Following
the destruction of the Kovno Ghetto, my father, may he rest in peace,
was transferred to the Dachau concentration camp, where he was
ultimately liberated from the horrors of the Holocaust. Dachau is very
close to the city of Munich, where an international security conference
is currently being held. My father and his friends, bereaved, battered
in spirit and body, vowed "never again."
Across Europe's
mourning and bloody roads, they made their way to Israel, so that no one
in the world would be able to raise their hands against Jews again. The
dream of generations materialized in the form of the Jewish state, a
country with a strong army and citizens determined to realize the full
extent of their liberty and independence.
How disconcerting
and saddening that in Munich, of all places, U.S. Secretary of State
John Kerry chose to threaten the state of Israel and tried convincing
its citizens that their sense of security is an illusion, and that a
severe economic boycott was in store for them if their government did
not acquiesce to the pressures imposed by the international community.
As Jews, we are all too familiar with the age-old trope that we only
care about our money.
Kerry and the Obama
administration have already proved that Arab countries, which have
turned deceit into a unique art form, do not understand the way the wind
blows. This is also the reason for the ongoing bloodshed in our region,
in every place the Americans have been involved. It is presently clear
that they also do not understand the Jews, of whom it was said a long
time ago: "The more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and
spread" (Exodus 1:12).
When the Jews are
hit -- certainly in their own country -- they come together, toughen and
strengthen one another, like titanium. The vast majority of the
country's citizens know that returning to 1967 borders poses an
existential threat to Israel. Even those on the Left have described this
proposition as Auschwitz borders.
Amid the growing
pressure, Israel's leadership must summon the strength and daring of
spirit of former Prime Ministers David Ben-Gurion and Menachem Begin,
and make it clear to our friends and enemies alike that we will never
concede our security or our heartland. We will stand steadfast in
unison. Never again will we be the stepping stone for delusions and
illusions that threaten our existence.
Kerry's comments
mortally wounded the diplomatic process he himself has led. He is
encouraging Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and his
cohorts to insist on rejecting any possible advancement toward peace.
To build the walls
of peace one must use sturdy granite, not crumbly chalkstone. With his
own words Kerry is crushing hope and casting it off into the gusting
wind. Under Kerry's influence, even the Palestinians have altered their
narrative. From our cousins, struggling to receive their legitimate
inheritance of our patriarch Abraham, they have become the Canaanites.
The meaning of this new
narrative: It's either us or them. There will never be peace. We already
have clear instructions from the Torah about how to deal with the
Canaanite legacy.
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