Rabbi's Blog

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Dear OZ family,

We all have a recent memory of Chamas leaders swearing that they will visit Oct.7^th on Israel and Jews again and again and again until they reach their goal of eradicating Israel. Somehow between then and now the news is reporting that Qatar has convinced Chamas leadership to consider a two-state solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict. This is already leading to pressure on Israel to make concessions on their stated goal of eradicating Chamas. Nowhere in Chamas’s statement is there any recognition of the right of the State of Israel to exist, or what caused this sudden change of heart. The answer, of course, is that there is no change of heart. Their goal remains the destruction of the Jewish State, only Qatar has convinced them to change tactics.

We might also wonder why only Israel suffers the indignity of having its neighbors debate its right to exist. Does Chile have such a right? Does Cameroon? Does Pakistan? Copies of the cursed tome, Mein Kempf, have been found in Gaza. A generation of youth have been raised believing the most vile lies about Israel and Jews. But this gullibility is not limited to the people of Gaza who have been raised on hate and vitriol. The whole world wants to believe the most vile lies about Israel. Remember the recent lies about the hospital bombing from a Palestinian rocket. 5 times, so far the Associated Press have accompanied statistics of the war with the caveat that these numbers have not been corroborated. All 5 were numbers given by Israel, a democratic country whose leaders are accountable to their people. No such questions are asked of Chamas, whose people cheered on Oct. 7^th.

David Bedein has been screaming at the top of his lungs for close to 20 years, warning anyone who would listen, about the hate that is being taught by United Nations organizations, especially UNWRA. The textbooks printed with monies from the US and the EU, spew the most vile vitriol against Jews that would have made the Germans of WW II proud. The hatred permeates all textbooks, not just the history books that don’t include Israel on any maps, and refer to the Naqba of 1948. The hatred permeates math textbooks that list number problems with Israelis killed or Jewish doctors infected Palestinian babies. They are never taught that Muslim doctors work in all Israeli hospitals, that a Muslim woman recently was named Miss Israel, that a Muslim jurist sits on the Israeli Supreme Court, (and two Muslim judges recently sentenced a former Prime Minister, and President to jail time). This list can go on and on. Arabs have more rights in Israel than in all Arab lands that have not resolved themselves to recognizing the miracle that is Israel, and that perhaps it is time to follow her model of success and prosperity.

Instead they prefer the way of the Philistines in this week’s Parsha who banished Yitzchak because of his great success. We will have peace when the rest of the Arab world opens up to joining in such success. The Philistines later in the Parsha did and perhaps there is hope for us today as well. No one would have guessed in their wildest expectations in 1943, that within 10 years, Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan would be democratic friends of a State of Israel. Such miracles will take strong leadership and help from Above. Let us deserve it with random acts of Chesed, concerted acts of charity, with stamping out Lashon Hara, and with enhanced sensitivity. Minyan attendance is way up, it’s very difficult to find a pair of Tefillin, and Tzitzit, in Israel, and unity abounds. If you don’t believe in miracles, you’re not a realist.

Let us hope that tomorrow’s rally in Washington DC heralds in a new level of Achdut and success for all that Israel needs to do in these coming days and weeks. Minyan tomorrow for those who are traveling, is at 6am 9Rosh Chodesh). Emunah still has seats - The link to register for the Emunah bus is www.emunah.org/bus. Yasher Koach to the Office for all the arrangements and to Joey Lifschitz who is our Bus Captain. The weather is supposed to be sunny and the mid 50’s in DC tomorrow. I am reminded of my grandfather’s trip to Washington in 1943, to draw the attention to the daily murder of Jews in Europe, when no one cared and no one significant came to address them. Oct. 7 every day for over 14 years is what the Shoah was and yet no one cared. This time, we’ll make sure, people care.

I attached a rally in support of Israel in Japan. It is amazing. Click HERE.

Stay well and healthy.

Rabbi Allen Schwartz   

Rabbi Allen Schwartz

Congregation Ohab Zedek

118 West 95^th Street | New York, NY  10025-6604

Phone 212.749-5150, ext 200 | Fax 212.663-3635

E-mail ras@ozny.org

Website:  www.ozny.org