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| 40 standing ovations in 40 minutes!!! |
This will not be the first time that a Jewish leader has made a dramatic or even a provocative clarion call in a foreign leader’s courtyard. Nor is it the first time that much of the world (and even much of the Jewish world) has been critical of such “chutzpah.” Just like now, many past Jewish leaders were oblivious to, or did not take the existential threat to the Jewish people seriously. After all, the Jews in Shushan like many American Jews today, did not want to upset their neighbors who have welcomed and embraced them into the greater society for the past 70years.
But is it reasonable to draw parallels between the Purim story we read in the Megillah and the latest Obama-Netanyahu blow-up? After all, the White House is not trying to destroy the Jews or even endanger the existence of Israel. Their goal, ostensibly, is to prevent Iran from gaining a nuclear weapon that can wipe out Israel (and threaten the US and her allies).
Yet despite this, the White House is not only strengthening the Iranians’, (geographically, Persia is Iran) security. The White House acts is if there are no ‘checks’ on its powers – like an all-powerful Monarch – the type that we are familiar with from Biblical times. When Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives in DC, there will be those who will want to parade him throughout the city as the savior for the free world – someone who is not afraid to act decisively in the face of grave danger for his people. TV talk shows, favoring the Prime Minister’s address, have reportedly taken the royal garments and chariots of Shushan out of mothballs and prepared them for Netanyahu.
What is the focus of the immediate conflict? PM Netanyahu was invited to speak about Congressional legislation that enjoys bi-partisan support. He was essentially asked to provide Congressional testimony – just not in a committee room, but in front of the entire Congress.
- One bill forces the White House to complete negotiations with Iran by June or Iran will be subject to increased monetary sanctions. It recently passed the Senate Banking Committee 18-4 with affirmative votes by six of the 10 Democrats on the committee including Sen. Robert Menendez of New Jersey and Chuck Schumer of New York.
- Another bill that was introduced on Friday, would grant Congress the opportunity to approve, or reject, the comprehensive nuclear deal with Iran negotiated by the Obama administration. This bill was sponsored by Senators Bob Corker (R-TN) Robert Menendez (D-NJ, Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Tim Kaine (D-VA), and cosponsored by four Republicans and four Democrats (although one is technically an Independent).
These two bills represent the epitome of the tradition of bi-partisanship that has been the mainstay in American foreign policy. They also demonstrate that Congress has absolutely no faith in the President’s commitment to protect US national security interests. President Obama’s real problem is that he knows Netanyahu has more credibility on this issue than he does. His only chance to derail this humiliation is to accuse him of the ultimate beltway transgression – partisanship. The Biblical equivalent of Queen Vashti humiliating the King by refusing to appear before him in merely her crown, and is handed a death sentence for violating protocol, thereby presenting King Ahashverosh as weak. So the King killed his wife in order to avoid appearing weak – the original “Leading from Behind.”
It is interesting to note that when Haman attempted to wipe out the Jews, he agreed to pay the King for the right to do so, ensuring that it would not cost the government to wipe out the Jews. The Iran sanctions bills are designed to inflict economic damage on the Iranian government. The White House opposes sanctions. Doing so, ensures that Iran’s attempt to wipe out the Jews won’t cost the Iranian government anything either.
Purim is the holiday that obliterates the notion that the world is dictated by randomness. Haman choose a lottery to determine the date of the destruction of the Jewish people. Two thousand years ago Haman’s ‘Powerball’, landed on Adar 13, which is the date that Prime Minister Netanyahu was invited to speak before a joint session of Congress about the dangers that Iran poses to the US, Israel and the free world.
But for all the similarities between the events surrounding the original Purim festival to Netanyahu’s trip to DC is,the question remains: Who will be the Esther of Purim 2015? When Mordechai enters the capital city and wails loudly for all to hear about the threats that face the Jewish people, he is alone and those in the Capital City ignore his concerns. They feel that they know better, and are equipped to weather the storm since they are close to the political leadership of King Ahashverosh. Even Queen Esther, initially, attempts to calm Mordechai down. But then Esther makes a decisive change and rallies all the Jews in Shushan to support her. She is exposed to mortal danger – for which she remains a Jewish heroine to this very day.
- Will Jewish Democrats who have supported President Obama grab this moment to endorse Prime Minister Netanyahu’s speech as vital for the security of Israel AND the security of America?
- Will patriotic Americans across the political spectrum implore President Obama to stop playing dirty politics by protecting Iran while maligning Israel, the Jewish State?
- Will Jewish Americans make this their “ESTHER MOMENT” and stop blindly supporting President Obama, take off their masks and identify themselves as protectors of the Jewish people AND of America?
THIS IS THEIR DEFINING MOMENT; THIS IS THEIR MOMENT OF TRUTH
“For if you persist in keeping silent at a time like this, relief and deliverance will come to the Jews from some other place.” (Esther 4:16)
GIVE MY REGARDS TO SUNNY AND BO!!!!!
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