The festive holiday of PURIM with its time honored practice of 'turning facts upside down' in levity is fast approaching.
When reading the daily news reports in Israel one can easily be forgiven for thinking that Purim reigns throughout the year in the Jewish State.
As evidence, allow me to cite a sampling of the stories that have recently made headlines in the Israeli media.
- The new President of the Land of Israel, Reuven Rivlin, has reportedly called for the establishment of another Arab State (in addition to the 22 Arab sovereign countries that already exist! ) He seemingly believes this would help solve the ongoing attrocities, wars and terrorist attacks perpetrated against Israel by strengthening Arab rights instead of Jewish rights to our one Jewish homeland!
Alas! His statement was not a Purim Shpiel but, unfortunately, all too real!
- Let us now turn to the Jewish communities in France and Denmark after the recent tragic murders of Jews by bestial Arab terrorists. Can any sane person comprehend the reaction by the spokesmen of these countries including Rabbis and organizational leaders, to the warning issued by Prime Minister Netanyahu that European Jewry is in danger and should emigrate to Israel now before its too late?
"No, thank you" came their swift response!
"We are French Jews" ..."We are Danish Jews
" We will remain here and demand protection from OUR governments"
Apparently, forgotten and ignored is the bitter lesson of the Holocaust when in a classic case of denial, German Jews declared they are Germans first and foremost: "Hitler does not mean us" was their delusional thinking! "He means the East Yudin. The Jews in Poland, Hungary and other European countries."
It was the height of tragic irony as these German patriots learned too late and they shared the same fate as their Jewish brethren in Auschwitz, Treblinka Buchenwald and other places of Nazi infamy.
What does it take to make Jews in the Diaspora understand that today, with gratitude to G-d,Blessed is He, there is a homeland
in Eretz Yisrael for the Jewish people which awaits them with open arms.
Yet the majority of Jews worldwide apparently choose to remain in the exile and place their fate in the hands of gentile governments where they are at best, tolerated, and at worst eliminated.
At this troubling time, let us pray that Am Yisrael will once again merit the miracle of Purim!
May the evil plans of all enemies of the Jews, just as in the time of Haman, be reversed and descend instead upon them!