About the Nazi Holocaust, one Christian historian has written: "The fact that it could take place in the heart of Europe, in the middle of the 20th century, carried out in the name of what had seemed to be and in many ways was the most developed of nations, called into question every notion of Christendom, of European civilization, of enlightenment, of progress."
For a flash, it was morally incumbent upon the nations of the world to understand some virtue in Jewish yearnings, to hear some truth in Hebrew folk songs. We need to point out that the soul-searching of the Gentile world, especially the Catholics, on this subject, and its fascination with the reborn Israel, has been a significant element of recent Christian liturgy and principles. There has been real inspiration here.
But meanwhile, the blessing of the greater world would have been fruitless without the sharp preparedness of the Jewish people to seize the moment – and this remains the singular achievement of Zionism. In 1947, the Jewish Agency was ready in the Palestine mandate: It had sustained a provisional government under the British there even with arid conditions, poor resources, meager support, civil war in the land, disaster in Europe. It turns out that the Jewish people, especially the tattered pioneers of modern Israel, were not dead after Hitler – we were ready.
You have to think about this! Let us join the vast majority of Christians who honor the triumph of Zionism. What other nation in human history has remade itself, literally and physically, on desert land, after losing not one million, but six million of our family, including nearly two million children? 
It is a stunning accomplishment, and it stands in stark contrast to the shameless failure of the Palestinian Authority to create a real national home for its very deserving people in the very same region. The remnant Jews were handed ashes and made a home. They are handed territory, tools, guns, resources, and the benefit of our experience. Perhaps it is not for us to judge them, when we should fulfill Zionism's greatest hope by learning to live with them and we should honor the Torah's constant teaching about welcoming and including the stranger. But one thing is for certain: The Palestinian Authority is no Jewish Agency.
Now, humbly, Israel is not altogether a folk song, nor is it a biblical verse. It is a real place, with a budget, intense security issues, and a traffic pattern, born of a rousing Zionist movement that is a singular success. Yes, you can say that Zionism has not made the world a totally safe place for Jews. But the Arab world has been trying to kill it for over 60 years now and so something is going right.
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"It is a stunning accomplishment, and it stands in stark contrast to the shameless failure of the Palestinian Authority to create a real national home for its very deserving people in the very same region. The remnant Jews were handed ashes and made a home. They are handed territory, tools, guns, resources, and the benefit of our experience. Perhaps it is not for us to judge them, when we should fulfill Zionism's greatest hope by learning to live with them and we should honor the Torah's constant teaching about welcoming and including the stranger. But one thing is for certain: The Palestinian Authority is no Jewish Agency."
I'll say it again:
Sometimes it seems like there are two people writing your column. One of them is wise, thoughtful, and insightful, and engages in nuanced explorations of complex spiritual issues.
The other, which surfaces whenever Arabs or Muslims are discussed, is condescending, somewhat hostile, and occasionally illogical, and oversimplifies complex subjects.
What's going on, Rabbi?
Rabbi, you capture Jewish angst with deep pathos and yet much fairness. There is a sadness about it, however. Perhaps you are asking others to understand things that only Jewish people can understand. If non-Jews could understand, there might not have been a problem to start with. Even when you say we should live with the Palestinians, you mean well but nobody will get it but us. You are a good man but a lonely man.
"It's a Jewish thing, you wouldn't understand" doesn't work, because you can't speak exclusively to our people and expect to solve anything. I have no objection to expressions of pride in our accomplishments under difficult circumstances, but to cast aspersions on our neighbors for struggling under similarly difficult (but still very different) circumstances accomplishes nothing.
Go back and read the Rabbi's article "The Muslims Will Win Because We Are Naive" to see what I mean when I talk about his two voices.
Israel has given the world medical breakthroughs and technological breakthroughs. It does not have the wealth of the Arab countries, nor does it get charity from the EU and UN. Yet it achieves things that benefit the world. What has the PLO/PA given the world besides violence and bloodshed?
Not this again.
GK, that has nothing to do with what we're talking about.
I'm not defending the PLO/PA, I'm commenting on the uncharacteristic lack of subtlety with which the Rabbi discusses certain subjects.
JF: What are you going to tell these families? What are you going to do to console a family whose festival preparations may be a death watch over their 7 year old child? What consolation are you going to offer the family of dead teenager, a family that will not be able to finish sitting Shiva because you cannot sit Shiva during a festival?
You seem very supportive and compassionate for the Arabs. Are you going to do the same for Jews?
From Debka:
Terror alert in Jerusalem, West Bank after axe-wielding Palestinian murders Israeli boy
April 2, 2009, 5:20 PM (GMT+02:00)
Shlomo Nativ, 16, died of the wounds inflicted by one or more Palestinian terrorists on an axe-wielding rampage in Bat Ayin, a community in the West Bank Gush Etzion Bloc. A second boy, aged 7, was seriously injured in the attack. Residents opened fire on the terrorists who managed to get away. Heavy security reinforcements were rushed to the area. They set up roadblocks and surrounded neighboring Arab villages to search for the killer or killers. All the communities in the area were put on terror alert. The attack occurred on the second day of school holiday for the Passover festival.
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GK:
"You seem very supportive and compassionate for the Arabs. Are you going to do the same for Jews?"
I am Jewish. I thought it went without saying that I feel nothing but sympathy for victims of terrorism and their families, regardless of their religion or ethnicity. I feel nothing but contempt for terrorists, regardless of their religion or ethnicity. My heart goes out to the family of Shlomo Nativ and the other boy, and I hope that the killer is caught and punished.
That being said, I still see a rather odd discontinuity in the Rabbi's thought. Whenever he speaks about Arabs or Muslims, he reduces extremely complex situations into "us vs. them" binary oppositions. I think this is remarkable because he ordinarily doesn't make those sorts of oversimplifications.
That's all. I'm not defending anyone's actions. Let's not have another game of "dueling quotes."
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