Robert,
Thank you for putting this together. I saw the accounts of the doctors' remarks yesterday and I have been paralyzed ever since.

Frankly, I have been on the verge of despairing. How can anyone out there still think it possible that the ideal of multiculturalism is not suicidal? I just saw a car with a bumper sticker that says, "Bless the Whole World", and it was difficult to contain my revulsion. I felt somehow that it is worse than those "coexist" stickers with all of the religious symbols. It took me a while to figure out why- It is because God already blessed the world and it is the idiots who would be at once so presumptuous as to feel that it needs their blessing and so indiscriminately accepting of evil who curse it...
Ah, I am no longer paralyzed- thank you for the inspiration.
YBM

http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/774032/jewish/What-is-our-response-to-the-massacre.htm

What is our response to the massacre?
A response to the question "why?"

By Tzvi Freeman

Dear Rabbi Freeman,

I can't handle this. Here's a young couple with a small child who left their families to live in a strange land, just for the sake of helping build the Jewish community there. You know how many kids they saved from drugs and from prison? This is their reward? This is the protection G‑d gives them?

--S

Dear S,

We're all in pain. We're all stunned. But you are asking questions you know you cannot answer. Why? How will that help anyone? What we need now is strength and courage. What we need now is to regather our forces and to rebuild.

We knew beforehand that we are at war with an enemy. We knew that the world needs to be healed, that it oozes with a venomous darkness, and that darkness will not sit passively as we steal away its dominion. We knew that the more we fight this darkness, the harder it will fight back. We didn't fool ourselves. We decided we will fight and we will win. That is why Gavriel and Rivky went where they went. They went not as tourists, but as fearless soldiers.

Once you are at war, you don't stop to ponder all over again—can we win? Is this worth it? Maybe they're worse than we thought? That's deadly. If you would rather stay home and enjoy comfort while the rest of the world sits out in the cold, you should have decided that a long time ago. Now you are out there on the field of battle, you have already awakened the bear from its den, now there is no turning back.

They are darkness. We are light. They storm the shores with death in their eyes. We come to teach compassion and acts of beauty. They carry assault rifles and grenades. We carry candles for Friday night, a Torah of wisdom, joy and beauty.

Are we to surrender before them? Are we to stop and cry and ask, "maybe we're fighting the wrong battle"?

On the Shabbat that we confirmed our worst fears, Chabad held a Shabbaton for over 40 people in Mumbai. A Chabad rabbi of another city in India came to host the event. We will not abandon the 5,000 Jews of Mumbai, nor the constant flow of Israeli backpackers needing guidance on their journey--we will work even harder now on their behalf. We will revenge the work of violence by doubling and quadrupling our works of peace and love. We will fill the world with light and wisdom and the spirit of darkness in men's hearts shall forever perish. They come with their guns and their might, with a god of destruction and terror, but we come in the name of the Eternal, the source of all life and healing. They and all memory of them will vanish from the face of the earth and our lamp will burn forever.

May the Almighty G‑d hear the cry of their blood from the earth and put an end to all sorrow. May it be very soon, sooner than we can imagine.

I wish I could act surprised, shocked etc, but all I can think of is, "Nu? What again?"

I guess I've seen too much over the years.
Hamakom y'nachem...

How big does the ignored 5 ton elephant in the room have to get before it REALLY does some damage? I am just now realizing how alone we really are. Nobody cares. Maybe this is what G-d wants us to do - turn to him and his mitzvos and we'll be 'saved'. Because we are all really in a slumber G-d has to make us uncomfortable to get us to wake up. Please Hashem, help us before it gets worse.

Yaacov:

You're very welcome.

When I see the bumper sticker War is not the Answer I hit the ceiling. The responses are so obvious that I realize only a moron would sport such a sticker so why bother.

Multiculturalism appeals to the idiots in the west because they get to sit around "atoning" for the Indian massacres, ignoring all the Indian on Indian massacres. Meanwhile the Islamic world cackles with glee, murders those who advocate for multiculturalism—homosexuals, women, liberals, secular Jews, secular humanists,etc.—and the U.N. and the world-wide left spend all its time calling Israel an apartheid state.

Makes perfect sense.

Mai:

Thanks so much for the d'var Torah. Always helps.

Batya:

Oh, gee, I hope we're not getting inured to the torture and murder of our fellow Jews. That would really send me into a spiral of depression.

Rachel:

Look, I work in Hollywood and if you bring up Islamic Terrorism they fidget uncomfortably because they're worried about, ahem, Islamophobia.

Bring up so-called Global Warming. You are cool

Gay Marriage, as long as you're for it: The best.

Maybe if the Islamo Nazis blow up Universal and put a dent in the biz, well, maybe. But you know what? They'll just say that the "militants" are not really Muslim.

Some corners of the universe are just black holes of morality.

Yaacov ben Moshe -

Those bumper stickers make me nuts as well. I remember reading somewhere that the COEXIST bumper sticker would be a little easier to tolerate if the followers of the "C" would stop murdering the followers of the "X" and the "T." But we aren't supposed to say that out loud, are we?

And yes, despair seems to be the feeling of this season. Reading history helps me sometimes. When I look back and see what other people in other times survived, it gives me courage.

