by Marcus J. Goldman, MD
July 1, 2004
"Passion has helped us; but can do so no more. It will in future be our enemy. Reason, cold, calculating, unimpassioned reason, must furnish all the materials for our future support and defense."
-Springfield, Illinois, February 22, 1842
abraham Lincoln never spoke much about Jews but he understood the danger of unchecked passion-it was a harbinger of a war that would divide and kill-a war that would pit brother against brother, one that would see 7,000 soldiers killed in 20-minutes and one that tore at the very fabric of our founding principles. Now, another harbinger of incivility-a chasm that finds Jews pitted against Jews-brother against sister, neighbor against neighbor. Jewish liberals rebel against "reactionary" Jewish conservatives while some Jewish supporters of the war on terror admonish those who cling to the idealistic, but illusionary drippings of socialism. To some, in their support for social and economic fairness, Jewish liberals try to be all things to all people. Jewish conservatives view the world through a broader prism, seeing the emergence of radical Islam as a threat to all of Judaism. Yet despite the need for Jewish cohesion, Judaism has becoming fractured. The seeds of a Jewish civil war are taking root.
"at what point, then, is the approach of danger to be expected? I answer, if it ever reach us it must spring up amongst us. It cannot come from abroad. If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher."
-Springfield, Illinois, January 27, 1838
Lincoln recognized the threat of enemies from within. Likewise, enemies of Judaism have not always been external. From Cain and abel to Jacob and Esau and beyond, biblical disputes led to schisms in Judaism that threatened its existence. The emergence of Christianity, born of Judaism, clearly tested its resolve. after World War Two, when what was left of European Jewry was in shambles, the tumult of Israel's violent birth saw Judaism battle with itself yet again. To preserve the principles of freedom so passionately held and to prevent civil war, Israeli Prime Minister David Ben Gurion ordered his fledgling Israeli army to eradicate mutinous Jewish elements-elements that helped win Israel's war of independence. During the battle, Jews killed or wounded 83 fellow Jews. The rebellion was put down forging the way for a unified Israel. But historically these groups of disparate Jews overcame self-destructive impulses because they shared a common dream-survival in the face of annihilation.
There is no such common cause now. The 30 percent of american Jews who will cast their votes for George Bush in November do so out of a conviction that he best represents hope for the survival of the nation and its people. The same 30 percent are routinely ravaged by their Jewish counterparts on the left. The fight is a contentious and vicious one. Jewish conservatives are ostracized-considered by their brethren to be diseased. With the rise of Jewish conservatism, some Jewish liberals, dismissive of present and impending Islamic terror, reflexively fear the fall of their monopoly on caring about social issues.
aiding, abetting and benefiting from our self-imposed split are the evils of radical Islam. For decades, radical Islam has proclaimed Jews to be gratuitous, or worse, and in need of annihilation. Past conventional wisdom held that Jews had little to fear from a fractured Islamic nation. The reality is different now. For the first time in modern history, at a time when traditional Judaism is breaking apart, radical Islam has come together with a common cause-our destruction. aided by our inability or unwillingness to find common cause, combined with the actual slaughter of our people in all parts of the world, radical Islam is winning.
Tragically, we Jews betray each other by offering up mutual hatred in the face of so grave a threat. We are the center piece on the table of murderous intent. Whether it was Saddam's support of Palestinian suicide bombers, Bin Laden's Jewish jihad, the UN's hatred, France's unchecked anti-Semitism, abu Musab al-Zarqawi or the rise of Islam in Europe and the United States, Jews must be persuaded to fight a common enemy. The threat to our existence is not George Bush, John ashcroft or Donald Rumsfeld. Likewise, the threat is not gay marriage, abortion or conservation. The war is not between Philip Roth types and Leon Uris types. Perhaps the most persuasive argument for Jewish cohesion is the supposition that most reasoned Jews pray for a strong and secure Israel-the only nation on earth where President Bush would be welcomed, perhaps even adored. abraham Lincoln's words were a warning. They ring as true today as they did then:
"...We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature."
-abraham Lincoln, March 4, 1861
For the greater good, the descent of Judaism into insults and complacency must end. Hopefully, future generations of Jews, should there be any, will look back and thank us for fighting together to end radical Islamic savagery-the new social scourge.
Marcus J. Goldman, MD is a psychiatrist and author of "The Joy of Fatherhood". His work has appeared in The Washington Times, Tech Central Station and The Boston Herald. Dr. Goldman is a Guest Writer for OpinionEditorials.com, PoliticalUSa, NewsWithViews.com and WebCommentary.
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