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6 | MAY 30 • 2024
J
N
essay
Like Moses, We Must Defend Our Community
M
y father’s uncle used
to say to him that
“every Jew should
have a valid passport.
” My
father has always added that
“every Jew should have a valid
passport and the means to
defend them-
selves.
”
Coming out
of the holiday
of Passover, we
are reminded of
G-d’s might and
Moses’ actions. A
pivotal moment
in the evolution of Moses
becoming a leader occurred
when he saw an Egyptian
striking a Hebrew. He looked
around and saw that no other
Hebrew was coming to the aid
of the Hebrew being struck.
He felt the duty to protect the
Hebrew, he looked for someone
else to intervene, but no one
was around. Moses then pro-
ceeded to kill the Egyptian.
We, as Jews, have the respon-
sibility to protect and defend
our fellow Jews. During times
of crisis, we must not wallow or
cower; we must learn to protect
ourselves. As an Army combat
veteran, I have been through
rocket attacks in Israel as well
as rocket and drone attacks
in Syria. What we face now is
much more of a looming dan-
ger that has to be acted upon
before we lose more Jews.
The radical Iranian-
influenced ideology that
motivated the attacks against
my base in Syria is the same
ideology that led to the murder
and kidnapping of my relatives
in Israel. This ideology has now
led to harassment, threats and
assaults against my fellow Jews
on college campuses. It is not a
matter of if someone dies from
the radical ideology that has
taken root in our country. It’s a
matter of when.
Between the ages of 19-20
years old, I spent 259 days in
Syria carrying a loaded rifle.
The rifle was by my bedside
as I slept. I was ready and pre-
pared to use lethal means in
case of an attack against myself
or a fellow American. I am no
longer in a war zone, but my
fear for my fellow citizens and
Jews is greater than the fear
I had for my fellow soldiers
in Syria because of the ugly
wave of antisemitism sweeping
across America.
I have carried a loaded weap-
on, where permitted, every day
since I got my CPL. I do this in
order to protect my fellow citi-
zens and myself. When in loca-
tions where carrying a firearm
is not permitted, I carry pepper
spray. Our constitution guaran-
tees us the right to bear arms.
Not everyone has to carry a
gun, but everyone should be
prepared to defend themselves,
their families and the Jewish
community.
We have the chance to
change the course of history by
defending ourselves, our fam-
ilies and our community. We
are Moses looking desperately
around for someone to save the
Hebrew being whipped. We
must rise up like Moses did and
defend our Jewish brethren.
Moses sought someone
else to intervene and kill the
Egyptian. This indicates that
he may not have wanted the
duty or the responsibility but
was nonetheless forced to act
upon it.
We must take responsibility
because if not us, then who?
Rachel Baker is an alumna of Frankel
Jewish Academy. For information on
self-defense classes, gun safety classes
and free pepper spray for college stu-
dents, contact Rachel Baker at rachel-
bakerbtl@gmail.com.
PURELY COMMENTARY
Rachel Baker