The Festival Of Lights Begins Violently
By
Leonard Zwelling
The first night of Hannukah began with a lot of bad news.
Two students were killed at Brown University. The assailant is still on the loose. There is no picture of his face yet shown from closed circuit cameras on the campus. He could be anywhere.
There was a massive act of terrorism on Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia as a father and son shot at Hannukah celebrants in an act of violent anti-Semitism putatively motivated by ISIS, whatever that means. At least 15 are dead including a rabbi, a 10-year-old child, and a Holocaust survivor.
And as I write this, news is coming out that Rob Reiner, the gifted director of such films as This Is Spinal Tap and A Few Good Men, was found dead along with his wife in their Brentwood home. The most likely suspect for the stabbing appears to be their adult son who is now in police custody and will be charged with murder.
A few things are noteworthy.
Despite cameras everywhere on campus, there are no suspects yet identified in the Brown shooting.
People are arguing that if a massacre could happen on a public beach in a country with some of the strictest gun laws anywhere, is there anything a government can do to curtail gun violence in society? But another question is why, in a country with a poor recent track record fighting anti-Semitism, would any Jewish organization hold such a celebration out in the open?
Finally, it appears that the Reiner’s son Nick has led a troubled life battling drugs and homelessness. Having been charged with murder, I suspect that his lawyers will declare him mentally unsound. It’s an episode of Law and Order waiting to happen. It is really a horror show of Greek tragedy proportions.
Until we know more about the identity of the Brown shooter and the origins of his motives, there is little that can be done to address what went wrong in the system installed to protect students. As an old guy, I just find it ironic that when I was in school, we were trained on what to do in case of a nuclear attack–get under our wood desks and cover our eyes. It was ridiculous, but it gave people a sense of doing something.
Now there are rigorous active shooter drills with which several generations of American school children have grown up. That is not progress, but it is necessary. These drills can save lives.
Anti-Semitism is on the rise around the world. This is true in Australia and the government Down Under has seemed slow to mount an effective response. My thoughts after yet another attack on Jews is that Israel’s existence is more important than ever and that until the Palestinians acquire viable leadership that accepts the existence of the Jewish state, there can be no compromise. There can be no Palestinian state without a Palestinian leader who truly represents his people and does not wish to build a state on anti-Semitism. And if the Palestinian Arabs insist that Hamas is that leadership, Israel should never give in or compromise in Gaza or the West Bank. I am afraid there is a price to pay for being disorganized terrorists for 80 years.
Finally, I am going to go out on a limb here and suggest that Nick Reiner really was mentally unstable and somehow did not get the help he needed, or he rejected that help, or the drugs simply took over. The results of this are tragic, not just for the family, but for the world. The Reiners were gifted people who were not finished contributing to their art.
This was no way to start Hannukah. We Jews will have to persevere, but there is much sadness in the greater Jewish community today. Once again, we have lost a great deal and once again the question of the proliferation of guns must be addressed.
There are those who say we must strengthen the Second Amendment so the people can defend themselves against a totalitarian government. Really? Four hundred million guns in the United States is are not enough? Do you think groups of Americans armed with even an armory of assault weapons could defeat the U.S. Army if the President of the United States wants to use the Army against its citizenry, as this President seems willing to do? The example of ICE Agents in U.S. cities says all that needs to be said.
It is too late for an armed citizen uprising to overthrow the federal government of the United States no how many guns our current laws allow a citizen to accrue. Instead, let’s get a better federal government and saner gun laws. What a concept!
