Israel’s Defense Against Terrorism
Terrorist attacks are not just another headline in the news, it is the shattering of people’s lives cut short, and it is the panic and chaos that rip through an area in their wake. Fear ripples through and takes up residence in the psyche of the people who live through it. For two weeks terrorists have targeted a series of brutal attacks in Israeli cities, and again just last night in a popular nightlife spot in Tel Aviv that claimed the lives of three young men.
Our Torah is all about love. It includes the greatest rule, "love your neighbor as yourself." We must apply it in moments of peace, not just in times of terrorist attacks, but always because, like our ancient wisdom tells us, awakening to the love between us will awaken a supreme power, and it is He who will protect us from all evil.
Anxiety has overpowered people’s mindsets. Everyone walks down the street with caution, suspicion, alertness, and looks automatically for a place to escape if another terrorist motivated by Islamic fundamentalism strikes again. Every ambulance howl evokes thoughts of despair and concern.
As Israelis, there is no need to pretend like nothing is happening and act as if everything is normal. We all need to take care of ourselves and take care of each other and be vigilant. We also need to open our eyes to what is happening on a more internal level, and open our hearts to what Israel’s sages wrote: “The prime defense against calamity is love and unity. When there are love, unity, and friendship between each other in Israel, no calamity can come over them” (Maor vaShemesh - Light and Sun). Likewise, The Book of Consciousness writes, “We are commanded at each generation to strengthen the unity among us so our enemies do not rule over us.”
All of Israel is an amalgamation in which everyone is connected to each other, but we do not see it and certainly do not feel it. But the spiritual connection is direct: the connection of our hearts radiates favorably to the whole of society. Therefore, along with the phenomenon of terrorists who need to be uprooted, we must act with all our might to unite and be guarantors of each other.
Only if we can support each other wholeheartedly can we gain a sense of security on our streets. But as long as we prefer to live in our own bubble, caring only about our personal well-being, then this cold snowball of indifference forms between us, it rolls down a slope picking up more layers of coldness and alienation, and wraps each in an icy shroud that keeps us apart, until the next disaster forces us to briefly ward off peril.
Our Torah is all about love. It includes the greatest rule, "love your neighbor as yourself." We must apply it in moments of peace, not just in times of terrorist attacks, but always because, like our ancient wisdom tells us, awakening to the love between us will awaken a supreme power, and it is He who will protect us from all evil.
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In France, Jews Should Expect Protection from No One
A new case of an alleged antisemitic murder, downplayed as an accident, could affect the outcome of next Sunday's presidential election in France. A possible victory by far-right candidate Marine LePen over incumbent President Manuel Macron, who is up for re-election, could benefit French Jewry and Israel, not by LePen’s love for the Jews, but out of interest. But in truth, regardless of who is in power, Jews have no one to rely on but themselves.
In any case, the Jews in France and in all the countries of Europe are weakening. They are not joining together to form a strong body to look after their well-being in each country and throughout the European continent. Their economic and political calculations and arguments gnaw at them and prevent them from uniting. But without cohesion, the Jews have no future. This is an eternal condition.
Jeremy Cohen, a 31-year-old Jewish man wearing a yarmulke, was attacked in February by a gang of young Muslim immigrants in Bobigny, a town in the northeastern suburbs of Paris. When he tried to escape from his assailants, he was killed by a tram.
The police initially reported the incident as a “pedestrian accidentally being run over,” but Cohen’s family obtained a video as evidence of what looks like an unprovoked attack prior to the accident. It prompted law enforcement to reopen the case under accusations of covering up the antisemitic incident for political reasons.
Cohen's death occurred around the anniversary of the 2017 murder of French Jewish teacher Sarah Halimi, who was beaten to death and thrown from her balcony by a Muslim neighbor. He was not prosecuted because the court ruled he had acted in a cannabis-induced psychotic episode. The decision sparked protests in several countries.
The Jewish community can continue to seek justice for any crime it uncovers, but it is highly doubtful that it will succeed. The French government and many French people are more sympathetic to the Muslim community than to French Jews. This is nothing new. France is a country with deep antisemitic roots, and one should not be impressed by its exquisite culture. As we have seen in the past with Germany, the more developed and enlightened a nation is, the more antisemitic it becomes.
French nationalist leader Marine LePen and Jewish right-wing candidate Éric Zemmour have campaigned on the need to combat violence by Islamic fundamentalists. The message seems to resonate with French voters, which could favor the right.
