The derangement plague

From New York City’s Columbia University campus to Pennsylvania’s Butler Farm Show Grounds, we have witnessed evidence of a derangement plague. Feelings have transcended facts, and hyperbolic rhetoric is spewed out from agitated crowds and our leaders. Emotions have supplanted reasoning, and self-righteous vitriol is the language of the day. All this has created space for dangerous extremism with unhinged behavior … and violence is the next unsurprising step.

Beyond the vicious October 7 massacre perpetrated by Hamas upon Israel, anti-Israel and antisemitic demonstrations have exploded all around us. Crazy, inverted claims of Israel committing genocide, and invalidated Gazan starvation and civilian casualty statistics have earned media headlines. Hamas is maddeningly cast as the hero, and the Palestinian keffiyeh is a popularized symbol of the protestor. The rapes, murders, kidnapping and burnings by Hamas have also been quickly forgotten as pressure for a premature ceasefire mounts. And our ally Israel, the only liberal democracy in the Middle East, is relegated to be the villain.

A fortune of money has been spent by Qatar and other Arab nations to undermine our educational system and to poison minds about Israel and America. Instead of providing academic rigor, our universities teach propagandized nonsense and students emerge spouting intersectional, social justice bumper-sticker simplifications. Security experts expect to see the pro-Hamas campus unrest mutating into political activism at our national political conventions.

For all the hate directed against Israel, and for all the childish rhymes featuring rivers and seas, the history of the Middle East, and especially Israel, warrants careful analysis. Over the past one hundred and twenty-five years, well documented history reveals a set of internationally recognized agreements testifing to Israel’s sovereignty. These facts cannot be washed away with the same antisemitic tropes, lies and distortions as have stung Jews for two millennia.

Israel will not submit to the enemies that surround her, and American Jews facing the deranged rioters ought to carefully consider how to vote and how to advocate for their rights and safety.

The assassination attempt on former President Trump at a summer’s day rally flows almost logically from hysterically obsessed and twisted claims he is the destroyer of democracy.  Why wouldn’t a young, troubled soul be motivated to do him harm? Trump has pressed forward with his presidential campaign despite many impediments to his democratic rights. He was victimized by relentless judicial warfare, debunked conspiracies by leaders of the opposing party, and subjected to tricked up impeachments. Sadly, four years of policy and performance take a back seat to propagandized views about personality.

Regarding the existential danger to our democracy attributed to President Trump by the Democrats, a fairer analysis might consider that slightly less than half the American electorate voted for him in 2016 and 2020. These tens of millions of votes validate that he is not a fringe candidate.

His four years in office are there for historic inspection, including the January 6 mess and his objections to the methods and outcome of the 2020 election. And the many economic, border control, international peace, Covid-curing positives are there too. Jewish Democrat voters should examine his many pro-Israel actions and contrast them to the record of past presidents. They then should ponder what issues they prioritize over the safety of Israel and the domestic support for Jews.

The verbal attacks on President Trump will now need to be reconsidered in light of the bloodying of a former president in Butler, Pa. When advised in 2022 that President Trump might come to the Capitol, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said, “I hope he comes. I’m gonna punch him out.” We can wonder if she now is less bellicose, and those who characterized the Republicans as Neanderthals and deplorables are just a bit remorseful.

We were all shocked by yet another American assassination event. But we shouldn’t have been since we have been edging towards such a shooting with all the distortions, uncivil talk and extremism. We were all shocked by October 7 with Israel’s security failure and the brutality of the Hamas slaughter. Yet the bloodthirsty goals of Hamas are clearly imbedded in their charter which states: “…Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it… “fight Jews and kill them…Jihad becomes the individual duty of every Muslim… In the face of the Jews’ usurpation, it is compulsory that the banner of Jihad be raised.”

Let’s recall Prime Minister Menachem Begin wisely warned: “If an enemy of our people says he seeks to destroy us, believe him. Don’t doubt him for a moment. Don’t make light of it. Do all in your power to deny him the means of carrying out his satanic intent. Second, when a Jew anywhere is threatened, or under attack, do all in your power to come to his aid.” Hamas has been crystal clear communicating their intention…and, as Begin instructed, we should believe them.

Like many disasters, and derangement syndrome is one of them, the evidence of the menace is plainly evident. The Butler assassination attempt and the pro-Hamas, anti-Israel mobs roaming our streets are two examples for us to consider. It is time to restore civility, and focus on core American values and support loyal allies. The derangement syndrome’s presence is a mile marker on society’s road to the abyss.