The news this past week was in a tailspin. Damascus and its brutal dictator Assad fell to a group of bandits in a matter of days. Fifty years of oppressive family dictatorship have gone in a flash. Is that good news or bad news for the Jews? Hard to know. At least now, one major enemy has been defanged as Israel cleverly destroyed Syria’s entire abandoned air force, navy, and military bases. It seems to change the entire complexion of the Arab-Israeli situation.
Then the dramatics play before us, as a native Baltimorean high school valedictorian gunned down the CEO of UnitedHealthcare on his way to a meeting in the New York Hilton. Although apprehended, we still do not know the assassin’s motive. Of course, many on the Dark Web cheered this cold-blooded killing as a way of getting back at the “heartless” medical insurance company.
Then we had the unexpected acquittal of former marine sergeant Daniel Penny, who was charged with various degrees of manslaughter of Jordan Neely, a psychotic who was menacing passengers on a subway train. To most, Penny was seen as a hero for possibly saving lives of others on that train. In the inverted eyes of Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg, he was seen as a criminal. Bragg deserved the long overdue rebuke for his maniacal attitude of treating a crime perpetrator as a victim and the victim as a criminal. Remember the bodega case?
Although these incidents are not related, they each make us feel as though the ground beneath us is trembling. In a moment’s notice, a rock-solid regime comes apart. It also lays bare the sheer inhumanity of the Syrian leadership, which was given a pass by the Western world. Hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of countrymen were killed or imprisoned by Assad. As one Syrian woman put it, she does not know a single Syrian woman who is not missing a direct relative. It was heartbreaking to see jails being emptied of women and small children.
In the case of the shooting of the CEO, I believe what shook the city and most of the country to the core was the fact that this could have been perpetrated by anybody against anybody with some concocted gripe. The homeless or a multi-million-dollar-paid CEO are equally targeted. We were all made to feel that who knows who could be next for whatever insane reason.
And in the Penny/Neely case, we realized that in an upside-down society, even those with the most noble intentions can be considered villains. It is refreshing to see that society is taking note of that, and perhaps this inversion of priorities is what led to the jury’s decision to acquit, and for the country to vote the way it did in November.
I did notice that two things rose to the top. The first is that not one of the pro-Palestinian protesters ever said a word about the atrocities that took place in Syria and continue to take place in Iran. Muslims being killed is not a problem – if they are not being killed by Jews in a defensive war.
Secondly, and even more significantly, is the reaction to the Penny verdict. The streets of New York City were expected to be ablaze in reaction. Some of the Black Lives Matter leadership clearly indicated that they were looking for that. Instead, a handful of mostly white peaceful demonstrators walked the streets in protest. Remarkably, many were wearing the checkered Palestinian keffiyehs. This was as though to say: We are rebels; just give us a cause that we can hang our shmattas on.
I have a friend who is always using Yiddish phrases to express himself about different ongoing situations. One of them was about the world situation: Der dreidel dreit zach – The dreidel keeps spinning.
With Chanukah approaching, we can clearly see that the dreidel dreit zach. Hashem is spinning that dreidel; let’s hope it lands showing that it will be good for the Yidden!
Rabbi Yoel Schonfeld is the Rabbi Emeritus of the Young Israel of Kew Gardens Hills, President of the Coalition for Jewish Values, former President of the Vaad Harabonim of Queens, and the Rabbinic Consultant for the Queens Jewish Link.
