A Hate Incident

Below is what the comedian Elon Gold published on his blog.
On which my friend Nissan commented to me: You see that every Muslim wants to kill Jews, they don't Care!

Have nice day,

Nissan

My response to Mr. Gold is right below his interesting post.

You can read it here. Or, scroll down:

This past Friday night, instead of having my usual guests for a festive Friday night dinner in my home, I had three compassionate LAPD officers standing in my kitchen explaining the difference between a "hate crime" and a "hate incident." My family was the victim of the latter. 

We were walking home in Los Angeles after a Friday night dinner at a friend’s house, dressed nicely for shabbat, easily identifiable as a Jewish family. We waited for a light to change on a corner of a major intersection when a black Mercedes SUV pulled up alongside us. Four middle eastern men in their 20’s were in the car. The one in the back rolled down his window and yelled, “Free Palestine!”

I immediately turned to face them, knowing I was in danger and like the Rabbi who was gunned down in Miami on his way to synagogue, this was the beginning of either a hate crime or a hate incident, but either way, hate was coming our way. We all know too well, that “Free Palestine” means free Palestine from every Jew. As they chant “Free Palestine, from the river to the sea.” That doesn’t mean they want a two state solution, they want Hitler’s final solution and a Jew-free middle east.

Then this Arab young man opened the car door, stepped onto the street and yelled at me, my wife and four young children: “I hope your children die! Just like you are killing children in Gaza!”

We all stood silently in utter horror and fear.

Then he got back in the Mercedes and they drove off. We were in a state of complete shock. My ten year old daughter immediately started crying and couldn’t stop. She kept yelling, “I’m scared.” My 5 year old daughter asked me why they want her to die? My other kids were too rattled to say anything.

I was stunned that I can no longer feel safe walking on shabbat with my family in my city. I kept reading about all the anti-semitism all over Europe, but here in these United States? That my innocent children had to be exposed to this level of anti-semitism has shaken me to my core. These people weren’t just yelling “Jew bastard” as I’d experienced growing up in the Bronx, they were wishing my children dead, right to their angelic faces. This was beyond appalling.

I couldn’t believe that they were filled with such hatred and ignorance and that someone could go as far as wishing my children dead and blaming me for the death of children in Gaza. Me?! I’vebeen killing children in Gaza? I’m a comedian. The only killing I’m personally responsible for is the killing of the audiences I’ve performed for. And the only “bombing" I’m guilty of are those rare sets where I don’t quite connect with the crowd.

Like any good, moral person I hate to see death and destruction anywhere. As we are taught in Proverbs, “Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, And do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles”. I would have loved to have shared with them that I’m against war and the loss of innocent life. But they didn’t want to hear it. They wanted to spew hatred. I would’ve gladly had an intellectual discussion with them about the fact that all of humanity should join together against terrorists like Hamas and ISIS who are slaughtering innocents, but they didn’t want to listen.

I would’ve been happy to debate them on the fact that Israel has a right to defend itself against a terrorist group who is firing a barrage of rockets at every citizen. Or that had Hamas accepted the first ceasefire, no children in Gaza would’ve been killed. About their firing from hospitals and schools and other densely populated areas in order to get the civilian casualty numbers higher, gaining Israel worldwide condemnation. That the leaders of Israel have called every innocent civilian death "a great tragedy." While the leaders of Hamas consider every innocent civilian death "a great victory."

Or that Gaza is no longer “occupied.” Or the fact that the definition of the word “occupation”doesn’t apply to a country who won land in defensive wars. Wars which were attempts at the total annihilation of Israel. Wars that were thrust upon them before any “blockades” or “settlements” or “occupation” or any of the other made up words that are now used to justify killing Jews.  Or that much of the suffering of the Palestinian people is a direct result of their elected leadership, just as the suffering of Arabs in most middle eastern countries are at the hands of their oppressive regimes. That the Arabs who enjoy real freedom, including freedom to worship any sect of any religion, freedom to speak their minds, freedom to be gay, are the Israeli Arabs living in Israel. Or simply educate them on the 3,000 year history of our people in our tiny homeland and our willingness and desire to live in peace with our arab neighbors.

But they didn’t want a debate. They just wanted to hate. They wanted to terrorize my family and they did. But as I explained to my crying and visibly shaken kids as we walked home, ‘they said they wanted us dead, now imagine living in Israel where every day they don’t just say it, they actually attempt to kill all of the Israeli children and tragically just today they murdered a four-year-old Israeli boy with a Hamas rocket. Not the most comforting words to young, rattled children, but now that their innocence was shattered, I felt that it was important for them to understand the reality of the world they are living in.

The LAPD officers who were dispatched to my house were extremely kind and compassionate. In fact, the first officer who showed up was Jewish and very comforting to my children. I too was comforted by him and the knowledge that there were Jewish men and women protecting the citizens of Los Angeles. At least more than the one Jewish officer I heard about in Malibu at whom Mel Gibson directed his anti-semitic tirade. This officer really put my kids at ease and told them not to be scared. It also didn’t hurt that he told us that he and his wife enjoyed my work, especially when I’ve hosted the Chabad Telethon.

Then two more officers showed up to take the report. It was explained to us that it would’ve been a hate crime if they had said they were going to kill us, instead of merely hoping we got killed, which makes it a hate incident. Try explaining that differentiation to a ten year old girl who was just told to die.

I feel so sad that my children’s innocence was lost at that very moment. That they were unwillingly and instantaneously initiated into the “We hate you because of WHAT you are club.” That they now know the harsh reality that just because they were born into a Jewish family they are targets and subject to death threats. That they can be blamed and scapegoated for things they have nothing to do with. That they are hated.

