There are words that have a nice ring to them. Forgiveness is such a word. On the other hand, words like retribution, revenge, preemptive action, all have a nasty connotation to them. Since English is a Christian language, it is natural that this should be the case. Christianity, in theory, though almost never in practice, has espoused forgiveness as the highest of all virtues. To "turn the other cheek" was in Christian ideals the way to deal with aggression and brutality. The impracticality of such a policy was readily apparent to the leaders of the Christian world - popes, kings, political leaders - throughout all of the ages and perhaps that is the fundamental reason that it was never employed as a policy of state or government. However, the idea of passive response to attack, to explaining and justifying somehow the criminal behavior of others, the misplaced sympathy for the perceived "underdog," even when that underdog is brutal and criminal, has crept into the psyche of the Western world over the past decades, especially in intellectual and media circles. I received an e-mail from a well-meaning Jewish friend who said that the United States should drop food packages over Afghanistan, a great Christian thought. The only damage that such a program would do is that a few Afghans may actually die of laughter as a result of its implementation.
The Jewish attitude towards evil-doing is best summed up by the word repentance. Forgiveness demands behavior from the victim. Repentance demands action by the perpetrator of evil. In the absence of repentance, forgiveness does not exist in the realm of Jewish thought. Having just passed through the holy day of Yom Kippur, we are all aware that God's forgiveness for our transgressions, as well as our fellow human being's forgiveness for our insensitivities and bad behavior, is all conditioned upon our expressed contriteness, apology and repentance. In the absence of repentance, retribution is not only justified, it is necessary for the welfare of human society. To allow terrorists, and those who support and harbor them, to escape unscathed for their murderous behavior may be comforting to those who are bathed in the pathos of ultimate pacifism and skewed morality, but, in the absence of some sincere sign of repentance by the Islamic terror groups and the governments who sponsor them, retribution is the only way to crush that evil. Without retribution there is only an invitation for greater terror. It would be the ultimate act of weakness and immorality.
What of the innocent civilians that will, of necessity, suffer from acts of retribution? Revisionist historians have already blackened the reputations of those Allied leaders who led the air war against Nazi Germany and Japan in World War II. Yet, one must look at the reality of the situation. The German people, in overwhelming numbers, brought Hitler to power and followed him blindly and fanatically in his programs of murder and extermination. Are those who cheered him wildly at public gatherings throughout the 1930's "innocent" as to what later transpired? And were they truly blameless as victims in regard to the retribution brought upon Germany by the Allied countries that the Germans so brutally attacked? Did not the Japanese people support their Emperor and his warlords in their attempt to conquer and enslave southeast Asia? Are the Arab and Moslem masses who cheered and continue to gloat at the success of the terror attacks against the United States "innocent?" How about the parents of the suicide bombers who are proud of and justify their sons' murder of truly innocent victims to the morally warped Western media, which interviews and sympathizes with them? Where is there an expression of sorrow or of repentance? Without repentance, there is no possibility of forgiveness.
Arafat's latest war is one year old now. It has gained him and the Palestinian cause nothing but deaths, poverty, bitterness and the deep enmity of most Israelis. The Israeli public did not crack under the pressure of his terrorism and cynicism. The Jewish people are an old people that has learned to survive and be unbending in its tenacity to live and triumph. Israel, the nation and the individual Jew, has also learned how to forgive many an enemy, but only if that forgiveness was first preceded by a show of repentance. The relations of Israel and the Jewish people with Germany are strong now because Germany has made a sincere attempt at repentance. That does not erase the past wrongs of Germany towards the Jews, but that repentance allows for forgiveness and healing and moving onwards. The same generalization can be made regarding Jewish relations with the Catholic Church. The Pope has apologized for the past treatment of Jews by the Church, he has recognized the State of Israel diplomatically and there is a vague sense of repentance throughout the Church for its previous odious behavior towards the Jewish people. Unfortunately, there is no sense of repentance at all visible yet within the Arab or Moslem world vis-a-vis the rejection of the existence of Israel or the ideals of Western democracy.
