An elderly, crippled, wheel chair bound Jew by the name of Klinghoffer was thrown overboard
from a cruise ship by Arab terrorists about a decade ago. Klinghoffer’s only crime was that he
was Jewish. These facts are uncontested and well-documented. Nevertheless, in the name of
artistic freedom, a play was written that justified the murderous deed and intimated that
Klinghoffer’s murder was really the fault of the Jewish state of Israel.
Again in the name of artistic freedom, an opera was written reiterating that theme and the opera
was produced and presented by the Metropolitan Opera Company of New York last week. It
seems that all of the musical critics are in agreement that it was not a great opera, artistically
speaking.
However, in today’s completely politicized and overwhelmingly anti-Israel and anti-Jewish
intellectual world, the Metropolitan Opera Company of New York felt impelled to produce this
second-rate work in order to make a statement regarding its own political agenda and skewed
worldview.
There was a protest mounted against the showing of this opera by some Jewish organizations in
New York. But, the Metropolitan Opera Company, using the shield of artistic freedom uber alles –
justas the Jew haters on university campuses use the shield of academic freedom to dispense
their poison – naturally defended its production and in fact was proud that it engaged in such a
groundbreaking venture.
The New York Times, one of the leaders of the consistently shrill anti-Israel chorus, in its column
regarding the production of this opera interviewed a few Jewish opera goers who were at the
Klinghoffer presentation. These Jews were not disturbed by the nature or message of the
production and seemed to be somewhat bewildered as to what all of the controversy was about.
They unfortunately represent a large section of the American Jewish community, that is
completely asleep as its society hurtles towards the brink of societal weakness, loss of influence,
if not even self extinction. They just don’t understand that they are Klinghoffer….. and that they
are applauding their own eventual demise.
Of course, the Metropolitan Opera Company of New York is financed very heavily by Jewish
donors. Yet, to the best of my knowledge, none of these influential contributors to the
Metropolitan has publicly voiced any criticism of the decision to mount and produce this opera,
which makes the murderers heroic and the victim pathetic.
This opera is perfectly acceptable in today’s American society because poor Mr. Klinghoffer was
Jewish. These donors also don’t realize that they are also Klinghoffer. Had Klinghoffer been
Moslem or black, his murder would have been judged to be a racist and terrorist crime, worthy of
punishment and universal criticism. And certainly no opera would have been produced to
“explain” the “justified motives” of the murderers. Hitler arrived on the scene three generations
too soon. In today’s climate there would have been many who would have “understood” him and
his motives.
In spite of the disaster of the “appeasement” policy of the 1930’s, it is being followed today in
negotiations with murderers that will only lead to a dead end……and I do mean dead. The only
difference is that in today’s world, it is called “engagement.” It is a prime example of whistling
past the graveyard, which always eventually leads to being in the graveyard.
It is no surprise that the Associated Press, in reporting the terrorist incident last week in
Jerusalem, ran a headline that read “Israeli Police Shoot Man in Jerusalem.” No mention was
made in the headline of the three-month-old infant murdered by this Arab terrorist who drove his
automobile into a crowd of innocent people waiting for a train or bus, and who was then
subsequently shot dead.
This time, after a sufficient outcry of Jewish outrage, the headline was removed a few hours later
and replaced with a more accurate description of the terrible event that had occurred. Jews and
Israel are fair game for every sort of distortion, criticism and slight, diplomatic, governmental or
media generated.
The Jewish world somehow still believes that it exists in the more tolerant and subdued
immediate post-Holocaust world of the 1950s when “Hava Nagilah” was the most popular song
on American radio and stage. Those days are long gone and have been replaced by hatred,
discrimination and demonization of all things Jewish.
Hillel said that “If I am not for me, then who will be for me?” If individual Jews and communal
Jewish organizations are not now prepared to vigorously counteract what is happening in the
Western world and the United States vis a vis Jews and the Jewish state then we are truly staring
into the abyss. We should remember and assimilate into our inner being that we are all
Klinghoffer.

courtesy of www.jewishdestiny.com