And now, Yom Kippur.
In the midst of the past two week's cataclysmic events, on the verge of a global war of epic proportions, our nation prepares to bare its soul and commune with G-d on the holiest day of the Jewish calendar. There may be years when one has to struggle to "get in the mood" for Yom Kippur, when it is hard to concentrate on our prayers; this year, it is safe to say, will not be one of them.
The Rabbis comment on the name, "Yom HaKipurim." Why the unusual, seemingly plural form? They answer that this is, literally, "a day like Purim." Just as Esther, the heroine of Purim, disguised her true identity - only to "unmask" at the last dramatic moment - so, too, must each individual "unmask" and show his true identity if he is to hope to achieve atonement. The process of Teshuva begins with openness and confession, admitting our sins and facing them with candor and courage.
If the world is to truly confront the scourge of terrorism, then it, too, must pull off all the masks and face the truths of terrorism.
The first truth is that Radical Islam is the face behind the mask, the engine that drives International Terrorism. And it is not - as Arab apologists would have us believe - some "fringe element" composed of a few hundred, or even a few thousand adherents. It is a widespread - and growing - phenomenon in the Arab and Muslim world, with millions of fanatics sworn to its agenda of hate. Witness the massive marches that regularly take place in Iran, in Egypt, in Lebanon, in Malaysia, across the length and breadth of the Arab world. The United States - and Israel, of course - are the twin "Satans" who must be violently eradicated. As young children recite the mantra of "Death to America," a cottage industry churns out thousands of flags of the Stars and Stripes for burning.
The family of Radical Islam has numerous cousins, who go by various names: Hamas, Hizbollah, Taliban, Fatah, the Moslem Brotherhood, the Palestinian Authority. They may pursue local agendas of "social welfare" or dress up in cloaks of political legitimacy, but it is easy to see the "family resemblance." Their long-term goal is to undermine Democracy and its credo of personal and religious freedom, replacing it with an autocratic, uncompromising adherence to Islam.
There are other masks that must be shed, as well. For the proponents of terror have many allies masquerading as "the good guys," while helping this cancer to grow. Take, for instance, the European Union and Saudi Arabia, which funnel tens of millions of dollars into the PA and other terror gangs, allowing them to maintain a reign of terror and systematic pursuit of violence. If not for the blood money the EU pays Arafat, the Palestinians would actually have to stop rioting and go work for a living. Will America stand up to its "allies" and close the financial pipeline?
Then there is the United Nations, which wears the face of peacemaker yet consistently encourages Islamic terrorism by refusing to condemn it. From Yasser Arafat's appearance in the U.N. while brandishing a pistol to Kofi Annan's silence at the hijacking of the Durban conference, the U.N. is much more a part of the problem than of the solution. Will America demand, once and for all, an unequivocal condemnation of (all) terror by the world body?
And, truth be told, America must also do Teshuva. It can no longer take a nonchalant, "evenhanded" view of murder in Israel, while lashing out in the extreme at terror within its own borders. No more condemnation of targeted killings, collective punishment or economic sanctions taken by Israel should be heard, for these are now at the top of the USA anti-terrorist strategy. And no more "moral relativism" that equates the murderers with those who act in self-defense. America must support our policy of retaliation as aggressively as it supports its own.
Finally, dear friends, Israel must look in the mirror and see its own grave sins which beg for atonement. For we are the ones who desperately fashioned and then tried to fit a mask of respectability over the hideous face of Palestinian terror. We helped create this monster that now stalks us and the world at large. Beilin and Barak - no less than Ashrawi and Abed-Rabbo - labored mightily to disguise the true nature of the PLO, to portray Arafat as a "statesman," to furnish the terrorists with arms and uniforms and pretend they would protect the "peace." Our share of guilt, alas, is heavy, indeed.
Yet now there is a glimmer of hope. Hope that the masks will be removed, one by one, that terrorism and its supporters will finally be held accountable for their crimes, that victims will no longer be confused with perpetrators. Hope that, at long last, the light of Truth will shine into a dark world. Let us embrace that Truth, for Truth, and only Truth, will set us free.
------------
Rabbi Stewart Weiss is Director of the Jewish Outreach Center and a Jerusalem Post columnist.
