Dateline Jerusalem — I had intended to write about the wonderful Shabbat I spent with the family of a friend whom I have known since second grade.  I was going to go into detail about her friendly community and her hospitality. Alas, what is happening in Israel must be addressed.  However, I will cherish my time on this cul de sac of beautiful homes of Orthodox Jews who have made their Southern California street into a special community that worships, learns and celebrates together, the lone Jewish street in a heavily populated non-Jewish beach city.  To accommodate those who cannot trek to the synagogue at the beach, a rabbi comes to one of the homes that has turned its living room into a synagogue. The dining room table has been converted into an extravagant kiddush buffet of cholent, kishka, magnificent pastries and pies. In the afternoon there was a class for women on the Torah portion of the week followed by another feast that so filled me up I had no desire for dinner.  A beautiful Shabbat to remind me of the Shabbats I enjoy in Israel.

For those who follow my essays, especially during the war in Gaza last summer, you will remember that although the war was with Hamas, I continually warned everyone that Abbas was not a “moderate” nor a “peace partner,” that Fatah of the Palestinian Authority was as dangerous and disruptive as Hamas, but without the rockets.  We must not forget that Abbas, whose nom de guerre is Abu Mazen, financed and was behind the terrorists who massacred the Israeli athletes in the Munich Olympic Games years ago. Once a terrorist, always a terrorist. 

We must not forget that Abbas joined with Hamas in a unity government, and that Hamas acted freely in Palestinian Authority territory when they kidnapped and murdered the three Jewish high school students last summer, may their memories be a blessing. We must not forget that during the search for the three boys, Israeli soldiers found tunnels with arms in Fatah-controlled areas similar to the terror tunnels in Hamas controlled Gaza. We must not forget that during the war, Abbas and his Fatah wing continued to incite Hamas. We must not forget the fact that Abbas and Fatah declared “open war” on Israel when they reached a political decision to return to terror and slaughter Jews. We must not forget   they have continually incited Arabs to another Intifada.

Finally, Everyone Agrees

In Israel, there is rarely a consensus.  It is often said of Jews, if you have two Jews in a room, you will get five opinions.  However, both the Israeli far left and far right agree that Abbas is inciting another intifada, that his words and actions are responsible for the recent terror in Israel. This week alone, there have been several deaths and injuries of Israelis caused by Arabs acting upon Fatah's call for violence while Abbas continues to praise the terrorists who savagely murder Israeli women and children, referring to them as martyrs.  What kind of peace can there be when there is a call for terror? The newest form of terror is for Arabs to run down Israeli civilians waiting at bus stops and light rail stops or waiting at signal lights to cross the street.  So far there have been four deaths and 30 injured Israelis as a result of the call to run down Israelis. When I was practicing law in the United States, a vehicle could be considered a deadly weapon because it could inflict mortal or great bodily harm.  In Israel, the Arabs have added vehicles to their arsenal of weapons.  Their latest modus operandi is to aim at and ram their vehicles into crowds of innocent people. One of those victims of this mode of terror was a three-month-old baby. 

Where is the outcry from the world about the terror perpetrated against Israeli women and children?   Where is the condemnation from the U.N.?  When Israel was attacked and its civilian population victimized by rockets, missiles and mortars, and infiltrated via Hamas terror tunnels last summer, the world sided against Israel when Israel tried to defend itself!  There is a double standard when it comes to terror against Jews.  This was evident when the U.S. sent condolences to the family of the American Arab teenager who was shot when he threw firebombs at Israelis, and requested an investigation into the incident.  Yet, the U.S. requested calm when an American Jewish baby was killed and other Jewish Americans were injured by an Arab plowing his vehicle into a crowd of civilians awaiting a train in Jerusalem. 

Hopefully the U.S. administration's latest threat to Israel, that it cannot rely on a U.S. veto in the U.N. Security Council unless it complies with its policy demands, some of which are dangerous to the security of Israel, will not come to fruition. 

L'hitraot.  Shachar