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The End
of Times
By
Ari Bussel
NewMediaJournal.com
“And God said to her: Two nations are in your womb, and two nations from
within your insides would separate, and one people will be stronger than the
other people, and the elder will serve the younger.”
-- Genesis 25:23 God
to Rivka, the wife of Isaac son of Abraham
Redheaded Eisav (Esau), the
elder, and Jacob who was born holding the heel of Eisav, were born when Isaac
was 60. Jacob was his mother’s favorite while Eisav, the man of hunting and the
outdoors, was his father’s. It was Jacob, though, who obtained his father’s
blessing to him and his seed with him: “to inherit the land where he lives, the
land which God has given to Abraham” (Genesis 28:4) as well as the previous
blessing: “those who curse you will be cursed and those who will bless you will
be blessed” (Genesis 27:29).
From the beginning of time, brothers – Cain
and Abel, Jacob and Esau – had succumbed to human nature. It seems that nothing
much has changed over the millennia: murder and intrigue, famine and migrations,
fear, retribution, envy and wars.
It is exactly because the three major
monotheistic religions stem from one, from Abraham’s complete belief in the God
of the Hebrews, and because the Muslims and Jews are descendants of the very
same forefathers, that to this very day we see the similarities between the
religions. It is also why reconciliation has not been reached and cannot be
reached. From Biblical times, there is no place for two equals. It was as
obvious then as today.
Go out and look at the moon as a new moon is born,
a new month starts. It is no coincidence that Ramadan starts this year at the
same time as the new Jewish month of Elul, the month of repentance (Slichot –
asking for forgiveness). Nor should one be surprised by the similarities between
the observances during the two months.
It was at the beginning of Elul
that Moses ascended Mount Sinai following the Golden Calf incident. Moses stayed
there until the tenth of the following month (Day of Atonement) when repentance
was complete and he descended with the tablets of the Ten Commandments.
As Jews spend the month of Elul preparing for the Jewish New Year, Muslims fast
each day, and attempt to do good deeds. Ramadan for Muslims is a month of
“blessings, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, renewal of relationship,
brotherhood, charity and compassion.”
But this is exactly where it all
ends. Ramadan, which derives its virtuous source from Judaism of Biblical times,
has detached itself from the professed purpose and has become void of virtue.
What is Virtue? The lesson is simple: If it is wrong to murder, it is
equally wrong to murder one of your own (a “believer”) as it is to murder anyone
else (“non believer,” or for the Muslims – Christians and Jews).
If it
is wrong to launch missiles at population centers or to blow oneself up at a
wedding, there should be no difference in theory if the targets are in Jordan or
Israel, victims Muslim Arabs or Jewish Israelis. Regrettably, this is not the
case today.
The Torah teaches us our actions must apply equally to all,
but particularly toward those weaker, more fragile and dependent, like the
foreigner (stranger), widow and orphan.
Israel goes out of her way to be
a humane, considerate and welcoming country. The Israel Defense Forces announced
today a series of special actions that commence tonight and will last for the
duration of the month of Ramadan.
This annual accommodation enacted by
Israel extends from instructing her soldiers not to eat, drink or smoke in
public, out of respect, to facilitating movement with great ease as well as
permitting men over 50 and women over 45 or married men over 40 and married
women over 30 to attend prayers at the Temple Mount.
What is in store for
Israel? 37 years ago, those who are today permitted to go to the Temple Mount
were part of a surprise attack on Israel on her holiest day, the Day of
Atonement, ten days after the Jewish month of repentance has ended. What were
Israel’s enemies repenting for then, the inability to previously destroy the
Jewish People?
The surprise war was most successful. Israel was caught
off guard. It was a brutal and fateful war. Since, the world seems to have gone
from bad to worse. All boundaries were broken, all red lines crossed. It has
become permissible to openly hate Jews because they are Jews and act on that
hatred in despicable ways. The process of negating the legitimacy of the Jewish
State and thus the Jews’ right to exist has reached its pinnacle.
A
process that started long ago is about to be completed. For two millennia the
Jewish people faced a constant battle for survival. The most challenging battle
still lies ahead.
The current repentance of the Muslims is insincere, for
they selectively apply the most sacred rules, like “though shall not kill,”
depending on who is the victim. When murder becomes acceptable, even permitted
and encouraged, boundaries no longer exist. And no one is speaking against the
practice, as the Islamists readily issue Fatwas (religious edicts) calling to
kill those who may dare utter the truth.
It is difficult for the West to
understand Islam when it appears nothing is sacred. We do not internalize the
evidence. We see Muslims murder each other with vigor and enthusiasm sparing not
even their own holy places. All that one needs to do is review the daily death
toll in Iraq, where Muslims are involved, as they vile their own holy places
throughout the country.
Islamists do not prohibit or condemn murder,
whether committed against believers or non-believers. The experience in Israel
and elsewhere (9/11 in the USA) clearly shows the Islamists’ attempt to expand
their rule to a global caliphate with no regard to human life.
Do they
care about anything else? That there is no sanctity of life we have already
shown. They profess the sanctity of their holy places, but even this is in
doubt.
During Ramadan this year, a month I am spending in Israel, allow
me to present the following question to the Believers, the most devout among the
Islamists: What is greater – your hatred of the Jews or respect for your own
third holiest site? Will you cause the destruction of the Temple Mount (thus of
the El Aqsa Mosque) just to usher in the global revolt against the Jews?
Recent history and current events teach us the answer is yes. Israel and the
Jews will be blamed for an event brought about by the Islamists against what
they call “holy.” Simply, their hatred is driven by a “holier” decree, the total
eradication of the Jewish people.
May we all live long enough to see a
day when religions respect one another and people live in peace and security.
Such a place exists already, the Jewish State of Israel that Islamic extremists
are determined to annihilate. Until such time, may Israel’s cursers continue to
be cursed and her blessers continue to be blessed.