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Dec. 1, 2008
Max Freidlander, as told to Jacklyn C. Wadler: India Inkings
Mark Steyn: Whodunit!?
Nov. 28, 2008
Rabbi Ahron Rapps: An evil seed that didn't have to be
Melanie Phillips: Carpe diem --- or can we all relax now?
Nov. 26, 2008
Michael Feldberg: Meet the Orthodox Jew who laid groundwork for scientific development of ordnance that undergirds America's current world leadership
Andrea Simantov:
Shades of life
Nov. 25, 2008
The Jewish Ethicist
by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir : Getting Emotional For Influence
The Kosher Gourmet
by Ethel G. Hofman : Thanksiving feast!
Nov. 24, 2008
Rabbi S. Binyomin Ginsberg: 'I just Became a grandchild!'
Barry Rubin: Don't flatter your enemies, protect your friends
Nov. 21, 2008
Rabbi A. Henach Leibowitz: Money matters?
Caroline B. Glick:
Civilization walks the plank
Nov. 20, 2008
Rabbi Avi Shafran: Bronfman's blindness
The Kosher Gourmet
By Linda Gassenheimer: Portobellos add a hearty flavor to pasta with pesto
Nov, 19, 2008
The Jewish Ethicist
by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir : Spread the wealth? Jewish tradition and income equality
Elliot B. Gertel:
'Mad Men': Tackling prejudices or reinforcing them?
Nov, 18, 2008
Dr. Debby Schwarz Hirschhorn: The End of the Age of Reason
Jonathan Tobin: Does Barack + Bibi = Disaster?
Nov, 17, 2008
Rabbi Yonason Goldson: The End of the Age of Reason
Diana West: Gulling Americans into making terror legit?
Nov, 14, 2008
Rabbi A. Henach Leibowitz: The Power of Spiritual Inertia
Caroline B. Glick: The perils ahead
Nov, 13, 2008
Stratfor Intelligence Briefing: How Bush and Obama together could change the Middle East dynamic
The Kosher Gourmet
by JeanMarie Brownson: Sweet and savory, crispy and meltingly tender bestilla
Nov, 12, 2008
The Jewish Ethicist
by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir : Tyrannical Co-Workers
Michael Doyle: High Court to consider today donated monuments that may have religious messages in public parks
Nov, 11, 2008
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Will Obama stop government officials considering institutionalizing financial jihad?
Jonathan Tobin: They Will Decide Their Own Fate
Nov, 10, 2008
Rabbi Avi Shafran: $8 billion, modern-day Tower of Babel being built?
Barry Rubin: A letter to the president-elect from a Middle East realist
Nov, 7, 2008
Rabbi Francis Nataf: Of Children and Immortality
Caroline B. Glick: Livni's Obama strategy
Nov, 6, 2008
Rabbi Yonason Goldson: How I tricked a classroom of apathetic students into grasping the fallacy of moral relativism
The Kosher Gourmet
By Gina Kim: Tips for making the perfect soup --- includes recipes
Nov, 5, 2008
The Jewish Ethicist
By Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Destitute Debtors
Bruce Weinstein: 'Religulos': Bad title,even worse movie
Nov, 4, 2008
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Treasury Dept. submits to Shariah law
Frida Ghitis: A surprise for Obama in the Middle East
Nov, 3, 2008
Jonathan Rosenblum: Who says Jews are Smart?
Jonathan Tobin:
Was He Wrong About Everything?
March 22, 2007
J-Rhythms with Avraham Rosenblum: JWR's cutting-edge music program showcasing performers -- singers, song writers, musicians, and bands -- who learn and live the Torah lifestyle (OUR NEWEST IGODCAST !)
Oct. 29, 2003
Mortimer B. Zuckerman: Graffiti On History's Walls (MUST-READ!)
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Jewish World Review
Dec. 8, 2002
/ 28 Kislev, 5763
261 dead
By
Chezi Goldberg
|  Bodies of Kenyan dancers in rubble of the demolished Paradise Hotel |
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http://www.jewishworldreview.com |
I was riding a Jerusalem bus Thursday when news
of the intended missile attack against the Arkia flight from Kenya came
across the airwaves. For a moment the passengers were in shock. Then we all
breathed a sigh of relief. That was our mistake.
Minutes later, news of the attack on the Paradise Hotel came across
the radio waves. There were casualties. There was no sigh of relief.
When we here look at a miraculous escape from a deadly attack and breathe
a sigh of relief, we lose the war on terrorism.
Our attitude should be: The terrorists intended to down a plane with 261
innocent commercial air travelers aboard. They did not succeed,
thank G-d. However, their intentions were clear. We must consider their
intentions and take action with a state of mind, as if they had succeeded.
When the missiles were launched, the Israeli government was
shown what the enemy intends to do. The Israelis should react with
overwhelming firepower, as if 261 innocents had actually died. It
is short sighted to move on in life as if nothing happened. By backing off
because no one died, we allow the terrorists to keep on attacking.
And, rest assured, they will until they are stopped.
Since when does a government have to wait until a massacre happens to
do something to change reality. Why do people have to die for
something to be done to prevent further death from happening?
When the terror attack Pi Glilot Refinery was miraculously averted,
Shimon Peres, then foreign minister was quoted as saying that had the
attack been successful and killed tens of thousands of Israelis, it would
have been considered an act of war against Israel.
In other words, since the attack did not kill ten thousand Israelis, Israel
would not take action. In simpler terms, it seems that until people die, no
one wants to do anything to prevent deaths. Unfortunately, when I look
around me at the senseless and avoidable carnage taking place in Israel
and other places frequented by Jews and Israelis, it becomes clear that
Peres was not speaking out of turn. Seems pretty clear to me that he was
expressing government policy.
Sounds crazy? Not really. This type of thinking happens all the time. I
know of a local street corner that is considered a dangerous threat to the
preservation of human life. The local city council refused to put in a
speed bump because only two accidents had happened there. Finally,
after ten accidents, three of them fatal, they put in a speed bump. They
had to justify the expenditure to protect human life through collected
data about actual loss of human life.
Thursday terrorists attacked the Arkia flight with the expressed
intent of murdering 261 travelers in mid air. The terrorists did not
succeed to kill their intended targets. We all appreciate the miracle.
Thank G-d, 261 people did not die.
Yet, our leaders MUST react as if the terrorists did succeed. The fact
that the terrorists even dared to try to carry out such an action is reason
and justification enough to root them out and exterminate each and
every one of their members.
When they fired to kill, they made their intentions clear. They will try
again. We need not and should not wait for 261 people to actually be
killed.
Retaliate now.
We have been warned.
The next time, they might hit the target. They next time, we might not be
so lucky.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in Washington and in the media consider "must reading." Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
JWR contributor Chezi Goldberg is a Jerusalem based counselor for Adolescents and Families At Risk. Send your comments by clicking here.
© 2002, Chezi Goldberg
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