In Oslo, a few weeks ago, a group of Moslems made a ring of protection around a synagogue. When Islamic terrorists attacked a kosher grocery in Paris resulting in a number of deaths, a Moslem worker, Lassana Bathily, herded some of the Jewish customers into the store’s freezer, saving their lives. In doing so, he drew a neon target on his own back.
There are times and places where staying in the background doesn’t work. Times when each of us has to actively stand for what we believe. Times when ‘don’t discuss religion or politics’ is a cowardly evasion rather than a way to get through a dinner party politely. During these times, a piece of ancient Jewish wisdom that says, “Silence resembles agreement,’ rings true.
I recently read a book about a German Luftwaffe pilot who, in a moment of heroism, saved the life of a British RAF pilot by escorting him to safety. This was an act of treason to Germany. Until that moment, the book suggests that the pilot and his family didn’t support Hitler, but they also saw no connection between the pilot’s personal military career and the Nazi Party. Historically, the Luftwaffe had many leaders who were anti-Nazi. Whatever their personal convictions, by flying as they did, they strengthened HItler and the Nazi Party.
Refusing to do their duty would have had serious repercussions. They would have been lucky to lose only their careers; more likely imprisonment along with the potential of torture and death would have followed. Their families’ lives would also have been endangered. Yet, history would have changed and millions would be alive today if the Luftwaffe had rebelled en masse.
Such a crisis is facing Moslems today. Disapproving of radical Islamic terrorism in privacy or when among like-minded friends equals silence. Speaking up publicly places a noose around one’s neck, and more scarily, around the neck of one’s family especially if they still live in Jihadist controlled areas.
It is easy to see other people’s challenges; it is harder to see our own. Jews and Christians are also having to make uncomfortable choices today. As the homosexual movement morphs into a dictatorship wanting to suppress freedom of expression and religion, it is not enough to say, “love the sinner,” or “government should stay out of people’s bedrooms.” As college campuses increasingly become breeding grounds for pro-Islamic groups, do we tell our children to keep their heads down or to risk not only condemnation but also assault? Only a few years ago, Jews could be both pro-Israel and vote Democrat. Doing so today takes a decision to ignore reality and suspend rational judgment. You might be allied with the New York Times and academia in telling yourself that there is a difference between anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism, but it is increasingly clear that in today’s climate, that simply is false.
Being faithful to God today increasingly means failing liberalism’s religious test. Being faithful to tradition can mean imperiling your livelihood and facing false accusations of bigotry, racism and other ‘isms.’ In Paris, Lassana Bathily could have stepped aside and shielded himself. Instead, he made a heroic and Godly choice. Anyone who pats himself on the back sure that he would do the same, should be able to point to less extreme but significantly uncomfortable times when he has exercised the same principled muscle.
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James, if you haven’t read my husband’s book, America’s Real War, you really must. He wrote it to explain why so many Jews are so liberal and actually run after Nimrod’s vision.
I appreciate your insight, Jean. In later life I became aware of Alinsky’s perverse methodology, but in truth I never thought to suspect the Jews, God’s Chosen People, to resort to such tactics. The Jewish people I have known have demonstrated an untamed, rebellious streak, and oft positive, the kind “wired” to resist Nimrod’s domination. This makes it unfathomable that so many Jews would so heartily embrace Communism or Socialism. Do they not realize that Socialism is the long arm of Nimrod?
Hi Jean – I was offline for Passover and Shabbat but was glad to see your comment when I got back.
Hi James
The use of the term “anti-Semitic” to describe your disagreement with leftist politics comes from the playbook written by American (and also Jewish by birth) communist agitator, Saul Alinsky. “Rules for Radicals” advises its readers to marginalize all opposition by personalizing the issue and then labeling the advocate and his / her idea with some epithet – “racist,” “sexist”, “homophobic”, “bigoted” or in your case, “anti-Semitic.” This has become completely reflexive to the left, which is why many have never experienced any genuine cognitive dissonance between the ideology they hold dear and the end results of it once it becomes public policy. Thought doesn’t factor in at all.
Absolutely! And thanks for the reply! What I find most unfathomable is that there are even some (Yes, I have encountered a few) who even say “Ah,…so you don’t agree with us politically. You must be anti-Semitic!”
Your point about ethnic Jews is very well taken. But Christians are no different. Christianity has become so splintered and fragmented today that I keep my guard raised when a stranger professes “Christianity” in their introductory sentence. It is prudent to await further clarification on what flavor of “Christianity” they profess. This is one reason I so very much treasure the lessons of your (your = plural) Torah teachings. More and more I become convinced that Christians today are not often getting “the rest of the story,” as Paul Harvey used to say. God rest him as a genuine journalist and not one of today’s leftist propagandists in journalists’ clothing!
Most people don’t understand that, unlike Christianity where calling yourself Christian is an expression of faith, calling yourself Jewish is more like sharing a family connection. The word “Jew’ today says absolutely nothing about what one believes, whether one hates or loves God – or doesn’t think He exists. It says nothing about a level of knowledge vs. ignorance.
Once again you are right on target. Look what happened to the courageous Dutch family who harbored Anne Frank and her family in a hidden attic. If my information is correct, they were also herded into a concentration camp or summarily executed.
You hit on a sore point with the Jews who are Democrats. What is most difficult for me to fathom is those Jews who actually support the Democratic Socialist Party, and they are a sizable majority, so I am told. For Jews like Congressman Henry Waxman to support and facilitate a Nimrodian government by rationalizing away that it fulfills the Torah’s requirements for charity and social justice speaks to me that he desperately needs a rabbi. Rabbi Lapin would enlighten them with a daily infusion of Genesis and the Tower of Babel and its consequences to human civilization. As for Jews siding with Democrats stabbing Israel in the back or even in the face by facilitating Iranian nuclear progress, the old epithet once applied to Ireland would seem to apply also to these Democrat Jews: ‘the old sow that eats her own young.’
One day any or all of us may receive the ultimate challenge of conscience that you have pointed out. May we all have the intestinal fortitude to make the Godly choice.