I can write a fifty page piece about where all the hatred comes from. There are too many fingers to point at. The media, (I’m talking to you CNN, NY Times, etc.), who instead of reporting on every single rocket fired into Israel, chooses to focus on every civilian casualty of this war, instigated and perpetuated by Hamas. Constantly providing the numbers of the dead, instead of the number, eleven, which is the number of cease fires Hamas broke, thereby causing all of this death and destruction. Repeatedly displaying images of dead civilians without any of the context that many of the deaths are terrorists and that any real civilian casualties were victims of Hamas’s double war crimes of firing rockets at innocent civilians while using their innocent civilians as human shields. Or that a number of casualties include civilians who were killed by errant Hamas rockets.

This is what fuels the fire and allows for people to think they now have the right to wish death upon my children.

I can blame my fellow “comedian” Russell Brand who has the audacity to say that Hamas is firing “harmless" rockets. Harmless?! Tell that to the family of the 4 year old Israeli boy who was murdered by a "harmless" Hamas rocket.

The world is buying into this propaganda. They’re allowing the terrorists to win this media intifada. They are actually listening to celebrities like Javier Bardem and Roger Waters using the word “genocide” against the Palestinian people, when the only genocide occurring in the middle east is by folks like the Assad regime who murdered 170,000 innocents, or ISIS who are murdering innocent Christians and others who are not of their beliefs. Oh yeah, and the attempted genocide of every Jew in Israel, a genocide that is codified in Hamas’ very own charter, one that has been stopped thanks to the Iron Dome and the destruction of the terror tunnels which were built for an actual genocide.

I can go on and on about how all of the pro-Palestinian rallies have signs that say "Death to Jews" and praising Hitler, and why Jews everywhere are now targets of hate crimes, hate incidents, vandalism and murder. I could ... but I have jokes to write. Because I’m trying to make the world a better place with laughter. Sadly, we now live in a world full of people that love to hate, more than they love to laugh.

Elon Gold is a comedian and actor who has appeared on The Tonight Show 10 times, starred in the FOX sitcom "Stacked" and has a stand-up special out on Netflix. Follow him on Twitter: @elongold.

-- 
Morris Smith

And here is my letter to Elon Gold:

Dear Mr. Gold,

I was very sorry to hear about your terrifying incident, where your children have lost their innocence. Please let me comment on some of your thoughts:

"We all know too well, that 'Free Palestine' means free Palestine from every Jew" - well, how do you know that so well? I am constantly attending demonstrations against the Israeli occupation, mainly in Tel-Aviv but also in the occupied territories, and I totally relate to "Free Palestine" that I'm hearing from fellow demonstrators who, I believe, don't want me out of there - at least not more than fellow Israeli Jews want the Palestinians out; And, trust me on this one - there are quite a few such Israelis - and I can understand them.

You told us that your children were scared of that incident, and some of them cried. I totally believe that, and feel terribly sorry for them. Think for a moment about the hundreds of thousands of children in Gaza, who are not just scared, but frightened to death, literally. Yes, a 4-year-old child was killed in Israel, and that is terrible. Yes, other children in Israel are scared too. Can you compare the level of fear in Israel and in Gaza? I can relate to the 15-year-old girl in Kerem-Shalom, near Gaza, who said that as much as she was scared, she felt sorry for the Gazan children, who live in much poorer conditions.

"I couldn't believe that they were filled with such hatred and ignorance and that someone could go as far as wishing my children dead and blaming me for the death of children in Gaza. Me?! I’ve been killing children in Gaza?" - No, you didn't kill anybody. Only your support money did. The actual killing is done by very few, but is vastly supported by the Israeli public (around 85%), and yes, by the American Jewry of which you are part. I think that it was Edmund Burke who said: "All that it takes for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing". And if you can't understand the level of hatred - try to imagine how it's like to live in Gaza; being totally dependent for every aspect of life, without dignity, with very little hope for a better future. On top of that - try to imagine how it is like to be an Israeli Arab citizen, who is far from being equal to the Jews - as an official governmental committee has reported (the Or Committee, 2001).

"...the leaders of Israel have called every innocent civilian death 'a great tragedy.' - Sorry, but that is not true. Please show me one such call. The leadership in Israel doesn't care at all, and I wouldn't believe them even if they did relate to the suffering of the Palestinians. But they have at least been honest about their feelings, and disregarded the pain - pulling the vast majority of Jews after them, like a nice 'lead by example' that they learned in the military.

If you are willing to educate those rude people about the "willingness and desire to live in peace with our Arab neighbors," good luck. I think you'll have very hard times, but not because you are so right - but because they are correct to think, that all Israeli government have done everything in their power, to prevent any viable political solution to the conflict. If you can read Hebrew, then please read this:

http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-4565230,00.html

This is a column written by a former director of Internal Security (the notorious Shabak), somebody who is much respected in my country for his knowledge and understanding of the security situation - and definitely not n lunatic liberal.

And yes, this was a "hate incident", not a crime. They wished you were dead, that's very ugly, indeed. Think of how many Jews in Israel - didn't threaten to kill all the 1.8 million Palestinians in Gaza, but just wished them to be dead, in some miracle way. You'd be surprised, but I know personally many such wishers.

And last of all - I watched a video on your website, being very skeptical that there could be another "Jewish Jerry Seinfeld" or Louis CK. Gosh, your act is really funny and full of talent. I wish you the best and may you and your family never experience such an incident, ever again.

Truly,

Avner Efendowicz

Tel-Aviv