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February 10, 2012
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Jeffrey Fleishman: In newly democratic Egypt, tens of democracy activists jailed, to stand trial; their groups are 'threatening the stability of the homeland'
Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
February 3, 2012
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
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Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
Jeannine Stein: An inflated ego and thinking you're 'all that' doesn't just make others sick of you, it can make you ill
Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
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Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
January 18, 2012
January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
David Francis: Where to Invest in 2012: With stocks expected to rebound, opportunity abounds for investors
January 13, 2012
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Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
Warren Richey: Supreme Court says no to new rule on eyewitness testimony
John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
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January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
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Jewish World Review
Sept. 23, 2004
/8 Tishrei, 5765
Days of atonement and renewal
By Suzanne Fields
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http://www.jewishworldreview.com |
The sun was sinking into the Mediterranean on the eve of Yom Kippur 31 years ago this week, and 3 million Jews were preparing their devotions as the climax of the final days of the dying year. The faithful were concentrating on the most solemn of celebrations of their faith, when supplicants atone for their sins and pray to G-d to inscribe their names in the Book of Life for the dawning year.
Unbeknownst to nearly all of them, a hundred thousand Egyptian soldiers, behind 1,350 tanks and supported by 2,000 pieces of artillery, were moving stealthily across the west bank of the Suez Canal, marching in an order of battle that was meant to thwart the millions of Israeli prayers. Moving from another direction, the Syrian army with 1,460 tanks rallied in support of the Egyptians. Arrayed against them were a far smaller number of Israeli tanks and artillery batteries.
When the shooting started Israel was both astonished and stunned. In a detailed narrative in "The Yom Kippur War," (Click HERE to purchase. Sales help fund JWR.) Abraham Rabinovich, a correspondent for The Jerusalem Post and other newspapers who was there to see it first-hand, tells how this epic encounter transformed both Israel and the Middle East.
"The chances of Israel ever permitting itself to be surprised like that again would appear unlikely," he writes. It was a wakeup call that persuaded Israel once more how its very survival depended on constant vigilance. Lulled by years of semi-peace and yearning for the real thing, the nation had let down its guard — and paid a great price for its carelessness.
The Yom Kippur War was to Israel what Sept. 11 was to the United States, an assault by a determined and fanatical enemy whose menace should have been starkly obvious. Circumstances and motives differed dramatically, but Americans no less than the Israelis ignored hints and clues, underestimating how hatred fed by fanaticism can mobilize for stealth and surprise. Rudolph Giuliani spoke for all of us in the wake of 9/11: "Thank G-d, George Bush is our president."
Now the president has an opportunity to reprise Ronald Reagan; what communism was to the Gipper, terrorism is to George W. Bush. This president is heir to the Republican reputation for taking the tough, hard-nose approach to national security. That's why we hear echoes of FDR's wartime slogan from an era when the Democrats did not shirk from being the war party when war was necessary: "Don't change horses in midstream."
In a campaign year when nearly everything is subject to polarization, the vision of this president is clouded in rhetorical hostility. This does not serve any of us well, because the president's instinctive reaction to 9/11, compelling a pound of retribution in Afghanistan and another pound of prevention in Iraq, reflects a determination to transform the forces of evil in the Middle East into something resembling civilization, if not democracy.
It's not clear that the president can accomplish all he has set out to do, but the debate between the president and John Kerry is shaping up not over aims, but over means and determination. Can we accomplish the mission in two years? Three years? Or, as the senator suggests, four?
A first test of the Bush vision will come even before our own presidential election, when the Afghanis vote on Oct. 9 in their first direct presidential election. Remnants of the Taliban are predictably trying to thwart democracy by targeting candidates for assassination, but more than 10.5 million Afghanis have registered to vote, nearly half of the population.
If elections take place in Iraq in January as planned — an "if" of considerable size — democracy, fragile and tentative though it may show itself, will demonstrate to the world the new possibilities of freedom in the new century. We're watching baby steps toward a new world order, or maybe a crawl, but whatever it is, it's movement. The more or less peaceful election in Indonesia, where 100 million voters defied threats by terrorists, offered the Muslim world a glimpse of a future. Only six years ago such an Indonesian election looked like the stuff of fantasy.
Maybe this is a demonstration of the natural thirst for liberty that we want to think is a G-d-given instinct, that Muslims no less than Christians and Jews will be satisfied with nothing less. Naïve or not, this is the Bush vision for Afghanistan and Iraq.
With his campaign becalmed and the calendar and the clock running down, John Kerry has decided to make the election about Iraq. ("It's not the economy this time, stupid.") Fair enough. Yom Kippur, with its focus on atonement and the possibility of renewal, is a place to start.
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© 2004, Suzanne Fields. TMS
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