In my last column I discussed the Jewish crisis enveloping us. Make no mistake – most of the haters who insist they are “only” anti-Israel are also anti-Semites. To them the words Israel and Jews are synonymous – and they are right.
Our Sages teach that Torah, Am Yisrael, and Eretz Yisrael are all one; indivisible and inseparable. And we would do well to remember the passage in the Torah that says of the Jews, “they are a people destined to dwell alone and will not be reckoned among the nations” (Bamidbar 23:9).
Time and again throughout our painful history we have seen the tragic fulfillment of this prophecy. Yes, we have always been a nation that has dwelled alone. When it came to our safety – our very existence as a people – it was obvious that our survival was solely dependent on Hashem.
Throughout the generations we have been attacked and oppressed, but the response of the world has invariably been that of screaming silence.
Despite it all, we live our lives with blinders and shut out reality. Today we again hear the bells of Jew-hatred tolling. And with the flip of a hand we dismiss it, telling ourselves that those who take it seriously are suffering from a paranoia born from centuries of persecution.
We place our trust in 21st-century civilization and lull ourselves into believing that education and culture can eradicate the monstrous hatred that festers in the hearts of anti-Semites. Such a belief, we know, is demonstrably false. As cases in point I cited in my previous column the highly developed Deutche kultur – German culture –from which Nazism sprung as well as the awesome French ideals of “liberte, egalite, fratrnite” that are crumbling in the face of Islamic terrorism.
What do we know about these Muslim terrorists? In Genesis 16 the angel of G-d addresses Hagar: “Behold you will conceive and give birth to a son – you shall name him Yishmael…and he shall be a wild donkey of a man with his hand against everyone and everyone’s hand against him. And over all his brethren he shall dwell.”
We have witnessed the tragic realization of this prophecy. The bloody hand of Yishmael has reached near and far and his presence is seen and felt throughout the world.
In Pirkei D’Rabbi Eliezer, an early midrashic work, it is written that before the coming of Messiah we will have to contend with terror that will come from Ishmael, who today is widely identified with radical Islamist terrorism (even if is politically incorrect to say so). It is written that Ishmael will inflict terrible suffering upon the world and especially on our people. The methods of torture and murder will be so horrific that they will leave the civilized world astounded and repulsed.
We are the generation that has been destined to see this unfold before our very eyes. Think of the brutal decapitations of hostages; the horrific burning alive of human beings; the barbaric mutilation of bodies. And then consider the children and adults who are invited to watch these unspeakably gory scenes. And then realize the impression this leaves on their minds and hearts.
And take a good look at the situation of our people in Israel. On every side they are surrounded by those whose clarion call is “Death to Israel” – and remember, that cry is meant to include all Jews, not just Israelis.
With the spread of ISIS and other fanatical Islamist groups, large numbers of non-Jews (Arabs among them) are also being terrorized. But with few exceptions, the world has stood by as the terrorists have gobbled up territory and left bloody devastation in their wake.