A Letter from Israel on her 70th Anniversary

I share with you the thoughts and feelings of our sister synagogue, Shira Hadasha in Arad, Israel.


Dear Friends and Family,

In approximately three hours, we’ll be walking to the entrance of the city to take part in the Arad Memorial Day ceremony. It is  one of the most impressive ceremonies that I have ever attended. It totally reflects what life in Israel is all about. 23,645 Israelis have lost their lives in defense of the country. 50 of them are from Arad. Each of them will be remembered individually. Fallen soldiers are considered children of all of us. 

At 20:00 (8 P.M.), sirens will go off all over the country and everyone will bow their heads and stand at attention. All traffic will come to a standstill. The same thing will happen tomorrow morning. All school programs will be dedicated to this. 

All regular TV and radio programming will cease and all shows will be dedicated to stories about these soldiers lives. This next 24 hours are very difficult for all of us. 

The tradition in Israel is that we follow a day of intense sorrow with one of intense joy. Israeli Independence Day begins exactly 24 hours later. It is heartwarming to see how so many people have decorated their houses and cars.  Marvelous celebrations take place all over the country and many people have bar-b-ques.  Many Army bases are open to the public as well as all National Parks. 

These two days, as well as last week’s Holocaust Day, always make me remember why I made Aliyah and have lived here the past 44 years.  

Lihitraot-Rafi

Ignoring the Truth About Hate Crimes, and Scapegoating Muslims

Here is a very interesting and important statement from MPAC, the primary lobbying organization in Washington on behalf of the American Muslim community:

I have found the work of MPAC in recent years to be credible, important, and well grounded in common American constitutional values.

It raises a very troubling issue, covered in some of the press, that the current administration has formally and as a matter of government policy equated violent extremism with Islam, to the exclusion of other forms of violent extremism.

In America most violent acts of hate are racial, according to the FBI's annual Uniform Crime Report, Hate Crimes publication. That said, within then religious hate crime category, the most common form is anti-Semitic in nature, perpetrated by non-Muslims against Jews.

See Hate Crime. (2010, July 15). Retrieved December 11, 2017, from https://ucr.fbi.gov/hate-crime/

If we want to make America safe from hate crimes, we must not exaggerate a single and convenient scape goat for political advantage. We must look at the actual facts and patterns of real violence, and organize government policy accordingly.