Hashem Yikom Damam

I was watching the football game between France and Nigeria, cheering for “Les Bleus” as LeMonde reported the awful news. The bodies of Eyal Yfrach, Gilad Shaar and Naftali Frenkel had been discovered near Hebron in the West Bank. As I write this, the boys have been buried, and condolences offered. One the way to the cemetery, an ambulance carrying the body of one of the boys was attacked. This is clear message that they will not even let us bury a murder victim in peace. The Israeli army has destroyed the homes of the pieces of garbage that murdered these boys and the necessary manhunt is on.

For nearly two weeks we waited for our president to make a statement, anything to make it sound like he gave a damn about the kidnapping of an American teen. He didn’t of course. That would require a mensch. The same president who traded terrorists for an army deserter said nothing. Now he has sent his condolences and is calling upon “all parties to practice restraint.” What he really means is that Israel should do nothing, because as we all know, Jewish blood is cheap. Do our political jack-asses even read the newspapers? A “caliphate” now exists in Iraq, and the sole purpose of it is to bring the world to its knees, and use whatever force is necessary to make the rest of the world practice their twisted form of religion. Those who wish to destroy us have become increasingly brazen. There is no restraint Mr. president. It is time for you to put on your big boy shoes, grow a pair and behave like a man.   I know that won’t happen.   Just as it took a Churchill to follow a Chamberlain, it is going to take more than what we have in our pathetic congress and White House to deal with what is being unleashed upon our world. One politician who did get it right was Mike Huckabee, the former Governor of Arkansas. On a visit to Israel this week, he met with families, expressed his own outrage, and felt that Israel had the right to do whatever was needed to bring these boys home.

At a time like this, I do look for spiritual guidance, and words I can understand.  I found them with the ever eloquent Rabbi Jonathan Sacks. He explained that while we believe in an afterlife, resurrection of the dead and in Gan Eden (paradise), we do not place our emphasis on those things because we believe in life. We desire life. Each week we recite words that ask for life. We do not dwell on the afterlife because if the focus is solely on heaven (remember those 72 virgins every suicide bomber gets?), one can justify every kind of evil on earth. Historically, the Church justified burning at the stake, drowning and slaughter of innocents to “save their souls.” Today, it is the Christian world in the Middle East and Africa that is being wiped out by those who desire death, but whose leaders hide so they do not face it themselves. They rely on fools who are willing executioners. Christian leaders are unbelievably silent (but are hell bent on punishing Israel for not practicing “restraint”). I respect Rabbi Sacks, but I also believe that there are those who just delight in the suffering of others. These are the people who enjoy kidnapping and killing teenage boys.

I also learned that we say, “Baruch Dayan HaEmet” when we are able accept death. However, as decent people, we cannot accept what happened to these three boys. For this we say, Hashem Yakom Damam. May HaShem avenge their blood. We must pray, we must daven, but now, it is time to ask Hashem to back it up with an army. We have that right.

Hamas says that if any action is taken they will, “open the gates of hell.” Seriously? They opened those gates a long time ago. They have terrorized our world to suit their desires and bend it to their demands. They do not want a state. They don’t need a state, and they do not deserve a state. They are successfully taking the Middle East and Europe threat by threat, attack by attack. In time, they will have the U.S. as well, because we are “restrained.” People who hate us more than they love their own children take advantage of our “restraint” and desire for peace, to plan and carryout their next attack. There is a question we need to ask our president and leaders. What say you? Do we die on our feet, or live on our knees?

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