Dear
Readers,
These columns began on my area of America Online, called: Judaism
Today: Where Do I Fit? People anonymously
sent me E-Mail, and I began to choose one for a public response
in my Jewish E-Mail of the Week column. The column has become
quite popular and is now syndicated internationally in many
Jewish papers and websites. I hope you find they help you
as you think about the Ethics, Spirituality and Peoplehood
components of the Jewish way of Life. I welcome your
comments... see the end of the column.
Gil
PS
Teachers and others, feel free to copy my columns and forward
them or use them as you see fit. Please see the friendly
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Arafat
In The Anti-Terror Coalition?!
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Dear
Gil:
Does
membership in the anti-terrorism
coalition include license to kill
Israelis? Will Arafat contribute to
the "coalition"? Will Syria?
Can one fight the cancer of terror by
trying to take on one spot while
allowing others to thrive? Right now
the answer coming from the State
Department is a resounding
"yes". Unfortunately,
President Bush so far has declined to
make it clear that he sees things
differently.
Don't
be confused by the ever-growing
sophistication of Arafat, who, has
developed the ability to murder
Israelis while making the occasional
remark for the benefit of good PR.
Only
a clear and broadly supported message
today can put a stop to what will
prove to be a nightmare to the world:
the unintentional strengthening of a
"terror coalition" within
the "anti-terror coalition."
P
Dear
P:
The
US has established a frightening
double standard about who is a
terrorist and what is an appropriate
response. Purposefully killing
civilians, suicide bombings and
assassinating a member of an elected
government is terrorism in anyone's
book, but the US has yet to boldly and
forthrightly demand Arafat put a stop
to this kind of terror and incitement
to terror.
And
as you note, Arafat is not to be
believed. Here is a classic example:
This
summer, after a suicide bomber
viciously blew up and murdered 21
mostly teens and injured 100 other
people in the Tel Aviv Dolphinarium
attack, Arafat sent the following
condolence note on official
Palestinian Authority letterhead to
the murderer's family and home town:
"We
have received the news about the
martyrdom of the martyr...Al-Hotary,
the son of Palestine...who turned his
body into bombs...the model of manhood
and sacrifice for the sake of Allah
and the homeland."
After
discovering that the family had shown
the letter to a German television
network that was then broadcast,
Arafat's office alleged the letter was
a forgery. Sure. And rather than
putting a stop to violence, Arafat
pulls publicity stunts...like donating
blood to NYC. He is quick to blame
everybody else for terror, like Hamas
for example.
Well,
according to Dr. Boaz Ganor, Director
of the International Policy Institute
for Counter-Terrorism, "Hamas...reflects
the public opinion in the streets but
who manipulated this populist public
opinion? The Palestinian media. Who
controls it? Arafat."
To
see English translations from Arafat's
Palestinian media, other Arab media
and hateful sermons given in mosques,
go to www.memri.org. Send some of
these samples to your elected
representatives!
To
build our coalition, our government
turns a blind eye toward this
incitement. Ignoring Syria's active
role in sponsoring terror is another
part of building our anti-terror
coalition. Both policies are dangerous
and as Rabbi Gerald Wolpe points out,
also hypocritical:
"If
Israel pinpoints and executes
terrorist leaders who have aided in
planning attacks on innocent
civilians, that is bad. If the United
States declares war on terrorist
leaders who aided in planning attacks
in New York and Washington, that is
good...
"If
Israel will not negotiate with
terrorists or their governmental
supporters until all acts of terrorism
stop, that is bad. If the United
States will not consider any deals
that do not include the surrender of
Bin Laden and his thugs, that is
good....
"When
Israel's civilian population was
attacked by murderous scud missiles
from Iraq, it was warned not to
retaliate by the United States, that
would be bad. When the United States'
civilian population was attacked by
murderous missiles, commanded by
immoral automatons, and vowed massive
retaliation, that was very very
good."
We
must speak up as you have, in the
media and to our elected
officials...because I think your
analogy is accurate, treating a spot
of cancer will not cure cancer. In
fact it is a foolhardy, potentially
fatal delusion. Unless the civilized
world attacks ALL terrorists and those
who sponsor them with honesty and with
might, in the long run, our war on
terror will be a failure with
devastating consequences.
Gil
A FRIENDLY COPYRIGHT NOTICE
© Copyright Gil Mann
These columns can be found at www.beingjewish.org. Not
only do I give you permissions to copy these Jewish Email
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All I ask is that you never charge anyone for them and that you
also include this little copyright notice. Thank You!
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