In 1922 while in prison Adolph Hitler wrote his autobiography called, Mein Kampf, My Struggle, in which he vilified the Jewish people and planned to rid Europe of our presence. Hitler wrote, “Here he stops at nothing, and in his vileness he becomes so gigantic that no one need be surprised if among our people the personification of the devil as the symbol of all evil assumes the living shape of the Jew.” (Documents of the Holocaust Part 1 Document 4)

 

We know that Hitler carried out precisely what he planned, even though the nations of the world denied that he really meant what he said or had the power to carry it through. 

 

Today we have a new leader of a different totalitarian country. Iran’s President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has repeatedly called for the extermination of the State of Israel. Are the nations of the world outraged? There has been some condemnation to be sure, but what difference has that made? Has anyone cut off trade? Have the nations accepted proposals to assure Israel that no nuclear weapons will be used against her? No, instead China, France and others speak of Israel’s excesses in defending herself against the weapons provided by Iran to her client terrorist organization, Hezbollah. 

 

Israel withdrew from Lebanon. Israel withdrew from Gaza. The people of Israel elected the current Israeli government on the promise of withdrawal from the West Bank. And what did all of these moves for peace buy for Israel? More condemnation from Nasrallah of Hezbollah. More condemnation from European powers for not moderating their bombing campaign in Lebanon. Nasrallah publicly commanded his forces to kidnap Israeli soldiers. They continue to occupy southern Lebanon and refuse sovereignty to the legitimate Lebanese government. They kill Israeli soldiers, cross the border into Israel to kill soldiers and civilians, and send katyusha rockets into Kiryat Shemona. Whom do the nations vilify? Israel. What point is there in making peace with people who refuse to recognize your right to exist? Why moderate war against Hezbollah when Hezbollah, the organization that killed 241 United States Marines in 1983 in Beirut, wantonly murders civilians and sends suicide bombers. Hezbollah is the proxy army for today’s Hitler, Ahmadinejad, who promises to wipe Israel off the map. Defending Hezbollah is madness. Yet nothing is too crazy in this world in which the lunatic fringe murders their opponents so that they can rule in their stead.

 

But you say, look at the civilian deaths. They are horribly tragic. Why is the world not outraged that Hezbollah, sponsored by Iran, purposely situation its artillery on civilian buildings? Why did the United Nations allow Hezbollah fighters to station themselves right next to Unifil observation posts, knowing that that placed Unifil in the line of fire in the event of war? There were cries of outrage at Israel’s disproportionate response to attack. But disproportionality has nothing to do with how many soldiers you send into the fray. Disproportionality addresses armies that cause damage whose intention is other than winning a conflict, as when Dresden was firebombed by the United States in World War II and some people felt it was for no good reason. Attempting to disarm your avowed enemy through war when all else fails is not disproportionality; it’s self defense.

 

There is plenty of criticism in Israel against its own army and government in the prosecution of this war. They meant to disarm Hezbollah, get their kidnapped soldiers back, and inflict a defeat on the right wing Muslim forces that threaten peace around the world as they attempt to establish a new Caliphate in the Middle East. But there is no doubt in Israel about the necessity of sending their young men and women into war to protect their country. They have no alternative. Even paranoids have real enemies, as Golda Meir said.

 

Tomorrow at 4:00 at KI synagogue the community will gather to express our love for and solidarity with Israel. The Israeli Consul General from Chicago will bring us a message. Our congress people will bring us greetings. But frankly – it is we who should be bearing the message. We who live in freedom demand that our government reject terrorism, reject genocide, reject murder. Any nation inherently possesses the right to defend its borders by waging war when fired upon by avowed enemies. 

 

This should have been a time of peace. Israelis withdrew to peaceful borders and elected a government to withdraw further. Those moves for peace have been met by armed aggression and verbal guarantees of future carnage. The world did not believe Hitler in 1922, or 1934, or 1938. Attend the rally tomorrow. Show Israel and our elected representatives that we care about the fate of our people, and we will support our people in our rightful struggle to live peacefully in our ancestral home.