You Don't Have to be Jewish...

The line from the ad campaign for Levy's Jewish Rye Bread was prolific and famous in the 70's. It worked on many levels and pointed out that goodness was it's own virtue.

In other words if something or someone is worthy of praise then as they say, we should give praise where it's due.

This idea is at the heart of the writings of Eric Hoffer who was born in 1902 and died in 1983. He was a longshoreman who became a writer and philosopher, writing newspaper articles and books on our social condition.

He won the Presidential Medal of Freedom way back when that meant something (before being handed out by the Bush administration to honor failure.)

His first book was and is considered a classic - "True Believer" and you may find out far more about this man on the web. The Eric Hoffer Resource is probably a good place to start.

I would like to reprint one of Mr. Hoffer's quotes here and let you go further if you so desire. This was written in 1968 and appeared in the L A Times on May 26th!

Oh, and by the way, Eric Hoffer was not Jewish.

ISRAEL'S PECULIAR POSITION

The Jews are a peculiar people: things permitted to other nations are forbidden to the Jews. Other nations drive out thousands, even millions of people and there is no refugee problem. Russia did it, Poland and Czechoslovakia did it. Turkey threw out a million Greeks, and Algeria a million Frenchman. Indonesia threw out heaven knows how many Chinese and no one says a word about refugees.

But in the case of Israel, the displaced Arabs have become
eternal refugees. Everyone insists that Israel must take back every single one.

Arnold Toynbee calls the displacement of the Arabs an atrocity
greater than any committed by the Nazis.

Other nations when victorious on the battlefield dictate peace
terms. But when Israel is victorious, it must sue for peace.

Everyone expects the Jews to be the only real Christians in
this world.

Other nations, when they are defeated, survive and recover but
should Israel be defeated it would be destroyed.

Had Nasser triumphed last June [1967], he would have wiped
Israel off the map, and no one would have lifted a finger to
save the Jews. No commitment to the Jews by any government, including our own, is worth the paper it is written on.

There is a cry of outrage all over the world when people die in Vietnam or when two Blacks are executed in Rhodesia. But, when Hitler slaughtered Jews no one demonstrated against him.

The Swedes, who were ready to break off diplomatic relations
with America because of what we did in Vietnam, did not let out a peep when Hitler was slaughtering Jews. They sent Hitler choice iron ore, and ball bearings, and serviced his troops in Norway.

The Jews are alone in the world. If Israel survives, it will be solely because of Jewish efforts. and Jewish resources. Yet at this moment, Israel is our only reliable and unconditional ally. We can rely more on Israel than Israel can rely on us.

And one has only to imagine what would have happened last
summer [1967] had the Arabs and their Russian backers won the
war, to realize how vital the survival of Israel is to America and
the West in general.

I have a premonition that will not leave me; as it goes with Israel so will it go with all of us. Should Israel perish, the Holocaust will be upon us all.