Larry Gordon is Editor in Chief of the Five Towns Jewish Times
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Politics has become a lot like sports, at least in the fashion in which it seems to be handled these days. On the other hand its possible that if some of us weren’t lifelong sports fans how would we know how to deal with the way the opposite sides of the political spectrum are tossed in our direction?
The same is true for war which unfortunately at this advanced stage of the world is still the same problem that it was fifty, one hundred and probably a few thousand years ago.
Israel has never been in an elongated war like it is today in Gaza. Things are also on the precipice of exploding on multiple fronts with threats of war from both Hezbollah in Lebanon and the arch dictatorial terrorists in Iran.
The people who live in these two countries do not want war with Israel. It is the leadership making these destructive decisions for a combination of reasons. One is that the notion to kill Jews and try to destroy Israelis is in their national DNA. Secondly and in part due to the US, as well as China and Russia the leadership in those two terror run countries is making billions of dollars by indulging in the wanton and senseless murder.
When Hamas leader Ismail Haniya was justifiably assassinated in Iran two weeks ago he was living in high style and luxury in Qatar and had personal wealth of about $5 billion. This is a man who had no real job or business other then orchestrating the killing of Jews. The same is true of other terror group leaders both in Gaza and in Lebanon.
At the same time despite some policy miscalculations on Iran we have to offer high praise for the US and our allies who are committed to defending Israel and Iranian and Hezbollah threats to try to overwhelm Israel’s very substantive defense abilities. Of course it is only right and proper that the US, England, France and other super powers do their utmost to protect any assault on Israel from the direction of the terror merchants and states.
Even better then that is the news that countries like Jordan and Saudi Arabia are ready to do their part to deflect the possible Iranian and Hezbollah attacks.
Interestingly enough word was leaked from the mullahs that they were aiming to attack Israel specifically on Tisha B’Av—-the fast day of the 9th of Av. Apparently that idea was born out of a conversation between the Supreme Leader Kahmeini in Iran and Nassrallah in Lebanon. Fortunately those plans have not come to pass.
I was talking with a colleague the other day wondering if the two mullahs and Moslem leaders might have known more about Tisha B’Av then many Jews, especially here in the US. Unlike so many years in the past there was a heightened consciousness about Tisha B’Av this year not necessarily because we are missing our Holy Temples but because we kept hearing and reading that Iran was planning to retaliate against Israel on Tisha B’Av.
Innocent lives have been lost here not just during the last year and the beginning of the current crisis but also four many decades prior to that.
Why anyone is, so called, rooting for the Iranian and Hezbollah leaders when their own people oppose them is difficult to grasp or understand. A side note—-that is how Haniya and Fuad Shkur were killed—-their own people turned on them.
Additionally not graspable is the long exile of the Jewish people, today in an unusual exile and a divergent type of Galus than anytime over our four thousand year history. For most of those centuries Israel was a dream or perhaps a thought that existed in the distant recesses of our communal or historical minds.
Today and actually since 1967 Israel been there within our physical and as always our spiritual reach. So we do indeed have Israel, now all we need is for a promised redemption to be complete and for the glorious era of Moshiach.
Hundreds and thousands of years ago our ancient Jewish communities could probably never have imagined how this modern generation would be living. We are with Israel, itself a sign of coming redemption, but without achieveing complete redemption. We visit, have family that lives there and she is indeed a very intense aspect of all our lives. We love Israel and we worry about her.
It seems that we are presently dealing with a remarkable confluence of matters that on some levels are interlocked with one another. And those things include the ten month old Gaza war, the 115 hostages being held by Hamas, The Iran and Hezbollah threat in the aftermath of the assassinations of their leaders and then there is the political upheaval here in the US highlighted by as Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana says, “Kamala Harris flip flopping like a flounder on the beach.”
So how does the combination of all these circumstances have anything to do with one another? Hopefully in the near term the tension between Israel and those hostile enemies will cool down, at least somewhat.
Its encouraging that as we went to press there had not yet been the all our attacks that the Iranians and Hezbollah along with Iraq and Yemen as well Hamas and Fatah have been threatening the Jews with.
As you know on Saturday night a young Chabad chosid was stabbed in Crown Heights by an African American man. The stabber was yelling “Free Palestine” and “Are you ready to die.” These incidents in Brooklyn and elsewhere have largely been a manifestation and outgrowths of soft and constantly changing political position—-at least verbally—-between the US and Israel.
It started with Kamala Harris boycotting the speech to Congress by Prime Minister Netanyahu. A move like that clearly send a signal especially to those a little unbalanced but able to receive such an indicator that they are doing the bidding of the left by going after Jews no matter where or under what circumstances.
Today amongst other things the US is experiencing a Barrack Obama Redux experience. Harris and her running mate Tim Walz are - through spokespeople - offering positions on important policies that they have never supported in the past. They do not personally articulate these opinions because under Obama's direction they do not want to be called liars later in case they win, G-d forbid. At that time they will be able to say that the spokesperson misspoke.
Sure I agree, Donald Trump is not the perfect candidate. But we must root for him the way we root for Israel, for the Mets or Jets and against miscreants from Iran and Lebanon. It;s not a perfect situation by far. But it is the best we have at present.
Let’s Go Israel.
