Enemies or friends?

Letters

Editor: Ms. Cynthia Ramsay considers that it was unfair of me to characterize as an anti-Semitic gesture the removal of "Bashanah Haba'ah," a Hebrew song filled with longing for peace, from a Unitarian service, and Rev. Backus's providing the group "Jews for a Just Peace" with an exclusive platform to vilify Israel. ("Cries of anti-Semitism," Bulletin, Dec. 14) In view of the current situation, I perhaps over-reacted but, as far as Israel and the Jews in general are concerned, these are not "business as usual" times.

Ms. Ramsay explains that "the choice to remove the song was made in an effort to remain neutral about the political situation in the Middle East - singing in Hebrew being perceived by some people as 'siding' with Israel." May I ask: What is wrong about siding with Israel, when no end of defamatory bilge streams out of the media, right, left and mainstream, against Israel, and when the very legitimacy of the Jewish state is being questioned?

Strident demonization of Israel - and of the Jews and Judaism - of an intensity not witnessed since Hitler, emanates from every Arab and Muslim country. Not since Kristallnacht have so many synagogues, schools and other Jewish sites been desecrated or torched; so many Jews physically attacked in the streets of European cities, as in the past couple of years. Only the most blinkered can still allow that anti-Zionism is not anti-Semitism.

Hence, my question addressed to Unitarians, Christians and others: Will you stand up and be counted as our friends, as did those brave fellow-believers of yours who came to our help in the dark years of the Shoah, or are you going to remain "neutral" by looking the other way, as did the "silent majority" at the time?

Rene Goldman
North Vancouver

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