a nation that will dwell in solitude and not be reckoned among the nations" is hardly a prescription for popularity.
Anti-Semitism is the Divine equivalent of the parent of a diabetic child locking the cookie jar.
Since assimilation is antithetical to God's design for the Jewish people, what can God do to keep His promise that the Jews will never become extinct? A cornerstone of Jewish monotheism is the insistence that everything – everything – comes from God, the only operative force in the universe. At the same time, human beings have free will to choose between good and evil. (And make no mistake, the miscreants who hate and kill Jews are accountable for their actions.) But what if all the Jews in any given generation choose to assimilate into extinction?
That's where anti-Semitism comes in. Anti-Semitism is the Divine equivalent of the parent of a diabetic child locking the cookie jar. A Jew in 20th century Germany or 21st century Netherlands may want to blend in with the surrounding society, but anti-Semitism eventually finds him, stamps him, and excludes him. Anti-Semitism keeps the Jewish people from dissipating into oblivion.
Anti-Semitism has another salutary effect: It unites us. Just a couple months ago, the fabric of Israeli society was ripping apart at the seams of its political and religious divisions. The brutal kidnapping of our three boys by Hamas terrorists united us. At the funerals of our fallen soldiers, we all stand together. And in the bomb shelters of Beersheba, Ashdod, and Tel Aviv, when the Code Red siren goes off, we are a single family. The more we are attacked by the Jew-hating world, the more we cling together.
It’s a steep price that we do not volunteer to pay. But when the payment is extracted from us, we find ourselves with two precious possessions: our true identity and reunification with our family.
(51) Anonymous, May 3, 2020 1:53 PM
I’m reading insanity
Applauding ourselves in being able to find some perverse rationalization for the idea that the world really would prefer us gone forever is the most insane ideas I’ve read. They sicken me. The liberators of Dachau should have busied themselves elsewhere. Just think of how THAT would have united us.
(50) Anonymous, August 20, 2019 3:58 PM
Superb, covers every aspect.
Wonderfully written with such clarity that one can only marvel at why any of us long for the ways of other nations. Where is their peace, blessing and enabling? We have been granted it all.
(49) Josh, May 2, 2019 8:36 PM
great article, really thought-provoking view on anti-semitism.
(48) kiki Abbott, August 17, 2018 6:36 AM
The TRUTH will set you free.
This article is a Must Read for anyone who seeks knowledge of how to respond to the people who blame Israel for what is happening in the Middle East. Www.sararigler.com should be marked as a favorite website for both women and men. She will provide the truth to refute what the media tries to promote. Her works show she researches what she writes about. A source to be trusted.
(47) Holly Holmstrom, August 26, 2015 7:11 AM
Incredible
Thank you so much for helping me to understand the cause of Anti-Semitism. As a Christian, it was always hard for me to understand how it could be that Jews have suffered so much but still trust in Hashem. All things from the hand of our Father! I am always praying for your Peace and know He will deliver you. Fathers of our Faith blessed be you in this world and the world to come. Shalom
(46) Jan, December 17, 2014 3:38 PM
Islam
Antisemitism is on its way out, thanks to Muslims and their religion of peace (pieces???)
(45) Alan, August 12, 2014 3:44 PM
Here is a Dutch MP (Member of Parliament) who gets it.
Check this video, where he gives a speech on American television, the title is "Warning to Israel". Enjoy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MSdZJi4Wdo
cyr, November 18, 2014 6:02 PM
your going going gone
Try to remember the only things of real value in this world was Given by Israelites\ Jews .. through Gd..To the world.. Patriarchs and Prophets. The Bible says we will be judged by every THOUGHT..Careful with your hatreds..If you want Eternal Life,
(44) Anonymous, August 9, 2014 3:11 PM
In reading this article, it was the first time I've ever heard someone, other than myself, say that the hatred towards Jews is supernatural. I wasn't raised to hate Jews or anyone else, so I never understood it until I began to study the bible myself. I stopped allowing other people to educate me on the bible. People who claimed to be knowledgable about the bible and claimed to know what God wants and who God loves. It then became very clear to me. Of course all this hatred towards Jews is supernatural! They are GODS FIRST BORN! The apple of his eye. The younger siblings (Christians and Muslims), in a supernatural way that even they don't understand, are being used by supernatural forces, to fight against their older brother and to fight each other. The evil supernatural forces of this world love it, and they're laughing at us, while God is probably shaking his head in sadness and disappointment. People who hate Jews always sound so ridiculous when they talk about Jews! It's mind boggling and it never makes sense! If people realized how stupid they sound they'd stop talking! My husband use to say that everything the Jews touch turns to gold, so you'd think they'd be loved by all. It's a crazy world we live in!
