http://www.suntimes.com/output/otherviews/cst-edt-ref16.html
Scapegoating of Jews back in vogue again
November 16, 2003
BY RABBI YECHIEL ECKSTEIN >
Less than 70 years ago, a madman named Adolf Hitler set out to convince the world that people with any amount of Jewish blood posed a threat to the human race and had to be exterminated for the sake of all mankind. His twisted vision set into motion a chain of events that even today leaves us breathless in consideration of its viciousness and scope. On Nov. 9, we commemorated the first of these pre-World War II pogroms, Kristallnacht, which marked the beginning of the end for European Jews.
Last week, a survey released by the European Union reported that EU residents view Israel, a tiny Middle Eastern nation comprising 5.4 million Jews -- representing 0.00008 of the world's population --as the No. 1 threat to world peace. The United States, Israel's fellow democracy, whose sons and daughters are fighting despotism, terrorism and slavery across the globe, ranked as the No. 2 threat to peace.
What's wrong with this picture? I believe two elements are at work . One is the willingness -- no, delight -- in taking out one's own misery on a scapegoat. Are things tough in the Muslim world? Don't figure out how to make it better, just blame the Jews. Are the markets slipping in Western Europe? If we can convince ourselves that a handful of cheating, scheming Jews sit atop the world's financial structure, then perhaps our disappointments will become easier to bear. After World War II, the rallying cry throughout the world's Jewish community became: Never Again! Today, I am afraid that we are on the precipice of Again -- that ''anti-Israelism'' is the masked _expression_ of age-old anti-Semitism.
Second, hatred and blame against Jews are raging through Muslim and Arab countries, its cheerleaders inevitably being those trying to deflect widespread anger and resentment against their own tyrannical regimes. And then come the liberal nations of Western Europe, whose citizens inexplicably cannot distinguish between legitimate political aspirations and the deliberate murder of children.
But I refuse to believe that Jews are alone in their battle for Israel's survival. As I write, I am in Germany (where the EU reports that 74 percent of those polled deem Israel the top threat to world peace), meeting with evangelical Christian leaders and grass-roots supporters of Israel. I have met with similar leaders and groups in other European countries including Holland (74 percent) and in Latin America. On each occasion, I've been greeted warmly by thousands of Christians, and my message on behalf of a besieged and terrorized Jewish state has engendered tremendous political and financial support.
This support comes in the form of public rallies defending the Jewish state and protesting anti-Semitism; visits to Israel at a time when most Jews are deferring their own travel plans, and the contribution of millions of dollars each year in humanitarian aid to Israeli children, elderly and victims of terror.
This positive and encouraging response jibes with the numbers produced by our own poll a year ago when Stand for Israel, a project of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, engaged the Tarrance Group to gauge support for Israel among subgroups of the U.S. population. Briefly, we learned that two-thirds of evangelical Christians supported Israel and its actions against Palestinian terrorism and that the majority of those Christians supported Israel because of our shared democratic values, not for theological or eschatological reasons. Whereas much of the world today entertains fantasies about Israeli aggression against innocents, these American Christians clearly recognize Israel as a freedom-loving partner, a nation allied with the United States in the war against worldwide terrorism, and as a safe haven for persecuted Jews from around the globe. In turn, Jews increasingly view evangelical Christians as vital and trustworthy allies in the battle for Jewish survival around the globe.
Am I terrified by the vicious, mindless spread of anti-Semitism, most significantly in countries that are completely without Jews? I am, indeed, frightened and also disappointed that so soon have we let go the lessons of our recent history. But I am nonetheless encouraged by the ties of friendship and trust we have created between Israel and the growing movement of evangelical Christians around the world, ties that did not exist 60 or 70 years ago -- or even 10 or 20 years ago -- but which form a solid base of support to which Israel gratefully clings at a time when it is treated as a pariah among the world of nations.
Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein is president and CEO of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews.
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