India and Israel Against Islamic Terror

127

CHAP«R *>
to exhibit its separateness. Nathan Glazier and Senator

•e\ Patrick Moynihom in their book Beyond the Melting Pot
wrote:
”Neither the Synagogues and Temples nor the charitable

and philanthropic work, nor the fund raising for Israel and

defence, seems sufficiently vital and relevant for the most

coveted and young people who are emerging from the

community. Nor it is that other community that was scarcely

less Jewish, that of the radical movement and trade unions

engaged them much.”
”The events of 1967 answered some questions that

administration of the community had been asking for several

years before, how to define Jewishness in America’s open society.

In June 1967, the Jews of America were ”saved” from having to

think about the issues of meaning and value that the intellectuals

and ultra orthodox had posed. They did not have to face the

question that Phillip Roth had asked; ”What is Jewishness to the

unbelieving Jews?” There was a ready answer; ”It is glory in

Israel.”
This high drama did not last very long. American Jews thought

they had solved their problems as American and Jews but they

had not. They were in fact, even more comfortable with their

place in the jostle of American society and ever less-secure within

themselves. This is also true of the Indians settled in America.

But there is a difference. Today, the Jews are in the driving seat

of almost all intellectual activity in America just as the Indians

occupy key positions in scientific research, computer software,

business management, medical profession, engineering and other

white collar jobs.
Reverting to the golden era of President John F. Kennedy,
the Jews rose to positions of eminence. These included not only
Such figures as Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., who had Jewish immigrants
irt his immediate family tree, but also McCeorge Bundy, who
Was descended from the oldest Puritan families. Kennedy’s
arnelot” was, thus, not an unvarnished overturn of the older
merica by an ethnic ”pol” who transferred to Washington the
128 INDIA AND ISRAEL CHAPTEIER Q
machine politis of his grandfather, the first Irish mayor of Bostct0n

John F. Fitzgerald. The minorities were not now simply be^n’

given their turn to stuff themselves at the political troujjgk

Kennedy’s ”Camelot” thought of itself as a meritocracy, a

national leadership of the ablest mandarins, who were recruitjjtecj

regardless of their origins. This theory of merit was satisfying^ to

the Jews, for they had been pushing for two centuries for \ ^

concept of ”careers based on talent.”
During my visit to Amsterdam, from 28 to 30 May, 20in.oi,

on my way to the USA, I was pleasantly surprised when , my

Dutch car-driver, who showed me around the city, informed j me

that the Jews formed twenty-five percent of the total population

of Holland. But he added that these simple hard working people

posed no problem to his country. They had merged so well v with

the local population that they were in-distinguishable from n the

majority Christian population. They not only achieved remarkakable

success in their professions and occupied commanding heigights

of economy, but also in the process left no rancour in the h(heart

of the majority community. It was almost impossible to sirsingle

out a Jew from the rest. Though Dutch liberalism and a gi great

spirit of accommodation like that of a Hindu has much toto do

with this painless assimilation of a minority, the Jewish geniuiius is

equally responsible for this process. This appears to be in shsharp

contrast with the Muslim population in our country which fo forms

only fifteen percent of one billion of our total populatiation.

Undoubtedly there are mitigating facts in their favour, suchch as

their obscurantist religious leaders, Mullahs, Maulvees and crimany

self professed leaders of the community not least among tr, thetf

the Imam of Delhi Jama Masjid. Syed Shahbuddin, a retretired

I.F.S. Officer and a self-styled leader of Muslim community, a, once

mentioned on a TV. channel. ”I am a Muslim first and an lndnd’an

later.” Recently in a similar outburst on a TV. show, ”Thehe ^

Fight” Mr. Banatwala, Chairman of the Indian Muslim Leaj6aSuej

also said that the Muslim response to any national or internatiiat’00

issue has to be circumscribed by the teachings of Koran and’1

laws of Shariat.
CHAPTER 9 JEWS IN AMERICA
129
There is no Pope, bishop or priest in Islam. Likewise, there

js no hierarchy, religious or social in the tenets of Koran. One

is reminded of the lines of great poet Iqbal, ”Ek hi saf me khare

ho ga/e Mahmud-o-Ayuz (the King and the slave pray together)”.

But the stranglehold of the Muslim clerics on laity is so strong

that they can justify any action, and order the faithful to go to

any limit of cruelty and barbarism, all in the name of Allah and

the cry of ’Jehad’. One can see even today the sharp polarisation

of Muslims all over the world against the legitimate punitive

actions against terrorism. Terrorism knows no religion, and the

murder of innocent civilians by acts of terror cannot be justified

by any logic or religious exhortation. But this is precisely what

is happening, when the simple issue of combating terrorism had

been hijacked by the religious fundamentalists and given the

name of a fight between the Western infidel and Islam. All this

has the blessings of Mullahs and Maulavis all over the world,

who are acting as cheer leaders to infuriate the mobs against the

West. The Muslims in many countries enlisted in the ranks of

the Talibans and proceeded to Afghanistan to fight the so-called

scourge of the Western colonialism. The Indian Muslims should

not forget that in 1920s they during the Khilafat Movement

were ordered for ’Hijrat’ (migration) to Afghanistan. Their self

styled leaders and divines were enjoying sumptuous meals in

their cosy homes while their followers were serving in the cold

and ragged mountains of Afghanistan. Some of these fighters

were even jailed in Afghanistan and some sent back to India.