(43) dingo, August 8, 2014 6:22 AM
Nobody likes to see children being killed or wounded crying out for their mommy and daddy,its very disturbing and affects the thoughts of others for the rest of there lives.
Israel government has only dug the whole bigger for themselves now and have brought more hatred towards jews and have put their own childrens lives at risk.
If israli forces new where the hmas was they could have gone in on foot and eradicated them without to many civilian casualties,it would have taken a bit longer but the world would have more respect for you now.
Israel have put there very own people that live in other countries at the most risk because now there children will be easy targets.
shame on you israel.
Maybe Israel should be more giving since they were given the land they are on.
Janice Kenner, August 11, 2014 4:45 PM
SHAME ON YOU
Shame on you, Dingo. Learn how to spell before you post.
Lori Hoffman, August 25, 2014 1:11 PM
more shame on your
Shame on Dingo, he should learn to THINK before he posts
(42) Mustapha, August 7, 2014 5:23 PM
Hatred is self induced
the Jews hatred is certainly spearheaded by them. Why do they no learn and listen to the truth from others? why are their rabb s not encouraging positive dialogue in analyzing the Qur'an and Torah since Muhammad openly asked for a guidance for him tofollow better than the Torah and the Qur'an. why are the Jews afraid of exposing the truth?
miriam, August 8, 2014 11:43 PM
mustapha and dingo are confused set of human
I don't live in isreal but I know wat it is to defend urself from people who does not want ur existence and dat is what isreal is doing if u av any problem wit dat pls tell hamas to stop using their children as their bullet proof and face Israelis one on one and see if they will survive it. Israel I support ur courage keep it on may Adonai see u thru
(41) Anonymous, August 7, 2014 1:09 PM
Support for Israel
Evil flourishes when good people remain silent. There is a simple truth at work here. Judaism predates Islam, and holds reverence within it for Almighty God. The same Almighty God that made all of us. Islam does not seem to understand this principle of the fatherhood of God , and so there is no brotherhood of man, resulting in refusal to allow recognition for Israel's right to exist. My brothers and sisters in Israel are not fighting a war of their own doing..,they are fighting a war of defense, and of the right to exist. This is what bothers Islam...to allow Israel to exist is to acknowledge a word of God that predates their own religion, and highlights how wrong it was to break down a synagogue to build a mosque. It reveals how wrong in principle it was to attempt to remove another brother's place of worship and build a mosque right over the same site.. This is a horror and affront to every good person alive. Consequently...you can never appease Islam with logic...anymore than( forgive me) a child with a tantrum can be reasoned with...the fact is in our house of God, Islam * is the youngest Religeon* and has not learnt humility as yet. Peaceful coexistence is not part of their psyche at this point in time. If Israel stopped defending herself, she would be slaughtered. If Islam stopped wishing to remove Israel, there would be peace. That is the simple truth.. Israel must therefore continue to defend herself, and never let a holocaust repeat itself ever again. Israel is a holy land, blessed by God & her children around the world have contributed to the welfare of so much of mankind. Israel as a mother to the Jewish people should & must be defended and supported, today and for all time.. That is an open message to the world..I love the Idea of Israel, & was not born in Israel, I love Israel for everything she stands for. Religious strength, intellectual advancement, military might to defend herself,& above all, a desire to live in Peace.
(40) Alan (Dutch guy), August 7, 2014 8:07 AM
Why I think Europeans don't get it
I don't think it is antisemitism that causes the people to demonstrate. It is lack of understanding and one way stream of reporting.
