More Avodah Aravrit

24 Tammuz 5768

It is no coincidence that last week's bulldozer terrorist attack (link includes photos) took place a block from the Israel Center, the Orthodox Union of Hebrew Congregations [OU] headquarters in Israel.

No, the Arabs did not plan this around the OU.

However, the Vice-President of the OU David Luchins, Ph.D. was visiting from the U. S.

A group from the National Council of Synagogue Youth [NCSY], the OU's youth branch, was also in Jerusalem at the time, as part of its summer educational tour of Israel.

It is not a coincidence that all of these people, places, and events came together.

These visitors now have an opportunity to serve as shlichim, as messengers to the Jews in the U. S.

But, what message will they bear?

Will they spin the terrorist attack into the "copycat" attack of another crazy person, as the Israeli government has?

Will they downplay it, or even ignore it?

Will parents of NCSY members tell the kids that they "don't understand such complicated matters," and shouldn't get involved?

Or will OU officials, members, and youth recognize this profound occurrence, step up to the plate, and share the horror of the experience of being in Jerusalem while a terrorist attack was in progress?

Will they avoid the mincing of words, and political-correctness, and put two and two together to come up with four?

Only time will tell.

Meanwhile, on the same day of the second bulldozer attack by an "Israeli Arab" in two weeks, a rather telling article by Nathan J. Diament, the OU's Director of Public Policy was published on the website Real Clear Politics. (thanks to the Torat Yisrael Blog for the reference).

In this article, focusing on Sen. Barak Obama's (D-IL) visit to Israel, Diament praises two U. S. presidents, one whom supported the transfer of 95 percent of Judea, Samaria, and Gaza to Arabs, and the other, a vocal supporter of the formation of yet another Arab terrorist state.

We look forward to the OU's message(s) it conveys to our fellow Jews in the U. S. After having read Diament's article, we are not optimistic.

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See more first hand information on the attack and on another recent incident of "avodah aravit" posted at Tomer Devorah.

The Orthodox Union did not authorize the use of its logo. It is placed here, only as the highly recognizable symbol of kosher food, to assist our readers in identifying the OU organization.