If you watch this video you will see that Lionel Messi was not ready when Shimon Peres hit this ball and ended up getting hit in a place God did not intend to get hit by soccer balls. Ironically you could say that after this incident Messi actually has more reason to dislike Israel than most, yet he doesn’t. Why? Because he is an intelligent and decent individual and of course this was all in good fun. Good luck in the FIFA 20144 World Cup Final Mr. Messi.
On occasion as I sit in front of a computer opining, I stop and consider the fact that there are friends and even family members who ask themselves, what is David doing? Shouldn’t he be spending more time working? Is he just looking for attention? Does he really believe he is making a difference?
I have answers to all those questions, and I am comfortable with my choices, but I am more than aware that those questions are in the minds of some and need to addressed. I do so however not so much for my personal satisfaction but to make the point of how getting involved is something we all need to do.
A few days ago I sent an email to the Secretary General of the United Nations concerning the United Nations traditional and existing anti-Israel stance and lack of concern for the well-being of the Jewish people worldwide. That very sentence could be misinterpreted as delusional self-importance. However, I did not write the letter with some any degree of expectation. I would not be surprised if no one reads it, let alone the Secretary General, and if by some miracle someone does, I doubt they will care. So why did I bother?
I will share with you some comments I received when I posted the letter on Facebook. The comments will remain anonymous in this post, but will of course be recognizable to anyone who is in that particular group.
“Good you take what action you can! I hope we all follow your lead and write, email, call, express, encourage, confront, support ourselves and the nation of Israel. Silence is inappropriate our people need us.”
“Bravo David Groen! We Need More People like you, that speak up!”
“Thank you for sharing. Heartfelt and really an important thing we can all do and should.”
People generally like compliments and accolades, and although I am no exception, my motivation is less personally motivated than probably anything I have ever done in my lifetime. I do what I do for me, but the fact is, and this is what makes this so important, I do not do it only for me. I do it for the Jewish people. I am aware that I am merely one drop of water in a huge ocean, but resistance to evil needs to be fought on many fronts and with a cohesive understanding of the ultimate goal. I am just one small person fighting on one of the fronts.
I am the son of Holocaust survivors. My father’s parents, younger sister & husband were murdered by the Nazis. My mother’s father and younger and only brother were also victims of the Holocaust. Both of them lost numerous friends and relatives during the Nazi occupation of Holland. My father’s parents, Leendert and Maryan Groen were presented with the opportunity to get baptismal papers in order to provide them with the possibility of being seen as non-Jewish so that they would have some hope of survival. Leendert refused basically stating that he was born a Jew and would die a Jew, and that in his eyes to pretend otherwise was to forsake his covenant with God. That was the sacrifice my grandfather made. He sacrificed his life to declare himself a Jew.
So what is it that I am doing? Nothing compared to what others did before me. Giving up time from work? Hardly the ultimate sacrifice. If I am making less money so that I can somehow give some extra encouragement and strength to others than what sacrifice am I making? If my work motivates others to speak up and build a resistance against evil then what I do does matter.
The ripple effect matters more than we may realize because in many ways it is what we are actually up against. The evil forces within Islam, and I said within Islam not of Islam, that want to take over the world and will kill anyone in their way, are attempting a worldwide revolution. Part of this revolution is through ripple effect. I support Israel 100% in doing anything that needs to be done to protect the Jewish people, but I also know that the ultimate battle extends far beyond its borders.
As a student of the Holocaust I have come to a very sobering conclusion. The lessons I have learned from my parents and from others regarding that devastating time not only in Jewish but in World history are lessons that need to be given practical application today. We are no longer dealing with theory of what if a group once again wants to see our destruction? We are once again up against an enemy that wants us wiped off the face of the planet. If any of us who know the history turn a blind eye to what is happening or try to wait it out patiently, we will be making a tragic mistake. I respect those who hold out hope that the world can be a peaceful utopia. I too hope that it can be. But we are not living in a world leaning in that direction and to allow our hope to overshadow our realism will only hasten our demise.
There is a time to hope and there is a time to fight. Right now is the time to fight, any way we know how.
Relatively quiet during this most recent crisis in Israel is the Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. Abbas once again has been presented with an unprecedented opportunity, and rather than make the most of it, he did what he usually does, willingly and cynically disregard it. The opportunity of which I speak was for him to make believers of even the most extreme skeptic as to whether or not he truly is a worthy peace partner. Instead, as always, Abbas chose to take the easy and corrupt way out.
