The Climate Gets Ugly

One doesn't need to look too hard to find headlines like:

Iran continues to develop nuclear bombs to destroy Israel

Hungarian MP wants Jewish members of parliament to be identified

Syrian's stockpile of chemical weapons may end up being used on Israel

Hamas uses ceasefire to rearm for next conflict against Israel

Egypt's Arab Spring will mean the end of it's peace agreement with Israel

Greece's National Socialism party uses Jews as scapegoats for its problems

Swedish artist uses Jewish ashes stolen from death camp in painting

Brazil sponsors Israel hatefest in Porto Alegre

Finnish MP spreads Jewish conspiracy: US controlled by wealthy Jews

The UN continues to bring more resolutions to condemn only Israel

The EU condemns Israel for building houses in east Jerusalem

Arabic newspaper in Toronto publishes Anti-Semitic cartoons


I could go on and on, listing similar headlines from every country in the world. I'm not so sure that these headlines existed in such abundance and in such an incredible distribution throughout the world back in pre-world war II days as they do today.

The world can and should be a beautiful place. And from time to time I am rewarded by meeting beautiful people with open hearts and minds. Mostly I find beauty in nature as I am blessed to be living in a large country filled with some of the most magnificent natural beauty that G-d has ever created.

But sadly the world is also filled with ugliness. The constant anti-Semitism and attacks on my Jewish homeland are ugly stains that refuse to wipe clean. All this while most 'good' people (Jews and Gentiles) remain painfully unaffected. While I was forced to endure anti-Semitism while growing up in a modern, liberal, democratic country, Canada, I fear that the world's morality is sinking ever deeper and my children will have to endure more of the same. Or worse.