The same thing is happening chas v’shalom in America. You know there’s a big movement today among the anti-semites, a great deal of resentment against Jews and I’m sorry to say that they have some grounds. The liberal Jews are at the forefront of the breaking down of American standards, of belittling the American flag, belittling religion, being easy on criminals. These upstarts, who call the police ‘pigs’, who urge to set fire to government buildings and fight for every new attitude that is counter to America’s ideals, they will be to blame if, chas v’shalom, it comes back to haunt us.
The American Jewish Committee, the American Jewish Congress – they’re not American and they’re not Jewish – all these pseudo-Jewish organizations began meddling in the problems of America. They began interfering in things that were not their business. They began spending big sums of money and became embroiled in other people’s business and they are the ones who gained for us a bitter foe. If you want to trace anti-semitism to any one source, you can point at these Jews and these so-called Jewish organizations.
The Coxcombs in Selma
Actually it’s old news in America. Who asked Jews to grab onto the ears of the dog in Selma? Now the younger generation has forgotten what Selma is but it’s good to remind you. Selma is a small town in Alabama and there were some disturbances there. The blacks were trying to make demonstrations for their rights and this became a focal point for all so-called liberals. From all points every coxcomb hastened to Selma to march in the protest on behalf of the blacks. Anyone who was a showoff, who was ambitious for cheap and easy glory, took a plane to Selma.
Now I’m not saying the blacks themselves shouldn’t go all out fighting for equal rights. They should, absolutely. But why did the Jews get involved? ‘Jewish’ organizations, Young Israel rabbis, modern Orthodox rabbis everywhere, they came to Selma. It was a sign of distinction, “I was in Selma.” And they came as Jews; they portrayed themselves as Jews who were getting involved.
Hitherto it was a problem, a lot of bad blood, between the Southern Whites and the Southern Blacks but we had nothing to do with it. It’s not our fight. Let the black people and the Americans argue out their own problems. What is it our business to get involved?! What do Jews have to do with their problems? We take care of Jewish problems.
But along came these liberals, these Jews, meddlers who never asked for Torah advice; they didn’t come to the Torah leaders who know, Torah leaders who learned the lessons of Yaakov’s mistake and understood that it was a ֹ̇בוָ‡ ה≈ׂ ֲ̆ﬠַמ יםƒנָב¿ל ןָימƒס, and instead they put their noses into somebody else’s business and they polarized the entire problem and made it a problem of Southern Whites against Jews.
A New Enemy
And now the Jews gained a new enemy. Of course anti-Semites don’t need much encouragement, that’s true. But it is certainly of no advantage to our people to give encouragement to our enemies and that is exactly what these busybodies did when they came to Selma; and it’s what many Jews are doing today. Of course, the goyim are saying this much worse than I’m saying it. They’re exaggerating it. But we have already seized hold of an ears of a dog that we cannot let go. The Jews grabbed on to that fight.
And so it’s very easy to blame the not-frum, the liberals, because they deserve a lot of blame. If I was invited to speak to the American Jewish Congress or the ADL I’d give them a piece of my mind. But they’re not our concern now; we have to look inwards. Because today the frummeh too are getting involved. And we’re more blameworthy because we are expected to learn the lessons that our chachomim taught us. We’re expected to learn the lessons of יםƒנָב¿ל ןָימƒס ֹ̇בוָ‡ ה≈ׂ ֲ̆ﬠַמ; of when and how to get involved.
It’s a sensitive topic and it needs sagacious advice to know when yes and when no. Because absolutely there are times we have to stand up for ourselves, for our needs, for Torah ideals. But it has to be done only according to Torah precedents and that’s not being done.