There are two types of dangerous politicians. The evil ones whose intentions are to cause division or suffering, and the weak ones who make all their decisions based on their own personal standing and position. Abbas, now a politician with a terrorist resume, has traded in his militant status to become one of the most transparent politicians in the region, if not in the world. His every move is a calculated way of dancing between appearing willing to make a lasting peace with Israel and conning the world, while appeasing the hardliners not only within his ranks but with Hamas in Gaza as well. His comments generally are indicative of the poor character of the man, as he does what so many of those who are truly his partners, the ones who do not want peace do, fabricate statements because of their expedience. Case in point, his comparing Israel’s current military action to the Nazi death camps that killed 6 million Jews. The ridiculous dishonesty of the statement surely can not be based in ignorance. Does he not know that the Nazis openly stated their desire to wipe Jews off the planet? Does he not know the Germany’s campaigns and raids targeting Jews were not attempts to provide a safer non-violent Germany, but solely to kill them? Does he not know that the death toll of Palestinians is significantly lower than it could be because the Israeli Defense Forces make every attempt NOT to kill civilians, in sharp contrast to Hitler’s Germany that hunted down Jews and murdered them? Of course Abbas knows. But what good would it do politically for him to acknowledge that? Where does he gain by doing what is right? His place as head of the PA is dependent on motivating the angry mob and placating the ambitious terrorists in his midst. What better way to do this than to demonize Israel once again at what he sees as another opportune time. While Israeli politicians will speak out against and act against bad behavior of their constituency, Abbas makes excuses or distorts the facts for his. It may not be right, it may not be moral, but for a politician with a poor character such as Abbas, it certainly is expedient.
And here in lies one of the biggest problems facing Israel. Should by some miracle the terrorist organizations get eliminated from the equation they still have a major problem. They are left with a so-called peace partner who is nothing more than a terrorist turned self-serving politician. To put this in the harshest and scariest of perspectives, consider this point. He’s seen as the good one.
Dear Mr. Secretary General,
Despite my understanding that it is not only a one in a million shot that you will ever read this, but equally unlikely that you will care what I have to say, as a Jewish man, an American citizen, and as a supporter of true human rights all over the planet, I feel compelled to write to you.
I am increasingly perplexed by the approach taken by the organization you lead. It may be that since the organization is called the United Nations, and not the ‘United Nations of Morality and Fairness’, that all that truly matters is that there is an understanding and agreement among the representatives. Therefore it would not matter if the statements and inquiries made would be fair and equitable, merely that they would be convenient to those encouraging or enforcing them. My point being that fair treatment of Jews all over the world is not something many of your member nations concern themselves with as evident in continuing UN policies.
I try to be objective and see it differently but then I hear about another brutal attack in France and the world is silent. I hear about a Swedish man become the latest supporter of Israel to be attacked in Malmo, Sweden, merely for putting out an Israeli flag and once again the world remains silent. You are unquestionably intellectually superior to me, so I am sure you know this, but the number of Jews in Malmo is less than 1,000, probably closer to 500, while the number of Muslims in Malmo is about one-third of its population which would put it in the 100,000 range. And yet I never hear a statement of how there is a disproportionate act of aggression being committed against the Jewish people in European cities like Malmo and Paris.
What I do hear from you is a comparison of the kidnapping of 3 Jewish teenage students, far away from any frontline, kidnappings we later learned were almost immediate murders, to targeted attacks by Israel on Hamas locations in the Gaza Strip. With all your intellect and understanding Mr. Secretary General, how do you justify comparing the attack on terrorists to the kidnapping and murder of 3 innocent children? As I indicated in the beginning of this letter, I realize the unlikelihood of you even seeing this question, let alone caring, but despite that I feel it to be an important question and one that really does need to be asked.
I also need to address the bizarre inconsistency in an organization such as yours, taking votes, many that result in condemnation of Israel, a democratic country, by representatives of countries that are actually non-democratic, totalitarian dictatorships. It is the most cynical twist on the democratic process I’ve ever encountered, yet somehow it seems to work if it means the demonization of Israel.
In conclusion I would like to say that I am an open-minded man who understands that the government of Israel does not do everything correctly when it comes to the Palestinian issue. However, on what basis does the United Nations demand fairness from Israel when they insist on not giving Israel any unbiased fairness in return? Or is it just that the member nations are indeed “United”, united against Israel.