Every time in the news bulletins, when a target of Hamas has been attacked, we don't get the reason why it was attacked. We just see that Hamas was attacked and the emphasis is put on the innocent casualties; 8 children hurt and some killed (just an example). We don't see in the news the pain Hamas causes an Israeli civilization, the emphasis is on the suffering of the poor Palestinians who have no means to defend themselves against the powerful bully that is Israel.
And then off course there are currently living over one million Muslims in our country (and in Germany and in the rest of Europe), of which I imagine many tell one side of a story.
So if you'd ask me, I know for a certainty that there are very few Dutch people antisemitic, I just think there is a huge propaganda war going on that Israel isn't winning.
(39) Anonymous, August 6, 2014 6:24 PM
What Goes Around Comes Around
Jews are clearly eduated to try every means possible to live in peace with everyone BUT if need be, do what you have to if faced with nothing but murderers. This time, we will take them with us; and that is what these maniacs want. They want to die and we will oblige them wherever they are: anywhere in this disgusting world. Bring it. Thank G-d for the brave Israelis!
(38) Tony, August 6, 2014 5:30 PM
ISRAEL
Of a truth, the world hates Jews. But I want to tell that just because the world hates Israel, doesnot mean Israel should stop defending themselves. God will help Israel. O Israel, fight but in morality and courage. Don't be like Hamas which doesnot have any morals. Fight Hamas and the God of Gideon will help u
(37) Anonymous, August 5, 2014 7:38 PM
they just don't get it!
This article hit the nail on the head. How is it that in Syria loads of children have been dying - for months, actually - and that's "OK"(it isn't actually, but obviously in the eyes of many it is) but gaza's children have caused a world outrage??? And that Israelis and Jews are being called nazis??? Great - they realised the nazis are bad, but they've obviously forgotten that the nazis killed over 6 million Jews! We really live in an upside down world.
(36) Marc Braunstein, August 5, 2014 7:04 PM
I really liked the article. I would just add two points. First, this may be obvious: while I agree that anti-semitism is part of God's plan to keep us separate, this in no way condones the horibble people through the millenia who perpertrated crimes against us hy'd. Conversely, the righchous amongst them should be blessed and rewarded. Secondly, I think the obvious third solution to anti-semitism: to uphold our part of the covenant and keep the Torah and in that way Hashem won't have to the "mean parent" - we can become the "mature adult". With the rebuidling of the third temple, we will in fact retake our place as the Light unto the nations and we will be looked at with respect and honor from all the nations of the world.
(35) cindy, August 5, 2014 2:41 PM
superb!!!!!!!!!!!!
(34) Emmna Ejer, August 5, 2014 10:52 AM
Wonderful article
I enjoyed this immensely, thank you for this perspective - it's opened my eyes.
(33) R van der Berg, August 5, 2014 6:48 AM
God has not forsaken Israel
We have come to the stage when all the world will be against Israel, Jerusalem (Zechariah chapter 12) . How 1'5 billion muslums cannot defeat 7 million Jews only goes to show that God is protecting His chosen people. i believe very shortly God is going to step onto the scene and muslums will die in their millions maybe through a playue or some such super manifestation of God's power todemonstrate to the world God's faithfulness to Abraham,Isaac and Jacob.. The time for the complete restoration Israel is at hand.. God has not forgotten His people. Shalom!
(32) Ben, August 5, 2014 4:01 AM
Please sign this petition as well
As usual your posts are beughtiful and I enjoy reading them.
Please sign this petition that the US recognize Gaza must eb Demilitarized
https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/back-israels-insistence-demilitarized-gaza/1s5XMYSP
mary louise bergmann, August 5, 2014 12:48 PM
I think Europe is old and weak. Antisemitism will always be alive there. They ar envious that Israel has achieved freedom and prosperity and the
Y no longer have the Jewish people to bully and humiliate. Israel no longer has to take sh.t and should stand firm .those that want to hypocritically take a moral high ground should look into their motives.
(31) Anonymous, August 5, 2014 12:10 AM
what a truthful excellent perspective! A great article. Thank you for sharing!
