RUTHFULLY YOURS

No, I haven’t attended the vigils, the interfaith prayer services, the gatherings, or other feel-good manifestations of hand-holding kumbaya after the recent carnage in Pittsburgh.  Or those of other slaughters in black churches, schools, workplaces, outdoor concerts, or wherever.  It is not because I’m not appalled at the loss of innocent life there.  I am.  But the attendees leave, feeling they did something, resume their lives…’til the next time.  For some, it is a form of healing.

But the gooey statements of mindless clichés that condemn the evil, preaching a form of artificial unity while condemning the inanimate weapon or mental illness for the horrendous deed, evading the issue of the hatred prevalent in some individuals and communities alienates me.  Also, the leeching groups and individuals who latch on to the incident to promote their agenda – gun control, dislike of a political figure – desecrate the victims and diminishes the evil.

For example, on Monday,  Pittsburgh’s mayor Bill Peduto (D) spoke movingly about the consequences of hatred.

Peduto took the microphone, speaking passionately about the Pittsburgh community and combating hatred.

“We come together tonight to mourn, and it’s the right thing to do.  We lost eleven of our neighbors, and we’re here to mourn the way that they were taken from us.  We’re here to mourn the fact that we live in a society where something like this could even exist.  We’re here to mourn the attack upon our Jewish community.  We’re here to be supporters.  We’re here to make sure that those victims’ families have what Pittsburghers do, the understanding that we are all here for them and we will help them through this horror that they are living.  We are here to recognize the officers and the two members of the congregation who are still suffering, and to let them and their families know, we’re here for you because we’re Pittsburghers and that’s what we do.  We care and take care of those in need and we show it as a community of one.”

He spoke about the toughness of the Pittsburgh community.

“We will drive anti-Semitism and the hate of any people back to the basement on their computer and away from the open discussions and dialogues around this city, around this state, and around this country,” Peduto said.

His words prompted a standing ovation from those in the room.

“Here’s another thing about Pittsburgh – we’re a resilient people.  We will work together as one.  We will defeat hate with love.  We will be a city of compassion welcoming to all people no matter what your religion or where your family came from on this earth or your status,” Peduto said.

As I stated, moving.  But that was Monday.  On Tuesday, Peduto and others revealed themselves as  petty, divisive political hacks, encouraging hate with more hate, turning Pittsburgh into a city of political exploitation, unwelcoming to certain people depending on their political affiliation or their beliefs or whether they and their families came from on this (un)approved political earth or their status.  They refused to meet with the president of the United States, Donald J. Trump. (R).  The Tuesday Peduto – and his colleagues – is the real Peduto, desecrating the victims and their families and all of Pittsburgh.  The Monday Peduto is  the phony Peduto, callously exploiting vulnerable people after a tragedy for mere political gain.

Meanwhile, the fake news media, too lazy to do any checking, elevated a fringe, George Soros- and son-funded far lefty group, Bend the Arc, into an important Jewish communal organization composed of “Jewish leaders” who opposed Trump, greeting him with hate-filled signs.  Uh, no.

Instead, I will do as we are commanded to do in Judaism: remember.

Remember what Amalek did to you on your journey after you left Egypt.  How, unafraid by fear of G-d, he surprised you on the march, when you were famished and weary and cut down all the weak stragglers, women and children, in the rear.  Therefore, when the L-rd your G-d grants you safety from all your enemies around you, in the Land that the L-rd your G-d is giving you as a hereditary portion, you shall blot out the memory of Amalek  from under heaven.  Do not forget.

And I will do what is necessary to protect myself.

And I will silently utter the traditional Jewish phrase offered to families of the victims upon leaving a house of mourning: “May you be comforted among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem and know no more sorrow.”