All 1st amendment arguments aside, I find the recent ruckus and international outrage over some rabble-rousing Florida pastor's plan to burn Korans on 9/11 utterly hypocritical and revealing. That's because what's not being said about this situation is that he also plans to burn Talmuds. Why is no one denouncing the planned burning of the Talmud? Is it ok to burn Jewish sacred texts but not Islamic? Is it acceptable to insult Jews but not Muslims?
Why didn't Obama speak out and denounce the intention of burning Talmuds along with the Koran? What about the Pope? Why didn't he mention the Talmuds along with the Koran in his statement? The UN, the UK government, and on and on and on.
Why?
Well, I'm pretty sure I know why. I suspect you know why. I know no one is going to say it because, well it's not politically correct to say these things, is it?
Actually, Fidel Castro says it. Fidel has even spoken out and told Iran's leader Ahmadinejad, "Stop Slandering the Jews". No other world leader has even whispered it.
It is Rosh Hashanah today and although I am a secular Jew, I am in a reflective mood.
1 comment:
I have always found bookburning to be distasteful in the extreme, and a sign of something much worse. Nonetheless, I think that it is not the government's role to interfere. I take the freedom of speech and separation of church and state quite seriously. If he buys those books or receives them legally, he has every right to burn them or use them as toilet paper if he so chooses. I realize that this is not the point of your post, but felt it needed to be said.
The sad thing is that I read this and I think of the old joke about a million jews and three clowns being killed. It's a joke, it's meant to be funny, but there is a lot of nasty truth to it too. I'm not sure what I find more repugnant- that this kind of thing still goes on, or that everybody seems to shrug it off and accept it.
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