(30) Mohammed Malike, August 4, 2014 10:21 PM
Its time for None Arab Muslims to speak up and support Isreal,I am Sudanese Canadian citizen I take Canada is a perfect example how Jewish ,Muslims,and all others faiths live together in peace.Arabs do not want peace with Israel they want kill all Jews just because of their faith and this not acceptable period full stop.
(29) Yehudit, August 4, 2014 6:17 PM
Brilliant
So it really boils down to this: the antidote to antisemitism is: Semitism!! That is, to combat anti semitism we must collectively do the opposite of our enemies: embrace, practice and celebrate our Torah and religion instead of ridiculing, belittling and marginalising it ...... So simple, yet so profound.
Emma, August 5, 2014 10:52 AM
Loved this Yehudit, how wonderful!
(28) David, August 4, 2014 4:57 PM
Supernatural, to be sure...
I cannot help but completely concur with this author. There is no reason involved in the brutal mistreatment of Jewish people. It is visceral madness. It is supernatural. But I would disagree, theologically, with the author's limitations on moral agency. There is something called the demonic, and it is not unknown to Judaism. Who is the "Adversary"? Who is ha-Satan? The Jews are hated because certain agents hate the God of Israel; some of these agents are natural, and some are supernatural. Is it not peculiar that there are three groups which receive a completely disproportionate amount of worldly criticism: the State of Israel (Jews), the Catholic Vatican, and the Protestant Evangelical movement. Of course, there is one thing that each hold in common: they each have a connection to, or openly confess to worship the God of Israel. "Why do the nations rage?" You already know why…
(27) Anonymous, August 4, 2014 4:46 PM
This war is about us
While many Jews in our world today struggle with the concepts written here, they are confirmed throughout the Torah and throughout history, up to the very present. Put another and more positive way, the War in Gaza is ultimately not about Hamas or the Muslims. While Hamas indeed represents evil and will assuredly receive just retribution in this world or the next, Hashem is merely using their vile hatred of Jews to bring us back to Him, to our homeland and to our mission to be a light unto the nations, as the author states. The Torah indicates that we are living in the time of the coming of Moshiach and many believe what we are seeing are its birth pangs. This war is about us, the Jews, and returning.
(26) Yehudith Shraga, August 4, 2014 11:08 AM
Anti-semitism is natural, Judaism is supernatural
The Sages teach us that the G-d's creation is called the wish to get, because the only purpose of the G-d's creation was, is and will be to bestow the creation with His Abundance(It's clear, that without a wish to get there is no way anybody may enjoy anything).But, as the Sages explain, there is "a problem" with such a devision of functions between the Creator and the creation, as the Creator is a PURE bestowing quality and the creation is a PURE getting quality, there is nothing in common between them.The lack of equality of form between the Creator and the creation leaves us with no connection.The forming of this connetction is "left" for the creation to do through changing its getting nature for the sake of getting into the getting for the sake of bestowing form.The hatred to this task is so called anti-semitism=resistance to the MUST change we have to undergo, because bestowing nature is a supernatural to the nature of the creation and it is what all the Judaism is about.
The gaining of the bestowing form by the creation may be reached in two ways: through fights, pain and suffering or through studing Torah=the Wisdom of importance of the bestowing form, and through performing Mitzvot, for Jews-620, for non-jews-7.
So either the world understands it or not, they do not hate or fight "material" bodies of Jews and the State of israel in its material form, the world =creation=the wish to get HATES the idea of the MUST change of its nature from getting into bestowing.
If we start seeing the events, be they current or historical from the bestowing point of view, we will understand why the G-d promised the People of Israel eternal existance, because the etermal form of the creation is the bestowing form, as was planned by the G-d from the very beginning and is given for fulfillment to the creation for us to become the co-creators of the G-d.
(25) Albert Hache, August 4, 2014 5:19 AM
Haters are their own enemies.
With G-D’s help, Israelis will vanquish their enemies only if they behave like real Jews,
G-D doesn’t belong to anybody. On the other hand everything belongs to Him. G-D is on the side of the Jews only if they live according to the principles prescribed, for their own benefit, by their ancient sages. Only then can they qualify as being "His people". There is a serious misconception among too many “Jews” that G-D is on their side whatever they do, simply because they were born of a Jewish mother. As far as I understand, G-D is on the side of those who are good and wise, of those who have only love in their heart and never commit injustice. On these G-D showers all His blessings.
