The saga of the Maccabees has always been close to my heart.
The triumph of the courageous few against the power of many.
But, would that have worked in our time? In the 21st. century we fight our wars with sophisticated equipment, UAVs , rockets, smart bombs.
There is still another weapon, used and abused by professionals who, under the guise of journalism, regularly distort the truth about Israel for a public that is too eager to believe them.
They are difficult to fight. Only several organizations like Honest Reporting or All 4 Israel have at hand the required information to counter the falsehoods. Quite often, newspapers do not react or send back a pre-formatted letter stating that readers' concerns are always taken into account. By the time the public receives a clarification, if ever, the negative impression has already been fixed in their minds.
But then again, who would have thought that a bunch of Jews, almost without weapons, would have defeated a ruthless enemy more than 2000 years ago?
We are the present day Maccabees, fighting to get fair treatment at the U.N. that voted to accept the biased Goldstone Report in spite of visual and concrete proofs that Israel did not commit war crimes in Gaza, rather Hamas endangered the civilian population, using them as human shields.
The Israeli army aborted many times its operations when civilians would be in harm's way, and tried to minimize civilian losses by an unprecedented campaign of fliers and phone calls to warn the population when a building would be attacked, endangering perhaps its soldiers' lives but respecting their own ethical values.
Every time we get a journalist to present a report without false accusations we are lighting a candle in our collective hanukkiah, whose glow will illuminate the world. If the Maccabees could accomplish a final victory, with truth we will also be victorious in the end, if we unite, stay informed and persevere.
We are all soldiers in this war of words and libels. Let each community be a staunch defender of our values, and may we really become “a light unto the nations” starting on this Festival of Lights.
Chag Chanukkah Sameach!
Martha E. Lichtenstein
Kislev 5770
The triumph of the courageous few against the power of many.
But, would that have worked in our time? In the 21st. century we fight our wars with sophisticated equipment, UAVs , rockets, smart bombs.
There is still another weapon, used and abused by professionals who, under the guise of journalism, regularly distort the truth about Israel for a public that is too eager to believe them.
They are difficult to fight. Only several organizations like Honest Reporting or All 4 Israel have at hand the required information to counter the falsehoods. Quite often, newspapers do not react or send back a pre-formatted letter stating that readers' concerns are always taken into account. By the time the public receives a clarification, if ever, the negative impression has already been fixed in their minds.
But then again, who would have thought that a bunch of Jews, almost without weapons, would have defeated a ruthless enemy more than 2000 years ago?
We are the present day Maccabees, fighting to get fair treatment at the U.N. that voted to accept the biased Goldstone Report in spite of visual and concrete proofs that Israel did not commit war crimes in Gaza, rather Hamas endangered the civilian population, using them as human shields.
The Israeli army aborted many times its operations when civilians would be in harm's way, and tried to minimize civilian losses by an unprecedented campaign of fliers and phone calls to warn the population when a building would be attacked, endangering perhaps its soldiers' lives but respecting their own ethical values.
Every time we get a journalist to present a report without false accusations we are lighting a candle in our collective hanukkiah, whose glow will illuminate the world. If the Maccabees could accomplish a final victory, with truth we will also be victorious in the end, if we unite, stay informed and persevere.
We are all soldiers in this war of words and libels. Let each community be a staunch defender of our values, and may we really become “a light unto the nations” starting on this Festival of Lights.
Chag Chanukkah Sameach!
Martha E. Lichtenstein
Kislev 5770
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JANUCA SE APROXIMA
La saga de los Macabeos siempre ha ocupado un lugar cercano a mi corazón.
El triunfo de un pequeño grupo de valientes contra el poder de la mayoría.
Pero, hubiera funcionado esto en nuestro tiempo? En el siglo XXI luchamos en nuestras guerras con equipo sofisticado, vehículos aéreos no tripulados, misiles, bombas inteligentes.
Existe además otra arma, usada y abusada por los profesionales, que disfrazándose de periodistas distorsionan regularmente la verdad acerca de Israel para un público demasiado ansioso de creerles.
Es difícil combatirlos. Sólo varias organizaciones como Honest Reporting, u All 4 Israel tienen
a mano la información necesaria para contrarrestar las falsedades. Muy a menudo los periódicos no reaccionan o responden con una carta pre-redactada en la que establecen que las inquietudes de los lectores siempre las toman en cuenta. Hasta que el público recibe una clarificación, si la imprimen, la impresión negativa ya se ha fijado en sus mentes.
Pero también, quién hubiera pensado que un grupo de judíos, casi sin armas, derrotara a un enemigo cruel más de 2000 años atrás?
Somos los Macabeos actuales, luchando por lograr que nos traten con justicia en las Naciones Unidas, que votó por aceptar el prejuicioso Informe Goldstone, a pesar de pruebas visuales y concretas de que Israel no cometió crímenes de guerra en Gaza, sino Hamas, que puso en peligro a la población civil, usándolos como escudos humanos.
El ejército civil abortó muchas veces sus operaciones cuando pondrían en peligro a civiles, y trataron de minimizar las pérdidas civiles con una campaña sin precedentes de volantes y llamadas telefónicas para advertir a la población cuando se iba a atacar un edificio, quizá poniendo en peligro la vida de sus soldados pero respetando sus propios valores éticos.
Toda vez que conseguimos que un periodista presente un informe sin acusaciones falsas estamos encendiendo una vela en nuestra janukiá colectiva, cuyo resplandor iluminará el mundo. Si los Macabeos pudieron lograr la victoria decisiva, con la verdad nosotros también saldremos victoriosos al fin, si nos unimos, permanecemos informados y perseveramos.
Todos somos soldados en esta guerra de palabras y calumnias. Que cada comunidad sea una defensora acérrima de nuestros valores, y podamos convertirnos realmente en “una luz para las naciones” comenzando en esta Fiesta de las Luminarias.
Jag Januka Sameaj!
Martha E. Lichtenstein
Kislev 5770
