Jews and Guns or Jews and Government

from Jews and "Gun Control"
http://jpfo.org/filegen-a-m/fear.htm

Current Jewish leaders' glorification of victimhood is rooted in an event that took place 1,925 years ago. In 70 C.E. the Romans conquered Jerusalem and destroyed the Second Temple. Many Jews were exiled; most held on. Inspired by Rabbi Akiva, the leading scholar of the era, and led by Simon Bar Kochba, the Jews revolted in 132-5 C.E. The Romans killed -- or exiled from Israel -- almost all Jews. The Romans executed Rabbi Akiva.

Rome shattered Jews' self-confidence. In the 1,800 years following Bar Kochba's revolt, Jews only rarely used weapons for self-defense, although at the very end of that long period Jews served in the armies of various countries. Jews slowly forgot the military skills they had used to defend their freedom. Jews slowly got used:

to being victimized
to making excuses for their victimizers
to helping their victimizers.



In Exile: Jews Become Passivists (and Pacifists)
This change in the Jewish approach to the World -- from working actively to promote the Rule of Law (civilized behavior) to passive acceptance of brutality- was the result of a leadership vacuum. Jewish leaders felt themselves partly to blame for the Destruction of the Second Temple. Lack of love for each other- mainly vitriolic feuding on points of religious observance -- caused the A-mighty to remove His Presence.(11)

Exile was a harsh penalty. Jews eventually concluded that Exile would endonly when the A-mighty decreed it. A new tradition arose: the passive Jew. Indeterminate punishment and passive waiting were new ideas. Biblical punishments usually were time-defined. Abraham was told that his descendants would be enslaved for 400 years and would then be freed.(12) The punishment for refusing to begin the conquest of Canaan was 40 years of travel in theSinai.(13)

Jews accepted second-class status in exile. They adjusted some religious practices to new places. Consensus on religious doctrine or practice eroded. Eventually Jews developed a range of views on rituals, permissible foods, etc.

Jews rarely had equal status with their neighbors. Residence in a town was a privilege, often paid for in cash and often withdrawn abruptly and bloodily.

In such circumstances, Jews tried to avoid fights with their deadliest enemies, governments, whether in Rome, Almohad (Muslim) Spain, the Holy Roman Empire, Britain, France, Spain, Austria-Hungary, Russia, Germany, Italy(pre-1870), Algeria, Iran, Iraq, or Syria, among others.

Jews tried hard to be liked, especially by government officials. The more evil those officials, the harder Jews worked to appease them. If that were impossible, Jews tried to be invisible. As a last resort, they ran. Most Jews did not fight back. If cornered, they prayed for Divine help and accepted martyrdom, even committing mass suicide rather than resisting, or submitting, to evil-doers.

Flight rather than fight usually worked. Occasionally Jews were expelled (e.g., as from Spain in 1492). But this strategy -- be liked, be invisible, or run -- ultimately backfired. The Nazis aimed to track down and to murder every Jew. Jews could not be liked by the Nazis and only a few were able to hide. It was hard to flee: most countries -- America included -- rejected Jewish refugees.(14)




Looking Back With Longing to Victimhood
For Jews in exile a "ghetto" mindset replaced memories of nationhood. This was not, however, a new phenomenon. Jews had previously stayed with the familiar, even when it was very nasty, and even when offered a choice. Moses, a very wise man, was dismayed by some Jews -- newly-freed after two centuries of slavery in Egypt -- who rejected freedom. Some even were sorry to have left Egypt.(15) The were so immersed in corrupt Egyptian practices that they made and worshipped a golden calf, even before Moses had come down from Mt.Sinai.(16)

These Jews went astray because the Egyptians had so completely crushed Jewish self-confidence. Thus:

the miracles accompanying the Exodus from Egypt;
the utter destruction of the pursuing Egyptian Army;
the revelation of the Torah on Mt. Sinai;
were not enough to convince many Jews that they could trust G-d's goodness.

There is solid proof of this. Moses sent a dozen spies to take a first look at Canaan. Two came back and declared for an immediate start to the conquest of Canaan; ten returned disheartened. The majority said the Canaanites were so huge and powerful that Jews were like "tiny grasshoppers" by comparison.(17) Angered by this lack of faith, the A-mighty finally decreed that Jews would travel the Sinai for 40 years, until a new generation -- free from the slave mindset -- took charge. These Jews would possess Israel.(18)

Jacob's descendants were so psychologically brutalized by two centuries of servitude in Egypt, that they had completely forgotten their ancestors' dedication to Freedom. It is thus understandable how thoroughly brutalized Jews became in the 1,800 years separating the Roman conquest from Israel's re-establishment in 1948.

