HOW DO WE GO ON
It was an outdoor concert for Peace and Love where hundreds of young people gathered. Suddenly, there was gunfire. People were screaming and running. Terrorists were chasing them down as their young bodies fell to the ground.
A few miles away, women were being pulled from their homes, to be raped and tortured. Babies were burned alive, and children beheaded in front of their horrified parents. Survivors were dragged through an underground network of tunnels and taken hostage. Tunnels built with money to “Free Palestine.”
Since that day, I have observed four Jewish holidays. All of them are about enemies trying to destroy us. On Chanukah we celebrate the miracle of eternal light. The oil supply was depleted because the Jews were under siege by the Greek Syrian army.
On Purim we applaud the bravery of Queen Esther. The King, influenced by Haman, was about to kill all the Jews in Persia. He listened to Queen Esther and her Uncle Mordecai, who saved the Jews from annihilation.
On Passover we retell the story of the Jews being slaves in Egypt. Each time Pharoh agreed to release them, he reneged on his promise. The cry, “Let My People Go,” comes from that time. The slaves finally made their exodus, only to wander the desert for the next 40 years.
Last week was Yom Hashoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day. We commemorated the murder of six million Jews by Nazi Germany. Vulnerable civilians– women, children, the elderly–were stripped naked and sent to Gas Chambers, where they suffered horrific deaths.
And now we have Hamas, whose stated goal is the eradication of Israel. They rejected a 2-state solution because they want the entire country, “from the river to the sea.” So on October 7th they violently attacked civilians, knowing full well that Israel would have to retaliate. They also knew retaliation would be condemned by the rest of the world. Win- Win for Hamas.
So the question I’m asking is WHY? In every generation enemies try to destroy us. Why? How do we face Jew hatred and still go on? We have to fight back. Because Never Again… is NOW.
Sydell Weiner
May 14, 2024