Political Assassinations Which Changed the History of the World

Tragedy has struck many world leaders, politicians, emperors and kings, presidents and prime ministers, and advocates for justice and truth.

Some were cruel and tyrannical, most were innocent. The good and the bad were assassinated together.

The United States of America shamefully leads the world in political assassinations. Four American presidents have been shot and killed while in office.

Abraham Lincoln in 1865, James Garfield in 1881, William McKinley in 1901, and John F. Kennedy in 1963.

In Egypt, President Anwar Sadat was killed in 1981.

In the USA, Martin Luther King was killed in 1968.

In the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife were killed in 1914. World War I followed

In India, Mohandas Mahatma Ghandi was killed in 1948.

In Russia, Czar Nicholas II, his wife and all their children were killed in 1918.

In Mexico, the Russian candidate for leader of the new Soviet Union was killed in 1940.

In Israel, Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was killed in 1995.

In Pre-State Palestine, Haim Arlosoroff was killed while walking with his wife on Tel-Aviv beach in 1933.

In the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, King Abdullah I, was killed while praying in a Jerusalem mosque in 1948.

The lives and the deaths of these persons changed the course of history throughout the world.

Old nations disappeared. New nations were born. Some leaders brought turmoil, desperation, hunger, deprivation and persecution to the people whom they ruled.

Other leaders brought hope, visions, prosperity, security, pride and dignity to those whom they led.

Our world is a better place without the executioners who committed their bitter assassinations.

Regrettably, no leader, potentate or saint can be fully protected from the man who pulls the trigger. In cases where elected officials have been democratically chosen by free and popular vote, a cruel statement reminds us of possibilities: “In by the ballot, out by the bullet”.

Tragically, we have experienced the truth of that statement more than once.

The political climate in Israel today, pre and post- elections, is badly over-heated. Maniacs armed with sniper rifles and grenades walk our streets searching for targets to be eliminated from society.

I know of no planned way to find the predators before they commit their heinous acts.

My prayers are for the safety and security of Binyamin Netanyahu, Benny Gantz and their respective families. May the God of Israel protect the people of Israel and their chosen leaders.

Let peace reign rather than bullets.

Since I was four years old I have never, never, never gone to sleep at night before placing my fingers on the mezuzah on the door-post of my bedroom and reciting the prayer which my father taught me.

Since the age of four until the present age of almost eighty-seven, I recite each night at bedtime:

“Shaddai yishmerenu u’matzilenu mi kol ra. Amen.
Almighty God, watch over us and save us from all harm. Amen.

My final word in 5779 to all of my dear readers: May you be written and sealed in the Book of Life.

Shanah tovah u’metooka. A good and sweet New Year. I hope to write more in 5780.