Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Wednesday, March 20, 2019

03/20 Links Pt1: Kushner peace plan once urged huge Palestinian-Jordanian-Saudi land swap; The PA has chosen terrorism over US foreign aid; Oz PM pillories Erdogan for ‘vile’ Christchurch comments

From Ian:

CAMERA Op-Ed: The Palestinian Authority has chosen terrorism over US foreign aid

In March 2018, the U.S. Congress passed the Taylor Force Act, which proposed to halt American aid to the P.A. until it ceased sending money to terrorists and their families via the so-called Palestinian Authority’s Martyrs Fund. P.A. President Abbas responded in a July 2018 speech, swearing: “Even if we have only a penny left, we will give it to the martyrs, the prisoners and their families.” He added: “We view the prisoners and the martyrs as planets and stars in the skies of the Palestinian struggle, and they have priority in everything.”

But those “stars” make for a pretty dim future. While journalists and analysts are right to highlight how the loss of aid can hinder social welfare projects, they should be contemplating what the Authority’s decision reveals.

The P.A. refusal to quit paying terrorists for killing people is an outright violation of the 1990s Oslo peace process that created the P.A. in the first place. In exchange for committing the PLO to recognizing “the right of Israel to exist in peace and security” and renouncing “the use of terrorism and other acts of violence,” Palestinian leadership was allowed to return from Tunisia and given a base for limited self-rule in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Importantly, the P.A. also became a significant beneficiary of international aid — much of it from the United States, which sought to make the Authority a “peace partner” for Israel.

But nearly a quarter century after the P.A.’s May 1994 creation, it’s apparent that Palestinian leadership has chosen a different path. The P.A. stands to lose much by choosing terror over U.S. aid. And both the Palestinian and Israeli people stand to lose even more.

Muslim stands up for Israel at UN Human Rights Council

Kasim Hafeez, a British Muslim and former Islamist who is now a proud Zionist who stands with Israel, spoke out at the United Nations Human Rights Council against their condemnation of Israel’s actions in Gaza.

WASHINGTON – On Monday, Kasim Hafeez, Christians United for Israel’s (CUFI) Middle East Analyst, addressed diplomats at a meeting of the United Nations Human Right Council (UNHRC) in Geneva, Switzerland. Hafeez spoke about the rampant anti-Semitism driving the UN body. pic.twitter.com/SmAR3E7TMl
— CUFI (@CUFI) March 18, 2019

“As this body recently displayed by brazenly lying about Israel’s actions in Gaza, hatred towards the Jewish state persists,” Hafeez said. “This council has repeatedly demonized Israel while ignoring Palestinian terror attacks and the real victims of human rights abuses across the globe.”

Referring to his own background, Hafeez mentioned that hatred was so ingrained in his identity “that in my early 20s I decided that terrorism, murdering civilians who did not see the world as I did in order to advance my agenda, was my calling.”

A trip to Israel gave Hafeez a new perspective and showed him “that the media reports and international condemnations of the Jewish state were lies. Israel is a free and democratic state.”

Last week, Hafeez took part in the #DigiTell, a gathering of 100 pro-Israel bloggers and social network managers from all over the world.

Hafeez grew up being exposed to radical anti-Western, antisemitic and anti-Israel ideas on what he describes as a daily basis. During his teenage years, Hafeez embraced a radical Islamist ideology and became very active in the anti-Israel movement.

But in the early 2000s, he came across Alan Dershowitz’s book, The Case for Israel.

Melanie Phillips: The New Zealand mosque attacks

Following the appalling New Zealand mosque massacres, I published here a blog post expressing my horror and unequivocal condemnation. Immediately I was plunged into a surreal storm of grotesque abuse, being held responsible for the atrocity (yes, really!) and blamed for hypocrisy. Why? Because over the years I have called out Islamist extremism for what it is, pointed out that Islamophobia is a term invented solely to silence criticism of the Islamic world and warned that the west was sleepwalking into Islamisation.

