WILL IT?

  One of the iconic songs of the American Songbook is "Tomorrow", sung by a ragamuffin orphan in clearly difficult circumstances, certainly not lending themselves to the expectation of things getting better. However, it is more than a little redheaded girl suffused with an unrealistic vision of 'tomorrow'. Rather it is part of America, what makes one stand out from others. America, Americans are supposed to have that overwhelming sense of optimism, a Bob the Builder attitude of "We can do it. Yes, we can." Well, at this point I, in good company, beg to differ. Vehemently.

At this point the weathermen/women of the nation, of the world, in fact, have great doubt as to whether indeed, "The sun will come out tomorrow". I am not sure that I, and most Jews here and round the world, will ever feel confident of the sun again, of its light shining on all, revealing the bad and inspiring the good, the hope. How is it that Holocaust survivors are agonizing over living through the horror again. Yes, not camps of torture and death yet, but the same atmosphere, the same snowball of hate, the same attitudes resurfacing and why would they believe it will be any different. 

Personally, I can state the fright consumes me at times, wondering what the hell is happening. Why are we Jews persona non grata in our own country. Why is 'islamophobia' conflated with antisemitism when the one barely surfaces and the other is accompanied by conspiracy to murder, to open genocide, to violence, happening right now, and in massive proportion. Yes, there are those angry with Islam, but tell me the first parade of masses against them, calling for their deaths as the whiners dredge up the rather few and far between incidents.  There should be none - but there is the reality. Why do they not choose to use their developing influence to pursue peace, a fair and open one, rather than their open idolization and glorification of violence and hatred.   

Where are the liberals? They gave it up for the trendier, the ever more fun of parade, chants, flags, kaffiyehs, destruction, violence approved and growing. Where are the women, the groups with   Jewish leaders, so many Jewish marchers and workers for the causes, who fought against   violence toward women, for choice, for control, for prevention of domestic violence? Where? They have ignored the godawful truth, the scenes of   violence, the rape, the battery, of the women of Israel, slaughtered and mutilated, raped and left for dead or dragged into Gaza for more of the same. All documented by their own videos and papers of instruction. Where are the women of America? Where are the women of Europe? Of the world?     

Certainly, they are glaring in their absence, as is the absence of the world as they refuse even to comment on the crimes against humanity, the war crimes of the monthslong captivity of the hostages ripped from their lives - the elderly, the men, the women, the young soldiers, barely more than boys and girls, just inducted, the sick, the wounded and untreated, the dying, the children, the babies and infants. 

Where is the world? Where is the International Red Cross? Nowhere to be found. Nowhere at all. Not for the Jews.

Why are we angry, so sure the sun has gone into hiding, behind the clouds of filth and hate ginned up by those so enthusiastic crowds of hate filled Moslems, of Jews who do not know whereof they do, their own intrinsic danger, replete with stupid kids who think that calling for death while immersed in an approving mass of others is just the thing to spite the parents, you know, those paying outrageous tuitions so their children can be turned against them. Those are the children of our failed education system which has not taught history, only opinions, particularly of biased individuals, not taught them to analyze and think before jumping. These children who fall prey to the skulking scheming terrorists advocating a 'justified hate and murder'. Our children whom we have failed.   

  Where are all the oppressed of the world for whom we advocated or to whom Israel sent aid, diggers and rescuers, dogs to seek and find, medical provisions? Where are those who benefitted?  Nowhere. Where are the American Black people for whom Jewish people risked lives and limbs, beatings and imprisonment, fighting to assure rights, to live decently, to vote, to be accepted as full and equal citizens of this country. And who continue to do so. And where are the Black people of South Africa for whom the Jewish residents there fought the dangerous system and were paid back via hate and incentive to leave their country. Where is the awareness that the very people they espouse are the ones who in private will call them 'abid' - Arabic for slave? 

Where indeed is the world? Not here. Not for Jews.

Where is the court in The Hague oh so quick to descend upon Israel for defending itself in extremely difficult circumstances, impossible to prevent some collateral deaths, when the enemy hides among, below, inside true civilians, as few as there are. "Innocent civilians" - the same ones who gleefully joined in that super fun romp of Oct7, to kill, to rape, to torture, to loot - simply such fun, how could one resist, not to mention the fun of the raucous frightening parade of these victims, forced through huge, threatening shouting crowds. Why does the world believe the lies of terrorist Hamas, the very same ones who began this war with full power against civilians, to murder and then do it again and again. A massively criminal gang of murderers and the world justifies and acquiesces.  Where is the world? Absent. As always.    

No, the sun will not shine tomorrow. Its fierce power, its light of hopes, its rays of optimism have already dimmed, powered down. Whether we can relight and reinvigorate these gifts of the sun, well, that is up for debate. It will depend on the very people now allowing, even encouraging or ignoring the situation. We hope that somehow, we can force that sun to shine tomorrow, to come out of hiding and rekindle the decency of humanity. We live with the hope that the clouds lessen, and the darkness begins to allow through the light of that sun we all so desperately need.  

 It will shine if we effect a change, build a powerful, friendly cadre of leaders who understand the needs of the world and its people, who will work together for a better world, with a full powered sun aglow above us. The horrors of the past, of consequences of lessons unlearned must be internalized and avoided. 

And we begin with the upcoming and ongoing elections. 

I wish I could persuade myself of a realistic possibility of such a new world, of people restored to sanity, of the acids of hatred negated.  Clearly not there yet, but willing to hope, to work for it, as much or as little as I can contribute. We need to be able to look at each other with kinder eyes, to hold out hands and say 'Shalom Aleichem' and receive in return, 'Aleikem Salaam'. 

Such a dream. If only, truly, if only. 

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Hey Yitzy, see the ugly world you have left behind? We are striving as best we can to go on, to hope, to remember and to know that one day we all will be together, in peace and love.

It is a love never dying or weakening. A love we hold deep within our very core. Never dying. 

 Always and forever. Always and forever.