NEVER AGAIN

In reading the latest news from France and Denmark, it would seem that the sleeping devil anti semitism has awakened and is, once again, rearing it's ugly head, when, in reality, it has never been asleep at all. Not to Jews who live and maneuver under it's canopy on a day to day basis. It's a part of life that I certainly just take for granted. It's going to be there. It's something that has been part of my being since birth. It is an inherent condition that dictates that we always keep an eye on our backs. Sometimes, it may make us seem a bit paranoid but, honestly, look at history. Who wouldn't be. I can speak for only myself and no other Jew on earth but, I know what I've been through during my relatively short (given our incredibly long history as a people) amount of time on this “mortal coil.” From the neighbors throwing rocks at a frightened 8 year old kid, yelling “We don't want kikes in the neighborhood,” (I had to ask my mom what a kike was. I had never heard it before) to being barred by all the “Greeks” in college to being asked, believe it or not, seriously, where my horns and tail were, I have experienced the ignorance of anti-semitism on a personal level but it's the societal strain of this horrible disease that has cause my people to run for their lives from wherever they thought they were safe for, pretty much, as long as there have been Jews. We've been persecuted, blamed, sent packing and killed just because of who we refuse not to be. Our team mascot is the scapegoat. Anti-semitism has begun blossoming again in a number of romantic European locales – Paris, Copenhagen........... “Come for the Eiffel Tower – stay for the Jew baiting......a fun getaway for the whole family.” This time, however, the Prime Minister of Israel, Binyamin Netanyahu, has issued a clarion for European Jews to return, en masse, to the land of Israel, home of the Jews. To me, this smacks of politics. If he can get the European Jews to “turn tail” and, once again, run from their homes and go to Israel, it's an excuse to build more settlements. It's just an opinion but knowing Bibi's “tea party” perspective, it seems to make sense. Anti-semitic activity has never been far from our minds here in the good ole' US of A either. I've been aware of it my entire life. Most American Jews are. It's becoming less and less rare, however, for some “good white, Christian” to get a “hate hair” stuck up his ass and feel the need to spray paint swastikas all over a neighborhoods garage doors and Jewish businesses or for an intafada fueled Muslim extremist to walk into a synagogue and open fire. It's always been there and, apparently, always will be. But, I'm not leaving my home and running away to Israel. I'm not uprooting and giving these clown the satisfaction of thinking they won. Israel is not my home. America is. To be more specific, South Florida, America and I'm a fan of Cuban coffee. My dad fought in WWII, my uncle served in Korea and I'm a Vietnam Vet. We have run away as a group or died as a group since the beginning of time but - NEVER AGAIN. My only real fear, as I watch the bullshit grow around me, is that I will, very probably, have to start re-thinking my attitude about guns.