It may seem an oxymoron, but the rise of the far right, usually associated with anti-Zionist rhetoric, could actually benefit French Jewry. A strong government could better stand up to all those who hate Israel and would more likely put them in their place. This would keep the country calm and serene, which is what every society strives for. The right sees an opportunity to distance itself from the leftist agenda and gain Jewish support both through votes and sponsorship. Throughout history, it has been the case that Jews have had the ability to negotiate with kings, governments and leaders in order to preserve themselves.
The Jews' struggle for justice is no longer expressed through mass demonstrations as in previous antisemitic cases. They have realized that rallies and shouting slogans are not conducive to ensuring their safety.
In any case, the Jews in France and in all the countries of Europe are weakening. They are not joining together to form a strong body to look after their well-being in each country and throughout the European continent. Their economic and political calculations and arguments gnaw at them and prevent them from uniting. But without cohesion, the Jews have no future. This is an eternal condition.
The Jews should put into practice and enact the deeper meaning of the term that has prevailed for generations: "Jew" (from the Hebrew word “Yehudi”) - “Yechudi” means unique and united. A Jew is one who strives to connect all humanity and all reality with the primary force of nature, the Upper Force. Therefore, only a Jewish community that learns to stick together, to overcome all the differences that grow and separate its members, will feel prejudices and negative attitudes towards it change for the better.
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Why We Cannot Stop Fighting
When you reflect on the history of humanity, you see that people have always been fighting one another. It seems like there is never really peace, but only a pause between battles. Man’s disposition for constant fighting seems even more perplexing when you compare it to nature, where there is fighting only in order to eat, to avoid being eaten, or for the purpose of mating, but then animals rarely hurt each other. Why do humans fight when there is no existential reason that forces them? Moreover, even when a battle is not fought with weapons, we are still at war: We argue, debate, and fight to win the public’s opinion. In short, our entire existence consists of fighting.
There is a good reason for it. It may seem like there is no existential reason that impels us to fight, but in fact there is. While animals fight for their physical survival, we fight for our spiritual survival. Our egos drive us to exceed and triumph, since without feeling superior, our bodies may exist, but we will not feel alive. Nothing is worse for the ego than humiliation; people take their own lives because of it.
In other words, we feel alive only when we dominate someone else. This is the only assertion to our existence that the ego accepts. This is why we are compelled to fight against each other even when there appears to be no reasonable cause for it. Since all our communications, on every level, are battles of some sort, we seem to be condemned to a life of endless battles until we are exhausted and pass away.
But there is a profound reason for it. The endless fighting forces us to ask about the meaning of everything—why we fight, why we hurt each other, why there is so much meanness in the world, and in the end, why we exist.
These questions eventually lead us to realize that there is not only one (evil) force in the world, but rather two forces—one positive and one negative. The positive force creates life, warmth, growth, and connection, while the negative force generates death, cold, decay, and separation. If there were only one of them, we would not exist. It takes both to create life, and it takes both to generate development and change. It turns out that, ironically, it is war that makes us feel alive.
As a result, if one country wants to dominate, there must be other countries, too, so it will have whom to dominate. Also, if one country dominates all the time, the sensation of domination wanes, the high-handed country loses its drive, weakens, and another country takes over.
The battle between the positive and negative forces enables life, so it must exist. However, it is up to us to determine whether it becomes a war or not.
In order to enable existence and development, yet keep them peaceful, we need to understand the meaning of peace. The Hebrew word for peace is shalom, from the word shlemut, which means wholeness or complementation. In other words, there is life only when both sides exist and complement each other. Also, the power of one determines the power of the other, since the struggle between them continually drives them to evolve.
To end wars, we need to understand this process and embrace it. It will not stop the struggle between the forces, but it will make it constructive rather than destructive.
When athletes want to improve their achievements, for example, they train against greater and greater resistance. They understand that only if they challenge themselves will they become better.
Likewise, only if the competition among nations and people intensifies will we all improve. However, only if we remember that the purpose of the competition is not to control, defeat, or humiliate others, but to improve everyone involved, we will be able to both compete, yet welcome our challenges and challengers, for were it not for them, we would stagnate.
When we shift to a mode of mutual complementarity, there will not be anyone who is stronger than the other. Instead, there will be mutual commitment to cater to everyone’s well-being. Our understanding that we are mutually dependent and our perceived adversaries are in fact the guarantee of our development is the key to building a thriving, evolving, and sustainable society around the world and in every country, whose members live peacefully and happily.