I have also consistently drawn attention to the fact that most victims of radical Islam are Muslim, that many Muslims are not extreme and that we should do everything possible to protect, support and promote courageous Muslim reformers. No matter. It’s apparently not permissible to oppose both fanatical Islamist hatred and fanatical anti-Islamist hatred. So I became the object of a Twitter frenzy and, along with others, attacked and smeared in newspapers and even in parliament.

I shall be writing about all this elsewhere in due course. For now, though, please join me below as I discuss with Avi Abelow of Israel Unwired the implications of both the mosque atrocity and the reaction.

"Israel Apartheid Week" event banned by university in Paris

The Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris, known as SciencesPo, banned a BDS/Israel Apartheid Week event on its campus this week, driving the haters wild.

Unfortunately I cannot find any official announcement from the university, but the haters found a non-university venue for their lies about colonialism or whatever.

Apparently the university realized that Israel Apartheid Week violates the IHRA definition of antisemitism- because no other nation ever gets treated the way Israel does on campus.

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"Apartheid Week" poster - Hijabbed girl showing science experiment to Jews and Arabs

Continuing on my never-ending series of posters for "Israel Apartheid Week..."

(h/t Ibn Boutros)

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Jordanian newspaper praises Palestinian murderer as "hero"

Al-Majd, a Jordanian Nasserist newspaper, has placed an above-the-masthead headline about the heroism of the murderer of two Jews last Sunday.

Par for the course.

(h/t Tomer)

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Wayne Messum was just elected to his second term as mayor of Miramar, Florida, and he immediately formed an exploratory committee to become a presidential candidate.

And he then went on a trip to "Palestine" and Israel.

True to progressive form, he visited the Western Wall - and then, he met with Saeb Erekat, Hanan Ashrawi and paid tribute to Yasir Arafat, the leading terrorist of the 20th century, responsible not only for the deaths of countless Israelis but Americans, too.

We paid respects at Yasser Arafat's resting place in Ramallah today. pic.twitter.com/FbFMp3SPZG
— Wayne Messam (@WayneMessam) March 19, 2019

It seems unlikely that he demanded justice for the Americans killed by Fatah and the PLO that Arafat headed, including some from his home state of Florida.

His tweets make it obvious what side he is on, by saying that America must be an "honest broker" - a dog whistle for being pro-Palestinian - to force Israel into doing what Palestinians demand.

America must lead the world again, but we will only effectively do so when we restore our role as an honest broker on the world stage. I look forward to sharing more thoughts on America's approach to leadership soon.
— Wayne Messam (@WayneMessam) March 19, 2019

One of his endorsements for mayor came from a Muslim PAC, EMGAGE.

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In a headline-grabbing op-ed in the Washington Post, Democratic Representative for Minnesota, Ilhan Omar said of Israel, “We must acknowledge that this is also the historical homeland of Palestinians.”

It seems strange that anyone would let a woman accused of multiple instances of expressions of antisemitism tell the world what it must think. It seems even stranger that someone associated with the liberal left would tell the world what it must think. (How illiberal is the thought that all people “must” think a certain way, take a specific position, because someone in a position of leadership says so?)

But finally, it seems strange that the Jews would accept as credible, the idea that the Palestinian Arabs share the Land of Israel as their “historic” homeland. Palestinians, after all, are a people who didn’t exist until thousands of years after the Jewish people were an established, sovereign entity in the Holy Land. The Jews were in Israel before Mohammed was a glimmer in his mama’s eye.

Why would the Jewish people, of all people, accept this revisionist view of history from anyone at all, let alone from an expressed antisemite?

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Fatah praises murderer as a "martyr"....of course

The man who killed two Israelis om Sunday was killed by the IDF on Tuesday during a firefight.

Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah Facebook page mourned him as a martyr and said "Glory and immortality to the martyrs." (screenshot autotranslated)

As of this writing, there are 125 comments, virtually all asking Allah to have mercy on the soul of this despicable murderer.

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03/19 Links Pt2: An industry of antisemitism denial. The American anti-Zionists of Palestine Live; The Criminalization of Zionism; Remembering The Jew Who Died For Ilhan Omar.