Jews were viciously persecuted -- at least occasionally -- by nearly everykind of government, in a range of ways. Governments forced Jews to wear special clothing, live in ghettos, pay extra taxes, not engage in specified trades or professions, etc. Even when governments created anti-Semitism - or aroused latent anti-Semitism -- for political or financial gain, Jews' respect for tradition moved them to obey these governments' enactments.

Most Jews' minds were bent by this long victimization, just as enslavement in Egypt had psychologically damaged many Jews to the point where they rejected Freedom and longed for the "comforts" of Egypt. Thus, many modern Jews do not know that for the first third of Jewish history, Jews were fighters, activists ready to defend themselves and their right to worship as we are commanded.

Some modern Jews even believe their oppressors' propaganda, that Jews somehow deserve to suffer. That is not surprising. A victim of a violent criminal may try to avoid "dangerous situations", feeling the attack resulted from some personal negligence. Sometimes a hostage even sympathizes with the kidnapper.

The tradition of accepting "victimhood." -- the "ghetto"mindset - produces "leaders" who are resigned to, and even glory in -being victims.




Jewish Leaders' Lethal Error:
Blind Faith in Governments
Centuries of persecution caused the Jewish tradition of self-defense to be buried under a mountain of psychological and intellectual rubbish. Jewish "leaders"repeatedly put their trust in governments that seemed benevolent, even after this trust was bloodily betrayed. These "leaders" applied to politics a central religious value: tradition, or following the religious practices of one's parents. Tradition is a major reason why Judaism endures.

But mixing religion -- respect for "tradition" -- with politics has always produced nasty results. Jews owe unquestioning obedience only to the A-mighty's commands, as set forth in the Five Books of Moses and as explained in the Talmud, and other commentaries. The soundness of G-d's commands is beyond question. Jews seek perfectly to obey G-d's commands, starting with the Ten Commandments.

But no human institution, e.g., a government, can merit the trust Jews owe to G-d. Jewish "leaders" who transferred into the political realm the religious "tradition" of obedience, cleared the way for their own repeated victimization. When Jewish communities were betrayed and attacked by governments in whom Jewish "leaders" had placed political faith, these"leaders" redoubled their efforts to curry favor with the government, instead of seeking a better strategy, i.e., fleeing or fighting.

In Judaism, when a disaster -- e.g., a plague or a drought -- befell a community, "tradition" taught everyone to try harder to obey G-d's commands. That is, such disasters were seen as punishments for failures properly to obey G-d's commands. The underlying logic behind trying harder: G-d was benevolent and would be pleased by the efforts made to conform to theTorah.

It did not follow, however, that a government hostile to Jews could ever be pleased. Yet, Jewish leaders repeatedly tried to please such governments. Every setback was met with greater efforts to please.

Most Jewish "leaders" were -- and are -- highly educated. Education does not necessarily bestow political common sense. Alternatively, great intelligence can give rise to arrogance. Arrogance -- self-confidence that over-rides common sense -- can be lethal.

Jewish "leaders'" most common lethal error is also the most inexplicable. In the 1,800 years between the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 C.E. and 1948, when the State of Israel was re-established, governments murdered far more Jews than all sorts of hate groups combined. Thus, it is especially surprising that Jewish "leaders" should have persisted in relying on government protection.

Victims often identify with -- and sometimes even help -- their oppressors. In the past 2,000 years governments have been Jews' deadliest enemies. Forgetful of their own history of armed self-defense, Jewish "leaders"sought protection from governments. Jewish "leaders" urged members oftheir communities to appease governments, to keep on "the good side of the powers that be".

Jewish "leaders" who trusted governments to protect Jews have beenJews' deadliest internal enemies and continue to be so. Jewish "leaders "who urge Jews to back "gun control" make a similarly lethal mistake. To be disarmed is to be powerless, the first step towards victimhood.

The Challenge for American Jewish "Leaders"
Many American Jews emigrated from Europe, or are descendants of emigrants from Europe. For many of these Jews, "freedom" -- the ability to perfect obedience to G-d's commands as set forth in the Torah -- without fear of government interference, is an alien idea. These Jews have been so brutalized psychologically by governments "gone bad" that they have lost the ability:

to relate to early Jewish history, filled with great examples of how a small nation of activists guided by a Faithful G-d stood firm against mighty nations;
to imagine that victimization can be ended.


