This morning (Wednesday) two articles appeared in the newspaper La Nación (electronic edition) regarding the Jews: one talks about the escalation of violence in the Gaza Strip (click to read it). The other discusses the relationship between anti-Israeli sentiment in Europe and antisemitism (click to read it).
It is not my intention to comment on the newspaper La Nación itself, but it is interesting to note that there are two articles written in a contradictory manner.
El primero tiene frases como «Vehículos blindados cercaron el hospital de esta localidad impidiendo el acceso de los heridos, según precisó un testigo» y » Las víctimas que dejó como saldo el reciente ataque provocan que el número de personas fallecidas tras la sublevación de los palestinos contra la ocupación israelí de sus territorios en septiembre de 2000 (Intifada), ascienda a 5469″.
Por el otro lado, el segundo dice «Pero para los antisemitas, atacar a Israel se volvió una máscara muy útil para encubrir sus prejuicios» y » Hezbollah es una organización explícitamente antisemita. El ejemplo más claro es el ataque de Hezbollah a la mutual judía en Buenos Aires en 1994… Los manifestantes iban con pancartas que decían: «Todos somos Hezbollah», lo cual parece más pro guerra que antiguerra».
While there's much to discuss regarding antisemitism, I believe there's a very basic and simple lesson we can learn from events like this Wednesday's: we are news. In other words, no matter what we do, we make the news.
To put it another way: there are (approximately) 5 billion people in the world. They say there are (approximately) 14 million Jews. This represents 0.281% of the world's population, and yet we make the news!
What do we learn from this? Very simply: the idea of assimilation is to be like everyone else. But there's a problem with this idea (which some Jews may share and live by): everyone else doesn't want us to be like them! They constantly remind us, in one way or another, that we are the chosen people, that we have a mission on earth (defined in the Torah), and that, unfortunately, in many cases, we are not fulfilling it.
It is time to accept who we are and learn to live who we are, highlighting our Jewish identity intrinsically connected to the Torah and in this way also making headlines, but in a different way, announcing the coming of Messiah NOW!.