In the midst of the past two week's cataclysmic events, on the verge of a global war of epic proportions, our nation prepares to bare its soul and commune with G-d on the holiest day of the Jewish calendar. There may be years when one has to struggle to "get in the mood" for Yom Kippur, when it is hard to concentrate on our prayers; this year, it is safe to say, will not be one of them.
The Rabbis comment on the name, "Yom HaKipurim." Why the unusual, seemingly plural form? They answer that this is, literally, "a day like Purim." Just as Esther, the heroine of Purim, disguised her true identity - only to "unmask" at the last dramatic moment - so, too, must each individual "unmask" and show his true identity if he is to hope to achieve atonement. The process of Teshuva begins with openness and confession, admitting our sins and facing them with candor and courage.
If the world is to truly confront the scourge of terrorism, then it, too, must pull off all the masks and face the truths of terrorism.
The first truth is that Radical Islam is the face behind the mask, the engine that drives International Terrorism. And it is not - as Arab apologists would have us believe - some "fringe element" composed of a few hundred, or even a few thousand adherents. It is a widespread - and growing - phenomenon in the Arab and Muslim world, with millions of fanatics sworn to its agenda of hate. Witness the massive marches that regularly take place in Iran, in Egypt, in Lebanon, in Malaysia, across the length and breadth of the Arab world. The United States - and Israel, of course - are the twin "Satans" who must be violently eradicated. As young children recite the mantra of "Death to America," a cottage industry churns out thousands of flags of the Stars and Stripes for burning.
The family of Radical Islam has numerous cousins, who go by various names: Hamas, Hizbollah, Taliban, Fatah, the Moslem Brotherhood, the Palestinian Authority. They may pursue local agendas of "social welfare" or dress up in cloaks of political legitimacy, but it is easy to see the "family resemblance." Their long-term goal is to undermine Democracy and its credo of personal and religious freedom, replacing it with an autocratic, uncompromising adherence to Islam.
There are other masks that must be shed, as well. For the proponents of terror have many allies masquerading as "the good guys," while helping this cancer to grow. Take, for instance, the European Union and Saudi Arabia, which funnel tens of millions of dollars into the PA and other terror gangs, allowing them to maintain a reign of terror and systematic pursuit of violence. If not for the blood money the EU pays Arafat, the Palestinians would actually have to stop rioting and go work for a living. Will America stand up to its "allies" and close the financial pipeline?
Then there is the United Nations, which wears the face of peacemaker yet consistently encourages Islamic terrorism by refusing to condemn it. From Yasser Arafat's appearance in the U.N. while brandishing a pistol to Kofi Annan's silence at the hijacking of the Durban conference, the U.N. is much more a part of the problem than of the solution. Will America demand, once and for all, an unequivocal condemnation of (all) terror by the world body?
And, truth be told, America must also do Teshuva. It can no longer take a nonchalant, "evenhanded" view of murder in Israel, while lashing out in the extreme at terror within its own borders. No more condemnation of targeted killings, collective punishment or economic sanctions taken by Israel should be heard, for these are now at the top of the USA anti-terrorist strategy. And no more "moral relativism" that equates the murderers with those who act in self-defense. America must support our policy of retaliation as aggressively as it supports its own.
Finally, dear friends, Israel must look in the mirror and see its own grave sins which beg for atonement. For we are the ones who desperately fashioned and then tried to fit a mask of respectability over the hideous face of Palestinian terror. We helped create this monster that now stalks us and the world at large. Beilin and Barak - no less than Ashrawi and Abed-Rabbo - labored mightily to disguise the true nature of the PLO, to portray Arafat as a "statesman," to furnish the terrorists with arms and uniforms and pretend they would protect the "peace." Our share of guilt, alas, is heavy, indeed.
Yet now there is a glimmer of hope. Hope that the masks will be removed, one by one, that terrorism and its supporters will finally be held accountable for their crimes, that victims will no longer be confused with perpetrators. Hope that, at long last, the light of Truth will shine into a dark world. Let us embrace that Truth, for Truth, and only Truth, will set us free.
------------
Rabbi Stewart Weiss is Director of the Jewish Outreach Center and a Jerusalem Post columnist.