Chosen

Recently passed was the Passover holiday, and at each Hebrew table Jews all over the world repeated the lament: "In every generation, they come to destroy us." In peaceful times, this lament is pro forma, a memory of the holocaust and times in the remote past. This year, these words are a sharp reminder that God knew what he was talking about when he inspired men to write the Bible.

All over the world hate crimes against Jews are on the rise. In the councils of the liberal intelligentsia, only cigarette smokers and Jews can be reviled in safety. Oh, some may speak the word Israel instead of Jew, but the meaning is plain. In this generation, they are coming for us again.

I leave it to others to attempt to understand why they hate us. Especially since the reasons keep changing. Before, they said that all they wanted was for us to go away, to our own separate place. In furtherance of that idea, they even gave us our own territory in which to forge a Jewish State. Now that we have our own place, they side with those who declare their purpose is to push us into the sea. Without embarrassment. Many who could never allow their lips to form the word nigger send money to Yassir Arafat. In Europe it is considered polite to publicly snub anyone who self-identifies as a Jew.

But the same Bible that says that they will persecute us says that we will prevail in the end. Something happened the last time, when we were almost exterminated in Europe. We changed our attitude. We became strong. Israel today posesses the world's strongest Air Force, with nuclear weapons just in case defeat beckons. We can no longer be exterminated, unless the killers are ready to die as well. And, believe it or not, that scenario is covered in the Bible as well. Global apocalypse has been predicted and, in some quarters, is welcomed.

The European and American intelligentsia may support the Muslim maniacs who crave death for the sake of Allah. But do they themselves crave death? Amazingly enough, many Christian fundamentalists crave exactly that. Of course, they use different terminology. They talk about the End Times, and other euphemistically interesting and palatable phrasing, but global nuclear conflict fits the bill. Just read Isaiah. Christian and Muslim fundamentalists both see truth in Isaiah. It is something that Bush and Arafat both believe. Many Jews as well.

If you go to Israel, one place that is not to be missed is Masada. It is a most instructive place. It is where a group of Hebrew zealots fought the Roman Empire. On the dawn of the day that Roman victory was inevitable, all of the Jews died, by their own hand. Anyone who believes that victory by the enemies of Israel is possible owes it to himself to visit Masada. Then go to Tel Aviv, and look into the eyes of the citizens there. It is a population of zealots; people who have no alternative. All they want is what everyone wants. But this time, if the Jews can not have peace, No One Else can have peace either.

And, in case you believe that Israelis are different from American Jews, remember that another prayer we always make at the Passover feast, the same meal that Christ, a Hebrew Rabbi himself, had as his Last Supper, we pray that we will be "Next year in Jerusalem." A zissin pesach to you all.