From Ian:

David Collier: An industry of antisemitism denial. The American anti-Zionists of Palestine Live

I have just spent several dark weeks back inside Palestine Live. Today I publish a new report that focuses on the activity of American anti-Zionists, many of them Jewish (download link below). It is impossible to do a 262-page report justice in a small blog. The catalyst was the unfolding events in the United States. Jewish life for American Jews is different to the experience of Jews in the UK. Yet there are also similarities. I read an interesting article by Jonathan S Tobin, editor in chief of JNS.org, that was titled ‘How progressives are destroying the Jewish ‘big tent‘.

The subject matter will be familiar with Jewish people in the UK – Tobin discusses fringe organisations and where you draw the line when deciding which Jewish groups can be allowed in the ‘big tent’. Tobin had written the article because the week before, the Boston Jewish Community Relations Council voted to start a process to by which one of their constituent organizations might be booted out – why? Because they had indicated support for the Boycott movement, BDS.

I see the daily news in the US and it reminds me of the UK a few years ago. There are signs they are on a similar divisive path. Antisemitism rises and Jewish anti-Zionists leap into action, claiming it is about ‘criticism of Israel’. Creating an industry of antisemitism denial that legitmises antisemites. They write articles, they sign petitions, they appear on TV. In the States they have vocal anti-Zionist Jewish activists running organisations such as JVP and Codepink. Did you see the way they ran to protect Ilhan Omar? They create an environment within which antisemitism is given protection. Just like the anti-Zionists of Jewish Voice for Labour did in the UK. Only in the US, both anti-Zionist Jews and antisemites are more numerous.

News outlets such as Mondoweiss push their propaganda at an alarming rate. This air of legitimacy is attracting people. Yet I know the truth.

The Criminalization of Zionism

While anti-Zionist activists and leaders here in the USA continue to drum up anti-Semitic controversies, they are missing efforts taking place through diplomatic and grassroots channels to strengthen relations between Arabs and Jews in the Middle East. It’s been widely reported, that this past winter three delegations from Iraq visited Israel, and there are a growing number of progressive groups in the Arab world eager to re-establish relationships with diverse Jewish communities around the world – including those in Israel. This is not to mention a range of Jewish groups in the US, including JIMENA, who work closely with Arab partners both here and in the Middle East. Not all of the organizations involved in normalization efforts are led by groups on the far left. We come from a diversity of backgrounds and outlooks and it’s a total fallacy to believe that only those groups and leaders labeled as “progressive” are able to lead and engage in productive normalization efforts.

Anti-Zionist leaders here in the USA could care less about diverse normalization efforts, because they are solely focused on mainstreaming the vilification of Israel and its supporters. Like Arab governments who criminalized Zionism as a means of persecuting Jews – anti-Zionist leaders here in the USA have proven time and again to center their activism more on the de-legitimization of Israel and the isolation of Jewish people, than the advancement of Palestinians. If “progressive” activists and politicians truly cared about finding equitable solutions for Palestinians, they would cross ideological barriers and work with diverse coalitions and groups on developing new strategies and solutions rather than continuing to promote failed ones like BDS.

In order to be truly in integrity with progressive values, it’s important for American Jews and progressive politicians like Ihan Omar to pay close attention to both the threats of white supremacy and the current manifestation of anti-Semitism that come from the Middle East. By ignoring the very oppressive and violent anti-Zionism in Arab countries and Iran, we continue to sanction anti-Semitism in the Arab world and we further marginalize the one million Jews who fled or were ethnically cleansed from Arab countries and Iran. How helpful it would be if American Jewish leadership from all ideological orientations could unify at this critical time to build consensus and strategies of how to address the current manifestations of anti-Semitism we see growing every day – from both the right and the left.

Remembering The Jew Who Died For Ilhan Omar.

Rep. Ilhan Omar, a freshman Democrat from Minnesota, has become widely known for her attacks on supporters of Israel. Ms. Omar is a naturalized citizen whose Somali refugee family settled in the U.S. when she was a teenager. Tens of thousands of Somali refugees relocated to the U.S.—some 25,000 in the Minneapolis area—to escape the starvation, famine and civil war that turned Somalia into a lawless, failed state in the early 1990s.

