Sometimes I get up earlier than the rest of my family so that I can spend a few minutes at my computer before the pandemonium of the morning begins. I need a few minutes to see what emails dribbled in during the night – usually from overseas – and I like to read some news papers and see what's going on in the world.
Today, I am sorry I bothered. Yesterday, it seems, was the seventh anniversary of the unspeakable beheading of Daniel Pearl, the Wall Street Journal South East Asia Bureau Chief who was posted in India. Unfortunately for Daniel, he was born Jewish. I don't think he lived a very Jewish life, but for his killers that was besides the point.
Normally he is not someone who crosses my mind. But when I read the article written by his father in yesterday's Wall Street Journal (www.wsj.com – it's titled "the Normalization of Evil" and it's printed in the Opinion section and definitely worth reading), it hit me like a ton of bricks. Probably because I had just finished reading the front page of the Jerusalem Post only to see that despite everything that happened in Gaza a few weeks ago appears to have been for naught. The world runs to say how bad the Israelis are for bombing Gaza, then we stop and lo and behold, what happens? The Gazans start bombing Israel again. Of course, that is okay with the world... it's only the Jews/Israelis.
It is so mentally exhausting to wake up every morning and realize within moments of reading pretty much any paper anywhere that the world just can't come up with enough ways to hate the Jews/Israel. Don't people have anything better to do with their days? Wouldn't they all be better off focusing on feeding their families, and finding personal fulfillment in some positive way?
I am at a loss to figure out how such a small country, with such a small population, can possibly be causing such worldwide havoc. And spare me the controlling the world theories – they are pathetic and downright not true. It's always easier to blame someone else rather than looking at one's own shortcomings. Why work on getting a job when you can blame black people for taking all the jobs via Affirmative Action programs?
Why is it always okay that people can aim their bombs at our children but when we fight back, we are bad? It's not a rhetorical question. I am actually going to answer it.
The answer is that Jew/Israel hating is so ingrained in societies and cultures that most people don't even know they are doing it. It is just part of who they are. Let me also say that I know lots of people who aren't Jew/Israel haters, so I know, as a fact, that is it possible to get through the day without it. And I am willing to bet that those people have lives full of many other things (hopefully positive things).
I am really sick and tired of worrying about justifying the existential right of Israel (and Jews) to exist every bloody day.
Therefore, I would like to suggest to all haters of any kind (why stop at Jews and Israel?), that you find something better to do with your day. Stop blaming entire groups of people because they are different from you. And remember, people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones … or bear arms.
Speaking of anti-semites, that picture you have of the middle-eastern man holding a poster that reads "Death To All Juice", I got it in an email message a few weeks back. The message was entitled "AntisheMITZ".
ReplyDeleteI really want to remove this photo but the bottom line is I just can't do it. In my books, it is a classic. I sincerely hope it is a real photo -- finding out that it is a photoshop job would ruin my day.
ReplyDelete