Sincerely,
David Groen
Two weeks ago I would have been considered a moderate regarding the situation with Israel and the Palestinians. I even held hope that the Palestinian Authority would do the right thing in response to what then was the kidnapping of the 3 Israeli teens. However, like anyone else in life I have a breaking point. Mine was the moment it was clear that these 3 boys had not only been kidnapped, but murdered as well. Having reached that breaking point I have come to following conclusions. Any person who does not believe Israel is in its rights to use any manner of force necessary, be it in Gaza, Judea or Samaria (aka ‘The West Bank’) falls into one of the following categories:
Non Jew: Ignorant; Gullible; Anti-Semitic
Jew: Ignorant; Naïve; Flat-out stupid; Self-hating
As a Jew, two weeks ago I fell into the naïve category. That is a category with many different levels. My naiveté was rooted in the belief and hope that a peaceful solution was possible. I was a moderate. The 3 murdered Israeli teens are 3 among thousands killed by terrorists, but somehow it was their murder that destroyed my moderate status as well. Yes I questioned my moderation even then, but I was always open to the idea that there were enough people in power on their side who wanted peace more than they wanted the destruction of Israel to create an atmosphere of coexistence. Sadly that is not the case. As Golda Meir once said so eloquently, “Peace will come when the Arabs love their children more than they hate us.” It is with genuine pain that I say that day is further away from us than ever before.
First to the Non-Jewish people I make mention of, I say this. I respect anyone whose genuine desire is a world of peace. Even if you are ignorant to the truth or gullible as to the intentions of Israel’s Arab enemies, you may desperately cling to the hope that peace can break out. I admire your motivation and appreciate your decency. However, if you really take time to look at the situation you will come to the same tragic conclusion. They do not want peace. They want dead Jews. If you can show me any concrete evidence to prove otherwise I would be happy to see it, but I truly do not believe that evidence exists.
If you are anti-Semitic I have nothing to say to you. You live with hate in your heart and to make matters even worse, that hate is directed towards me and my family. You therefore are nothing to me other than disgusting and potentially dangerous.
To the Jews in these categories I say this. Please learn from the past. The Nazis set out to kill every last Jew. Not merely the Jew who opposed them, but even the Jew whose fear motivated them to work for them in concert in the hope that they would be spared. They were all targets. As we all are today. The naïve amongst you who believe in a peaceful solution, are making the mistake I so genuinely understand. You are applying rational thinking to irrational minds. These are people who are taught that the greatest honor they can achieve in life is through death. Not merely death, but death through murder and destruction. I am sure those of you who are applying your rational standards do not for one second relate to that way of thinking, but if you analyze it honestly and without personal prejudice you may see the sad truth.
To the self-hating Jew, the one who chooses to be extra vocal about criticism of Jews when they do things wrong but are only half as vocal, at best, when Jews are attacked and murdered, I say this. It is not just your fellow Jew you will bring suffering to, but to yourself as well. You are a pawn on a chessboard of evil, and those who play chess know that the pawns are the most expendable. My father, Rabbi Nardus Groen of Blessed Memory once wrote when referring back to his account of the Holocaust, “We may in the course of it meet people who, for whatever it’s worth,may be portrayed as heroes, while others are cowards, pacifists, or activists.They are all the products of mankind. For them, there will always be a place under the sun (with the exception of the traitor).” It is not my place to determine who are the cowards and pacifists and who are the traitors. God will know what is in your heart and I trust will judge you accordingly.
One may make the argument that every day a moderate turns radical Hamas has gained another victory. That may be true. But it is safer to be a realistic radical than a delusional moderate. Unfortunately I now believe those are the only two choices.
The number of Jews in Malmo, Sweden is probably at around 500-800. The Muslim population in Malmo is around 100,000. Earlier today a 38 year old Jewish man was beaten for hanging an Israeli flag outside his home. The man was rushed to the hospital with serious injuries.
This is our world. A world where this type of behavior acceptable. To those dumb enough to think Jews are the only targets or just too scared to say or do something, I urge you to read up about what happens to Christians in Nigeria. You might see it differently. You might even see this as the earlier stages of World War III. Terrifying thought, but one I would love to be convinced is not the case.
In the meantime I ask those who are quick to judging and attacking the behavior of the Jewish people in Israel and throughout the world to pretend this was happening in the reverse and say what you would say then. Come on Roger Waters, you hypocritical anti-Semitic pond scum, where is your outrage now? Where are the United Nations voices now? Or is human rights a pick and choose issue.