***

Time for a Change
Jewish "leaders'" tradition of relying on government protection, under pins their support for "gun control". If Jewish "leaders"thought about "gun control", they might see through the attractive falsehood, that "gun control" saves lives. "Gun control" necessarily promotes victimhood and thus genocide. There are tens of millions of needless victims of "gun control", including millions of Jews.

Jewish "leaders" need help to break free from a centuries-long pattern of self-destructive behavior rooted in their tradition of placing in governments the faith that should be placed only in G-d. Were Jewish "leaders"to become at least skeptical of government's benevolence they might then be able to appreciate fully the wisdom of the Framers of the U.S. Constitution, above all the concept of "freedom" that the Framers held so dear.

Were Jewish "leaders" to shed the tradition of blindly placing faith in governments, they would work hard to strengthen every part of the Constitution, especially the Second Amendment. This brief Amendment best limits the U.S. Government's capacity to do harm, and certainly could prevent it even from attempting genocide.

Were Jewish "leaders" to understand the tremendous achievement of Israeli Jews -- who have embraced the ancient Jewish tradition of a strong self-defense -- they might embrace the Second Amendment.


***

Jews in America: A False Sense of Security
As noted above, few American Jewish "leaders" understand "freedom"as every Israeli Jew does. Some American Jewish "leaders" do notcherish freedom because they feel that freedom can never be at risk. America isone of a few places wherein Jews have lived, and in which they have not been persecuted or murdered by government order (others include Australia andCanada). In America, individual Jews have been victimized by racist criminals, e.g., the Ku Klux Klan, the Order, the Aryan Nations, etc. However, in our long history of living in many countries, most of the many mass murders of Jews were inspired and/or committed by government officials.

Thus, American Jewish "leaders" should not be smug. Governments have often turned on Jews: "And a new King, who did not know Joseph, came into power over Egypt."(19) This term "new King" probably means a new Egyptian dynasty. Newly-hostile governments (e.g., the Nazi regime; Spain under King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella) have come closest to exterminating Jews.

Some Jewish "leaders" are easily lulled into a false sense of security. They tend to close their eyes to impeding danger, even denying it exists. Thus, some Jewish communal leaders in the Nazi-controlled Warsaw Ghetto opposed armed resistance. They feared provoking the Nazis. In other cases, Jewish ghetto leaders branded Jews who urged armed resistance as "trouble-makers"and betrayed them to the Nazis. Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of Jews were deported from ghettos to murder camps.(20)

In America now, Jews who support the Second Amendment's civil right to be armed are viewed as "trouble-makers" or "alarmists" by "leaders"of major Jewish communal groups. Most American Jews probably feel the government is benign. That can change. Fast. America let in few Jews who fled the Nazis. U.S. planes were not sent to bomb railway lines to Auschwitz' gas chambers, even after it was clear that hundreds of thousands of Jews had been murdered there. But some American Jews still admire Franklin D. Roosevelt, president in those years.(21)

Some American Jews overlook the wrongful arrest and internment of West coast Japanese-Americans during World War II. Meanwhile, Japanese-American men were fighting for America in Europe. The 442nd Regimental Combat Team - largely composed of Japanese-Americans -- is the most decorated unit in the history of the U.S. Army. Greater love for America few men have had than these. Only 50 years later did the U.S. government apologize to surviving victims, and then only grudgingly.




Jewish "Leaders":
Misunderstanding the Second Amendment
Near-annihilation by the Nazis, and most governments' cold response to Jews seeking refuge from the Nazis, should have shown every Jew:

the deadly danger of relying on any government for protection;
the vital importance of being armed.
But most American Jewish "leaders" still misunderstand - and so shun -- the Second Amendment. Some feel that only police officers should have firearms. Some may feel that the Second Amendment protects private ownership of firearms, but only those used for hunting.