Another name is worth recognition and remembrance, especially among Somali refugees: Lawrence Freedman. In 1992, the year after Ms. Omar’s family left Somalia, the U.S. sent troops there as part of a joint United Nations humanitarian effort. The U.S. intervention, Operation Restore Hope, began with the landing of U.S. troops near Mogadishu on Dec. 9.

Freedman was a U.S. Army veteran who earned two Bronze Stars in Vietnam. He was an original member of the Green Berets, reached the rank of sergeant major, and eventually became an instructor. He retired from the Army in 1990 and joined the Central Intelligence Agency. In 1992 the U.S. sent Freedman as part of an advance team to prepare the way for American troops in Somalia. On Dec. 23, two weeks after the troops had arrived, Freedman became the first American killed as part of the relief effort in Somalia.

Any American casualty is noteworthy, but Freedman’s sacrifice stands out because he was Jewish.

Thousands of Somali refugees who now live in Ms. Omar’s district had their freedom and security paid for with the blood of American soldiers—22 of them, including Freedman. (h/t MtTB)

Cartoon of the Day: Dodging the bullet

Continuing my re-captioning of single-panel cartoons....

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Imagine if not 26, but just one US state passed legislation condemning Israel using language similar to the slurs the boycotters routinely pack in their BDS resolutions. Actually, let’s paint an even less-unlikely scenario. Imagine if just one small town in rural Vermont passed such a measure. Do you think we’d be having a debate over what such a vote might mean for free-speech?

No! For if the Israel-haters ever got their way by getting any government anywhere to parrot their views, they would be bazooka-ing the planet with bellows of triumph, insisting that such a vote was proof positive that Israel is as horrid as they claim and that they were a hair’s breadth away from total victory.

Yet here we are several years into a bandwagon in which one state after another has passed legislation condemning BDS as a form of bigotry and telling those who practice it that they can kiss state contracts goodbye, with the federal government supporting the effort through legislation saying such state action is perfectly legal.

Unlike BDS votes that tend to take place in the dead of night, behind closed doors, state anti-BDS measures were passed by overwhelming bi-partisan majorities in the full light of day. But, instead of talking about what it means when vast democratic majorities pass BDS votes against the BDSers, we are instead arguing over whether the very kinds of votes the boycotters have been lobbying people to pass for years represent assaults on free speech.

The reason for this is that the boycotters are much much better at framing an issue than we are. If we had more of their talent, we would incessantly communicate that every state anti BDS vote is proof positive that the majority of the nation agrees that BDS=bigotry, and demand our opponents answer our accusations (while ignoring theirs), rather than sitting on our lead and then acting surprised when enemies end up dictating how the story plays out in the media.

Keep in mind that “America agrees that BDS = bigotry” and “anti-BDS legislation is a threat to free speech” are both tag lines that can agreed upon or be contested. So why are ignoring one advantageous to us, while engaging with the enemy on the turf they want to fight on? No self-respecting BDSer would ever tolerate being put on the defensive, and it’s not something we should tolerate either (especially from the moral midgets who demand we debate them solely on their terms).

Here is one way we can act like our enemies in order to progress our cause without selling our souls. For the person who frames the debate tends to win it (or at least not lose it), which means picking a storyline beneficial to our cause, focusing on that storyline and nothing else, and insisting our opponents respond to us vs. vice-versa is a winning tactic, one we seem too insecure to use.

There are other storylines we could also be advancing, beyond the one I’ve used to illustrate my point regarding the failure of Israel and her supporters to frame issues and news to our advantage. Startup nation, for example, is a nice, elevating topic – one many friends of Israel like to embrace since it (alongside multiculturalism, tolerance for women and gays, and decent cuisine) seems uncontroversial.

But how about pushing these positive narratives in a direction that might generate a little controversy? Israel’s economic success story is wonderful news, but bigger news is how a people at death’s door after World War II managed to not just bring themselves back to life, but bring back into existence their ancestral homeland, along with a reborn language, one ready to provide a home for Jews (including millions of refugees) from around the planet.

If the Holocaust was the nadir of human history, the emergence of the state of Israel might represent history’s pinnacle achievement of justice. How’s that for a truth that will set some people’s teeth on edge?

