June 2002
"Never again" is happening again. Once again a call to anti-Semitism is inundating the world, and once again the world is listening. With the firm support of 1.1 billion Moslems and a Europe that has not yet divested itself of ancient hatred of the Jew, and against all logic and moral behavior, we return to the condition of constant scapegoat of society.
Every age has its own particular twist, and ours age is no exception. For the first time ever, a sizeable minority of Jews lead the movements of those who hate Jews or care nothing about the survival of Israel or the Jewish residents in Israel. Self-hating Jews define themselves by the prejudice standards of society. In order to be fair, they say, they must side with Palestinians. In order to be accepted by the world, they must break off any connection that they had with the culture of their birth. What happened in Jenin, for them, is interpreted only through statements of Arabs. How could they, or any thinking person, side with the Arab view of Israel as aggression nation? The Arab view of history is one of lies and broken promises.
The history of our people begins with truth. We have always told the truth. Our Bible documents our failures. We have never tried to cover up our defeat in battle or our inability to succeed in the world. We have been brutal in defining our position, even to our harm.
When Israel defeated the Arab nations in the Six-Day War, we declared our victory over the air forces of Jordan, Syria, and Egypt. They proclaimed that Israel was vanquished, that they had pushed Israel into the sea. While they were so reporting, they lost the war.
In 1973, the Arab nations almost won the war. Israel was tottering on defeat, but Israel was honest about its position. The Arab nations meanwhile proclaimed victory after victory that never happened. Again they lied, while our people told the truth.
The history of Arab propaganda from '48 when their leaders told people to leave their homes in Israel until the war would be won, until every failed peace negotiation with Yassir Arafat has been lie after lie after lie. Even Arab reports last month on Israel's incursion into Jenin was untrue.
Yet the world, and many Jews, choose to believe the Arab press this time around. Jews and Israelis are considered dishonest almost by definition. Indeed, in this new world, truth is defined by what the majority believes to be true. We are not and never were in the majority. What we say will usually be perceived as a lie by the majorities of people in the world.
Traditionally, Moslems hardly believed us because the Koran holds that we are a deceitful people. Historically, we were never believed by Europe because the most common tie that binds Europeans together is their hatred of Jews. Europeans may disagree on the need for a Euro, but they come together when speaking of their dislike of Jews.
There is a lesson for us in all this. The Holocaust happened because people basically are not thoughtful, because people basically are not logical. They run with their feelings and will kill because of those feelings. Oh, regret comes, but only after death and suffering.
One can be certain that those who hate Jews and Israel, Jewish self-haters included, will one day disapprove of what they did and what they thought after the slaughter has happened. Some will cry then.
But will people learn? Never, never. "Never again" is the one Jewish lie that we struggle to believe.