Undermining that which is legitimate – an ethical perspective

“Ours is a world of nuclear giants and ethical infants.”  General Omar N Bradley

Have you or anyone you have ever known needed to defend the legitimacy of their existence?

Amazingly enough, Israel still does.

Despite its valid Birth Certificate known as “Israel’s Declaration of Independence”” and documented date of birth, May 14th, 1948, Israel, the Jewish state, reborn in its ancient Homeland of Eretz Yisrael, and fully recognized by the U.N. on May 11th, 1949, is the only entity that is forced, almost 65 years later to justify its existence, its legitimacy, its right to exist and defend its citizens.

Have you ever wondered why?

Trying to tackle such a vast subject is not easy. However, when addressing it from a Jewish point of view, where morality and ethics are basic tenets of conduct and perspective, the only reason I can think of the problems facing Israel in world opinion is the mere fact that it is a Jewish state. What seems to be plaguing the modern world is that its stance is dictated and conditioned by group affiliations, most of the time paid and financed by a well oiled propaganda machine, and not anymore by the traditional morality principles that were the guiding light of many, albeit not all, of humanity’s wise forefathers. I wish it were not the case and I take very little pride in it but the world seems to be obsessed by Israel and anything that is Jewish.

Obsessed? More like afraid. The Jews are and have been for a few millennia a mysterious phenomenon. Despite ongoing efforts to try and eradicate them, remove any historical evidence that they ever existed, they are still here. They are a walking apparition and a constant reminder to the world of that which it wishes to forget. The Jews are a mirror to the soul and conscience of the world, the nightmare that keeps it insomniac during the darkest nights and the blotchy stains on the pages of its history.

The world also knows that some of its greatest gifts came from the Jews. Hence the dilemma, How can one legitimately remove that which has provided the foundation and been so much a part of one’s civilization for so long?

Ergo, let us reduce, belittle, demonize, delegitimize that which is so cherished, that which is so contributing, giving and sharing. From there, the path to its removal and annihilation is short. After all, who wants to have the incarnation of evil, the shadow of that which should be dead according to all counts of nature in one’s midst? It is becoming more and more evident that in their efforts to bring down the Jewish state, Israel’s adversaries are using the Nazis’ methods of annihilation and confinement in an effort to adversely affect the Jews on both spiritual, through anti-semitism as well as physical level, through boycott, divestment and sanctions.

Like the Nazis, Israel’s enemies engage in destroying positive Jewish elements, turning the Jews into objects of mockery and contempt in the eyes of the world. Moreover, like the Nazis, those who wish to bring Israel’s demise, have infiltrated Israeli society, through various entities, have used different ploys to drive a rift in the Israeli society, deforming and presenting one reality to some, to others a different one. They had created factions among them trying to make every effort to eliminate the possibility of a unified front to oppose their maneuvering. And once you achieve that, no Date of Birth and no Birth Certificate, issued by any lawful body be it the U.N. or any other, is valid or legitimate.

I can only hope and pray that hand in hand with our efforts to diminish the world’s nuclear capabilities, we will replace them with mature ethical and moral principles in order to forge a safer and more just world where we can all live and let live. Naïve? Maybe, but I still hope..