Claims about the staggering success of our people need not be wrapped up in hubris or acclimations of “chosen-ness.” Rather, they can be presented with humility and generosity, pointing out – for example - that if a nearly murdered people could achieve such stunning success, anyone can do it. All that is required is the readiness to create a society dedicated to the needs of its members, rather than wandering off into utopia (where no one cares for anyone since we’re all abstractions) or creating a people or nation that prioritizes wallowing in victimhood and revenge fantasies over improving the lives of actual human beings.

Positive messaging is often condemned by some Israel supporters who see it as an attempt to ward off assaults on the character of the Jewish state and Jewish people with dance performances and hummus parties. These critics have a point, but one that highlights the ineffectiveness of focusing on surface manifestations of the miracle that is the Jewish state, rather than the miracle itself.

If we instead embraced Zionism, rather than let others define it as a dirty word, as a model for every nation in the world that actually wants to see its people living in peace, happiness and prosperity, we would no doubt piss off people who already hate us. But we might just inspire those who have not chosen a side to pick the “strong horse” that also happens to be the true embodiment of justice and morality.

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03/19 Links Pt1: Cruz, Military Experts Slam U.N. Report Suggesting Israel Committed War Crimes Responding to Gaza Border Riots; The Perpetrator of Sunday’s Terror Attack Was No Lone Wolf

From Ian:

Lawfare Blog: Framing Israel: The UN Commission of Inquiry on the Spring 2018 Gaza Border Confrontations

Unfortunately, loss of life became unavoidable even under these restrictive rules of engagement. However, the assumption that the vast majority of casualties resulted from unjustified and unlawful uses of force should be met with a great deal of skepticism. In this regard, it is certainly relevant that, contrary to COI findings, Israeli estimates indicate that at least 102 of those killed during operations were members of Hamas or other militant groups in Gaza. Indeed, even Hamas and other groups have admitted that at least 50 fatalities were their operatives. Furthermore, the IDF concluded most killings were unintentional, resulting from shots at legs ricocheting off the ground, targets bending over or shots missing their target among massed crowds. While some skepticism as to the accuracy of these accounts may be justified, such skepticism is equally applicable to the COI finding that only “2 to 3” deaths in this dangerous confrontation resulted from justified uses of force by the IDF.

This can only be the case under the report’s assertion that the IDF was obligated to treat all participants as civilians immune from attack under the armed-conflict paradigm, even including belligerent members of Hamas and other organized armed groups assessed as taking direct part in hostilities. There is simply no basis for such an assertion. In the context of an ongoing armed conflict, members of the enemy belligerent forces are subject to lethal attack once identified as such unless they have surrendered or been incapacitated by wounds or sickness. The fact that both the IDF and Hamas have asserted that a substantial number of individuals subjected to lethal force in fact fell within this category requires assessment not of use of force directed at civilians, but whether the enemy belligerent determination was reasonable under the circumstances. That determination then prompts an additional question: whether death or injury to some of the civilians was a legally permissible collateral consequence of an otherwise lawful use of force. This would require consideration of the precautions implemented by IDF forces and their proportionality assessments. Unfortunately, the COI bypassed these complicated questions by simply adopting an arbitrary conclusion that the IDF should have treated even belligerent operatives as civilians.

The COI’s biased and arbitrary framing is especially regrettable because an objective external inquiry into these complex security challenges could yield more effective policies, tactics and training to enhance security and mitigate risks to civilians. Instead of seizing this opportunity, the COI has produced a report that will only affirm ill-founded assumptions about the security operations conducted by the IDF last spring, and possibly spur fresh resort to dangerous confrontations by illicit actors such as Hamas.

Cruz, Military Experts Slam U.N. Report Suggesting Israel Committed War Crimes Responding to Gaza Border Riots

Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas) and experts in military affairs on Monday castigated a new United Nations report that suggests Israel committed war crimes while responding to violent Palestinian demonstrations at the Gaza Strip border last year.

The report, produced by the U.N. Independent Commission of Inquiry on the Protests in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, alleges that Israel killed 189 Palestinians during the riots.

