By Michael Hayutin
SAN DIEGO — Inflicting pain on oneself is a rather strange phenomenon. Most of us have read about or seen images of religious fanatics intentionally hurting themselves. There was a tradition among some in the Philippines to reenact the crucifixion each Easter. Young men would volunteer to have nails pounded through the palms of their hands onto a wooden cross that is then secured and raised. They felt privileged to suffer.
Jews generally view themselves as far too civilized to participate in rituals that involve inflicting pain for symbolic purposes. But I have noticed a far more damaging bit of ritualized flagellation that a segment of the Jewish community pursues with conviction and enthusiasm. The advocacy of Peace Now and J. Street enthusiasts represent a Jewish form of self-inflicted harm. It’s a form of masochism with psychological and emotional dimensions that I don’t fully comprehend.
Impaled hands can heal and permanent harm from modern crucifixions is restricted to the individual nailed to a cross. Catholics and Christians as a whole do not suffer.
But irrational concessions made to ones enemies’ does great harm to more then just the participants. I am talking about a troubling tendency that incapacitates some Jews of any ability to deal effectively with our enemies. It probably has at least something to do with naïveté about the nature of evil and a devout worship of peace above all else. Peace above Judaism and peace before self-preservation.
Those who participate and support these self-destructive practices and gestures feel both righteous and faithful. However underestimating your enemy’s’ capacity to do evil and misunderstanding the enemies moral core is neither righteous nor faithful to Judaism. A segment of peace motivated, well meaning Jews believe that their enemies will respond as civilized people respond.
Face to face with people who have repeatedly proven their anti-Semitic credentials, some Jews still stretch out a hand of peace and compromise, again and again. Agreements are repeatedly made and violated, yet too many good old “peace loving” Jews act as if past behavior has little bearing on future behavior.
Here’s a short list of some who have manipulated this Jewish defect in order harm of Jews – Palestinian Authority President Mahomud Abbas (never acknowledged the right of Jews to have a Jewish state and did graduate work on Holocaust denial), Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal (dedicated to the destruction of Israel and Jews in general), Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei (aspirations in lock step with Hamas), Egyptian President Mohaned Morsi (claims Jerusalem is an Arab capitol and declared Jews are the descendents of apes and pigs) and even Turkey’s Prime Minister Tayip Erdogan (Zionism is “ a crime against humanity).
It’s not as if any of these men of hate have been subtle about their deep animus for Jews. But with a firm knowledge of vulnerability among some Jews, on occasion these enemies are and have been just ambiguous enough to manipulate a ritualized self-destructive tendency demonstrated by some of their targets. We still find Jews who believe that one more outstretched hand of compromise will bring peace. Now I understand that reaching out that hand of compromise and conciliation must be offered. Once. Twice. Maybe even make the offer three times. After three it becomes ritualized self-destruction.
Of course the tragic irony is that for the most part the enemies described above, will concede only to coercion and force. They see the offered hand as weakness and opportunity for exploitation.
I suffer no delusion of having an influence on the reflexive self-destruction. But I do hope that generations of young and politically unengaged Jews will learn the lesson that Churchill desperately tried to warn Europeans about throughout the 1930’s. Millions were slaughtered because of accommodation based on an illusive image of achieving peace when dealing with evil.
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Hayutin is San Diego chapter leader for Act! For America!, a pro Israel organization, and author of Character Immunication, How to Raise Children Strong Enough to Resist Popular Culture