Not My Problem

I have had some disturbing comments regarding my last post. At least disturbing to me. And I want to comment on the latest comment that was posted. The reader said, and I am quoting "I think the girl was initially smart to try and just say she was British and that is a secular Jew's choice..." "I think she said that is self-protection mode."

The fact is, her answer "I'm British" didn't satisfy the group of girls, now did it? The young girl was STILL beaten up. Just like the Jews of the Holocaust who tried everything to appear not Jewish, they were still rounded up, put in ghettos and then taken to camps and exterminated. People who were 1/4 Jewish (meaning they had ONE GRANDPARENT who was Jewish but were raised catholic, christian whatever, were also rounded up and put in camps. So this so called "assimilation" doesn't work, does it? Jews are still targeted and it is getting worse. Thousands of Jews are fleeing France for Israel, I have met many of them in my town here in Israel. They say the situation is bad there for Jews, and is getting worse. Denying where you come from doesn't erase the fact that Jews are always targeted. Look at the news coverage from the Lebanon war this past summer. I watched CNN and FOX News. I saw the way they covered the war. There was very little coverage on how the war was effecting Israel. It was mostly what Israel did to Lebanon. They didn't show the empty towns in the North, they didn't show the 25 people living in a 3 room apartment in the south of the country. They neglected to mention the fact that three months before the war started Hezbollah was firing rockets into Northern Israel and they made virtually no mention of the two soldiers kidnapped by Hezbollah at the border. They didn't interview the soldiers' families, who, by the way, are still suffering without news of their children. And for the soldiers, Hezbollah wants Israel to release Arab Prisoners. The last time Israel did that with Hezbollah, the soldiers were returned DEAD.
I will admit, I don't like living in Israel. Last night, David and I were lying in bed and we heard what sounded like an explosion. We both were convinced that it was a bomb. And we never get bombs in Ashdod. That is one of the perks of living in this little southern town. I have missed some trips to Jerusalem over the last couple of weeks because of the rioting happening with the Arabs regarding the building of a walkway to the temple mount. I don't like living in this state of constant stress and danger to my life. Everytime I go to Jerusalem, I phone David as soon as I get there and before I am about to get on the bus to come home, so that he knows that I am safe. He tells me to be careful, sit in the front of the bus and if I see anyone suspicious, tell the bus driver to open the door. Not so I can run off, although that is a good idea, but because the reason so much damage can occur with a bomb, is because it sucks the air out of the enclosed space and people end up dying of asphyxiation. He learned all this in the army. Israel has its own problems politically and I fear for the survival of the state of Israel. There is a lot of infighting among Jews as well. And this country, Israel, was created as a safe haven for Jews, to come and live and not HAVE to pretend that they aren't Jews. So that they could be proud of being Jewish and could walk the streets safely without fear of oppression. And for the most part, they do walk the streets proud of being Jewish. It is a relief for many people to come here and to be able to live openly and proudly as a Jew. But it doesn't stop, just because they are in Israel. Now there is the terrorist threat from all sides, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Egypt. Each arab country has it's own terrorist organization trying to do harm to Israel. Then there is Iran.
The fact is, that Jews in North America live in a bubble. Especially in Canada. We are very free to be what we want to be, to practice what we want to practice. So we become apathetic about the problems in the rest of the world. Why should we get involved? That is our mantra. If we just live our own lives and mind our own business, we won't get hurt. But do we not have some sort of social responsibility towards others and ourselves?

The reader went on to say "I think the issue is more complicated than you give credit and can't be conflated with all of hate and racism." I am sorry dear reader, but if someone is hurting someone else based on the color of their skin or their ethnicity it is called racism, which, according to dictionary.com is a form of hatred.

I will post the definitions of racism here:

1. a belief or doctrine that inherent differences among the various human races determine cultural or individual achievement, usually involving the idea that one's own race is superior and has the right to rule others.
2. a policy, system of government, etc., based upon or fostering such a doctrine; discrimination.
3. hatred or intolerance of another race or other races.

I think the issue is not as complicated as you would like to believe and that is just another way of saying "There is nothing I can do about it, since I can't think of who to write a letter to about this in a politically correct fashion"
The North American way, to write a letter.
And dont' forget to be politically correct.