The Assassination of a Head of State

Yesterday, a listener called the show and advocated the assassination of the Prime Minister of Israel. My first reaction was shock and outrage, it was my gut reaction to a preposterous suggestion on live open air radio. Even more infuriating at the time was the fact that I felt Rabbi Shlomo Mahn, my long suffering co-host, did not say enough to distance himself from the suggestion.

After listening to a tape of the show this morning, I may have been too harsh on Rabbi Mahn. While I feel he may have been clearer in his initial reaction to the caller, I also feel that this prevailing sense of hopelessness felt by a majority of diaspora Jews (especially those not deluded by the hatred expressed by groups such as the Netury Karta and Peace Now, who are hellbent on destroying the State of Israel) that Prime Minister Olmert is selling out the country. If I was too harsh on my good friend, the Rabbi, I apologize.

We have a responsibility as talk show hosts to choose our words and reactions to words carefully. We have specific responsibilities to the government who grants us our license and we have a fundamental responsibility to the listeners who invest hours of their lives listening to our show. While sometimes, sitting in a small room with a couple of microphones makes you kick back and relax, the truth of the matter is that radio and words could be dangerous if we are not careful what's said.

When the caller first suggested that someone in Israel get caught in friendly crossfire, I initially laughed, I honestly thought he was joking. But when he emphasized that he thought that Olmert should get shot, that's where I took issue.

I was working as a newspaper columnist when then Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated. I remember clearly the vilification of the religious and right wing, repercussions still felt today. I remember The Montreal Gazette's front page story quoting a fringe rabbi saying that Orthodox Jews have blood on their hands. I remember the furor that erupted when my column was published condemning The Gazette for such blatant hateful and not overly accurate ramblings.

To attempt to build up the same furor that preceded, but not necessarily resulted in the unfortunate murder of Yitzhak Rabin is unacceptable discourse both on my radio show and in society as a whole. The caller should be ashamed of himself.

Have a great Shabbos
Howie

Ehud Omert - War Criminal?

I've been thinking that perhaps Ehud Omert, the Israeli Prime Minister is a war criminal. First he uprooted thousands of Jews and abandoned them into trailer parks. Then he went and allowed enemies of his State to occupy the previous Jewish towns and launch missles into his population centers. No reaction.

His own President, noted dove Shimon Peres, recently said that the only way the Israelis could stop is by re-occupying Gaza, but they won't do it.

So the Israeli government is once again sacrificing Jews for the farce of peace...How sad.

Charge Ehud Omert with war crimes today.

Howie

Ah the blog...

So we have been promising show blogs from the people running the show and here we are, my first one.

I first off want to thank you all for tuning in, it is truly an honor to be welcomed into your lives every day and I thank you for this wonderful opportunity.

Ok enough of the mush, let's get down to reality. The State of Israel is in pain, I hear it crying out to the Jews of the Diaspora, screaming for us to protect its holy sites, it's polished stone and its existence within the State of Israel.

The city remembers when it was under Jordanian rule and all Jewish holy sites were desecrated or destroyed. It remembers the Romans and the Greeks, the Assyrians and Egyptians. The city has a long memory and knows now that the fullest peace it has ever experienced was that under Israeli rule.

For a while, Palestinian genocidal terrorists did not dare attack Jerusalem, the city was seen as holy and untouchable. But as the zealots continued to rile the masses and the hatred of thousands of years boiled to the top of the pot, Jerusalem became like everywhere else in Israel, a target.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Omert is planning on re-dividing Jerusalem for a promise of peace. As a Jew I'm appalled, as a historian I'm disgusted and as a rational observer of politics I'm scared.

George Santayana once said, 'those who don't remember the past are doomed to repeat it'. These are in fact one of the first words you see on a plaque mounted in the entrance of the Majdanek death camp museum in Poland.

The Polish Government seems to understand Santayana, it's disturbing that the Israeli one doesn't.

Keep your eyes on this blog for more thoughts and comments from me and please feel free to respond.

Howie