Our Brothers’ Keepers
Just in the past three weeks, our people have been attacked in Ashdod, Beersheba, Ashkelon, Bangkok, New Delhi, Tbilisi, and now Toulouse.
It is unclear yet what the motives for the Toulouse attack were, as French police had not classified it as a terror attack or hate crime. But does it make a difference? Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Monday that Hezbollah had recently tried to attack Israel and Jewish targets around the world, and that these attempted attacks had been thwarted. Barak was speaking at the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. We always knew Iran would retaliate all over the world against Jews if Israel attacked their nuclear facilities. They did it in Argentina in 1992 after Israel assassinated the Hezbollah leader. But who knew the Iranians would jump the gun this time?
In Jerusalem, the Counter Terrorism Bureau warns Israelis against traveling to Turkey, Egypt, Morocco, Malaysia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, and other Asian countries, as well as Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Mali, Togo, and many other African countries. The Bureau has a detailed guide for Israeli businesspeople and travelers about how to avoid getting kidnapped, how to avoid drawing attention to themselves, what to look out for.
The list of countries and regions where Israelis are advised not to travel to, or to be especially vigilant in, is very, very long. There is probably no other country in the world with such a long list.
But there you have it. This is our lot, for now at least. All these attacks, attempted attacks and intelligence warnings point to one certainty: the global jihad terrorist movement, whether wholly or partly directed by Iran and Hezbollah, has taken a decision to target not just Israeli military, civilian and political targets around the world, but also Jews and their institutions. The terrorists see us all as one target, and seem to have taken a decision to create deterrence against Israel by striking at its soft underbelly: targeting Jews around the world. It is very hard to defend against this type of threat, but defend we must.
Israeli embassies and other diplomatic institutions around the world are on the highest possible alert against terror attacks. So too are many Jewish institutions, Jewish schools, and cultural centers. The Israeli government’s security apparatus is in constant touch with the leadership of organized Jewish communities around the world and updates them on security threats, and even trains their leadership about how to secure their communities. Attacks on Jews spike whenever there is an increase in conflict between Israel and its Arab neighbors. For example, during Operation Cast Lead in 2009, firebombs were thrown at several Chicago synagogues. Now, as the shadow war between Israel and Iran is at its peak, it seems that Iran seeks to widen the conflict by creating a balance of terror against all Jews, everywhere.
What other nation or religious group has to watch its back so much? Which other nation or religious group is so threatened all over the world? Which other nationality or religious group has to have its schools across the world hooked up to advanced security systems? In many countries in the world, the Interior Ministries have special budgets for the protection of Jewish institutions. Now France has raised the security at all of its Jewish schools. In Istanbul, the entire road housing the main synagogue is guarded at both sides and you can’t even walk on the road without running into one. In Johannesburg, the Jewish schools and synagogues are part of a Jewish community security organization, which works in tandem with the local police.
Our enemies are capable of murdering our children in their sleep, like they did to the Fogel family in Itamar. They are capable of firing Grad rockets at our children’s schools in Beersheba and Ashkelon. They are capable of walking into the Merkaz Harav yeshiva in Jerusalem and shooting young boys in cold blood. And now they are capable of shooting Jewish children in a school in Toulouse. Specifically targeting children is a cowardly act of the highest order and anyone who tells you he’s doing it in the name of God is even more of a coward.
Jews and Israelis need to be extra cautious wherever they are in the world. This is the price we pay for being who we are, and for Israel having to fight its fight. A strong, secure Diaspora is in Israel’s interest, and a strong, secure Israel is in the Diaspora’s interest. We must look after each other. All Jews are responsible for each other. We are our brothers’ keepers.