A theme that courses through all of Jewish history is the theme of liberation. The story of the Israelites escape from Egyptian slavery and its return to its homeland under the leadership of Moses resonates with many oppressed minorities.

That particular escape from tyranny long resonated with black slaves and was incorporated into their liturgy and gospels. Jews have always been a people on the move — usually not by their own choice. The Romans dispersed them after they rebelled against Roman imperialist rule. This was the genesis of the Diaspora.

Jewish communities were chased from one European nation to another in a brutal "whack a mole" view of Jews. The Inquisition was just one manifestation of this history. The tragic history of the Jewish experience reached its apotheosis in the Holocaust, when many in Europe tired of the game and just decided to eliminate its Jews.  
 
The brutality also lead to one of the most spiritual events of the modern era: a return of Jews to their original homeland—Israel. Now many ill—informed or biased people feel that the Jews no longer deserve a home and that Israel should not be supported: that, in the words of the United Nations, the day it was founded was a day of "mourning."

Israel has been hit by a never ending series of wars and terror attacks, boycotts and slanders. The genocidal threat that now faces Israel comes from Iran, which is rapidly developing nuclear weapons and has boasted of its intentions to destroy Israel.  The world dithers or looks away as the policy of appeasement and defeatism overwhelms any sense of morality.

One writer has an idea for a symbolic protest: light Hanukah candles in front of Iranian embassies across the world . The upcoming holiday of Hanukah commemorates the survival of the Jewish people against a tyrannical regime that denied them the freedom to live their lives as they wished. Candles were lighted to reconsecrate the Holy Temple that had been defiled by the tyrants. The oil to light the candles was only enough or one day of light but miraculously lasted the full eight days necessary for worship. Sometimes, sadly, in the wake of Western apathy and immorality, it seems that only a miracle can save Israel.

Ed Lasky  12 20 05