Muslims, like Jews, should act as respectable citizens of the

countries where they live and which have given them shelter

and respect.
1O
Judaism and Justice
Judaism is a religion based on law and divine commandments.

The Jewish laws contain 24,529 words of rules and regulations

in the Book of Leviticus and form the edifice founded on the

’Lord’s Commandments’ at Mount Sinai. The origins of the

Jewish laws are found in the Torah consisting of five books of

Moses whose interpretations and analyses are spread over two

dozen volumes called Talmud. A considerable corpus of

discussions, debates and opinions of rabbinical scholars forms

the great moral foundation of the democratic Hebraic

commonwealth. Judaism is the only religion in the world which

is founded on law, though there are striking similarities in this

regard with the Hindu religion. Like Manusmriti in Vedic lore,

Mosaic laws lay down the paradigm of moral and political

principles. There is a saying that every Jew is a lawyer. While

Christianity focuses on the hereafter, Judaism concerns itself

mainly with the present and immediate future. While the Christian

preoccupation is the saving of souls through faith, Judaism is

concerned with saving mankind through acts of justice. While

Christianity emphasises relationship between Cod and man,

Judaism stresses the relationship between man and man. For a

Jew belief transmutes into social action and hence the importance

of law and the need for justice. Although Mosaic Law and Talmud
^f*^~ JUDAISM AND JUSTICE 131
CHAP1””
rribe for humanity only general principles, the details of a

PreS’S daily routine unlike Quranik teachings and Fatwas are left

^h’ectto evolution, review, intelligent interpretation and reform.

5U n though every Jew spends much of his time studying and

niorising not only the Ten major Commandments but

ndreds of regulations that rule his life, his day-to-day conduct

• rational, practical and forward looking, and not fossilised in a

. e Warp. ’No man is a stranger, and God belongs to all human

beings’^ is the credo of Judaism. With the march of history,

particularly after the seventeenth century, the effect of Biblical

and rabbinical writings can be seen in the development of secular

justice all over the world. Therefore, it is no wonder that even

in their adopted home in America the principal contribution of

the Jews has been in the field of law and justice. The movement

for prison reform, abolition of capital punishment and

rehabilitation of criminals is entirely a Jewish contribution derived

by repealing the ancient Mosaic law by independent interpretation

of the same with a mix of reason and humanity.
A powerful rabbinical figure between two world wars, Abba

Hille! Silver, a Lithuanian migrant to Cleaveland State in America,

led the largest Reform congregation in America known as ”The

Temple”. A great orator, writer and a courageous liberal, he

helped introduce the first child labour laws and Unemployment

Insurance Act into the statute books. Along with his other

accomplishments such as head of the Zionist Organisation of

America, the United Jewish Appeal, the American Section of the

Jewish Agency, the Central Conference of American Rabbis, and

the American Zionist Emergency Council, he contributed

substantially to the 1947 Palestine Partition Plan. In his provocative

book How Judaism Differed he stressed the ”different-ness” of

to6 Judaic faith and questioned the so-called egalitarian approach

°f labelling up all religions under a common denominator.

Judaism has five unique features not shared by other religions,

except Hinduism. It never contends that:
(i) Man was born of an original sin from which he has to

be redeemed;
132 INDIA AND ISRAEL CHAPTER
10
(ii) Man should not enjoy life and remain austere;
(in) Men are not equal; this resonates with the Hindu vje\v
of ’Vasudhaiv Kutumbakam’, i.e., fraternity and equality
of men.
(iv) Men are not free.
(v) Death is better than life.
Thus he remonstrated with the heads of other religions against

placing Judaism in the same mould.
Judaism attaches great value to the worth of man, ju;t as

Rabbi Akiba observed that ”Precious is man, since he is created

in Cod’s image.” Judaic laws ordain that everyone has the ight

to express his individuality and develop his uniqueness. He is

free to express or subsume the thoughts of his mind and the

dictates of his soul. This is surprisingly similar to Hinduism wiere

the worth of man is considered even more than that of pds.

