October 7th is going to be remembered as one of those dates we can never forget. A terrorist army swarmed across Southern Israel committing some of the most inhumane crimes ever inflicted on a people. Best estimates are that some 1,400 Israeli citizens were killed, maimed, raped … slaughtered in their beds and wheelchairs … pregnant women had their bodies cut open, their babies removed and then shot. Many of these horrific crimes were captured on video because … because why? Well, what terrorist wouldn’t want to look back on the terror they caused that morning? When this brutal attack wound down, we were told that more than 200 people had also been taken as hostages.
After making a declaration of war, the Government of Israel began to gear up for its assault on the Gaza Strip, which is the geographical home of the Hamas terrorists who created the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust. The Government of Israel made it clear that it would no longer tolerate Hamas attacking Israel from Gaza, i.e., no more rocket attacks, no more land invasions – just NO MORE! And so, the Israeli Air Force started their campaign to attack known Hamas targets – targets that Hamas tried to shield by placing them in schools, public buildings, mosques and hospitals --- strategically placed targets so as to make the rest of the world look on in horror as the Israeli Defense Force started a systematic destruction of these sites.
Right on que, the anti-Israel, antisemitic demonstrations began to circle the globe. The Hamas public affairs arm was in full production mode making use of social media platforms like “X”, Instagram and TicTok, to inflame passions without ever mentioning the root cause of their own self-inflicted dilemma.
Here in the US, a most unexpected thing began to occur. On some of the country’s most elite university campuses … Palestinian flags began to appear at rallies; tempers began to rise; and Jewish students, who only a few hours before were in study groups with their classmates, were suddenly in the eye of the storm and being taunted with cries of “Kill the Jews.” We watched this unfold on our televisions and cell phones, and we asked, “Is America losing her way?” We heard “kill the Jews,” “slit their throats,” “gas the Jews” … and sadly, many other antisemitic troupes that have not been heard or seen since the 1930’s in Nazi Germany.
At Harvard and across the Ivy League, UCLA and UPENN chants of Jewish genocide and choruses of “from the River to the Sea” could be heard. The latter is a reference to the land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea and implies that this land should belong to the Palestinians and demands that the State of Israel should no longer exist. This … on the campuses of our most elite schools … the schools from which our future Supreme Court judges will come.
All of this is shameful and completely unanticipated in America. And yet, while students who are easily influenced and will take to the streets for any cause that they think will irritate “the man,” we do NOT expect an elected representative in our government to behave this way. But here we are … Enter the case of Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (D) Michigan.
A Hamas rocket misfired and landed in the courtyard of a hospital inside Gaza. The explosion and resulting casualties were quickly reported as the result of the Israeli Air Force bombing hospitals and killing 500 people in the explosion. The report of the Air Force bombing a hospital did not pass the “smell test” almost immediately. Despite the reporting by major news outlets based on information provided by Hamas, the IDF was reporting that they were not conducting operations that night in Gaza. It took several more hours for the correct story to come out prompting a number of retractions and corrections from major news outlets regarding their earlier reporting.
News outlets corrected their stories …. but, not Congresswoman Tlaib who chose NOT to tell the corrected story. The corrected story did not fit the narrative Tlaib sought. Tlaib wanted to show her disdain for America and our ally, Israel, and demonstrate her support for Hamas. Knowing that the story she was telling was false, Representative Tlaib stood on a street corner in DC denouncing Israel and continuing to repeat the original, false story that Israel had bombed the hospital and killed 500 people.
Tlaib’s lies were so egregious that many in the Congress felt that her antisemitism had reached a point where it could no longer be ignored. They called for a censure of the Congresswoman. While expulsion from Congress was probably the more appropriate action for her behavior, the sought solution was censure. A vote was taken and of course, the Democrats of the House were united in excusing her behavior and voting not to censure. Well, the Republicans are in the majority so overriding the Dems should be easy. Not so fast … as often happens, the Republicans were not united … 20 Republican House members voted with the Dems and the motion was tabled. And in the unkindest cut of all, there are currently 26 Jewish members of the House and they voted to let Tlaib off the hook.
Antisemitism in America is on the rise – you can see it; you can feel it. The fact that antisemitism has been with us since there have been Jews living in America cannot be ignored. But the open displays that we have been witnessing on our college campuses and in our Congress are disturbing and very concerning. And what does our President announce in the midst of all of this mayhem – Biden unveils national strategy to fight Islamophobia-day after poll shows Arab-American support tanking – At the same time this announcement is being made - FBI Director Christopher Wray testified it was Jewish-Americans facing disproportionate religious-based hate crimes – as reported by the AP on November 1st.
Perhaps this is the straw that breaks the camel’s back and much like the Arab-American support for Biden is tanking, the Jewish American support for him and members of Congress who fail to act in the face of such blatant antisemitism should also tank.
It does not take much thought to realize that America HAS lost its way. I think it is fair to say that the administration of Joe Biden has done more to hasten this outcome than any administration in the history of the country. It is hard to see how we can course correct at this point, but with the elections of 2024 only 365 days away, we must try. Remember Benjamin Franklin's response to Elizabeth Willing Powel's question: "Well, Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?” His answer was: "A republic, if you can keep it." The Republic is being tested like never before – we must work together to keep it … the alternative is simply not acceptable.
Thank you for writing this. I posted it on my FB page.