But G-D is a most bitter enemy to the arrogant, to those who sin against Him, to those who hate, be they Jews, Arabs or any other. Those who bear hatred in their heart are only destroying their own life and more importantly their soul.
(24) Anonymous, August 4, 2014 4:50 AM
There's an old expression
If we don't make Kiddush, Hashem will make Havdalah.
(23) Anonymous, August 4, 2014 1:52 AM
Killing Terrorist is is not a Genocide
The only realistic war against the "Islamic terrorism" is being done by Israel. From Yaseer Arafat's PLO to Hamas are all rabid terrorist outfit. These are the real "Evil" of present day world. "Communism" was the other "Evil" from which the world suffered much. Now is the desperate moments to finish off the other "Evil" altogether for the world population to live peacefully. Carry on Israel.
(22) louis, August 3, 2014 11:16 PM
comments
How could a gal who's barely 22 (see photo) write such thought provoking article? Also I thoroughly agree with the comment by Orah to be more inclusive.
(21) Carol, August 3, 2014 10:30 PM
My grandmother told me why they hate us . . . .
I was 5 years old when my best girl friend called me a dirty Jew. I came home crying and ran to tell my grandmother. It took her several seconds while I sat on her lap and sobbed, but she came up with the perfect aanswer. "do you know why the goyim hate us?" She asked gently. I shook my head, no. "because they're jealous of us! We are the smartest and best and happiest people on earth and 'they' know it. They're all jealous because we're the Chosen People and they're not! So of course they're jealous because 'they' are not jJewish."
All those years ago and I still think that Baba was right!
(20) Dennis St. John, August 3, 2014 8:52 PM
ANTI-SEMITISM = ANTI-G-D
Those who hate Jews hate G-d. It is impossible to love the G-d of Israel and to hate His people. There is no other G-d.
Not all Jews are saints, and even G-d does not love them each and every one. Consider Esau, King Saul, and those who were slain in the wilderness, as was Korah.
But, as a people chosen to be a light to the world, blessed with the assurance of ultimate deliverance by an oath that G-d swore to fulfill, the Jews are the beloved of G-d. To hate one is to hate the other.
(19) Bob Van Wagner, August 3, 2014 7:43 PM
Sanity? Among current world leaders? In the US Administration?
Sarah, great article. Except that one line, that one clause of a sentence: "diplomats around the world, leading news outlets, the UN, and even the American administration, all people who are certifiably sane and even smart"
Who is that certifying authority?
By many measures, insanity is common today. In Great Britain the national health service just established a sperm bank for lesbian couples. That's insane. Yet the leading news outlets celebrate great cultural insanities like that, and the UN and the current US administration force socially destructive mores upon nations. Insanity.
Modern international monetary systems act insanely, and in that insanity the gap between the very wealthy and everyone else becomes exponentially worse, for wealth is gained by an easy massive stealing from the poor by currency dilution, seizure of assets by regulatory fiat, and redistribution of the acquired wealth to the tightening circle of cronies and the already wealthy.
Chaos is enforced by this US administration, for it is the strong forces of chaos everywhere that the all must make political alliances or be crushed by highly partisan politics that has corrupted all levels of justice and government. Chaos makes the virtual coin of craven in politics more valuable!
Obama's favored method is devision and fueling group envies and jealousies -- that is clear in his words and actions, it is clear in those with who he allies and did make his mentors -- Frank Marshall, Saul Alinsky, the infamous SDS murderous bombers married and respectablized Ayers and Dohrn. His politic is to rewards his friends and punish his enemies using his office. That is clear in the operation of the Justice Department, and in so many of the other agencies, including the State Department, where he has emplace "his people".
Envy, hatred, jealousy turned into the main forces of a political operation do not make for sanity.
(18) Haim, August 3, 2014 7:40 PM
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Yehudith Shraga, August 4, 2014 1:59 PM
Haim dear, make no mistake!
