Warped genes

By Shalom Pollack

My observations of the last week or  so have made me ponder yet again, this miracle called Israel.

One of the requirements for maintaining my tour guide license is continuing education offered by the ministry of tourism.  Within this framework, one of my choices   was to attend a lecture on the “Geopolitics of the Mid East”. I love that stuff so I attended.

During the break I met a colleague with whom I discussed a point made in the lecture.

The case of the Kurds and their quest for a state  compared to the “Palestinians ‘ demand for their own. I pointed out that  indeed the Kurds are a legitimate  people long  denied national self determination and persecuted by Arab states for years.. They have their own language, ethnic relationship, history,…culture. The Palestinians have none of those.

My colleague seemed not to be interested in “Palestinian” identity as much as arguing that the Jews are not a people either. He was quite animated in his arguments proving that  –  we are not a  people.

I will spare trying to repeat his childish arguments but the point is that we have such Jews amongst us and  some are  even  licensed to guide  tourists to Israel!

What makes Jews like him tick? What makes him so focused on denying and denouncing  his own people?
Very interesting question. I wish I knew the exact  answer to this riddle. However, what I refer to as a “recurring warped gene” seems to pop up in every generation – and seems to be ever more potent in times of  relative Jewish empowerment.

What makes the  George Soros types do what they do? Logic does not provide an answer. It is what it is.

It is part of our  Jewish history.

In fact, when the prophet says,(Zechariah, 12)”The nations and Judah shall come up against Jerusalem…”, could it mean that Jews (Judah) will join the nations in their battle against Jerusalem and the Jewish nation?. You bet! They are doing it  today.

The New Israel Fund, J Street, Peace Now, Rabbis for Peace, Betzelem… etc. The ancient  prophecy jumps from the pages of the Bible to the pages of The “NY Times” and “Haaretz”. Haaretz,  in its role of mouthpiece for  “Judah against Jews”, has reached a new low the other day when one of its contributors, Yossie Klein, wrote an article comparing  the National Religious Jews of Israel to the murderous, Jew hating Hizbullah in Lebanon.

Black clad , bearded Neturei Karta Jews hug the Mullahs in Iran and denounce Israel before crowds of neo Nazis in Germany.  If this  was not prophesied we would really be in an intellectual quandary. But…” Judah joins the nations…”

I now carry a pistol. Since my cousin was butchered by Arab terrorists in his synagogue two years ago and with  the increase of  random Arab attacks on our streets, I have decided to do what I can to be part of the solution.

A few days ago, I was in a synagogue,  I guess you could call it not Zionist friendly. The gun on  my hip drew lots of stares: looks of surprise, suspicion and also resentment. One fellow  scolded me,”the rabbis” disapprove” he said.  I suppose he was  referring to bringing a weapon into the synagogue on the Sabbath – or perhaps on any day. I explained that  with so many hostile  Arabs living nearby wouldn’t it be prudent to have some real protection?
He said,” it is all in God’s Hands”. He did not seem influenced by the fact that synagogues have been the scenes of bloody Arab massacres in recent years and that God, in His mercy, has  now given  us the means to protect ourselves.
Another one said ,”it doesn’t happen often..”  OK…..

Things are just  too weird to be following any natural logical path.  Israel  lives on another planet.There is Israel /Jews and the rest of the world. Has it not always been so?

Israel marches forward, breaking every record in every field of  positive human endeavour; an  island of  light in a vast  jungle of depredation. She shakes the persistent  bonds that would do any other nation in long ago.
Unparalleled in history

The warped genes are a  part of our unparalleled story. It just is.

Shalom Pollack
Tour guide
shalompollack613@gmail.com