Hear Our Voice

There is a there is an old Hebrew folk song that goes like this:

 Hayamim cholfim shanah overet

Aval hamanginah l’olam nisheret.

The days pass and the years change

But the melody forever remains

Esther 8:3-6

Esther spoke to the King again, falling at his feet and weeping, and beseeching him to avert the evil plotted by Haman the Agagite against the Jews. The King extended the golden scepter to Esther, and Esther arose and stood before the King. “If it please your majesty, “she said, “and if I have won your favor, and the proposal seems right to Your Majesty, and if I am pleasing to you – let dispatches be written, countermanding those which were written by Haman, embodying his plot to annihilate the Jews throughout the Kings provinces.”

Esther 8:7-8

“Then King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther and Mordecai, the Jew, “I have given Haman’s property to Esther, and he has been impaled on the stake for scheming against the Jews. And you may further write with regard to the Jews as you see fit. Write it in the King’s name and seal it with the King’s signet, for an edict that has been written in the King’s name and sealed with the King’s signet may not be revoked.”

Esther 8:10

“Letters were dispatched by mounted couriers… To this effect: the King has permitted the Jews of every city to assemble and fight for their lives…”

Anti-Semitism Strategy

1. Invite in, live, and work with Jews to promote the good of your society.
2. Identify an intractable societal issue such as irresponsible governmental leadership, plague, corruption, or the like.
3. Point out just how successful, prosperous, and numerous BUT so very different those Jews are.  Embed that notion of “difference” into local parlance, by placing them on pedestals OR by requiring them to identify themselves by where they live, where they work, and when they pray (and to whom?)
4. When the time is right, tell everyone to “look over there” (where the Jews are).

If you think this is so far off, isn’t it odd that a people needs to be given permission to defend itself?