Thoughts About Paris on Dr. King’s Birthday David Shtulman The recent terror attacks in Paris and the planned attacks that were averted in Belgium have all of Europe on high alert. The fact that the military, and not the police, are out defending Jewish institutions in some countries is a recognition that the attacks themselves have morphed into military operations the police are not prepared to handle. Perhaps the terrorists hit a nerve in Paris by murdering journalists and Jews instead of just Jews. Yes, we are all Charlie, at least for a while. We may regret the killing of Jews, but we have no tolerance for the killing of journalists. The journalists practicing freedom of expression reflect our values. Many people want to understand what provokes hatred of this ferocity. Maybe we are all at fault for being so insensitive. At least we must share in the blame. Or maybe the hatred is so deeply ingrained and so fierce that it is impossible not to be provocative. That is also worth considering. • Iran has forced their Olympic athletes to withdraw from competition if, by the luck of the draw, they have to compete against an Israeli. • International soccer and tennis matches have been forced to cancel because of danger to the Israeli athletes. • In Palestine, the authorities will not allow a cultural performance if those same performers will also appear in Israel. • The Frankel Center is doing a program next Thursday on the politics of Hummus. • And most recently, a selfie sent out on Instagram by the Israeli Miss Universe contestant of herself and other contestants has become a political firestorm. The photo also includes the Lebanese contestant – probably because they have become friends during the two weeks competition. The reaction in Lebanon has been horror at the Lebanese woman appearing in a photo with an Israeli. The Lebanese are calling for her to lose her crown for embarrassing her nation. The Lebanese woman is now claiming she was intentionally “photo-bombed” by the Israeli. This issue has been covered by several periodicals, many debating whether the incident is overblown, or was a deliberate act of the Israeli. I posted a story from the USA Today on our Facebook page that I think got it right. An excerpt from USA Today states, “The Lebanese versus Israeli reaction to the beauty pageant photo is a microcosm of the lack of moral equivalence between Israel and its enemies. There is no harm in a photo with an Israeli beauty queen. Miss Israel saw at as a harmless opportunity to connect, and transcend conflict. Miss Lebanon, her supporters and the Lebanese government condemned it because their deep-rooted hatred of Jews and Israel transcend everything, including a harmless photo in Florida. The hatred is so deep that in 2002, Miss Lebanon left the competition merely because Miss Israel was competing.” Today we celebrate the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King. Dr. King also faced deep hatred in his efforts to achieve civil rights for his people. He was ultimately successful for two reasons. One, the government of the United States came to back his cause and became part of the solution rather than part of the problem. And most importantly, the majority of the American people were able to examine their own hateful attitudes and found them wanting. I believe that the only way we will move past this era of terror we are experiencing today is for all governments to recognize how they contribute to the problem and to decide to become part of the solution. And for those who hate so deeply and so senselessly to examine their own attitudes and decide to change. I hope it happens soon.
Posted on: Tue, 20 Jan 2015 22:06:28 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015