If such a spirit of repentance would somehow arise and assert itself, the Arab world would not only gain our forgiveness, but our friendship as well. But, alas, in its absence, we will have to continue to stand fast, to preempt the terrorist strikes and to exact just retribution for crimes committed against Israel. That position and policy is moral in the extreme.
Shabat Shalom and Chag Sameach.
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Rabbi Wein, noted author and lecturer, is founder of the Destiny Foundation, dedicated to educating Jews about their historical and ethical heritage (JewishDestiny.com ).
The Jewish attitude towards evil-doing is best summed up by the word repentance. Forgiveness demands behavior from the victim. Repentance demands action by the perpetrator of evil. In the absence of repentance, forgiveness does not exist in the realm of Jewish thought. Having just passed through the holy day of Yom Kippur, we are all aware that God's forgiveness for our transgressions, as well as our fellow human being's forgiveness for our insensitivities and bad behavior, is all conditioned upon our expressed contriteness, apology and repentance. In the absence of repentance, retribution is not only justified, it is necessary for the welfare of human society. To allow terrorists, and those who support and harbor them, to escape unscathed for their murderous behavior may be comforting to those who are bathed in the pathos of ultimate pacifism and skewed morality, but, in the absence of some sincere sign of repentance by the Islamic terror groups and the governments who sponsor them, retribution is the only way to crush that evil. Without retribution there is only an invitation for greater terror. It would be the ultimate act of weakness and immorality.
What of the innocent civilians that will, of necessity, suffer from acts of retribution? Revisionist historians have already blackened the reputations of those Allied leaders who led the air war against Nazi Germany and Japan in World War II. Yet, one must look at the reality of the situation. The German people, in overwhelming numbers, brought Hitler to power and followed him blindly and fanatically in his programs of murder and extermination. Are those who cheered him wildly at public gatherings throughout the 1930's "innocent" as to what later transpired? And were they truly blameless as victims in regard to the retribution brought upon Germany by the Allied countries that the Germans so brutally attacked? Did not the Japanese people support their Emperor and his warlords in their attempt to conquer and enslave southeast Asia? Are the Arab and Moslem masses who cheered and continue to gloat at the success of the terror attacks against the United States "innocent?" How about the parents of the suicide bombers who are proud of and justify their sons' murder of truly innocent victims to the morally warped Western media, which interviews and sympathizes with them? Where is there an expression of sorrow or of repentance? Without repentance, there is no possibility of forgiveness.
Arafat's latest war is one year old now. It has gained him and the Palestinian cause nothing but deaths, poverty, bitterness and the deep enmity of most Israelis. The Israeli public did not crack under the pressure of his terrorism and cynicism. The Jewish people are an old people that has learned to survive and be unbending in its tenacity to live and triumph. Israel, the nation and the individual Jew, has also learned how to forgive many an enemy, but only if that forgiveness was first preceded by a show of repentance. The relations of Israel and the Jewish people with Germany are strong now because Germany has made a sincere attempt at repentance. That does not erase the past wrongs of Germany towards the Jews, but that repentance allows for forgiveness and healing and moving onwards. The same generalization can be made regarding Jewish relations with the Catholic Church. The Pope has apologized for the past treatment of Jews by the Church, he has recognized the State of Israel diplomatically and there is a vague sense of repentance throughout the Church for its previous odious behavior towards the Jewish people. Unfortunately, there is no sense of repentance at all visible yet within the Arab or Moslem world vis-a-vis the rejection of the existence of Israel or the ideals of Western democracy.
If such a spirit of repentance would somehow arise and assert itself, the Arab world would not only gain our forgiveness, but our friendship as well. But, alas, in its absence, we will have to continue to stand fast, to preempt the terrorist strikes and to exact just retribution for crimes committed against Israel. That position and policy is moral in the extreme.
Shabat Shalom and Chag Sameach.
-------------
Rabbi Wein, noted author and lecturer, is founder of the Destiny Foundation, dedicated to educating Jews about their historical and ethical heritage (JewishDestiny.com ).