Both beliefs are erroneous. The belief that police alone should be armed assumes that a police force has a legal duty to protect the average law-abiding person. There is not now -- nor has there ever been -- a Constitutional civil right to police protection:

"There is no constitutional right to be protected by the state against being murdered by criminals or madmen. It is monstrous if the state fails to protect its residents against such predators but it does not violate the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, or, we suppose, any other provision of the Constitution".(22)

The Second Amendment does not concern hunting. If it did, Jews could ignore it on the ground that few Jews hunt. Why? Tradition! Jews were never hunters: the Patriarchs and Matriarchs were shepherds. Jews became farmers and took up fishing after they conquered Canaan. In exile, Jews were forced to be city-dwellers, so they could be more easily taxed and victimized. Thus, in medieval Europe, Jews were not permitted to farm. Jews who came to America mainly ate meat from animals slaughtered under rabbinical supervision.

The Torah bars Jews from eating undomesticated animals, or permitted animal not killed by a trained slaughter, unless such foods are the only one available, and eating such foods is the only way to avoid death from starvation. As a result, Jews cannot partake of the rich harvest of game in America. Now, most Jews -- like most other city-dwellers -- buy meat in stores. In short, hunting is an activity alien to most Jews to many other Americans.

But the Second Amendment does not aim at protecting hunters. So, there is no reason for a Jew -- or anyone else -- to say, "I don't hunt, so why should I own firearms?" It's simple: Jews' history of murderous persecution by governments means that Jews should spearhead efforts to expand the individual civil right to be armed.




American Jewish "Leaders" Still Don't Get It
American Jewish "leaders" who focus on anti-Semitic fringe groups -- and hope the government will control them -- make an equally dangerous mistake. Other Jewish "leaders" may feel a need to emphasize the threat from fringe hate groups to preserve Jewish unity. Like most people, Jews pull together when threatened. Many American Jews do not feel threatened, and so increasingly neglect Jewish education for their children and do not celebrate -- properly or at all -- Jewish holidays.

Judaism cannot be preserved by a strategy that risks every Jewish life. Focussing on a minor threat -- anti-Semitic fringe hate groups -- is dangerous because it diverts attention from the deadliest threat, a hostile government. That threat is enhanced by support for "gun control". This strategy is about as wise as "bombing a village in order to save it".

Moreover, some Jews recoil from appeals based on Jews' victimhood. They don't feel threatened. They should. But appeals to their sense of victimhood do not affect them, because they do not feel threatened. Thus, warning them about a threat they do not notice -- anti-Semitic fringe hate groups -- does not move them to join Jewish groups, or to improve their practice of Judaism.

These "unaffiliated" Jews might be more responsive if the benefits of Judaism -- a higher quality of life -- were made clear to them. But education is always hard work and takes skill. Scaring people is easier than educating them. That may explain why some Jewish "leaders" feel a need:

to emphasize the threat from anti-Semitic fringe hate groups;
to support "gun control", which makes victimization more likely.



A Solution?
Because the Second Amendment has been weakened, American Jews should now fear for their safety, as never before. They can remove that fear. They must:

assert their civil right to be armed;
work to annul pro-criminal "gun control" laws that restrict law-abiding persons' exercise of the Second Amendment civil right to be armed.
Armed Jews have nothing to fear from anyone in America:

Anti-Semitic fringe groups have a few tens of thousands of members;
At very least 10% of the 5,500,000 Jews in America -- 550,000 persons -- are physically capable of bearing arms.
Jews greatly outnumber organized anti-Semites. If Jews are suitably armed, they will then merit Divine help against these enemies.

Some Jewish "leaders" miss another key point. Tens of millions of Righteous Gentiles in America whole-heartedly share Jews' revulsion for hate groups, anti-Semitic and otherwise. Some of these Righteous Gentiles own firearms. Almost all of them use their firearms properly. They are deeply offended by the suggestion -- inherent in the concept of "gun control"- that their ownership of firearms makes them susceptible to becoming criminals. They are right to be offended.

Every Jewish "leader" should realize that these Righteous Gentiles are a natural allies against the ordinary criminal, members of fringe hategroups, and evil governments. No Jewish "leader" should want to alienate so friendly and so mighty an ally.

Some Jewish "leaders" distrust non-Jews generally. They must not know, for example, that Christian Danes saved their Jewish neighbors from the Nazis by organizing a sea-lift of Jews to safety in neutral Sweden, which took them in. The Nazis murdered only the few Danish Jews who stayed behind "to save" homes or businesses. More recently, America has helped Israel because millions of non-Jewish Americans wanted their hard-earned tax dollars spent to help Jews. We owe a huge debt of gratitude to our fellow Americans: for the past 40 years, they have been there for us, through thick and thin.

