JRH 4/21/12
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If one does not stand for oneself, for whom should one stand?
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Jon Lovitz Would Not “Sha Still”
By Norma Zager
Sent: Apr 19, 2012 at 7:49 PM
“I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it any more…” Albert Finney in Network
Why is it that Jewish people are reactive instead of proactive toward life?
I fear this is a Jewish mindset that has created much of the trouble suffered by a people who just would rather “sha still” and ignore reality.
Israel possesses this mindset. It must be a Jewish thing. I was happy to see they actually took steps before the Flytilla to deal with the troublemakers, before they could do much damage. Perhaps this is a sign the Jewish people are waking up to face their problems head on.
The irony of this Jewish mindset is enormous.
Jewish people will fight for others proactively, but not for their own people.
Jews started the labor movement
They marched with Martin Luther King and it was Jewish money that started the NAACP. (Although black anti-Semitism has never been greater or more dangerous than at this moment in time. So much for gratitude).
Jewish people will always fight for the underdog, even at their own peril.
Unless of course the underdogs are Jewish.
Jon Lovitz, the actor comedian, caused headlines recently when he busted three young high school girls for painting a swastika on a neighbor’s walk. His “tweets” were a force for good.
His efforts secured expulsion from school for these haters, and the mother who drove them to do this evil deed may now be charged for doing so.
Some may say Jon Lovitz did what anyone would do.
They would be wrong.
Jon Lovitz did what most do not do. That is why it is headline worthy. A Jew standing up and fighting for other Jews.
Well excuse me if I am surprised.
Since most of the comments from so many Jews who stand up lately are to speak out against their own people, to act as capos in a world rife with hatred for Jewish people. Focusing on Israel as the center of their evil attentions.
Maybe I should be happy there is an Israel in the world for the anti-Semites to focus their anger on. In the past they had to just hate Jews wherever and whenever they came across one randomly.
In France Jewish children were murdered. I guess they are finding Jews to slaughter without a problem.
Goldstone’s report was false and misleading and condemned Israel for crimes they never committed.
Goldstone, a Jew turned the world against his own people.
I hear of how he is suffering from remorse.
I couldn’t care less.
The damage he did was monumental and his false report became the poster child the United Nations uses to allege Israel’s supposed wrongdoings and spread anti-Semitism.
Why is it okay for Jewish people to speak out for others, but not for themselves?
Was Jon Lovitz’s act just one random act of kindness toward his own people? Or was it a sign that perhaps the Jewish people are ready to stand together to fight for their own? To fight as hard for other Jews as they would for a stranger, a black leader or the downtrodden anywhere.
Can I take this as a sign of hope that Jewish people will finally see that they have a responsibility to their own family? To their own house, to secure it and create a fortress for their own children against the evils so hell bent on destruction and harm?
Jon Lovitz’s act is as powerful as Rosa Parks’ refusal to move to the back of the bus. If we let it be.
It can bring an end to the intolerance Jewish people have endured.
Their “sha still” reactive attitude.
Their “don’t make trouble” mentality.
A people who have always “sha stilled” to no avail.
It has never occurred to a people, seen as so smart, that the smart thing is not to roll over and play dead when someone is trying to kill you.
Fighting back is no sin. Fighting back is the only answer, the only response that can save our children now.
The world was not changed by armies.
It was always changed by a small group of people who stood up and battled for change.
They are the ones who have made a difference.
They are the ones who can still.
Jon Lovitz is one Jewish man.
But he stood against evil.
He acted, he didn’t “sha still.”
He fought back.
And he won.
Oh, of course it is a small victory. One hateful incident in a world filled with the murder of Jews.
But it is one.
And one is sometimes all we need to begin a revolution.
This proactive act may set a new standard for the Jewish people.
Perhaps “sha still” is not the new answer.
Perhaps reactive for ourselves, but proactive for others, is not the way Jews must act to save themselves.
We “sha stilled” and six million died.
We “sha stilled” as thousands of rockets hit southwest Israel for years.
We “sha stilled” as our children were murdered by terrorists.
We “she stilled,” and the world lined up against us in a well-ordered and quite effective manner.
Can we afford to “sha still” any longer?
Let Jon Lovitz’s action serve as a new mantra for the Jewish people.
We should be mad as hell and not taking it any more.
And yet, we still are.
Perhaps all that can change.
I am certain it must.
If one does not stand for oneself, for whom should one stand?
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The series “Postcards from America—Postcards from Israel” by Ari Bussel and Norma Zager is a compilation of articles capturing the essence of life in America and Israel during the first two decades of the 21st Century.
The writers invite readers to view and experience an Israel and her politics through their eyes, Israel visitors rarely discover and Israelis often ignore.
This point—and often—counter-point presentation is sprinkled with humor and sadness and attempts to tackle serious and relevant issues of the day. The series began in 2008, appears both in print in the USA and on numerous websites and is followed regularly by readership from around the world.
Zager and Bussel can be heard on live radio in conversation on the program “Conversations Eye to Eye between Norma and Ari.”
© “Postcards from America — Postcards from Israel,” April 2012
Contact: bussel@me.com
First Published Apr 17, 2012
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