I’ll say something I do not say often. I am sure Israel is guilty of doing some things wrong when it comes to the handling of the Palestinians. However, as long as this ridiculously lopsided double standard exists it holds significantly less importance, because to demand fairness from one group while denying fairness to the ones you are demanding it from, destroys the credibility of the cause.
Welcome to the world of the cliché. For starters, let me admit that I am on occasion as guilty as anyone else of using clichés, but when serious events take place such as has been the case recently in Israel, social media goes crazy recycling the same sentiments over and over again. To be fair, some of these sentiments are obvious ones that any normal human being would have. Case in point, the devastation everyone felt over the murder of Naftali Frenkel, Gilad Shaar, and Eyal Yifrach, and the subsequent comments that followed based in sadness and mourning. Those commonly felt sentiments are not the ones I speak of. The ones I am addressing are the different statements regarding the world’s reaction and what is oft referred to as “the way Jews act”.
I am in no position to criticize anyone, especially those who care enough to give their opinion in this difficult time. I realize that whether you make the statement that you do not care about the murder of Mohammed Abu Khdeir or you are as outraged by it as you are about the murder of the 3 Israeli teens, your heart is still probably in the right place. Your against murder, which makes you at least in basic terms, a good person. Here’s where I personally run into a problem. In attacking a Jew who is rightfully fed up with the treatment of our people for thousands of years, you may become part of the problem. Yes, you are entitled to an opinion, but those who have come to their own unbiased and logical conclusion, are pretty much clear on the double standard that exists when judging Jewish behavior and reaction.
“Jews don’t do that”. Don’t do what? Get angry, fight for survival, strike back? I sit here writing this today because before the Nazis ever entered Holland, my father Rabbi Nardus Groen of Blessed Memory did something Jews “didn’t do” in 1930’s Holland. He joined what was then the equivalent of the National Guard and learned how to use a gun. I go back to the phrase “Never Again” often because it is not so much a cliché as it is an approach the Jewish people need to have if they are to survive. Do we feel that mass murder of Jews can never happen again? I would like nothing more than to say there are no indications of that, but sadly we live in a world where genocidal maniacs still live and even gain popularity, putting not only Jews but other people in similar danger.
I agree that murder for the sake of murder is not the Jewish way, but I also feel passionately that is not what has taken place in Israel. Assuming the culprits of Khdeir’s murder were Jews, they are a group of people who were brought down to a tragic and horrible level by the enemies who have done everything in their power till now to get them there. Do those of you speaking of how Jews act really think that any clearheaded citizen of Israel or any Jew in the world for that matter wants to spend their time hunting down and murdering Palestinians? They do not. Unlike the enemy, we are not taught that murder is an act of holiness and honor. But these same Jewish people we speak of do have feelings and fears. Jews don’t do what? Act human? Seek justice, even if through the wrong avenues? Working on the assumption of their guilt, the behavior of some, albeit wrong and even deplorable, and of course requiring punishment, is still based in an understandably sad but human reaction. This is not an attempt to justify it, merely to address the most popular cliché of the day, “Jews don’t do that.”
The other issue has to do with how the world feels and how the world reacts. Let’s drop all the clichés and just tell it like it is. As a unit, the world does not stand behind Israel and the Jewish people. Please harbor no illusions. Yes there are many good and some great people who put themselves out there and defend us, but they are individuals who ultimately may be at risk just as we are. And when looking at how the world body really see the situation let’s just take a look at the United Nations reaction over the past few weeks. When 3 Jewish boys get kidnapped and murdered the United Nations makes a statement declaring there is no evidence it was done by Hamas. When 1 Palestinian boy gets murdered, allegedly by Jewish settlers, there is talk of a special investigation of the behavior of the settlers. And we are back to where we started. How Jews act. The world has never shown signs of favoring the Jewish position so I can’t say I am surprised by the overall reaction. But if you are Jewish, and one who supports the State of Israel and its inhabitants, I urge you to try a different cliché, like “Never Again”. It might just end of saving your life one day.
The reality is that Israel needs to do what is right for Israel and the Jewish people without concerning itself with what the world thinks. It’s hardly ever good anyway.
I often feel guilty when I come out in favor of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) taking the harshest of approaches. After all, who am I to say this? I live in New York. I do not live in Israel, I do not live in Judea, Samaria, or Southern Israel. I do not have children being called up to fight and risking their life to do the things I comfortably encourage from a safe air-conditioned home in the United States.
