The above title is taken from the Book of Lamentations, of Eichah. It is read in plaintive intonation every Tisha B'av, a day of continuous tragedy for the nation of Israel throughout the millennia. Plagues. Temples destroyed. Exile. Holocaust tragedies. It appears as if there's no end to tragedies within our history. In fact, every time we think that we have outgrown, outlasted the barbarism of the outside world we are hit smack in the face with renewed hate. Invigorated with fresh recruits to the campaign and goals of throwing the people of Israel, the people of the Jewish nation, into hellish conditions, enhanced with ever newer 'advanced' techniques.
As we look around the world today and take stock of current events, the environment is rife with successful activities of hate, all the while contributing to the toxicity of the atmosphere. It has encouraged and made successful the policy of isolation causing that not only to Israelis, but all people of Jewish descent, to feel isolated, to actually be isolated. To be forced to walk through the world constantly looking over their shoulders. Is someone there who is going to file a complaint against them as a war criminal? Is there somebody behind them, in front of them, beside them, who wishes to thrust the knife between their ribs and pierce the heart? Is there yet another casing the school of the children wondering how best to destroy it? In an ever-growing global hypocritical policy among the so-called leaders of the world who acquiesce and kowtow cravenly to these purveyors of hate, there is unfortunate success.
Throughout the centuries haters have always turned to the policy of isolation and defamation. De - legitimatizing. Vociferous denial of humanity. Somewhere on the shelves of the haters, somewhere within the depths of these black hearts is engraved the blueprint for a campaign of hate against Jews. First comes those needling little statements. Those underhanded insults. The. disguised ever growing accusations of differences, making them less than human. Laws passed, ostensibly neutral, but they are so not. Then begins the isolation. Withdraw from Jewish friends. Champion the non-Jew in job competition. Deny professions. Recycle rules of quotas and. limitation. Isolate the children. Inculcate hatred in children. Encourage the violence. Intensify that violence in quantity and in perverse quality.
Is this a remnant of the past, an aberration, to be seen as a shred of past ignorance? Definitely NOT. This is so obviously from the past, but horrifyingly of the present as well and of the future .... Silence and denial are the responses. Think not so for it is once again fresh, healthy with vital blood flow and eager hands. There is a pressure, a peril, contained in the tsunami of hate and it batters us today with ever pounding and growing waves. Jews around the world are experiencing this heavy pressure. Tidal waves of hate, portraying them as legal prey, their fears disregarded. Too many times, they are left defenseless, security nonexistent or minimal. Police joining in the fray, landing blows upon those they are enjoined to protect. Or simply stand by, and arrests are made of those who fight back, who counter and resist that vitriolic hate. We are in our present times once again watching as the world erects a wall around us. Restricting our freedom of movement. Restricting others from a realization that we are people That we are not to be held as scapegoats, a vital tool for corrupt politicians and false leaders. We are people, not demons. We are people. Hence, we are entitled to live as every other person on this globe. With no exception. No hedging nor denying.
Now we hark back to the title of this posting. How are we to sing this song of lamentation? Sitting once again on the shores of strange lands of cold welcome, if any. How long? How long, dear G-d, must we undergo this ever-returning horror?? The answer. Dead silence. That is the answer. Silence. And promises. Promises which seem to be finally on the way, nearer and nearer. So sure. And yet it begins again. Grows exponentially. From disregard to toleration. To acceptance. To be championed. To spread its ugly wings and fly over the world, dropping seeds of hate, ugly and evil passions and urgings and fomentations to violence and more hatred.
To many this ugliness and savagery have come as a shock. It does not appear viable nor justified. Or real. How could it be? Have we not learned the bitter lessons of history? Have we not learned the truth of genocide? Apparently, we have not. And yet again, sadly, we see many foolish dangerously ignorant and denying of reality who join with the haters. Stand there with them on the line, physically and virtually, screaming for their own death. For that is the end. It is not a case of running faster than the one you are with to evade the hungry maw of a bear. It is rather the case where one stands surrounded by crocodiles and gators and wonders when will it be his turn to be eaten and by which one?
We are indeed at that point of peril. Unless and until we confront it, understand the imminence and hard reality of it, we will once again find ourselves in the most dangerous conditions and situations. Certainly, we here in the United States are shocked. Incidents of overt violence against Jews. was real, but not rampant. It was generally aimed at buildings and graffiti. There were parades of the evil. Rarely were the attacks physical - until they were.
What the hell is happening? Are we now in the grips of Holocaust 2.0? What is the stance of nations round the world? Are they standing tall in opposition against this hatred? Strangling it at its roots? Not at all. More worrying is the fact that not only are they not combating it, even if merely silent, but they are actually joining in the howling cat's chorus. Condemning Jews. Condemning Israel. Condoning. anti-Jewish violence. Accusing Israel of genocide as it fights for its life against an enemy who has no compunctions whatsoever of killing babies. the elderly and anyone caught in their bloody path.
Most nations are hypocritical as they profess concern lest another Holocaust occur but do nothing of any truth or sincerity to make that so. Even as they spew forth false words of condemnation of Hitler and his ugly coterie of fans and collaborationists, they spew forth lies of both ancient and modern-day antisemitism, of JewHatred gone viral.
Leaders of these offensive and offending nations are too often corrupt, grossly so, and see their adherents and support of this vile campaign, this evil trend, as crucial to their remaining in office or seats of power. They are manifestly, overtly, violating their responsibility to lead their people forward in beneficial manner, not to steep them in the tea of hate, to deflect from their own deficiencies. There is not one leader I can think of at this point to whom I can turn to in trust and confidence. Even Israeli politicians, secular and rabbinic, are too often, too openly, dismayingly, enmeshed with wrong: attitude, purpose, goals, duties, considerations.
All the while, people continue to die, infrastructure, destroyed and people driven to distraction by the constant wail of sirens and the blast of exploding missiles. Of dead and wounded lists. Of the hostages dying in their cruel captivity. and a nation. splits apart.
Where are our leaders? They are desperately needed. But that need must be fulfilled with true, honest, responsible leaders who know and accept the right paths. These are people willing to sacrifice themselves so that others have a better life. That is a hard, hard thing to ask of them. And we, the led, must understand the humanity of their leaders, not gods and not infallible. Must we change, lower, our expectations and tamper with the job description?
Can we go first to the religious leaders, for surely the gods of all demand peace and honor for their adherents. Surely. Surely? Or do our religious leaders fall prey to the wrong needs and urges, give in to temptations of comfortable lives and influence? On the morrow we begin with these religious leaders so lacking and betraying of the trust given them. There is not a religion innocent in this dirty arena of betrayal, though there are individuals who are the good, responsible, caring leaders they are supposed to be. Would that there were more of them.
On the morrow we begin the delayed somewhat controversial statements that must be made.
We must all learn to sing songs of happiness and joy, of good, rather than the tragic. Can we? I hope so.
On the morrow. Keep thinking, keep hoping, keep trying.
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