Page 39 - Jewish News _August 2021_

COMMENTARY August 2021 39A

Where’s the outrage?

ed toward our people, we ask, once By David Harris, CEO of American Jewish Committee (AJC), June 27, 2021
again, that important question. We are here’s an entire global industry several two-state deals with the Pales- a pledge that, if elected, they will not And for the past 76 years, there’s
perplexed. But can it be that our an- dedicated to vilifying and iso- tinians on the table, yet is depicted by visit Israel, the only country so men- been a sustained effort by some regimes
cestors were not so confused? Can it Tlating Israel, the world’s only its nonstop critics as being unalterably tioned. (most notably these days, the Iranian),
be that we have forgotten what they Jewish-majority nation. opposed to peace. Where’s the outrage? institutions and individuals to deny,
always knew? That to be a Jew means Where’s the outrage? Where’s the outrage? A prominent CNN host has a dis- trivialize or distort the Holocaust – the
to carry a great responsibility, some Of the 193 UN member states, Afghanistan and Yemen recently cussion on the aftermath of Hamas’s systematic murder of six million Jews,
may even call it a burden! That to be only one, Israel, is targeted by anoth- joined Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, war against Israel. Two of the three among them 1.5 million children.
a Jew means to represent, to witness to er, Iran, for annihilation, even as many Libya, Sudan and Syria as witnessing panelists are well-known for denying Where’s the outrage?
the one true God in the world, the God countries conduct a shameful busi- the end of ancient Jewish communities, Israel’s very right to exist. American Jews have been incred-
who demands a certain morality. Can it ness-as-usual policy with the Iranian driven out largely by intolerance and Where’s the outrage? ibly fortunate. They have lived in a
be that we are people with a mission, a regime. persecution. An Israeli-inspired food truck is country that, unlike most European
dangerous mission, a vital mission, and Where’s the outrage? Where’s the outrage? barred from participating in a food fes- nations, never had a Jewish obsession,
we have forgotten the nature of that At the UN Human Rights Council In some UN bodies, there’s been tival in Philadelphia. and that, especially in the postwar
mission? in Geneva, just one nation is deemed a concerted effort by several member Where’s the outrage? years, created a sense of unprecedented
As we prepare once again for the such a violator of human rights that states, with the acquiescence of too A candidate in the New York safety, security, opportunity and equal-
High Holy Days, let us ask ourselves it warrants a separate and permanent many others, to extinguish Jewish his- mayoral race issues a statement of ity for Jews.
not only, “Why are we Jews hated?,” agenda item. Not China. Not Cuba. tory from Israel, as if the Jews never support for Israel during last month’s And America has laudably stood
let us ask ourselves, “For what purpose Not Iran. Not Russia. Not Syria. Only existed, the Hebrew (and, I might add, Hamas-triggered war, but is then bul- by Israel’s side since its rebirth in
do we Jews live?” Israel, the lone liberal democracy in Christian) Bible was fiction and archae- lied into retracting it, instead coming 1948, with overwhelming majorities
the Middle East. ological findings were all cheap fakes. up with a statement that can hardly dis- of both Democrats and Republicans in
Where’s the outrage? Where’s the outrage? tinguish between Hamas, a designated full support.
Every country but one has the rec- A few outspoken members of Con- terror group, and Israel, the target and There’s now a growing threat on
ognized right to designate its own cap- gress make a practice of libeling Israel a staunch American ally. both fronts. Antisemitism is on the up-
ital city. Only Israel is denied that right regularly, accusing it of every nefarious Where’s the outrage? tick and, significantly, is being main-
by a majority of states, and, by the way, deed under the sun, and, outrageously, Antisemitism is rising in America streamed, while Israel’s relentless foes
even though the key government agen- even trying to turn a political conflict today, including the number of violent are more determined than ever to try
cies are located in Jerusalem and all with the Palestinians into a racialized incidents, as it has been in Europe for and drive a wedge between Washing-