Deana

Deana,
Thanks for the bit about the C murdering the other two- I love that! I am preparing a long post about the whole thing. Hope to have it up by tomorrow night...
YBM

I think that you are going to see more of the Jewish left begin to take on a much more nuanced position regarding defense. I am beginning to hear more and more discussion regarding the benefits of concealed weaponry.

Notice how the same media that went on and on about Abu Ghraib has downplayed or ignored the fact that the hostages in Mumbai were tortured before they were murdered and the Jewish victims were tortured worst of all?

Jack:

Can you direct us to the links where liberals are discussing the benefits of concealed carry?

Thanks so much.

Miranda:

Gosh, it's one thing when Islamo Nazis are made uncomfortable, sort of on the level of really nasty frat house stuff, and when Jews are savagely tortured and murdered in cold blood by the same Islamo Nazis who are serving in Gitmo.

How can you compare the two?

Jews are totally expendable and Islamo Nazis need to have their Miranda rights and a boat load of ACLU lawyers.

A bit of history: The NY Times devoted 38 cover stories to Gitmo, and to the Chabad House in Mumbai, well, their crackerjack reporters, the very day after the massacre, wrote that there is no evidence that the "militants" were seeking to target the Chabad House, and that "perhaps they just stumbled into the Jewish setting."

Not just useful idiots, but useful-to-Jew-killing-terrorist-idiots.

I think we should send the Gitmo detainees to work as trainees at The New York Times.

Heads will roll.

Hi Robert,

Sorry, not going to find that online, not yet. But I can tell you from personal experience that I spoke with a number of people this weekend who are looking into taking self defense courses that involve learning how to use a firearm.

It remains to be seen whether they go through with it, but until recently they were adamantly against guns. Recent events have made them reconsider their position.

I sit here completely exasperated.

This morning the whole of center of Israel is on highest alert. Roadblocks set up throughout the periphery caused miles and miles of morning traffic. Apparently, a terrorist infiltrated the country from the West bank and there is a massive manhunt underway.
Several days ago a mortar fell on an army base ouside of Gaza, 8 soldiers wounded one of which lost both his legs.
Daily artillery rains down on Sderot and Ashkelon.

Robert we blog and moan and belittle our governments innaction but in the end we are innept. We have no power to change or do anything-the global jihad is massive and overwhelming, backed by huge petro dollars.
Our governments refuse to take real action to stop this onslaught and we can't do a thing.

So I live in fear for my childrens safety and hope for the best.

Sometimes I feel that the Jihadists are beginning to win.

Jack:

Thanks so much. Let me know when you see signs that liberals are ready to get serious about self-defense for all citizens.

I have that post up now- with this update-
I have condensed the message of this post- I might have been more direct just writing this:

The Ultimate Lesson of Mumbai- Save the Last Clip for Yourself and Your Family

The “hostages” of Mumbai had not absorbed the lesson of 9/11. The captives that were taken, tortured disfigured and murdered in Mumbai were no less doomed than the passengers on the airliners on 9/11. They allowed themselves to be taken and abused by captors who did not want anything from them but to use them as instruments of terror. Only the brave passengers of flight 93 understood and acted on this. Let no westerner ever rationalize ignorance of this from this day forward...

....When (unless we wake up and do something, it is not a question of “if”) you are attacked, you are going to have to fight as hard as you can, for as long as you can if you want to have any hope of surviving. We have seen what they do to captives so you must never leave yourself at their mercy- they have none....

Gregg -

I recognize the sentiment you express in your post. I have felt it many times, particularly this year.

It is discouraging when so many otherwise intelligent and educated people don't seem to realize that everything we hold dear is under attack. We are facing existential threats and half our population seems to be helping the other side - or at least not standing in their way.

But we are NOT powerless. I know it feels that way but we aren't. We can donate money to carefully selected causes. We can read and keep informed. We can write letters to our representatives and senators. And, most important of all, we can speak up.

That speaking up part is the most important. And the hardest. It puts us at risk socially and professionally. But it also lets others who haven't spoken up know that they are not alone.

I've started speaking publicly about things this year and it is scary. (When I say publicly, I mean as an individual at school, at work, in social situations, etc.) I'm not obnoxious about it or rude. I always try to be open, kind, and considerate about it - but I'm no longer quiet. And I've been surprised at how many have expressed similar thoughts. Sure - some people are clearly uncomfortable - they are used to being in company that thinks the U.S. and Israel are being targeted because of their policies, that we are getting what we deserve, and that if we just talked to other people around the world then others wouldn't feel the "need" to resort to terrorism.

But you have more influence on others than you think. When people know what kind of person you are and you are saying what concerns you, they are likely to listen to you or at least hear you out.

Don't feel bad for feeling what you are feeling - I think many share your sentiments. I do. To be honest, I'm kind of afraid. But we just have to fight. What we love and value are worth fighting for.

Deana

Thank you Deana for your thoughts and reassuring words.

Re: Melanie Phillips's article

I agree with this blogger comments .

http://www.amnation.com/vfr/archives/011995.html

I didn't read the article. Are they all of the above?

Somehow that comment ended up in the wrong blog entry. Sorry. Feel free to remove it.