"The Israeli security forces committed violations of international human rights and humanitarian law," said Commissioner Kaari Betty Murungi of Kenya. "Some of those violations may constitute war crimes or crimes against humanity, and must be immediately investigated by Israel."

The Israel-based Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center found that about 80 percent of those killed in the riots were affiliated with Hamas, which controls Gaza, and other terrorist organizations. Israel says that Hamas has used the demonstrations as cover to launch operations to breach Israel's border fence and attack Israelis.

Cruz said in a conference call that the U.N. report is a "dishonest" characterization of a more complicated situation in the Gaza Strip, citing reports that Hamas will often insert its fighters into crowds of protesters to incite violence and escape immediate detection from the Israeli military.

"It is a repeated and deliberate strategy of Hamas to use human shields," said Cruz, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. "The U.N. report ignores that reality."

Today, Joel Herzog, President of Association Suisse-Israël—Genève and son of former Israeli President Chaim Herzog, joined a family tradition of standing up against anti-Israel bigotry by tearing up a biased UN resolution in front of the UN Human Rights Council. pic.twitter.com/BsDfn6T6JB
— UN Watch (@UNWatch) March 18, 2019

A Moment of Truth for Hamas

The trouble for Hamas is there actually is grassroots anger in the Gaza Strip, but it is being directed at Hamas, not Israel.

Since the rockets were fired last Thursday, there have been civilian demonstrations against Hamas—a very rare occurrence—protesting the harsh living conditions which only seem to deteriorate.

One courageous middle-aged woman railed in a video circulating on social media, complaining that Hamas leaders and their children cruise around in luxury vehicles while her four sons are unemployed. “All of Gaza are unemployed because of Ismail Haniyeh and Yahya Sinwar. These officials care nothing about the poor people’s necessities. We have the right to live.”

The Hamas kleptocracy is in plain view, and the diversion of billions in aid and blood money into the terrorist and military infrastructure in the Strip has not gone unnoticed, it seems, by the oppressed populace.

Throughout the weekend there were ongoing demonstrations in the Gaza Strip, including reports of seven journalists having been arrested and beaten by Hamas as well as videos circulating of brutal beatings of civilians. Early reports regarding the self-immolation of a 28-year-old man may have been misleading, with the video thought to have been several months old.

It is doubtful that these protests will dislodge Hamas from power or change the way in which the theocratic despots rule. Only a serious and sustained financial rebuke from their main benefactors, Qatar and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, would accomplish that.

Each for its own reasons is beholden to the principle of the Palestinian “right of return” to ancestral villages and towns in present-day Israel, a euphemism for the destruction of the Jewish state. Continued conflict and misery is the only certainty.

In a widely-shared video from Gaza, a mother rails against Hamas.

“Our sons and daughters have lost 12 years of their lives. For what? Each son of a Hamas official owns an apartment, a car, a jeep, a building...While our sons have nothing at all." pic.twitter.com/1uyWpHWMd3
— Raf Sanchez (@rafsanchez) March 18, 2019

The profound message of Purim (Forest Rain)

Purim is a nice story. A feel-good, Jewish-people-saved-from-destruction win-in-the-end kind of story.

Many Jews attend a Megillah reading. Even more of us focus on our kids, the costumes they will wear and “mishloach manot” given to celebrate the holiday. How many of us take a moment to actually contemplate the story and what it means? Is something that happened approximately in 357 BCE relevant today?

Most of us think of the holiday as a nice folk-story, a fun holiday for kids. We put most of our effort into costume parties and food. Like many of the holidays, it’s easy to overlook the profound message of Purim.

The stories of Israel are told for a purpose. Many serve as a reminder of events that occurred during the history of our People. All convey lessons that teach us principles and values that shape the identity of the Jewish tribe and do not diminish in relevancy over time.

Purim is no different.

The story tells of a failed attempt to exterminate the Jewish people, more than two thousand years ago – the Jewish people would not have survived to see the Holocaust had this ancient attempted genocide been successful.

