Dayenu!
By Berel Wein

(April 5) I planned to write a quiet, inspiring and educational 
column about Pessah this week, but the Pharaohs of the world 
have intruded on my plans. Instead, I am compelled to paraphrase 
the famous Pessah poem/song Dayenu to describe our current 
situation in Israel and the Jewish world generally. 

The traditional Dayenu of the Haggada is a song of thanksgiving 
and praise to the Lord of Israel for His manifold blessings and 
miracles in the story of the Exodus of Israel from Egyptian 
bondage and oppression. 

My Dayenu" concerns itself with the sickening hypocrisy and 
enmity exhibited by the world in its attitude toward Israel and 
Jews. 

Kofi Annan, the secretary-general of the UN, attended the recent 
meeting of the Arab League foreign ministers in Amman. In his 
speech to the assembled Arab leaders, he chose to join the 
chorus of vitriol being heaped upon Israel at that meeting. 
With Arafat sitting there and beaming, good old Kofi found 
only words of sympathy for the Palestinians and words of 
condemnation for the Israeli "oppressor." 

As such, he and the UN have reverted back to its traditional 
anti-Israel bias and unproductive propaganda. 

The shameful Security Council resolution that the US bravely 
and correctly vetoed that would have brought in UN observers to 
"protect" the Palestinians is only the beginning of the new UN 
offensive against Israel. The Palestinians need protection only 
from themselves. If they stop shooting, they can be assured that 
no one will shoot at them. 

But the UN and Kofi Annan choose to ignore the facts that they 
know to be true and only spew forth their anti-Israel attitude. 
And then Annan wonders why the Israelis refer to the UN as 
"oom-shmoom!" 

Well, shame on you, Mr. Annan and the UN. I say Dayenu! - enough 
already. How about doing something positive about the Lebanese 
border where you already operate before tackling new areas of 
tension? 

We also heard from the spokesman for the Norwegian Foreign Office 
last week. The distinguished Mr. Johansen opined that it was 
perfectly legal and moral for the Palestinians to throw stones 
and shoot live ammunition at Israeli soldiers since they were 
"battling for freedom from occupiers." 

When asked if it was also proper to target civilian Israelis 
living in the West Bank and Gaza, the noted diplomat and Oslo 
peacemaker replied that "this is a legal question that is being 
referred to the legal department of the Foreign Office." 

When his comments raised a furor, Johansen claimed that his words 
were taken out of context, though the reporter that published the 
interview with him stated that the text of the article was sent 
to Johansen for review before publication. 

The Danes object to our minister of tourism. Well, guys, I must 
say to you as well: Dayenu! Enough of your crocodile tears and 
hypocritical posturing. If you are truly interested in quieting 
down the situation, then stop the bias and the hatred and tell 
Arafat exactly what US President George Bush told him: "Stop the 
shooting!" 

THERE WERE many Jews who did not participate in the Exodus from 
Egypt. They had no faith in Moses and were so brainwashed by the 
prevalent ideas of Egyptian society that they failed to believe 
in themselves and their future. 

There are unfortunately quite a few Jews around today that also 
cannot give up on their humanistic illusions even though the 
bitter reality of the facts slaps them in the face. There are a 
group of Jews who are going to honor that noted fighter for 
peace and justice, Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, at a luncheon in 
Washington. What they hope to accomplish by this is unknown to 
me. 

Mubarak should instead be told to return his ambassador to 
Israel, to stop supporting the maximalist demands of Arafat 
and to rein in the continuing bitterly antisemitic propaganda 
of his government-controlled media. In short, he should be 
told Dayenu! 

We have had enough of his hatred and negative influence. Jews 
should tell him the truth and not fawn disgracefully over this 
exploiting dictator. 

Last "Land Day" - it occurred last week, for those who did not 
notice - saw a number of young, rosy-cheeked, dewy-eyed 
"activists" from Peace Now join the Arab protests. Now that 
Arafat has proven that Peace Now is pretty much out of business 
as far as peace is concerned, its diehard adherents are looking 
for a new cause. The Arabs always provide them with such a cause, 
and always at the expense of their Jewish brethren. 

Well, they also deserve a big fat Dayenu! from us. 

May Pessah bring to all of us joy, happiness and a renewal of 
commitment and belief. And to all of those who wish to destroy us, 
may they receive a convincing Dayenu! 

Shabbat shalom and hag sameah v'kasher