official meetings take place there. war against Arabs. the past 20 years. Jews are acting more ton and Jerusalem.
Where’s the outrage? Where’s the outrage? cautiously, and Jewish institutions are It’s time to wake up and take care-
Unlike other countries, Israel’s le- Pro-Israel supporters gather peace- ratcheting up security, including for ful notice. And it’s time, yes, to un-
gitimacy is constantly challenged, yet fully in the U.S. and are physically at- synagogues and schools. leash the outrage and act. The stakes
Israel’s claim to a sovereign sliver of tacked by pro-Hamas supporters. Where’s the outrage? couldn’t be higher.
land has been validated by more in- Where’s the outrage? The antisemitism is coming from If not now, when?
ternational bodies (San Remo Confer- A Jewish university student asks a the radical right and the totalitarian left.
ence, League of Nations, UN Special professor for a letter of recommenda- Both pose a clear and present danger. The AJC West Coast
Committee on Palestine, UN General tion, which he refuses to write when he Where’s the outrage? Florida office,
Assembly) than most other nations, in- learns she wishes to spend her junior The latest FBI statistics indicate
cluding several that happen to be locat- year at an Israeli school. that 60% of all religiously motivated located in Sarasota,
ed in the Middle East. Where’s the outrage? hate crimes in the U.S. are directed at
Where’s the outrage? A non-Jewish university student Jews, who comprise 2% of the nation’s can be reached at
Jews have been connected to the is harassed and ostracized because she population. 941.365.4955.
region for 3,500+ years, established opposes a student government resolu- Where’s the outrage?
Jerusalem as the center of Jewish tion calling for a boycott of Israel.
prayer, and, even in forced exile, never Where’s the outrage?
stopped yearning for a return. None- A high-school social studies teach- BRIEFS
theless, Jews are called “crusaders” er refuses to include in his classroom
and “colonizers,” rather than the indig- any maps of the Middle East that show
enous people they are. Israel. TIPS FOR READING the press becomes activist, it becomes
Where’s the outrage? Where’s the outrage? ABOUT ISRAEL impossible to understand what’s going
Israel has achieved peace and nor- A questionnaire from Democrat- Some Western observers have formed on.
malization with six Arab countries, ic Socialists of America asks New a picture of Israel only tenuously Israel must be compared with other
withdrawn fully from Gaza, and put York City Council candidates to sign linked to reality. The shared narrative countries in similar situations and not
in Western Europe and North America to abstract ideals like “democracy.” If
is largely a negative one that grows in- someone is claiming that casualties in
UNIQUE creasingly negative as the ideological an Israeli operation in Gaza are “high,”
that needs to be compared with simi-
JEWISH HUMANISTIC landscape of the West becomes more lar operations, like the U.S. Marines
polarized and inflamed.
Too many mainstream journalists
HIGH HOLIDAY SERVICES have abandoned old ideals such as ob- in Fallujah, or the British in Northern
Ireland. If you’re critical of open-fire
jectivity for the idea that journalism is orders on the Gaza fence, you should
Congregation for Humanistic Judaism invites you to our a tool to effect social change. Similar know how that works on the perimeters
HIGH HOLIDAY SERVICES WITH CHOIR
HIGH HOLID A Y SERVICES WITH CHOIR trends are afoot in the world of elite of U.S. military bases in Afghanistan.

Most criticism of Israel doesn’t com-
universities, where the goal of edu-
FREE and open to the public. cating knowledgeable people is losing pare it with anything.
The stories told about Israel often
ground to the goal of training activists,
Call 941.929.7771 or email chjsarasota@hotmail.com and where Israel is presented as a po- suggest that bringing peace is a prob-
Go to www.CHJ-Sarasota.org for more information. tent symbol of what a right-thinking lem Israel could solve if it wanted to,
which sets up the Jews as villains,
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7 • 10:30 AM person is meant to be active against. rather than as people caught up in a
Journalists who have become activ-
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ly knows what to do. (Matti Friedman,
understand events, but as pushing you

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