There is a very sad joke, which tells, that at the time of pogrom a jewish woman says to her husband not to go out, because the Jews are beaten and killed out there in the streets.
Her husband answers her, that she has nothing to worry, because according to his pasport he is Russain, his wife looks at him and says:" Dear husband of mine, they are not beating and killing the pasports there, they are beating and killing the Jews!"
Anonymous, August 6, 2014 2:08 AM
antisemitism = anti 10 commandments
yes, there was a quote I once read which described antisemitism in a nutshell :
"Nobody likes their alarm clock".
Yehudith Shraga, August 6, 2014 10:55 PM
How true!
Straight to the point, thank you for sharing.
(17) Sondra Brown, August 3, 2014 7:10 PM
Anti-Semitism continues
Every living Jew proves Christians and Moslems are praying to the wrong diety
(16) Baruch, August 3, 2014 6:42 PM
Equality in Institutes of Higher Eeducation
There is not equallity in Universites and Colleges,for example an Arab that wants to be accepted to Medical School for example will be accepted with a lower Psycometery score.Two nurses learning in the same class the passing grade for the Araab nurse is lower tha that for a Jewuish nurse taking the same course.There a hundreds of other examples.
(15) Anonymous, August 3, 2014 6:11 PM
Inspiringly well written but incomplete
I would like to know what is the source of anti-semitism. Is it because we supposedly killed Jesus? Or that we supposedly eat blood? Or that we own the world's money? Or is it that there needs to be some group that is the world's scapegoat?
I just read Marx's treatise on the Jewish question which seems to imply that it is that the Jews have all of the world's money -- not a problem until the Rothschilds.
Is money the problem? And wasn't Marx a Jew?
My feeling is that God picked the Jews as his "chosen people" to be a constant reminder to the people of the "city of man" (St. Augustine's words) of the inhumanity of man.
Kibbitzer, August 3, 2014 8:49 PM
Why Jews are hated
Didn't you know? Jews are hated because they're Communists and because they're Capitalists, because they're insular and because they push in everywhere, Because they're cowards who get others to fight for them and because they're too militaristic. Because they're rootless cosmopolitans and because they have a homeland, because they're in 'our' country. Because should get back to Israel and because they should get out of Palestine. Because they're poverty stricken and because they have all the money. Because they manipulate America and because they're an outpost of US imperialism. and on and on...
Anonymous, August 3, 2014 10:24 PM
Smart people stand out and scare others.
Well, I am a Christian, and I can tell you we know the Romans killed Jesus. Perhaps, like my mom always said, the Jews in general and as a group are very, very intelligent and educated people and hard working. That can scare others. Just a thought.
Anonymous, August 3, 2014 10:25 PM
double standards
No.15 Anonymous, the Romans killed Jesus, but like the chinese whispers, history gets changed to suit and as far as "eating blood," the majority of British, and I expect half of the other populous of the world, relishes the extract of the abatoirs, scoops up the blood from the poor animals and turns it into their "black pudding!" It is the Jews who eliminate just about every drop of blood from their meat as you know, and where this blood libel originates who knows? All I know one can stem the flow of blood but not the lie!
(14) elixelx, August 3, 2014 6:03 PM
The Good in the Evil
Kol HaKavod, Rebbitzin! You have understood that the scourge of anti-semitism is G-d's way of disciplining us, teaching us, separating us from those others!
One question remains...How long, O Lord, how long?
(13) Charis, August 3, 2014 5:41 PM
An excellent article, but misses an important point
Sadly, I think that Israel is playing into the hands of Hamas.
Hamas doesn't care how many people die - Israeli or Palestinian, young or old - they just DO NOT CARE. They are happy to sacrifice as many innocents as it takes as long as they are successful - and they are winning the propaganda war. Every time we turn on our TVs, we see small children, bloodied and sobbing, being rushed into badly-equipped hospitals, accompanied by heart-broken parents who then tell the reporters how they have lost all of their families, all of their children, their parents - and beg for justice. (And may I add that I think a lot of thee "mercy dashes" look staged, though many are obviously genuine)
In the eyes of the world it looks as though Israel is butchering children - there are so few Israeli casualties in comparison. Is it not possible for Israel to act purely defensively? I honestly don't know - I know nothing of weapons or what they are capab;e of - all I know is that Israel is coming out of this war looking like the aggressor even though the Jewish nation is responding to provocation. When a group such as Hamas is prepared to allow every member of their nation to be killed, then it is very difficult to maintain an objective view of the conflict.