“In every generation, they rise up to exterminate us and every time, God saves us from their hands”

Roy Klein saved the lives of his soldiers by throwing himself on a grenade, choosing their lives over his

The Jewish experience of persecution and survival span the ages and bond between generations. Considered in this light, Purim has a much more profound significance than dressing up and making noise at Haman’s name, sending mishloach manot or even considering the philosophical/religious question of where God was during this event.

Purim has a message very relevant for Jews today: Not to speak is to speak.

Usually, this is a message we associate with the Holocaust and the famous poem by Pastor Martin Niemöller:

“First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Socialist.
Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.”

But his message is not new. In fact, it appears centuries before, in the book of Esther when Mordechai tells Esther: “Do not imagine you will escape inside the king’s house, any more than the rest of the Jews. If you persist in saying nothing at this crisis relief and succor will appear from another quarter but you will perish, you and your family.”

And she did. Although she was terribly afraid. Although, it was dangerous to be a Jew and speak for the Jewish people. She put her people above her own security, what was right above what was convenient.

Does that sound familiar? Queen Esther was a regular Jewish woman who became Queen due to her beauty and charm. She became beloved by the King and had a convenient, comfortable life.
She could have remained silent while her people were slaughtered. Her life would not have changed. She could have ensured the protection of her uncle without speaking for the rest of the Jewish people.

But, instead, she listened to Mordechai and, although terrified, she revealed her Judaism and asked the King to save her people.

After surviving a brutal terror attack, Kay Wilson became one of the most prominent spokespeople in the world against PA payments to terrorists that encourage them to murder Jews and has become a peacemaker – bringing together Jews and Arabs who desire to make peace

She understood that not to speak was to speak. She understood that the survival of her people was more important than her own personal safety. Bravery does not mean a lack of fear. Bravery is understanding the consequences and choosing to act despite the fear.

Queen Esther is celebrated for the choices she made. In hindsight, it is easy to say that she chose right over wrong but, imagine being in the moment – would you choose to put your life in danger for the good of your people? Would you endanger your family for the survival of Am Yisrael?

In today’s world, few are willing to risk their convenience, not mention their lives and yet we wonder why so few spoke up during the Holocaust.

For her bravery, we celebrate Queen Esther but are we following in her footsteps? Today we are not witnessing the Holocaust but there are world leaders who advocate for the elimination of the Jewish State. There are individuals who openly declare that the genocide of the Jewish people should have been completed. Antisemitism is again becoming something that is socially acceptable to express in public.

The question is, when do we speak? And when do we need to listen better to what is really being said around us?


		In 2002, Haim Smadar, a guard at a supermarket (a simple minimum wage job) prevented a female suicide bomber from entering the supermarket telling her: “You are not coming in here. You and I will blow up here.” She did blow herself up, murdering Haim and 17-year-old Rachel Levy. In his heroism, he saved many lives.

The Holocaust did not begin with concentration camps and gas chambers. It began with the indoctrination of individuals, enabling them to place the blame for their misfortune on the “other”, the Jew. It begins with small things that, taken individually may be disagreeable but are “not so bad”.

Purim tells us about the power of one person to change the fate of our people. Esther is not described as particularly brilliant or talented. She is just a woman, with a big heart who, with courage and feminine intuition, changed the world.

Purim tells us about a Jew living in the lap of luxury who chose her people over her own personal convenience.

Purim provides us the example of the feminine heroism of Esther and the leadership of Mordechai. Both were necessary, one could not have saved the Jews without the other.

In a world where Antisemitism is again becoming socially acceptable, where Jews are told that they cannot be both feminists and Zionists and many Jews are afraid to speak out about the injustices against our people – what message could be more relevant? When Jews are again forced to choose between silent comfort and standing alone against the danger, what could be more relevant?
Purim teaches that the value of putting the good of our people ahead of our own personal safety and warns of the danger of silence.

Purim teaches us the power of the individual – neither Esther nor Mordechai were prophets or people described as having special communication with God. The happy result of their actions was not promised them (unlike in other biblical stories where the protagonist simply needs to follow God’s instructions). They were regular people who knew that if they did not speak up, no one else would.

Because Mordechai instructed Esther, we are here today.

Because Esther chose her people over herself and spoke with the King, we are here today.

Today, the circumstances are different but the choice is the same. Will you speak up?

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