Why can't you make peace?
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Question:
I am writing to your organization to express my thoughts and feelings about the recent attacks that took place in Mumbai. I am not a Jewish person, I have never even been to a synagogue. I feel it is terrible that this rabbi and his wife were murdered. I feel sad that we live in a world where such anger and insensitivity exists that human beings can do this sort of thing to each other.
While both sides argue their points in the seemingly never ending Israeli-Palestinian conflict, innocent people die because of this....I think Israeli people and Arab people need to really examine their hearts and find the way to peace. There is no righteousness when innocent people of the world die for this ongoing conflict. Make peace with your enemies and give that love to the world so we can all be the brothers and sisters that we actually are. The issue is not a political or religious one, it is a humanistic issue.
Response:
Thank you, _____, for your comments.
Gaby and Rivkah Holtzberg had no problems making peace. They were there to assist the Jewish community of Mumbai of some 4,000 or more, as well as the Jewish travelers and Israeli backpackers who stay in the hotels and hostels of the city. They fed people, taught people, celebrated with them and reached out to whoever they could. In fact, the last talk Rabbi Holtzberg gave was mostly about kindness to animals.
They were cruelly tortured and butchered by wild beasts who had been trained from their youth to kill and destroy.
Why, when you read this story, do you describe it as "conflict"--as though two extremist religious groups are battling with one another?
You say we should make peace with our enemies and give that love to the world. We are doing just that, as we have tried to do for four millennia. Sadly, the world does not return to us that which we have offered them.
I cannot blame you for your attempt to fit this into a procrustean bed of a standard world conflict, brother against brother locked in mutual hatred. That is so much easier to understand. But the hatred the world has always held for those who attempt to bring some light and love into the world, this is far too difficult for any sensitive human mind to understand or to accept.
I hope you will take the time to review the facts as they are. Visit Myths and Facts and Palestinian Media Watch . I am certain, that with an objective, intelligent read, your eyes will be opened.
May the hearts of all men be turned to one another in brotherhood and love, soon, sooner than we can imagine,
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Latest Comments:
As the different sides and justifications are continually discussed back and forth, I too, like many will see good points and may sway back and forth,,,,where truth seems to jump the fence and be an each side. As our attention is fixed on these truths, we are placed on one side or the other, by that fact alone.
HOWEVER, the ultimate truth should be held to be that there can be Peace on Earth, that we can co-exist, and we can find ways to do that.
If we focus on that (with some effort yes) we have a better chance of comming to solutions.
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The Islamic clerics and scholars need to teach the true message of Islam to the followers. The true message of any religion is peace and compassion.
There is so much poverty in Indian subcontinent. People from all religions - Hindu, Islam, Budhdha, Jain, Christian and Jews are living in poverty. Poverty leads to lack of modern education. The poor young people are falling pray to propaganda from political and religious leaders. If steps are not taken to take care of these young people then we can surely see widespread civil war in Indian subcontinent. There are not only Islamic Jihadists but also communists, naxalites and war lords who also have their political agenda. The entire region is at risk of becoming a war zone. International commnity need to step in now and avoid the future genocide.
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Beautiful, Melissa, just beautiful.
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The behavior of the terrorists is a little like the auto-immune disease I currently have. With auto-immune disease, the body's own defenses attack itself (the body). In a Kabbalistic sense, we all carry a spark of G-d: Jews, gentiles, even radical Muslims, however distorted the spark has become. We are a collective body: humanity.
Right now part of the body is engaged in attacking another part of the body, and they've been at it a while.
How does one treat an auto-immune disease?
One strengthens the body (with vitamins, antioxidants, and tonics), or if it is the collective body, with mitzvot, acts of kindness, ways to spread Light that overcome darkness.
One takes prescriptions that overcome the symptoms of the disease, or one works on defending the helpless (not my call, but IDF soldiers at Chabad Houses)?
One works on finding research that will shut off the faulty immune response, or the collective body works to get the various members to quit attacking.
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listen, it is a war between brother; us jews are isaac's sons and muslims are ishmael's sons. like in a household with brothers that fight, only humanitarinism may prevail: the Father: Abraham. i will not lie to u and give u false info., but Israel is really trying its best to be safe, but achieve peace. terrorists from "Palestine" make it impossible because every time we try, one of their bad guys screws it up. there was never a palestinian people with a palestinian government. it was a bumch of arab refugees that we let live with us in harmony. but they hated jews and couldnt stand to see a jewish country, so they revolted. they have many countries that are very powerful, yet when we have a country smaller than the state of new jersey, the world is mad. i have news 4u ____, welcome to 4000 years of our jewish history.
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One more point. In responding to this evil, it is important for us not only to do mitzvot (I am striving to do better), but for us to be absolutely above reproach. Certainly the Holtzbergs were, which is why Chabad is getting so many notes of personal grief from non-Jews: I think the response you are getting shows the good your organization has done and is doing.
The Jerusalem Post reported yesterday that a doctor at the Mumbai Hospital where the bodies were received stated that there were no signs of torture. Later in the article it says that an unidentified doctor and a morgue employee both reported earlier that the Holtzbergs had been tortured. I know these poor people have been buried already in accordance with Halakha, but it is important to settle the question of whether they were tortured accurately. Someone needs to go "on record" to say what he or she saw. Otherwise, this has the potential to become misinformation, which damages the good further.
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Dear Rabbi Tzvi,
Thank you for this thoughtful answer. Sometimes people who reduce the issue to simply one of blessing one's enemy or forgiving one's enemy his or their transgressions do not realize what it is like to be hated, to be targeted because of who you are. The question of evil is a delicate one: as Kabbalah teaches (learned this from you), we all contain a spark of the same G-dly essence, and yet, there are people in this world who choose the path of evil. Leaving that evil unchallenged is not an option.
In the time of the Shoah, the evil of the Nazis was a cancer growing upon the collective body of humanity. The answer was the surgical response of military action to remove it from power. This current evil, radical, fundamental Islamic hatred of the modern west and Jews, not shared by all Muslims, requires a different response. We are not dealing with a state but with a religion. I'm not sure what the collective response needs to be, but there must be one.
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I am a peace loving Hindu from India. There was not a single Muslim in India until 6th century. In 6th century, Afghanistan was conquered by Arabs from Budand in 7th century Sindh (Modern Day Pakistan) was conquered by Muslims. Kashmir was conquered by Islamic rulers in 14th century. From then until 17th century Mughals, Persians and Mongols - all Islamic forces invaded India. All these invasions killed hundreds of millions of Hindus and other non Muslim Indians were killed by these invaders. Unfortunately, there is no official recordings of these killings. There were also millions of forceful religious conversions to Islam. Today, we have two Islamic countries as neighbour - Pakistan on West and Bangaladesh on East. They are waging proxy war with India with the help of Islamic Jihadis. The training camps are run inside thsoe countries. Until these people put down their weapons, there should be no peace talk with these Jihadists. Israel and India need to work together in this fight.
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Definitely a considerate and heartfelt response, though I would hesitate to call these murderers "wild beasts." First of all, it takes away their responsibility as human beings. Even if they had been trained to kill and destroy from their youth, they should have searched beyond that and become men. Whatever trace of humanity that may have once been part of their souls should face the disgrace of the cowardice of their actions in using weapons against unarmed, innocent people. Second of all, it insults the true wild beasts who are so by Divine will, not human folly. As we know, "Last and first, You formed me . . ." Certainly these men were far lower than even mosquitos, then. There are no excuses. Not for them, nor for any who follow their crooked lines of reasoning.
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Is there a transcript of the last talk Rabbi Holtzberg gave "which was mostly about kindness to animals"?
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