And G Berry - I agree with you. As a Christian I feel that Christians should defend their faith. God did not put anyone on earth to be abused. We all need to take a stand against fundamentalist Islam. We are rarely even allowed to protest out faith in Christian countries, let alone in non-Christian ones - tolerance has become license under the ethos of "political correctness" - and we are perceived as weak.
I admire the Jewish nation for their deep faith and their determination not to be bullied - but I fear that world opinion will be against Israel for the duration of this conflict.
(12) Orah, August 3, 2014 5:34 PM
Better than Ezra
When Jews are scattered among the nations, intermarriage happens. Then, what is the Jewish thing -- presumably the right thing -- to do with these children/families? Reject the marriage (as in the story of Ezra, and what many Jews do today) or to look for Jewish souls? I think it should be the latter. There are countless stories of Jews abandoning Jews because the mother was not Jewish -- but what does that do to the child, not to mention the abandoned wife? What does that say about us as a people? Is that G-dly -- to leave children without a father? To abandon the mother of your children? Can you imagine the hatred that comes from being rejected by your own parent/spouse? We as a nation are known for acting like we think we are better than everyone else just as much or even more than the stories of blood matzah. We are "the chosen." Chosen to be a good example -- to love life and to stand up for justice. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob looked for Jewish souls among the other tribes for wives. If every Jewish soul was up there on Mt. Sinai to receive the Torah, then we should be open to finding these souls -- regardless of the circumstances they were born into. I think it would do a lot of good for the Jewish image if we stopped dividing ourselves and were more accepting of others. After all, we believe that one day the Messiah will come from the blood line of King David, whose grandmother was Ruth, the first convert.
michael swanger, August 4, 2014 3:00 AM
sometimes
the Jews are their own worse enemies. They bicker among themselves over who is more Jewish or true Jewish. Reform, conservative and orthodox have way too much infighting. The Boers in South Africa circled the wagons and stood together to fight an enemy. Herein lies a lesson to be learned for us.
(11) Jan Houwert, August 3, 2014 5:03 PM
Haterd ????
An excellent article, thank you. Although I am not a Jew, hatred is never to be understood, how can one rationalize hatred ? There are people I do not like, buut not because they are Jews, Muslims, or whatever, I do not like them well, because I don't like their manners or whatever, but never because of their religion or origins. Muslims tried to conquer the world by the sword, now they are conquering the world (at least our western world) through the belly of their wives. If I have two children, they have six (at least). I respect Musliims, Jews, etc., I wish Muslims would respect my culture and not try to enforce their upon me.
(10) amos, August 3, 2014 5:03 PM
Brilliant article . Nations ,organizations, and individuals who oppose the existence of Israel and Jews are doomed. The lack of knowledge will cause many to perish.
(9) Anonymous, August 3, 2014 5:00 PM
Excellent!
This is excellent! Thank you so much for posting this!
(8) bernice greenberg, August 3, 2014 4:56 PM
I am 90 years old and have lived through ctrastrophiic anti-semitism. For all this time I've asked "Why?". It has been going on for 3,000 years and we still don't have the answer except, SURVIVAL. We can only survive as a people, a family and unified. As Jews, we are a diverse collection of differences, but our survival depends on faith and unity.
(7) GTeague, August 3, 2014 4:39 PM
WHY?
I cannot help but be baffled as to why one people have been singled out for hatred throughout recorded history?
(6) Gail Welch, August 3, 2014 4:35 PM
Support for Israel
As a Christian I can not say enough how I pray for Israel and it's leaders but more than that, I pray daily for God to lead Israel through this war and all the vile comments made against Israel. I have been blessed to go to Israel 4 times and they are among my hearts fondest memories. I love you, people of Israel and you may not have too many friends in Washington but in Nashville, Tn., you have a lot of friends who share in your sorrows and believe for your victories.
