The charge after D.C. attack: Turn pain into purpose

Globalize the Intifada These words have been chanted on college campuses and American streets written on banners and spray-painted on buildings not just since Oct but even before Lest there be any doubt about what they mean last week clarified any confusion On May Sarah Milgrim and Yaron Lischinsky two young adults were killed in cold blood outside a Jewish museum in our nation s capital The two young adultsy were attending an event to learn about humanitarian diplomacy Sarah in particular had studied at the United States Institute of Peace an organization that promotes conflict resolution After being arrested the attacker Elias Rodriguez chanted Free Free Palestine and stated I did it for Gaza I ve been stated that intifada doesn t really mean violent protest Even though Palestinian intifadas left thousands of Israelis dead and injured in the s and early s terror apologists take pains to explain that intifadas are really a peaceful movement referring to an internal spiritual struggle The murders of Sarah and Yaron gives lie to such rationalizations Globalize the Intifada means exactly what it says It calls for spreading terrorism around the world By Any Means another common chant legitimizes the use of deadly force to attack and eliminate the State of Israel Here at the University of Minnesota graffiti praising infamous terrorists Hamas for the Oct attacks was spray painted on Coffman Memorial Union by pro-Palestinian protestors The implication is that the murder of Israel supporters and by extension Jews is justified Sadly Rodriguez s chant to Free Palestine will do anything but It will have no impact on the war in Gaza that has left far too a large number of killed injured and displaced It will not bring the Palestinian sovereignty they deserve Nor might I add will it free the hostages from Gaza and stop rocket fire on Israel from Yemen If anything it will only embolden certain leaders to clamp down on legitimate criticism of Israel and further restrict the freedom of speech Americans cherish and rightfully expect both of which I reject Since Oct the Jewish area has warned protestors that slogans like Globalize the Intifada and From the River to the Sea are not just hurtful they are dangerous And that has proven to be true I want to believe that majority pro-Palestinian protesters condemn Rodriguez s terror attack And now they have an opportunity to prove it by modifying inciting language Rather than call to globalize the intifada how about chanting Two States for Two Peoples Or Peace Now Or join in the calls of thousands of Palestinians living in Gaza for Hamas to be deposed saying Out Out Out All of Hamas Out Now that would truly be pro-Palestinian If these slogans reflect a new ethos of the pro-Palestinian movement count me in I ll join in your chant and your march But I would be surprised To paraphrase former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir peace will only come when these protestors love Palestinians more than they hate Israelis In the past few days I met with a woman who is a devout Christian in my synagogue office To enter the building she had to pass through a multilayered measure procedure She was distraught by the hardened reception and recognized her church doesn t require such measures After last week you understand why it is needed I narrated her in the wake of last month s attack in Washington Rabbi Alexander Davis These bright stars were killed by a terrorist because they believe in the right of Israel to exist They were killed because Rodriguez globalized the intifada and attacked Jews to punish Israel in fact Yaron was a practicing Christian They were killed because words unchecked became weapons of terror But Sarah s and Yaron s light will not be extinguished if we take up their cause and strive to realize their dreams The event they attended the night they were murdered was called Turning Pain into Purpose This is now our charge Alexander Davis is rabbi at Beth El Synagouge in St Louis Park The post The charge after D C attack Turn pain into purpose appeared first on MinnPost