The gods are immortal but unlike the mortal man, they have no

freedom for action or ”Karma”. Judaism is unique in that i has

prescribed punishment for wrong conduct but never for wong

opinion. In the history of Judaism there have been no bunings

at stakes or Councils of Inquisition. Hundred years before esus

declared in his Sermon on the Mount, ”Therefore on tlings

whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye ’ven

to them.” Hillel the Elder had put forward a different proposiion,

”What is hateful to yourself do not do to your neighbour. ”The

two disparate wordings of the Golden Rule bring out/the

fundamental difference between Christianity and Judaism. Hlel’s

version guarantees more freedom and privacy than the worls of

Jesus. In other words, Judaism ordains that the neighbour sbuld

neither be proselytized, nor punished for his beliefs.
Judaism has been called a religion of social idealismand

surprisingly no righteous causes anywhere seem alien tcthe

liberal rabbis of America. Humanitarian causes of other liths

come naturally to them. Corruption and special privilee is

repugnant to Judaic ethics. Movement for fair wages for laour,

better working conditions, ending child exploitation, btter

housing, social security, prison reforms, international peaceand
--- m JUDAISM AND JUSTICE 133
CHAPTER ’« ^^^^^^_^________^_^_
dation of the League of Nations and subsequently the United

NJ tions had the unwavering and unstinted support of the Jews
• |srael. The first Director of the Peace Corps, Shriver, asked

navid Ben-Curion in 1967 during his visit to the United States,

«How do you account for the fact that 40 percent of those in

the Peace Corps are Jews and some 70 percent of those involved

in civil rights and social justice causes are Jews?” With a twinkle

in his eyes Ben-Curion replied, ”Because they are Jews!”
In the old world as well as New England, earlier known as

New Netherlands due to its first settlers being Dutch Jews who

also named present day New York as New Amsterdam, the

Church was the lynchpin of any State. This concept, however,

was repugnant to the jews who separated the State from the

religion. Henry Wordsworth Longfellow described this Jewish

character in his poem written in 1852 questioning the logic of

Jewish presence in the colonies around Newport, Rhode Island,

and supplied the answer himself-religious freedom and inherent

right of the people. Roger Williams, an outspoken Jew immigrant

who championed the right of all minorities and fought for justice

and rights of all people, bitterly opposed the idea of a church

state and forced conversions. A rebel against all the stupidities

that interposed a barrier betwixt men and the fellowship of their

dreams, Roger Williams proclaimed: ”That cannot be a true

religion which needs carna’l weapons”. While a Roman Catholic

spends half an hour in a church, counting his beads, reciting Ave

Marias, genuflecting before a crucifix and lights a candle in

adoration of Virgin Mary, while a Quaker sits for half an hour

in silent meditation at a Friends Meeting House, while other

Protestants from Holy Rollers in High Church Episcopalians

conduct their prayers and rituals, an Orthodox European Jew

8°es to his synagogue which he fondly calls ’schul’, the Yiddish

word for school, thereby implying that synagogue is not merely

a place for prayer and worship but for study too. Judaism’s

Primary command is study, similar to what Lord Krishna enjoins

in Ceeta as ’Cyan Yog’ for attainment of the Supreme. Mark

’^ain, the famous American author, in an article written in

’898 mentioned that the Egyptians, the Persians, the Creeks
134 INDIA AND ISRAEL CHAPTER
10
and the Romans came and went, yet the Jews, less that one

percent of human race ”who properly ought never to have

been heard of have kept their culture and civilisation alive through

millennia. ”Why?” Perhaps it is because while others were

observing religious rituals, the Jews kept thinking and studying

and sharpening their brains, not forgetting the words of Isiah ”My

people are gone into captivity for want of knowledge”, the

Russian intellectual Ahad Ha’am, writing to Rabbi Judah Magnes

said: ”Learing-learing-learning, that is the secret of Jewish survival.”

Claude C. Montefiore, British scholar, put it a little differently :

” It is the intellectual element in Judaism which enabled the Jews

to go through unheard of degradations and persecutions, and

yet never to suffer degradation of the soul”, while Sigmund

Freud, himself a jew, mentioned that ”it was the Holy Book and

the study of it that kept the scattered people together.” Emma

Lazarus in one of her best poems, ’Gifts’, mentions that the

Egyptians wanted wealth, received it and vanished from history;

the Greeks wanted beauty and after being granted the same

also disappeared; the Romans wanted power, got it and then

they too were gone; the Jews asked for truth and nothing else

and they live from centuries to centuries, age to age, proving the

saying that ”Synagogues and houses of study are Israel’s towers.”

Hillel had long before told the impatient pagan: ”Go forth and

learn!” Gems such as these abound in Talmud: ”The prayer for

knowledge is first among the Benedictions.” ”No mercy for him

who is without knowledge.” ;
During the Civil War the Jews suffered discrimination of

various kinds. In an order by General Grant dated December

17, 1862, the Jews were accused of violating the regulation of
i A
trade established by the Treasury Department and were singled

out for punishment for illegal smuggling, a charge which was not

true. Some were arrested and held in confinement. The American

Jewry reacted strongly against this anti-Semitic outburst and led

a delegation to President Lincoln himself to get the order repealed’

It is said that one of the members, Caesar Kaskel, personally

explained the case to Lincoln, after examining which the Presiden

said: ”And so the children of Israel were driven from the happ;