Some Jewish "leaders" do not want America's Jews to be free from fear, to shed their tradition of "victimhood" and isolation. Fear helps these Jewish "leaders" get money "to fight anti-Semitism". But such monies seem to be used only to "study" the problem. These studies may be interesting. But they are not useful.

For example, Abraham Foxman, national direction of the B'nai B'rith Anti-Defamation League -- an organization devoted to "studying" anti-Semitism -- commented:

"'Some of us at one point believed...that we were going to come up with the antidote, the panacea for anti-Semitism. Realistically, however, what we've learned is that the best we're going to be able to do so is to keep a lid on the anger and the ugliness. But right now, for some reason, the sewer covers have come off.'"(23)

Foxman admits that empty words cannot stop anti-Semites. Because he is obsessed with fringe groups, it does not occur to him that a government could be far more deadly. He clearly does not see that deterrence -- the credible threat of armed force -- alone will work against anti-Semitic fringe groups, or a hostile government. Foxman -- and there are many like him -- has the victim mindset which stifles imagination. He cannot imagine there could even be a way to end victimization of Jews, let alone imagine the success of that strategy.




Summary
American Jews need to dump their tradition of "victimhood", the result of 1,800 years of oppression, mainly in Europe. This tradition was never useful. It recent centuries it has been lethal.

In America the civil rights ensured by the Constitution mean that no one has to be a victim of the government. If American Jewish "leaders" junked the tradition of "victimhood", they could understand "freedom"as the Framers meant it: permanent freedom from fear of oppression. TheFramers thought that Freedom to be worth the sacrifice of fortune, health, or life. Jews in the Thirteen colonies generally agreed. They were not wrong.

Achieving freedom from fear means taking responsibility for one's own security. In America that means exercising the civil right to be armed.

To change most Jewish leaders' mindset -- that the government will protect them -- Jewish "leaders" must:

dump their faith in government as a protector;
rediscover and reinvigorate Jews' Biblical tradition of self-defense;
dump "gun control".

Jewish "leaders" do not know how to build Jewish unity absenta sense of victimhood. They rightly fear disunity among American Jews. Perhaps a new generation of Jewish leaders will merit the wisdom needed to be able to get Jews to focus on the benefits that flow from adherence to the Torah: peace, individual and collective.

American Jews still have the mission begun by the Patriarch Abraham and the Matriarch Sarah: helping to bring morality to the World by applying the Bible's teachings every day, at home and at work. America's Jewish leaders could unify Jews in support of an effort to make America safe for all law-abiding people.

Jews and "Gun Control"

In another vein, a
comment about guns in the hands of the people:

"The Emperial Japanese military leaders, after the surrender in japan, were questioned about their actions at pearl harbour and involving the US during world war II. But most pertinent to this discussion was when they were questioned about their inactions. Why did Japan NOT proceed with an invasion of the US? Their answer surprised everyone: With millions of american gun owners, we comprised the largest armed force ever known and that was their reasoning for not trying to occupy the US and detered an invasion. This is not opinion, look it up. There is good reason terrorists have used the same cowardly tactic and not run amok in our streets as they have in india. You may think BAH! Rubbish! but the Japanese were a much more formidable force than the terrorists we face today. God created man, Samuel L Colt made them equal."
- Posted by wayne criddle
December 13th, 2008
2:44 am GMT

from:
http://blogs.reuters.com/pakistan/2008/12/11/time-to-relax-indias-gun-control-laws-to-fight-militants/

AND . . .

This post was inspired by an e-mail from JEWS FOR THE PRESERVATION OF FIREARMS OWNERSHIP (JPFO) as follows . . .

JPFO ALERT: LUNACY BY JEWISH GUN PROHIBITIONISTS

Recently David Codrea asked us at JPFO to help him explain how boneheaded the support for "gun control" by Jews is.

We think you will enjoy his observations -http://www.examiner.com/x-1417-Cleveland-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2008m12d8-Gun-control-One-Jewish-group-says-Never-again

David Codrea is a long-time gun rights advocate and writer. A featured and respected columnist for Guns Magazine, his articles and his on-line journal, "The War on Guns" -http://waronguns.blogspot.com/ - defiantly challenge the folly of citizen disarmament. His other articles on examiner.com are contained within "The Cleveland Gun Rights Examiner" -http://www.examiner.com/x-1417-Cleveland-Gun-Rights-Examiner

A Google search on David will bring up even more articles and comment.

[signed] The Liberty Crew
[JPFO]