No More Laments

By: Ginette Weiner

We began the year 5786 with yet another synagogue car ramming, stabbing, and killing Jews in the U.K. And for Chanukah, killing 16 Jews, aged 10 to 87 years old, including a Holocaust survivor, gathered on a beach in Australia, to celebrate our festival of light and hope. Murdering Jews has become the new norm.  Mainstream media’s obsessive decades of Big Lies against only Israel, painting Israelis and Jews who support Israel as subhuman, serves as the “justification” for attacks, intimidation and ostracization.  We have failed to educate the public about the truth and beauty of Israel. And now they no longer care.

A Zionist is anyone who believes in the simple right of Israel to exist as a Jewish State. Period.  Do you seriously think the global attacks on Zionists, on Jewish children and adults walking to synagogue will stop if there is a “palestinian” state, if Israel is no longer a Jewish nation or simply no longer?

Some Jews think becoming a universalist, a totally assimilated, global pluralist is their new calling and yes, that will also keep them safe from Jew hate as a by-product.  Some think “if only Jews would do this or do that or change this or that”, it will stop our persecution. They fail to understand human nature and the nature of centuries old, specific Jew hate. Humans have always needed a bogeyman to blame for their own and the world’s woes.  We are small in number. The average person can go through life and never meet a Jew. Jews are an unfamiliar entity. We worship in unknown places called synagogues. The Catholic Church’s centuries of persecution and promotion of vicious stereotypes about Jews because we dared to reject Christ, became part of the world’s accepted “common knowledge” about us, reasons for rounding up Jews in pogroms, and also enabled Hitler. Jews are highly educated, achievers, seemingly too smart, too powerful, too successful, too…too— for human nature’s innate need for hatred and blame for their own failings, for their own lacks juxtaposed to Jewish outstanding, visible, tangible achievements.

The “Protocols of the Elders of Zion”, horrid conspiratorial lies and stereotypes about Jews is widely circulated, published, accepted as authentic, and is a best-seller, throughout the Middle East. “It is arguably more popular in the Arab and Muslim world than anywhere else globally since WWII.”

Jew killings are followed by Western political leaders spewing empty regrets, the same ones who tripped over themselves to echo Hamas’ orchestrated Big Lies.  The false accusations of genocide, of starving Gazans are easily verifiable Lies which go unchallenged.  These smug Western leaders fail to mention Hamas forcing civilians to be human shields, fail to condemn Gaza’s Hamas spending millions building tunnels to kidnap Israelis instead of building communities of peace and prosperity, never mention the multiple peace offers rejected by these “palestinian” Arabs, (with never any counter offer for peace), and conveniently forget to mention Abbas stating “we will never accept the evil Zionist entity with any boundaries.”

An increasing percentage of younger Democrats and younger Jewish voters are not aligning with Israel. We are witnessing more and more Jews embracing their new religion of “Progressivism” over Israel and Jewish Civil Rights.  NYC, home to the largest population of Jews, elected a mayor, Mamdani, whose doublespeak defies definition. He denies he hates Jews but calls for the end to Israel as a Jewish State. He appointed well known Jew hater Tamika Mallory to an official position. Mallory called the “Black Hitler”, Jew hating Nation of Islam Louis Farrakhan her G.O.A.T, Greatest Of All Time.  Calls for Israel’s demise as a Jewish State will become part of the near future’s rallying cry.  Each generation is successively more ignorant of their own and humankind’s history, and think just because they say so, everyone will love each other, and everyone will get a free bus ride. Tell that to Islamic Jihad, to Hamas, Hezbollah, ISIS, the Republic of Iran, and see how far it takes you.

Paradigm Shift

We need a permanent paradigm shift. I refuse to join with any more laments. Instead, I will risk your anger for seeming to blame the victim. The next time I wake up and read about the latest attack on Jews my question(s) will be:  “Why weren’t each and everyone of you armed with legal items for self defense?  Why isn’t every single Jew, young to old, wearing a stab proof, bullet proof vest when they leave home? Why aren’t all Jews carrying legal items for self defense, trained to use at all times, going to school, work, to a rally or to pray?

Why isn’t your entire Jewish community enrolled in hard core, professional self defense to learn how to take down an attacker without hesitation, using every form of legal self defense?  Why isn’t your synagogue, your school, your JCC, visibly surrounded by guards, 24/7, and/or Jewish men and women, in uniforms, patrolling with all the visible, legal gear they are allowed, surrounded by heavy gates, with bullet proof glass, electronic surveillance, alarms, and other deterrence?  Why are we not fierce and feared? Why are we becoming used to being victims? It has to stop. Now. We need clenched fists, not more laments.

Jews can never, ever depend solely upon others to protect and defend us. We need to make our safety and survival a priority over anything else.  I am sickened with rage when I hear about yet another Jew being stabbed, punched, killed. Take your anger and grief, and put it where it belongs, into action and survival. Into telling the world we are done being victims. The next time you are even thinking about attacking Jews, think again because this time, we will take you down, and ask questions later.

About the Author:  Ginette Weiner, is a published commentator in Jewish and mainstream newspapers.  She holds an MSW & a Certification in “Defending Israel from Media Bias”, 23rd Mission to Israel, Honest Reporting: June, 2015.