Run and Hide? Think Again!

MOSHE FINBERG, CHAIRMAN
CHAIRMAN@BNAIELIM.ORG
I read with great disappointment that the director of the Seattle chapter of the Anti-Defamation League "issued a recommendation to all Jewish institutions, including synagogues, to cancel services and evacuate the buildings" following the murderous attack on the Seattle Federation building last Friday. This reaction is all too reminiscent of the "run and hide" response of the Jewish People over the past 2,000 years when we have been attacked, and plays directly into the hands of our enemies. It reflects a fatal lack of bitachon [confidence in HaShem], rejecting His ways for the perception of safety one has with his head buried well in the sand. Instead, all Jews should be armed and/or otherwise ready to defend themselves to the full extent permitted by law, and go to prayer services, rallies, and ordinary day to day activities of normal Jewish life. We should be openly Jewish and attend our services in our synagogues in numbers larger than ever. Of course law enforcement should provide security to us as it would for any group targeted for hate crimes and terror. Nevertheless, we must be prepared to take care of ourselves as there are not enough law enforcement officials to cover every anti-Semite with a weapon. Get your heads out of the sand and stand up straight and proud, confident and strong. That is Yeshurun - Israel at our finest. HaShem doesn't want his Children to run from the class bullies. Never Again.