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Since 1972
Amid The Quiet, Time To Speak
from war to terrorism, there have
ashington is a quiet
been scares.
place these days. I am
Jews got a special taste of the ter- •
not referring to "politi-
rorist menace in 1977 when Hanafi
cal" Washington, of
Muslims took'over the B'nai B'rith
course. Congress and the various
building and held hostages for sever-
federal agencies are abuzz with all
al days. There was always the fear,
sorts of activity. I am talking about
but we put it aside — we had to —
the people. The streets seem emptier, and lived our lives.
the lunchtime chatter
hushed, the atmosphere sub-
Feeling On Edge
dued and cautious. It is
somber.
It is now back — that sense
When terrorism struck
of vulnerability — and it is
Sept. 11, it hit this city
magnified a hundred-fold
hard. The loss of life — on
when we consider the
the plane and at the
threat. The "new" terror-
Pentagon — was shattering.
ism, as has been so often
As Americans, we grieve
repeated lately, lurks in the
ABBA COHEN shadows. Its weapons and
with our fellow citizens over
Sp ecial
the deaths of all the victims.
methods of attack are not
Com
mentary
But, even at the Pentagon,
conventional, and when
the tragedy hit closer to
evil has no bounds, security
home. Rabbi Menachem
is illusory.
Youlus, a chaplain who participated
This is a city that was designed by
in the recovery, estimates that as
L'Enfant to withstand the cavalry
many as 20 victims, out of approxi-
attacks of the 19th century, not the
mately 190 (11 percent), were
Jewish. Two, in fact, were customers
of his local Jewish bookstore. It was
chilling to hear that one of the
Jewish dead was identified by the
•
mogen dovid discovered around his
neck.
But what stunned Washington
went beyond the loss of life. To suc-
cessfully crash a jet in the heart of
our national capital — at the
Pentagon, no less — jarred
Washington's collective psyche. And
suicide bombings, hijackings or bio-
one could only shudder at what
chemical warfare of the year 2001.
additional havoc would have been
But, despite this cloud of vulnera-
wrought had the fourth. plane found
bility, Washington is at work. Both
its intended target.
-the White House and Congress are
It is not that Washingtonians have
trying to fight back with a double-
never considered the possibility..
edged sword — fighting terrorism
Indeed, we have always known that
abroad while enhancing security at
something catastrophic could — and home.
someday probably would — happen
Some have suggested that the
in this city. In some ways, it is a
Jewish community mute its response
mindset unique to the people that
to developments related to the ongo-
live and work here. The nation's cap- ing war against terror. A backlash is
ital is always a primary target.
feared. But the Jewish community
Growing up in Washington during has an important role to play on
the Cold War-years, my earliest
both of these fronts, and it should
memories include the omnipresent
do so without hesitation.
"fallout shelter" signs and the evacu-
Jews — in . Israel,and around the
ation drills to get to those shelters.
world — have been targets of terror
Over the years, as the threat turned
for decades. We have followed it,.
studied it and painfully felt its evil.
We have long understood its insidi-
Abba Cohen is Agudath Israel of
ous designs and have seen through
America's Washington Office director and its political camouflage. We have, to
counsel. This essay appeared in Coalition.
be sure, long suffered the interna-
Am Echad Resources distributed this
tional community's naivete,
hypocrisy, ignorance, apathy, and
column. Cohen e-mail address is
worse, in battling this scourge.
abbac5@cs.com
Surely, there are sensitivities
involved here of-the utmost impor-
tance. The United States has under-
taken an unprecedented step in
meaningfully combating terrorism,
and its coalitional efforts — by all
accounts, a key element of the strat-
egy — should not be jeopardized or
undermined.
But Jews are not disinterested par-
ties. We have a life and death stake
in the conduct and outcome of this
battle. Osama bin Laden wasted no
time in proclaiming that Jews, wher-
ever they may be found, will suffer
the consequences of his hysterical
hatred. We cannot sit by idly. We
must find our voice.
plestiltskin
Defending Who We Are
We must reject the canard that
somehow Israel is to blame for
hatred and terrorism directed against
the U.S. We must make clear that
American pressure to force talks or
to accept the reality of a Palestinian
state will prove
counterproductive
and represents a
capitulation to ter-
rorists.
We must express
our outrage at the
notion that violence
against Israel and
Jews is something
separate and dis-
tinct from terrorism
against "innocents."
We must make sure that
Palestinian terrorist groups — and
the fronts that support them — will
be included among the targets of the
war on terrorism.
We must express our concern
about including state supporters of
terrorism in the coalition and the
inclusion of Syria as a member of
the U.N. Security Council.
We must say all this, not because
it simply serves our parochial inter-
ests. We should say it because it is
integral to the fight against terrorism
and to the United States' stated
objectives in this campaign.
The American Jewish community
cannot remain silent. We must speak
to the president and our political
leaders clearly and unequivocally,
firmly and in candor. Carefully, too.
Quietly, if possible. With discretion
and prudence.
But we cannot afford to remain
silent at this critical juncture in our
people's history. If we do, the price
may be very high, God forbid. ❑
The American Jewish
community cannot
remain silent.
I Br oCk
Lorio Ross
Entertainment mc
Call (248) 398-9711
505 S. Lafayette • Royal Oak
wuvw.lorioross.com
11/23
2001
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