Tuesday, December 26th, 2023

I remember 9-11 as if it happened yesterday. It was a terrifying morning.  When I arrived at the synagogue where I worked as a Cantor, I was told that a plane had been hijacked from Boston. My first questions were, “Is it El Al? Is it going to Israel?” As we watched the news for the remainder of the day, I marveled that, for once, the Jews were not the target of this attack.

I also remember what happened in the following weeks. Amidst the American flag flying and memorial services, the Muslim community submitted a request to build a mosque across the street from the site of the former World Trade Center. The New York community was outraged, finding this in extremely poor taste. The Muslim argument was that they wanted to build a symbol of peace and prayer to show New Yorkers what their religion was really about. (In fact, mosques stand at the sites of many, many Muslim conquests throughout history.) Eventually, the proposal was not accepted, and life went on. And again, I couldn’t believe that this issue was not about the Jews.

Yesterday was Christmas and, apparently, there were angry and violent pro-Palestinian riots in major cities across the USA. In New York City, protesters mobbed Rockefeller Center where the famous Christmas Tree stands, and where people come from all over the world for celebratory photo-ops. There were fights and scuffles and arrests near such landmarks as St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Grand Central Station, and Union Square. The protesters carried signs that read, “Christmas is canceled here” and “Long live the Intifada” while they chanted “NYPD, KKK, IDF – they’re all the same.” *

As I read a news report this morning about the NYC Christmas riots, I glanced at the “comments” section. One reader posted “Leave Christians out of your conflict”, to which another reader responded, “Hamas will target Christians also. It is in their charter. Israel and Jews are merely their starting point.”

There you have it. Israel and Jews are merely their starting point. As tensions rise and the danger escalates, perhaps people will start to notice that it’s not only about the Jews. Perhaps our country’s leaders will realize this and recognize that by admitting people from Gaza without knowing who they are will put all Canadians at risk, not only the Jews. I’m sorry for the Christians who had their joyous Christmas celebrations disrupted. I pray for a future when we can truly live in peace, able to celebrate our respective religions and holidays meaningfully, respectfully, and safely.

Am Yisrael Chai!