There are many who note that while we are free, there are those who are enslaved. There are slaves in the Sudan, Southeast Asia, and other places throughout the world. Lacking in specifics, I will leave such discussions to others more qualified than I. (Although, I do recommend getting involved with the many NGOs who work to eradicate such practices). I will, however, take this opportunity to discuss something that effects us, the Jewish people and those who support them.
According to an article in the Jerusalem Post, stones were thrown twice during a seder at a Chabad house in Budapest. The police, according to the article, did very little, and did not seem to take the situation seriously. On a night when we commemorate our freedom from oppression, there are those who wished to scare this Jewish community with this anti-Semitic act. We ought to remember that fear, too, is a form of oppression; when we give in to fear and dread, we lose our ability to think clearly and reasonably. We ought to applaud those individuals who continued with their seders, as they made a statement, simply by continuing in their religious ceremony, that despite the acts directed against them, and despite the memories that such events, no doubt, evoke, we, as the Jewish people, will not give in to fear, and will not be oppressed.
Chag Herut Sameach!
froylein
3/31/2010
Were the stones thrown at a Chabad house during the seder or were they thrown during the seder at a Chabad house?
Worrisomely enough, according to recent polls, Hungarian neo-fascists will either win or come in (closely) in second place in the upcoming elections.
dahlia
3/31/2010
froylein – excellent point. it hadn’t occurred to me that stones could be thrown as part of the seder, but upon rereading the sentence, i see your point.
andres
4/3/2010
fear is the mind killer. agreed, its wrong to inflict and incite fear or violence on anyone. including our enemies
dahlia
4/3/2010
andres – certainly you can see a distinction between those who are performing hate crimes and a government trying to protect its citizens
andres
4/3/2010
Im not sure I follow the question. Seems the article wrote about a ritual that was being stoned. If that is a hate crime, so be it. Im not sure what “goverment trying to protect is citizens” has to with that article? please clarify. Seems that in the article it was a rare incident, but ofcourse their is hate in the world. All sides have hatred, I just hope the majority is level headed enough to know that violence or hatred never wins in the end. At least that is my opinion. the few nuts will obviously get the headlines. if it bleeds it leads.
dahlia
4/4/2010
andres – my apologies… i seem to have misinterpreted your comment. i understood it to be a political statement, rather than a universal statement against hatred.