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By Rabbi David Bar-Hayim
September 8, 2005
Were it not for the fact that U.S. currency unequivocally states "In GOD we Trust" -- the only country on earth to make this claim -- I would probably not be writing this article. But it does, so I am.
Rabbi Yehudah HaLevi wrote 900 years ago: "Israel among the Nations is akin to the heart among the organs of the body" (Kuzari -- 12th century text of Jewish philosophy). In other words, the heart, being more sensitive than the other organs, is often the first to show signs of distress.
In mid-August the government of Israel -- in response to American and international pressure -- forcibly exiled Jews from their ancestral lands in Gush Katif (Gaza) and Samaria, turning 10,000 of its own citizens into homeless refugees. Their homes, businesses and lives were destroyed before their eyes. Their crime? I cannot tell you because I do not know. The result? A colossal injustice against victims of Islamic terror and an unheard of incentive for Islamic terrorists world-wide.
One week later -- just as Jewish corpses were being exhumed in Gush Katif to be reinterred elsewhere (because it is clear that the Arabs will desecrate the graves) -- Secretary of State Rice announced that "it could not just be Gaza". Evidently 10,000 Jewish refugees were not enough for the lady from Alabama. Within hours, Hurricane Katrina wreaked destruction of biblical proportions on large areas of the US -- specifically Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff described it on Fox News as "probably the worst catastrophe or set of catastrophes in U.S. history." The area affected is twelve times that of the entire State of Israel. New Orleans has been wiped out; corpses float in the streets. Washington has belatedly swallowed its pride and asked for blankets, food and water trucks from the EU and NATO, and beds and medical supplies from Canada. Ten thousand are thought dead, hundreds of thousands homeless.
Let's do the math. When was the last time something like this happened in America? Never, so we are told. And what is the probability of such a disaster striking within days of the expulsion of Jews from their Land and homes? Well, let's just say that if you are a statistician (I'm not) and you know how to calculate the odds (I don't), you certainly won't know how to pronounce the number.
But this is not all. As noted by The New York Times, by damaging the oil riggs and refineries along the Gulf Coast, Katrina "also set off the first oil shock of the 21st century." Oil prices are rising; the economy will suffer.
And this is all due to just one storm.
The Jews of Israel extend their sympathies to the suffering and the bereaved. At the same time, God-fearing Jews are duty-bound to remind our friends and enemies that evil done to us will come back at those who would harm us, sevenfold. "And I shall bless those that bless thee, and whosoever curses thee will I curse" (Genesis 12:3). Just ask Pharoah. Or Hitler.
America was founded upon the values of the Bible. The Declaration of Independence mentions 'Nature's God' and the 'Creator' in its opening lines. The seal of Yale University has at its centre the Hebrew words Urim V'Tumim -- loosely translated as 'Light and Truth' -- a reference to a garment of the Israelite High Priest and his ability to receive the Word of God.
It is therefore a cause for great concern to many, both Americans and non-Americans, that some of America's current leaders are apparently so out of touch with the God of the Bible that they are willing to make deals with Islamic jihadists at Israel's expense.
Perhaps President Bush felt that creating 10,000 refugees in Israel was no big deal. Perhaps President Bush thought he could buy off Islamic terrorists with Jewish land and property.
President Bush should think again.
Perhaps President Bush needs to take a closer look at one of the quarters in his pocket and reconnect with what America is supposed to be about.
Many people, Jews and non-Jews, including many Americans, believe that the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob has spoken.
President Bush: are you listening?
Views expressed by the author do not
necessarily reflect those of israelinsider.
 
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