“Enough of the
silence.
It’s time to speak up.
It’s time to speak out.
It’s time to speak truth.
It’s time to speak on behalf of Israel.”
— Rabbi Baruch HaLevi, Congregation Shirat Hayam of the
North Shore
Timeout from dealing
with the aftermath of the election in Massachusetts, to be one
gentile columnist speaking up, speaking out, speaking truth on
behalf of Israel.
Sunday evening, Chip
Ford and I attended the Israel Solidarity Rally in Swampscott.
We’ve been watching the
news reports about the ongoing rocket attacks on Israel by the
terrorist group Hamas. There had been 1,300 rockets since January of
this year, close to 2,000 more this month; more than 14,000 since
2001, which was our own turn to face the hatred of radical Muslims.
Fortunately, Israelis
have their own version of President Reagan’s “Star Wars” program,
meant to protect us from an attack by the Soviet Union during the
Cold War; their “Iron Dome” has shot down most of the rockets, or
Israel would have been wiped off the map as its Arab enemies have
long desired.
We Americans wouldn’t
put up with, on average, three rockets a day; we would respond as we
did in Afghanistan, which harbored the terrorists who attacked us.
As I write this, the Israeli army is poised on the border with
Palestine, preparing to invade if their air-attack defense doesn’t
end the aggression. Meanwhile, pro-Hamas activists rally in some of
our cities, blaming Israel for defending itself. Time for all good
Americans to speak up and speak out.
I’m not getting into
the religious aspect of God giving the Holy Land to the Jews, either
before or after the Romans occupied it. The simple historic truth,
as far as I can determine it, is this: After Rome, Turkey occupied
Palestine. Turkey picked the wrong side in World War I, joining with
Germany; they lost. Great Britain, which led the battles in the
Mideast, won Palestine and allowed Jews to settle there. After World
War II, when aggressive Germany lost again, the United Nations
partitioned the area between the Israelis and the Palestinians.
The Arab border
countries immediately attacked. Israel won. The Arabs attacked again
in 1967 — I remember the Six Day War, which the Israelis won,
picking up now-disputed land in the process. In 2005, they agreed to
turn over part of the area to the Palestinians. Terrorist
organization Hamas used its new space to launch more rockets at
Israel. This month, it stepped up the attacks.
So where does history
go from here? If Israel falls, terrorism wins; evil wins, as it
almost won in WWII.
I do wish the United
Nations had given the Jews Germany instead of Israel, and left the
terrorists to live in ignorance on their oil. After we taught the
necessary lesson in Afghanistan, and once we made (and make) sure
that no country has weapons of mass destruction to use against us
and our other allies, it would be nice to be out of there. As young
Israelis now face death and wounds from an invasion, young Americans
and members of the Coalition of the Willing have died and been
disabled in the Middle East. Now that the United States is poised to
become energy-independent, there is no other reason for us to be
there than defense of Israel against barbarians.
As Washington, D.C.,
tries to find a rational immigration policy, it should start by
inviting Israelis to come here, where their brains, industry and
courage will enhance the American dream as long as they don’t join
the liberal American Jews who vote, incredibly, for Big Government
and for gun control.
In the meantime, we
prayed at the rally in Swampscott, on behalf of our brothers and
friends: “Peace to you, I wish the best for you.” I hope we have
this to be thankful for, on our American Thanksgiving Day.
Here is a related item
for which I am thankful this week: My nephew (from my second
marriage) Benjamin Morse has just published the children’s Bible
(Part 1, Old Testament) that he’s been working on for eight years. “The
Oldest Bedtime Story Ever” from the Bible Beautiful Series is a
joyous work of art. With his two master’s degrees, one in biblical
interpretation at Oxford University and the other in modern art at
the Courtauld Institute in London, Ben has created an amazing book
using his medium of cutout figures and colorful patterns, with
whimsical touches like Noah’s family wearing yellow rain slickers,
and charming narrative.
He gave me my
autographed copy when he was here last weekend. It’s just available
at Amazon, I am ordering several for Christmas presents. His mother,
Marblehead native Jane Anderson Morse, was one of the first women
ordained an Episcopal minister. She died at age 51; her son honored
her by using her photo in the cutout of the whirlwind from which God
spoke to Job.
Jane got her doctorate
on the Book of Job, which remains a mystery to many of us. Yet I’ll
end with the Jewish prayer that I always say at Thanksgiving dinner:
“Grateful, am I, to You.”
