One of the most dramatic symbols of the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashana, is the sounding of the shofar, the ram's horn. In ancient times, the shofar served as an alarm. Its piercing sound served to wake up the sleeping soul, who has been too inattentive to the business of life. Aside from being a spiritual alarm clock, the ancient Israelites also used the shofar as an instrument of war. Its thunderous notes signaled to the people that it was time to unify and fight against a common enemy.
Last week, in a sense, the shofar was heard throughout America, just a few days before Rosh Hashana. It was, for all of us, a rude wake-up call. In a moment of clarity, the civilized Western world realized what Israel has endured this past year. The specter of terrorism, which Israelis live with on a daily basis, has now become a part of our collective American consciousness. This day too, like the bombing of Pearl Harbor, will live on in infamy. I am reminded of a comment once made by the late Winston Churchill, who summed up in one epigram the reason that Adolf Hitler had amassed so much power:
The malice of the wicked was reinforced by the weakness of the virtuous.
In an age of moral relativism, we often shy away from saying the word "evil". Philosophers and social scientists caution us how relative the term is to different societies. What one society considers "evil", another considers as being virtuous. Yet, we as a civilization have beheld the face of evil many times. Evil has no regard for innocents. Evil people danced in the streets of Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, the West Bank and Gaza.
We hoped, after the end of the Cold War, that the nations of the world would work for a common good and purpose. No sooner did we witness the end of one long protracted war, than we bore witness to a new war - the rise of militant Islamic fundamentalism. Unfortunately, we looked the other way rather than recognize the evil that was growing.
Under the leadership of Republican and Democratic US Presidents, we believed negotiation and diplomacy would prevail. It didn't. Our reluctance and refusal to stand up against this menace was perceived as a weakness. Our enemies felt we lost our resolve. In a way, we did. We failed to respond forcefully to terrorism. Please consider the following:
* October 2000 - 17 US sailors were murdered in a Bin Laden attack in Aden, but the Clinton administration did not respond militarily, because it preferred to conduct negotiations.
* August 1998 - 257 people, including 12 Americans, were killed in the bombing of American Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, and the response was cruiser missiles to insignificant targets in Sudan and Pakistan.
* June 1996 - 19 Americans murdered in a military base in Saudi Arabia, with no American military response.
* November 1995 - 5 Americans were murdered in an army base in Riyadh, with no American military response.
* And let us not forget how we allowed Saddam Hussein to remain a thorn in our side, even after we won the Gulf War.
* In the last days of the Clinton presidency, senior officials received specific intelligence about the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden and weighed a military plan to strike the suspected terrorist mastermind's location. The administration ultimately opted against an attack.
For many years, much of the Western world has looked at the suicide bombers in Israel and tried to justify their motivations and purpose. We told Israel to act with restraint, as if restraint would prevent the surge of terrorism from happening. It didn't. We were wrong.
Terrorists do not act without the help and financial support of nations. We know who the nations are who have supported terrorism. Like the mythical hydra, killing the head will not kill the monster. If anything, the rogue regimes of the world have raised the stakes of the game. Within four years Iran and Iraq will have the means to develop the nuclear bomb. Already these countries have deployed biological weapons of mass destruction. These leaders are ruthless and determined to win at all costs. If we fail to combat this menace, what nation will be next on their list? One thing is for certain: They will strike again and again until they are stopped.
We know who the consortium of terror is composed of. We have known who has been aiding an abetting them for years: Iran, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Sudan, Afghanistan, Hamas, the PLO - all financially backed by the Persian Gulf States, most notably, Saudi Arabia. Last week, everyone saw dancing in the streets of Egypt, Jordan and Palestine. Even our "allies" have betrayed us.
Justifiably, President Bush committed the United States to a ?monumental struggle of good versus evil,? but let me add that evil is a recalcitrant and determined force. What happened on Sept. 11, 2001 was intended to embarrass and humiliate the very symbols of American power, civilization and values. The Twin Towers of the World Trade Center along with the Pentagon served as architectural symbols of modernity and power. The United States of America, more than any other country in the history of civilization, has been the vanguard of democracy.
Rogue regimes which support terrorism as their modus operandi, fear democracy. They know their reign of power can not be long sustained except through tyranny. Martin Luther King once taught that evil never voluntarily relinquishes its short hold of power, even at the expense of its own well-being. Evil may be powerful, but it cannot permanently stay in place. It will and must relinquish when forced.
Now is the time for our great country of America to put aside partisan differences. Should we fail to respond to the genocidal mentality that governs Islamic fundamentalism, civilization itself will become, as one commentator noted, "as tragically unrecognizable as the New York skyline."
