It's Moishe's Choice Once Again

“Our forces saved the remnants of the Jewish people of Europe for a new life and a new hope in the reborn land of Israel. Along with all men of good will, I salute the young state and wish it well...” President Dwight David Eisenhower

Comedian Robert Klein commented recently he is becoming more Jewish as he gets older. He has even added a few more “Oys” when he gets out of bed in the morning.

The changes in America are less concerning for their political implications, although scary, as for their reversal of the clock and avoidance of Jewish history.

Here’s a wake up call for all my Jewish brethren: There were no good old days in Europe. Turning America into a European country is not a good thing for the Jewish people. Remembering who we are as a people is paramount to continuing to exist as one.

When I was in college I couldn’t wait to travel thorough Europe. It was a time of Three Coins in the Fountain, Two for the Road and Carnaby Street. I was chomping at the bit to cross the Big Pond and explore the continent ala Audrey Hepburn and Albert Finney.

Discussing this desire with my father, who was born on the German-Polish border, he shrugged and said simply, “I was born there, and it’s no big deal.”

That comment officially cast my father into the top position as King of the Understatements.

If memory serves, it was exactly this ideology the Pilgrims rushed to America to avoid.

And if there are any Americans who need a history lesson, might I remind you of the price the Pilgrims and their descendants paid in blood to escape and settle this land?

The Indians were not easy to deal with. Do the names General George Custer and Little Big Horn ring a bell? And yes, now they have achieved their revenge in casinos throughout the land.

So, now we are here two hundred years later faced with a bunch of politicians glorifying an ideal that was the catalyst for our forefathers to escape and create this great country. Perhaps some might say, formerly great. At this juncture, America stands a crossroads and can go either way.

Ah yes, and where shall I begin? The fact there were very few Jews left in Europe in 1945, is a testament to how good it was.

Rome, that’s a good one. Pontius Pilot was a real friend. He was so tolerant he killed Jesus, gave birth to Christianity, the Crusades, when most of European Jewry was murdered, and that fun romp known as the Inquisition. Such a hit, it toured the continent from England to Spain and all points east.

Perhaps it is Mother Russia the Jews miss most? Who couldn’t feel a twinge of sentiment when remembering the good old days of the Pogroms, or the escape of Russian Jewry to Israel to save the entire population from the Soviet jaws?

Perhaps it is the happy memories in the German extermination camps that make Jewish people long for Europe. Marching to the ovens on those glorious, crisp fall days. Who wouldn’t want to recapture the wonderful feelings as you enter that gas shower?

Lest we forget the French. Oy, how they love Jews, love the Americans and the English and just about everyone else. At least the French are equal opportunity haters.

Ah, Italy, where every Easter and Christmas the eyes of the world turn to the Vatican to hear the Pope renounce Jewish people and espouse anti-Semitism. The latest remarks hit the fan when the Pope’s personal priest Father Raniero Cantalamessa, quoted a letter expressing a Jewish friend’s opinion that the Church was being subjected to “collective blame” in the sex scandal similar to aspects of anti-Semitism. My heart fills with a warm glow just thinking about turning New York City into a mini Rome.

The problem with the administration and the Democratic leaders in Congress is they seem to hate this country. Don’t they have fond memories of growing up in America, of the rich glorious Sunday afternoon baseball games on lush green fields while the smell of hot dogs wafts through the air?

Of warm summer nights, sleeping with the windows open to catch a breeze before air conditioning. Or begging to stay up late and watch Uncle Miltie on the black and white television set. Seeing Jackie Robinson, stepping onto the field for the first time, or Neil Armstrong stepping that first foot on the moon.

They only focus on the negatives and are propelled by their own vengeful issues and agendas. Where is their forgiveness, and why can’t they just get over it already? Do I glorify my country a bit? Of course, but isn’t that what one does for that which they love?

Did America have problems? You bet. Restricted clubs, Ku Klux Klans, slavery, not necessarily in that order. Do we still have our problems? Once again, you bet we do.

We have always been a place of change and growth, now we are headed backward toward a terrible goal: becoming a country that discards its civility toward others and is corrupted by the arrogance of its leaders. We now have a president who refers to America in terms of himself. His constant I want, I will, I am, is so far removed from the very core principals of our forefathers, it is laughable and tragic at once.

We face a civil war potentially far more destructive than ever before, but it is a simple choice. Keep the America that rose to greatness in the world, or become a bankrupt European nation.

The Jewish people will play a role in this battle because it is their fight as well. Which side they choose to land on is their own. There is no doubt Israel has been outcast from the American political agenda, and any Jewish person who believes that problem does not include them, is dancing with denial once again.

Ah, that famous Jewish mantra: Hitler wouldn’t touch the Jews, Spanish Jews are safe and respected and the French wouldn’t hurt us, are all words that have come back to destroy our people over and over throughout time. Sung in unison as our people were forced out of nation after nation. America was our refuge, Israel our gift. Now America wishes to become a country where Jews are unsafe while attempting to weaken Israel as well. Talk about Chutzpah!

There are fourteen million Jewish people in the world, almost six million in Israel. Do we need to be hit over the head to get the message?

Sadly for us all, it seems we do. And to quote Robert Klein, an extra big “Oy” for all of us who should know better.

### In the series “Postcards from Israel,” Ari Bussel and Norma Zager invite readers throughout the world to join them as they present reports from Israel as seen by two sets of eyes: Bussel’s on the ground, Zager’s counter-point from home. Israel and the United States are inter-related - the two countries we hold dearest to our hearts - and so is this “point - counter-point” presentation that has, since 2008, become part of our lives.

Ari,

American Jews are evidently too passive or stupid to remember their fellow Jews who died because of Hitler.

The Jewish community was too elightened in 1928 - 1940 to realize Hitler was going to wipe out the Jewish community.

I try to wake up my liberal and too well educated Jewish friends in America but they are asleep in a dream that could be bad for them.

Jews in 1946 said NEVER AGAIN. But Jews in 2010 are too deaf and dumb to see and hear what is happening around them in Obummer’s aMeriKa.

By the way I am a Jew so please don’t shoot the messenger.

Years ago I had a wonderful elderly neighbor who would always look behind her everywhere she went , it was almost like a twitch. She also had a habit of always wearing long sleeves (shirt/jacket/sweater no matter what the temperature)

If you have ever been to south Florida in the summer you would understand how odd this looks and how miserable it feels to wear such things outside. Knowing that my neighbor had been born in Poland I always thought it was a cultural thing to dress semi formal.

One day we are standing outside talking while pulling oranges from the tree. It was dreadfully hot I am wearing a t-shirt and shorts ... the sweat is dripping off me . I look at my neighbor and the sweat is just pouring off her but she is wearing a cardigan sweater. So I asked why she doesn’t take it off that we are in the backyard and no one is going to see her that she isn’t all dressed up .. she tells me she always wears long sleeves because she has an ugly arm .. so I say to her take it off no one can see but me as I point out the burn scar on my the inside of my calf courtesy of and adventure on a Honda 750.

She took her sweater off and then suddenly everything made sense to me when I saw her tattoo. I now understood why unlike my other younger Jewish friends she was always looking behind her wherever she went.

My neighbor with the tattoo past away more than 20 years ago. People have forgotten these dreadful things. Jewish people who have grown up their whole lives in this country have never had to watch their backs. It is time to wake up , the left is starting to no longer hide their antisemitism.
Turning into Europe is not a good thing.

It’s time to wake up.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.