Pollard's Plight (1998)

I was sitting around with a few friends last night and the topic of Barack Obama's run for the U.S. Presidency was being discussed. Someone said it was "only natural" for American Blacks to massively support the African American candidate. I objected to the word "natural" saying that a Jewish candidate couldn't count on automatic Jewish support. In fact many Jews would not back him ...precisely because he was a Jew. The Jewish community would fear that it might be held liable for any mistakes that he might make.

My argument was dismissed with the flip comment that Jews are just not "normal" and don't act in ways that can be described as "normal".

Back in February of 1998 Jonathan Pollard could not count on either the American Jewish community or the Israeli government to extract him from the cruel and unusual punishment he was enduring.

Ten more years have now passed. Our shame is greater than ever. And to that shame we can add the Israeli government's ongoing ignoring of seven years of Palestinian rocket attacks on Sderot. A peaceful Jewish town in the Negev desert.

I lost the argument in my living room last night because my opponent was right. "Jews are just not 'normal' and don't act in ways that can be described as 'normal'".