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Rabbi Dr. Michael Samuel is Rabbi of Congregation Shaare Tefila in Glens Falls, New York.
Last week, in a sense, the shofar was heard throughout America, just a few days before Rosh Hashana. It was, for all of us, a rude wake-up call. In a moment of clarity, the civilized Western world realized what Israel has endured this past year. The specter of terrorism, which Israelis live with on a daily basis, has now become a part of our collective American consciousness. This day too, like the bombing of Pearl Harbor, will live on in infamy. I am reminded of a comment once made by the late Winston Churchill, who summed up in one epigram the reason that Adolf Hitler had amassed so much power:
The malice of the wicked was reinforced by the weakness of the virtuous.
In an age of moral relativism, we often shy away from saying the word "evil". Philosophers and social scientists caution us how relative the term is to different societies. What one society considers "evil", another considers as being virtuous. Yet, we as a civilization have beheld the face of evil many times. Evil has no regard for innocents. Evil people danced in the streets of Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, the West Bank and Gaza.
We hoped, after the end of the Cold War, that the nations of the world would work for a common good and purpose. No sooner did we witness the end of one long protracted war, than we bore witness to a new war - the rise of militant Islamic fundamentalism. Unfortunately, we looked the other way rather than recognize the evil that was growing.
Under the leadership of Republican and Democratic US Presidents, we believed negotiation and diplomacy would prevail. It didn't. Our reluctance and refusal to stand up against this menace was perceived as a weakness. Our enemies felt we lost our resolve. In a way, we did. We failed to respond forcefully to terrorism. Please consider the following:
* October 2000 - 17 US sailors were murdered in a Bin Laden attack in Aden, but the Clinton administration did not respond militarily, because it preferred to conduct negotiations.
* August 1998 - 257 people, including 12 Americans, were killed in the bombing of American Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, and the response was cruiser missiles to insignificant targets in Sudan and Pakistan.
* June 1996 - 19 Americans murdered in a military base in Saudi Arabia, with no American military response.
* November 1995 - 5 Americans were murdered in an army base in Riyadh, with no American military response.
* And let us not forget how we allowed Saddam Hussein to remain a thorn in our side, even after we won the Gulf War.
* In the last days of the Clinton presidency, senior officials received specific intelligence about the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden and weighed a military plan to strike the suspected terrorist mastermind's location. The administration ultimately opted against an attack.
For many years, much of the Western world has looked at the suicide bombers in Israel and tried to justify their motivations and purpose. We told Israel to act with restraint, as if restraint would prevent the surge of terrorism from happening. It didn't. We were wrong.
Terrorists do not act without the help and financial support of nations. We know who the nations are who have supported terrorism. Like the mythical hydra, killing the head will not kill the monster. If anything, the rogue regimes of the world have raised the stakes of the game. Within four years Iran and Iraq will have the means to develop the nuclear bomb. Already these countries have deployed biological weapons of mass destruction. These leaders are ruthless and determined to win at all costs. If we fail to combat this menace, what nation will be next on their list? One thing is for certain: They will strike again and again until they are stopped.
We know who the consortium of terror is composed of. We have known who has been aiding an abetting them for years: Iran, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Sudan, Afghanistan, Hamas, the PLO - all financially backed by the Persian Gulf States, most notably, Saudi Arabia. Last week, everyone saw dancing in the streets of Egypt, Jordan and Palestine. Even our "allies" have betrayed us.
Justifiably, President Bush committed the United States to a ?monumental struggle of good versus evil,? but let me add that evil is a recalcitrant and determined force. What happened on Sept. 11, 2001 was intended to embarrass and humiliate the very symbols of American power, civilization and values. The Twin Towers of the World Trade Center along with the Pentagon served as architectural symbols of modernity and power. The United States of America, more than any other country in the history of civilization, has been the vanguard of democracy.
Rogue regimes which support terrorism as their modus operandi, fear democracy. They know their reign of power can not be long sustained except through tyranny. Martin Luther King once taught that evil never voluntarily relinquishes its short hold of power, even at the expense of its own well-being. Evil may be powerful, but it cannot permanently stay in place. It will and must relinquish when forced.
Now is the time for our great country of America to put aside partisan differences. Should we fail to respond to the genocidal mentality that governs Islamic fundamentalism, civilization itself will become, as one commentator noted, "as tragically unrecognizable as the New York skyline."
------------
Rabbi Dr. Michael Samuel is Rabbi of Congregation Shaare Tefila in Glens Falls, New York.