Who am I? I am a human being, I am a Jew, and I am the son of Holocaust survivors. I have made every attempt in my life, both in practicality and in theory to learn lessons from the past. Sometimes successfully, sometimes not. If there is one lesson I have learned, and I truly believe it may be the most important lesson of our time, one that could mean the difference between the death or survival of modern civilization, it’s that we can not apply rational standards to irrationally thinking people. Do I believe the answer is to wipe out anyone who lives by those irrational standards? Of course not. Do I believe re-education of the greatest kind is needed. I do. I also believe that sometimes the only way to begin that re-education is by a show of force of the most enormous proportions.
Two of the most civilized nations today, and strong American allies, are Germany and Japan. Go back 70 years ago to the year 1944 and no one would have thought that to be realistic. Yet the world was saved, at least temporarily by the drastic change in direction initiated by the allied forces basically pounding the two nations into submission. Many people who wanted nothing more but to live a decent life died in the process, on both sides, but the fact remains that with the strong force brought on to both of these nations, history was changed for the better.
We face a similar threat today, at least as far as its potential danger, even if the landscape is very different. Many people such as myself, who believe a powerful approach is needed against our enemies, are getting criticized for our viewpoints. “Jews don’t act like that, the enemies do”, is one of the things I have heard. To that I reply, yes, in the past we did not. But we also say Never Again.
I find the murder of any innocent person to be tragic. But I also believe in the phrase coined by our ancient Rabbis in Ethics of our Fathers, “im ain ani li mi li”, which translated into English means, “If I am not for myself, who will be for me.” As a Jew, my sad assumption is that as a collective, there will be no one. There are many righteous people who have and would sacrifice their lives to protect innocent people, Jew and non-Jew alike, but there are no nations or groups who will look after the Jewish people any better than their fellow Jews will.
So although I feel somewhat guilty for sitting in comfort and speaking in favor of force by the IDF, as a Jew who has learned from history I would feel more guilty if I did not.
This will be a short post in order to make one crucial point. See this Palestinian boy. Hamas killed him too. I am sure there will be a spin by those who hate Israel and the Jewish people to say otherwise, but this is the face of the latest victim of Hamas. Make no mistake. He may be Palestinian, but regardless of the circumstances surrounding his death, Hamas killed him too. If you read this and don’t understand why, it is simply because you do not wish to understand why. Israel wants peace. Hamas and their allies do not.
Apparently, according to some friends of mine, my voice is needed now.
What else can I add that has not already been expressed thousands of times?
Grief is beyond words. I cannot imagine the pain and loss that the families are going through. Or, perhaps I can imagine, having lost my brother at age 21 (albeit to Israel’s “other national curse”), and also because I am a father to two daughters and I worry about their health and safety constantly. But take that imagining and multiply it by millions. Those numbers boggle the mind.
Rage is abundant. I want the IDF and/or other security apparati to find the murderers, shoot them on sight without arrest or trial, and cremate the bodies. Neither they nor their families deserve the dignity. They deserve the Eichmann treatment. Or at the very least, the Bin Laden burial. I want to see the terrorist infrastructure – which at this point means any putatively “governing” Palestinian body – dismantled, destroyed, disintegrated, and deported. I want to see all the enablers of terror deported to Syria or Iraq – and those in the West to be struck down by all sorts of debilitating illnesses to ensure they will never open their mouths again. I want Israeli sovereignty to be proclaimed throughout all of Judea and Samaria and all residents who don’t declare and demonstrate unwavering allegiance to the State of Israel deported. I want to see Gaza retaken and Gush Katif reestablished. I want to see an Israel that does not bend over to Western overlords or cower at the sound of specious “world opinion.” Let Israel dictate the opinion the way it should have done and almost did in 1967 – not vice versa. Because then – AND ONLY THEN – will there be peace.
Frustration is intense. I want to see all these things happen and wish for them fervently – but feel powerless to do anything about it beyond posting here – which, in the scheme of things, does not mean a whole lot. I am no longer an IDF soldier and have no voice in Israeli politics. I am just a Jew and a human being currently in New York, trying to make a living and maybe pursue a few artistic endeavors. And even if I were in Israel, what else could I do but feel exactly the same?
http://www.reverbnation.com/theheshinc/song/99805-theres-a-voice
Holland’s Heroes would like to thank Hesh Meister for joining as a contributor. He will provide his own fresh and clear perspective within the mission of the site, which is to combat attacks against the Jewish people and Israel and to discredit those who try to claim the Holocaust never happened.
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