|
B"H
Representative Ilhan Omar - Need I Say More
Due to hypersensitivities in the current political landscape, this article may be misconstrued as being partisan. Some believe that criticism of any sort is either racially inspired or politically motivated. And perhaps it is true. Perhaps hidden in the recesses of my brain, my reason for writing this article is based on Islamophobia or a lack of cultural acceptance and tolerance of other ethnicities. I may be unenlightened, for as much as I tried, I am unable to be as accepting and forgiving as Nancy Pelosi. The Speaker of the House said that she thinks Rep. Ilhan Omar made anti-Semitic comments only because she "has a different experience in the use of words" and "doesn't understand" their meaning. And if you concur with the Speaker, my article certainly won't resonate with you. Without any apologies or misgivings I vehemently disagree with the honorable speaker.
One of the prayers recited on a Jewish festival states: Umipnei chataeinu galinu meartzenu - due to our sins we were exiled from our land. I always found this statement difficult to grapple with or understand. I think those who claim they know why catastrophe and calamity occurs are audacious snake oil salesmen trying to pull the wool over their adherents’ eyes. And those who claim they have an inside track on God’s thought process are fraudulent slanderers who defame the name of God and insult our intelligence.
Thus, I choose to analyze these words in a unique manner. The sins that cause an exile may not be acts against God or His Torah. If God is all loving, then it would seem incongruous to continuously cast Him as a wrathful deity orchestrating vengeful acts upon his people. On the contrary, often it is not our sins against God, it is our sins against ourselves. It’s our self-inflicted inaction and passivity that forces an exile. Defeat is due to an irrational fear of ‘mah yomru hagoyim’ - what will other people think about us. We are guilty of constantly looking over our shoulder, intimidated by what the reaction may be by those who seek our destruction. We lack the moral fortitude to stand up to bullying and we allow fear mongering to soften our vocal chords into a whiny whisper. Our sin is nothing more than our internal fear; a worry that accomplishes nil and may actually hasten our ultimate demise.
Anti-Semitism is definitely not a new phenomenon. Every Passover we read: in every generation there are those whose life mission is to destroy the Jewish nation. On the Shabbat before Purim we read the Torah portion that recalls how Amalek ambushed our ancestors when they departed Egypt. The Midrash explains that Amalek, by acting against the fledgling Jewish nation immediately after their miraculous exodus from Egypt, opened the door for others to act similarly. Amalek, states the Midrash, is analogous to a cauldron of boiling water that everyone is fearful of entering. However, once the first person enters the water it becomes progressively easier for others to follow suit.
In politics it is much the same. Politicians on both sides of the political divide used to be fearful of touching the third rail of anti-Israel and anti-Jewish sentiment. They were concerned about targeting a minority, alienating Jewish voters, and potentially harming their election coffers. There is no doubt that over the years, numerous anti-Semites served in Congress and the senate but they kept their vehemently anti-Jewish/Israel views largely to themselves. Ilhan Omar, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and James Clyburn have changed the rules of the game. They have decided to jump into the boiling cauldron; openly and fearlessly promoting anti-Semitisms as a viable and honorable pursuit. In contrast, self-loathing Jews like Bernie Sanders appear almost philo-Semitic and conservative.
This is not the normal partisan divide where both sides have a valid point of view. I believe, society is at its best, when different viewpoints are openly debated and matters resolved amicably. However, what is currently being aired be members of Congress is not subjective. It is an absolute diatribe of venomous enmity against Jews and the State of Israel. Debating right versus wrong or good versus evil serves only to legitimize evil and mask its inherent ugliness. Whether it’s David Duke or Ilhan Omar, anti-Israel/Jewish diatribes are unconscionable and must be vigorously condemned. I am proud of a select few including our own congressman Ted Deutch for speaking out forcibly and unapologetically. But I can only say: shame on congress for failing to condemn individuals deserving of condemnation. Shame on congress for only being able to garner sufficient support for a pareve neutral statement that accomplishes nothing and perhaps even strengthens the freshman congresswoman from Minnesota and her ilk.