(5) The Political Commentator, August 3, 2014 3:58 PM
Liberal Primer on Extremism: Know Your Enemy (or else risk being destroyed by them)
This article at TPC presents the Left with an explanation and description of who it is we are fighting in the global war on terror. Until they actually understand it they will continue down the path of negotiation and diplomacy that will accomplish absolutely nothing!
http://politicsandfinance.blogspot.com/2014/08/primer-for-liberals-on-extremism-know.html
(4) David, August 3, 2014 3:50 PM
Needbsome better PR
Israel is in the right, and Hamas should be wiped out. Moreover, Palestinian civilian casualties are the responsibility of Hamas. Having said that, Israeli PR has been poor. Nobody who doesn't already agree with Israel will buy into our view of what God does or doesn't promise. What will register with people (as the Palestinians seem to understand) is pictures of what the Palestinians are doing, and videos of their statements about Jews. Israel should be flooding the media with this stuff.
(3) Judy E, August 3, 2014 12:43 PM
Excellent
A really excellent article that gives a clear and very helpful explanation.
(2) G. Berry, August 3, 2014 10:32 AM
Jewish History teaches us we can only rely on ourselves and G-d
Christians in Muslim lands have been tortured, persecuted, killed, expelled; their churches and cemeteries destroyed. Yet there are no world protests or rallies or demonstrations by Christians; to their shame they have remained mostly silent (an exception was a small protest by Christian Arabs in Haifa). As a Jew this teaches me that if Christians will not protest the injustices done to them by Muslims, then I certainly can't expect them to help or cry out on the Jews' behalf. Christian paralysis is a complete perversion of "turning the other cheek." And it certainly sends radical Muslims the message that their conquering the Western world is not a far-fetched fantasy.
Orah, August 3, 2014 6:09 PM
Good point
Personally, I think there would be many Christian Americans who would be outraged over radical Islamists killing Christians, but for some reason, it doesn't get the same media coverage. I just don't think it is made a "Christian" story. It seems to me like headlines read, "Jews/Jewish," or "Muslim/Islamic," but Christians just get "people" -- maybe because religious Jews/Muslims stand out more with their attire. If the media would make it more clear that "Christians were attacked/tortured/killed or persecuted/expelled" vs. people or a church, then more Americans/Europeans would understand that radical Islamist = terrorist = die/kill to go to heaven = party on 9/11. Most people think what's happening in the middle East is Muslims vs. Jews, not radical Islamists vs. the rest of the free-world. Also, terror makes most people quiet. They don't want to be killed for speaking up, unlike Jews who learned you better speak up and fight, make some noise, before evil takes over!
Betty, August 4, 2014 1:17 AM
A disgusted Christian
I have to admit that your article is eye opening and being a Christian, am outraged at the things you talk about!
In our defense it is difficult to do anything for these areas and other Christians when our government will not do anything about them! Christians are being tortured, killed, and ran out of their homes they have had for over 6 thousand years in Iraq, but the news media would rather report on the Hamas and the Palestinians and be against Israel!
All we can really do is pray, donate to their cause, and try to vote our terrible present government out! They do not support Christians in the USA, let alone a world away! It is the conservatives that try to help these Christians in other countries like the mom in Sudan, who is now free thanks in large part to American Civil Liberties for Justice who fights for Christians! They are a Christian organization of Lawyers who fight for Americans whose religious freedoms are being stomped on!
However you are wrong about one thing! The Christians I know do defend Israel and I'm a a member of Christians United for Israel and they just went to Washington DC to send a message to Congress that there is a lot of support for Israel! They had a wonderful turnout from all over the world!
So even though you must feel alone, don't judge a HUGE group of us by our liberal news media and our worthless government that we did not vote for!
I love Israel and I love the Jews and I will always defend you!
I would not want to come face to face with God if I were not willing to do that!!
(1) smb, August 3, 2014 9:29 AM
We need to stand together and work on ahavas Yisrael, loving your fellow Jew, and unity for the sake of our people and so we can help bring the redemption