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David Altman

An Open Letter to Prof. Stephen Hawking

Dear Prof. Hawking,

Many of us believe that physicists are engaged in a search after the most important truths of humanity. As they are viewed as people of truth, we take their opinions seriously. Physicists ought to understand the  power of a lie. While truth-seekers are few, the spreaders of lies are many. The fight for the truth is the only way to counter the spread of lies.

The father of the Jewish people, the father of monotheism, Abraham, fought an entire world of lies and of idolatrous faiths. The descendants of Abraham were persecuted for their faith for thousands of years. The basis of global anti-Semitism is based on lies, blood libels, and the desire to harm those dedicated to spreading wisdom and truth to the entire world, as the Jewish people have.

Since 1917, when Lord Balfour declared the historic Balfour Declaration which proclaimed the right of the Jewish people to return to its historic homeland in the Land of Israel, supported by the British Prime Minister and global opinion, a campaign of lies began.  The Arab world placed great pressures on Britain to repeal the Balfour Declaration. During the Holocaust, Britain limited Jewish immigration to Palestine to 15,000 per annum. During World War II, the Arab leadership created a covenant with the Nazi leadership, hatched plans to poison the water sources of Tel Aviv, hoping to murder at least half of the Jewish population in Israel. As the end of the British Mandate approached, the Arabs of Palestine joined with the entire Arab world, and began a war against the Jews, promising to throw the Jews into the Sea.

Since then, an ongoing war that has taken different forms, has been launched against the people who returned to its homeland of swamps and deserts to build a land of prosperity. The Jewish state brought its brothers home from the ashes of the Holocaust, while under attack from seven Arab states, backed by the entire Arab League. The partition plan, despite the fact that it did not satisfy our true national aspirations, was accepted by our leadership, while rejected by the Arab side. Despite being under constant attack, the state grew and prospered, creating a home for the persecuted Jewish People.

Over the last number of decades, Europe has been conquered by Muslim immigrants, who have come not only to find a new home, but to take control of the continent. Europe has become enslaved to these people, who impact politics through organized activities and pressure groups. Thus, anti-Israel decisions are taken by institutions and governments, not out of sense of justice, but due to the demographic power of these immigrants.

The Muslims of the world claim a religion numbering over 1 billion people has the power to decide when the sun rises and sets, to alter historical facts and present a version of history that never occurred. They have developed a system for pressuring public figures and politicians to accept their skewed positions.

Dear Prof. Hawking, the People of Israel have never claimed something that was not its own, and always reached out its hand towards peace. We have always sanctified life, and fought those who sanctify death through a sick and skewed ideology.

Some of the greatest Physicians were willing to die for their truth – but others, due to fear of public opinion, felt the need to agree to lies, in order to match itself to public opinion. I am convinced that you are a symbol of bravery, of great intellectual capacity, a man who forges his own path. We respect and appreciate you – and that is why your boycott of Israel hurts so much. Your boycott, surely based on fear of public opinion, is a statement that rejects our right to build a home, following the horrendous acts that we experienced in Europe.

We regret your decision to boycott Israel, not necessarily because your presence will be missed, but due to the reasoning behind such a decision. We regret that the clouds have hidden the sun.

 

About the Author
Dr David Altman is senior vice-president at the Netanya Academic College and vice-chair of the college's Strategic Dialogue Center