I’m not offended by her words, I’m only offended by her reason for expressing them. I actually agree that Jews do ‘like our Benjamins.’ Yes, Jews like to succeed and we are very good at it. We are more charitable than other nations because we even like sharing our Benjamins. Israel was a poor Middle Eastern desert until those who like the Benjamins took over in 1948. It has succeeded beyond anyone's wildest imagination and in no small way due to its love of the Benjamins. How many Nobel Laureates descend from a small group of Jews that love the Benjamins? I think other nations would do well trying to emulate our successes instead of condemning them. Jews disproportionately seek higher education because knowledge breeds success. Why would anyone be ashamed? I am happy to live in a country where capitalism is not a dirty word. Jews may have set the bar a little higher but most Americans still value financial independence and success.
I’m not that concerned about individual members of the house or senate because more than likely their fifteen minutes of fame has already passed. I think ultimately their boisterous hyperbole will prove to be their downfall. I am more concerned that slanderous diatribes against Jews and the State of Israel will become mainstream and acceptable. Anti-Semitic sentiments lurk in the hearts of many Americans and it takes very little to bring it to the surface.
There is no excuse for intolerance, in general, and there is no excuse for intolerance towards the Jew. Anti-Semitism must never be considered acceptable. The pen is mightier than the sword expresses a truism: eventually evil words can and will lead to evil acts. The world remained silent eighty plus years ago when anti-Semitic rhetoric was on the rise and six million Jews were murdered. The upstanding and refined Europeans feigned moral outrage but raised nary a sound to confront the evil. Kowtowing to political correctness makes one an accessory to the crime. And being aghast after the fact does little to bring back the dead. If we fail to stand up to the bullies they will be emboldened by their arrogance. Scapegoating the Jew has once again become fair game while castigating Israel is the new standard of the enlightened. Envy and jealousy of the Jews’ successes make us an easy target and the unrelenting bashing of Israel has become the mantra of the far left and the norm on college campuses.
Under threat from this new age crisis we read the Torah portion of an ancient crisis. We are to remember what Amalek did to the Jewish people. They ambushed us from the rear and targeted the weak and infirmed. The Midrash states that those in the rear weren’t physically frail, they were spiritually frail. They had abandoned Hashem by practicing idolatry and thus the believers in Hashem abandoned them and left them defenseless. In other words, the power of Amalek and the power of the anti-Semite stems from a fundamental flaw in us. Indeed it is because of our inability to stand hand in hand with our fellow Jew that gives power to haters. If the Jewish people are unified and no Jew is ever cast aside then Ilhan Omar will be easily be defeated.
The Torah does not place blame only Amalek, it blames us as well. It places the responsibility of the protection of the Jewish people on the Jewish people. We are the ones that let our family down. We are the ones that didn’t protect the rear. Of course we had our reasons but no reasons are ever valid or justified. This is also the hidden message of Queen Esther’s role in the Purim story. She could have easily saved herself and her family. She could have distanced herself from the average Jew that had abandoned Judaism. She could have theorized that she was protecting the sanctity of her religion. She could have believed that Hashem was rightfully going to permit Haman to punish the Jew. But she didn’t. She rose up and declared I’m in it for my people. She realized that the best way of stopping Haman was to stand unapologetically for her people.
The rest, as we say, is history. And you know what they say about history: it repeats itself. May that repetition of history come speedily in our day and may the plans of those who seek our demise fail to ever materialize.
Shabbat shalom and Purim Sameach,
Rabbi Jack Engel
PS: Mattanot L’evyonim donations helping poor people in Israel can be made online at Ansheiemuna.org or at the shul office.
The shul will be having two Seder meals over Pesach. Anyone that needs a place for Passover is welcome and heavy subsidies are available for those that can’t afford it. Please contact the shul office for more information.
|
