Question:
Did you see the picture of a rabbi praying for Yasser Arafat's health in the Herald? It sparked a fierce debate in our office: some said that Arafat is also human and it is beautiful that a Jew should pray for his welfare; others said that he has too much Jewish blood on his hands to deserve that we pray for him. Now he is officially dead; the debate continues: should we celebrate, or is it wrong to dance on someone's grave? What do you say?
Answer:
Let's not mince words: we are dealing here with a man so crooked that he couldn't even die straight. He was the mastermind of modern terrorism, who was directly responsible for cruelly murdering thousands of innocents; and not only Jews, but also Palestinian opponents and people of many other nations.
He plundered the foreign financial aid that was supposed to go towards his own people's needs, and left them languishing in poverty while his own family lives in luxury miles away.
This is a man who forfeited any right to the sympathy of good people.
"Is he not also a human being?", you may ask. "Was he not also made in the image of G-d?"
Yes. But this man robbed so many others of their humanity, has inflicted such immeasurable harm on so many other images of G-d, that anyone who loves humanity must condemn him.
If we do not recognise evil for what it is, then we promote evil. The next few days will be very revealing - a person's reaction to this man's death is perhaps the clearest barometer of their morality. Watch carefully the statements of heads of state, news media and community leaders. After wishing condolences to his devastated widow, his family and the Palestinian people, some will encourage the Palestinians to continue his legacy, others will exhort them to move ahead and make changes. In that subtlety lies the difference between recognising evil and capitulating to it.
I do not believe in dancing on anyone's grave. But there is no question that the world - perhaps for the Palestinians more than anyone else - is a better place now. Maybe that "rabbi", instead of praying for a dead terrorist to come alive, should pray for the revival of a chance for peace in Israel.
Did you see the picture of a rabbi praying for Yasser Arafat's health in the Herald? It sparked a fierce debate in our office: some said that Arafat is also human and it is beautiful that a Jew should pray for his welfare; others said that he has too much Jewish blood on his hands to deserve that we pray for him. Now he is officially dead; the debate continues: should we celebrate, or is it wrong to dance on someone's grave? What do you say?
Answer:
Let's not mince words: we are dealing here with a man so crooked that he couldn't even die straight. He was the mastermind of modern terrorism, who was directly responsible for cruelly murdering thousands of innocents; and not only Jews, but also Palestinian opponents and people of many other nations.
He plundered the foreign financial aid that was supposed to go towards his own people's needs, and left them languishing in poverty while his own family lives in luxury miles away.
This is a man who forfeited any right to the sympathy of good people.
"Is he not also a human being?", you may ask. "Was he not also made in the image of G-d?"
Yes. But this man robbed so many others of their humanity, has inflicted such immeasurable harm on so many other images of G-d, that anyone who loves humanity must condemn him.
If we do not recognise evil for what it is, then we promote evil. The next few days will be very revealing - a person's reaction to this man's death is perhaps the clearest barometer of their morality. Watch carefully the statements of heads of state, news media and community leaders. After wishing condolences to his devastated widow, his family and the Palestinian people, some will encourage the Palestinians to continue his legacy, others will exhort them to move ahead and make changes. In that subtlety lies the difference between recognising evil and capitulating to it.
I do not believe in dancing on anyone's grave. But there is no question that the world - perhaps for the Palestinians more than anyone else - is a better place now. Maybe that "rabbi", instead of praying for a dead terrorist to come alive, should pray for the revival of a chance for peace in Israel.