Beth Shalom
Oceanside Jewish Center

I'd like to think that I'm a fair person; that when I appraise a personal or communal conflict, I always try to look at both sides of the situation. Like many of you, I'm generally self critical, self doubting, and constantly asking myself what I could have done differently to change the circumstances or what faults there are in my actions as individual or in our actions as a community, as a people, or as a nation that may have led to this conflict.

Like any reasonable person I assume there is my side of an argument and there is the other side. I try not to blame others. I always look at myself first.

Sometimes, however, there's no "other side." Sometimes there can be no, "on the other hand."

Do you remember Tevye in "Fiddler on the Roof?" As Tevye considers his daughters' decisions to marry men that were not of his choosing, he argues with himself. "On the one hand," he says.as he debates how his authority is being undermined or why he considers this man or that one not to be the best choice for his daughters. "But on the other hand." Tevye then says, as he ultimately allows his daughters to pursue their own dreams and happiness.until he comes to Hava, his last daughter. When Hava chooses to marry out of her faith in a church, there can be no, "On the other hand." Pained as he is by his own decision Tevye cannot recognize his Hava's marriage. In the end, Tevye the dairyman leaves home broken hearted not only because he's leaving Anatevka but because he is forced to choose between his principles and his love for his family.

We may disagree with Tevye's decision. Today we might not reject our children so quickly. Certainly the world in which Tevye lived is not the one in which we are living today. But what we must respect about Tevye is that he recognized the fact that sometimes there is no, "On the other hand." Sometimes our principles are so important; maybe even a matter of survival that we can not say, "on the one hand and on the other." There is no "other hand."

This week was one of those weeks in the Land of Israel. Despite every effort that Israel has made and despite the fact that the Israeli government has repeatedly ignored provocative actions by terrorists in the past several weeks in the interest of preserving the so-called Hudna, another horrific act of terror was perpetrated against our people. Hamas and the Islamic Jihad could not even wait until the end of the so-called cease fire to kill more Jews.

Make no mistake about it. This was not an attack on the Israeli military forces that are seen by Palestinians as their oppressors. This was not an effort to evict settlers from a west bank settlement. This was an attack in the heart of Jerusalem on religious men, women, and children returning from the Kotel. Of the twenty who were killed, five were Americans and five were under the age of Bar Mitzvah. This attack was an effort to maximize the amount of suffering it would cause. Twenty were killed and scores more were injured. We have not even begun to consider the amount of pain and suffering that the survivors and the injured from this act of terror are now facing.

A month ago when we were in Israel, our group spent a morning at Hadassah hospital meeting with a neurological surgeon who works in the trauma clinic and one of his patients recovering from another bus bombing. The doctor described in pain staking detail the nature of the injuries that these terrorist acts cause. Did you know that the terrorist stopped putting nails in the bombs and now use larger pieces of metal because nails don't cause as much injury as ball bearings? Did you know that it is a common practice to put rat poising in the bus bombs so that the victims will bleed more profusely? After listening to the doctor's presentation, we quietly listened to one of the surviving victims of such an attack: a young woman who was on one such a bus ride a year ago. Twelve months later, she is just beginning to recover from her injuries but the fear and confusion are still present in this young woman's eyes. This young mother will never be the same person she was before that fateful day a year ago, nor will her family ever be the same. She is fortunate that her body is intact but her soul remains shattered.

And yet there was no hatred or malice in this woman's voice or in the way she talked to us; simply a desire to regain some modicum of normalcy in her life once again; to be a good mother and wife, to return to work and to live her life.

We can argue all we want about providing the Palestinian people with a nation, about the status of Jerusalem, even about the right of return, but if Palestinians continue to condone terror against our people there can be no "On the other hand." There is simply nothing to talk about.

How long will it take the world to understand this? In an article on Page five of Newsday yesterday, a journalist wrote: "The Palestinian militants of Hamas and Islamic Jihad formally canceled their corroding, two month old truce with Israel yesterday.after Israel's military killed a Hamas leader here."I don't know whether to laugh or to cry. This is a patently obscene statement. Israel did not cause the truce to end " the terrorist who blew up a bus in the center of Jerusalem did, the so called moderate leaders who encouraged this act did, the hypocritical diplomats who stood by and did nothing to stop these acts of terror did. And yet Newsday blames Israel for ending the truce. One Hamas dead leader is apparently worth more than twenty Jewish men, women, and children. That continues to be the bloody algebra of human life in the world today. Israelis should suffer beneath the acts of terror. Palestinians can do as they please.

I'm angry today. If Israel and its neighbors are on the edge of a precipice it is not a precipice of its own making. Israelis have acted no differently than we would expect our American government to act under similar circumstances. In the end what is Israel to do? There can be only one answer. Until the world pressures Palestinians to take action against terrorists, to stop all acts of terror and until we recognize the destructive agenda of these groups there can be no hope of peace.

Today's Torah Portion deals with another situation in which there can be no "On the other hand." It is the case of an "Ir Hanidachat" " a wayward city. The Torah tells us that if it becomes clear that there is a city in which the majority of the people have been incited to practice idolatry, it is the responsibility of the court to condemn the city, to kill all its inhabitants and to destroy the city completely.

On the face of it this law is horrifying and cruel. There is no consideration for the innocent who may live in such a city or even the livestock of the city " they too have to be killed " everything in the city must be destroyed.

The fact is the law of the Ir Hanidachat, like the law of the rebellious child, was never put into practice. But the concept of such a law is an important one. There are certain things which a society cannot tolerate no matter the circumstances. Not only were the idolaters guilty, but any one who condoned this practice and allowed the practice to continue was as guilty as the ones who carry it out. Such a city had to be obliterated.

Is that cruel? Of course it is. But as the Talmud says "One who remains compassionate when cruelty is called for, in the end will be cruel when compassion is called for." From a biblical perspective, idolatry is the ultimate crime. Society could not survive and allow this practice to flourish in an Israelite nation. It had to be destroyed.

There can be no discussion as long as there are those who condone and promote terror. There can be no "On the other hand." America must realize that and the world must come to realize that. As long as there are people who believe that they can get what they want through terror, such terror will continue to be a bloody instrument used by others. It must stop and it must be stopped now even if that means using force to stop it.

And how about all of us? No doubt this will be another excuse for American Jews to stay away from Israel. Now is the time we have to visit Israel. The truth is we don't need an excuse " we are staying away any way. At the very least we need to redouble our efforts to support the people of Israel financially and to help those who are victims of such attacks. Two years ago we established an Israel Emergency Fund to help the victims of such attacks " I want to remind you all to continue to support this fund so we can, in some small way, help bring some comfort and healing to those who have been traumatized.

At the height of World War Two David Ben Gurion made a truce with English to help fight the Nazis despite his anger at the publication of the White Paper. He said we will help the British fight the Nazis as if there no White Paper and we will fight the White Paper as if there were no Nazis.

We need to take the same approach right now: Israel must fight for peace as if there were no terrorists and we must fight the terrorist as if there were no hope for peace. Israel cannot afford to show weakness in the face of such terror but she cannot afford to ignore every avenue that might lead to peace either.

Let us pray that there is hope that some semblance of order can again be established in the coming weeks.

And let us pray:

Adonai oz liamo yiten Adonai yivarekh et amo bashalom

May God grant his people the strength to face its challenges but may God bless Israel and all its neighbors with peace.

Amen