The Maccabee war of our time is happening right now. It is a war over the values that will dominate our world. Only the connection between us can put out the black fire of fundamentalist Islam that is threatening to overtake the world.
Radical Islam gets unprecedented exposure in the global media. It is ruthless, and one of the leading brands on the planet. Against our will, it is penetrating our lives through social media. This threat is called ISIS, its vision is an “Islamic state,” and the Western world has no real answer to the threat. No military coalition or multinational conference will weaken its power. On the contrary, every attack in Europe or clip of a beheadings or the destruction of villages causes more and more youngsters to leave their privileged lives in Europe and other countries and flock to Syria and Iraq to join ISIS.
The dark unity that ISIS is projecting is hypnotizing. In a world of hopelessness, where the loftiest ideologies have gone bankrupt, the idea of belonging to a powerful movement with a totalitarian ideology provides millions with a sense of purpose. It awakens zeal, passion, and excitement in a world devoid of meaning, full of the depression and isolation that has spread through modern society.
At a time when many are trying to blur the pain with substances, or simply end their lives quietly, ISIS provides a ticket to a rollercoaster ride that ends in heaven. Those who opt out of the revolution will die; those who join get relative economic security and a head start on eternity.
The only power that can stand up to the false unity that is based on hatred of others is the true unity that is based on love of others. “Love your neighbor as yourself” was here before the Islamic caliphate, and is the foundation of our unity and existence as a nation. The people of Israel has a role: to disseminate that warmth that resides in love of others and illuminate the world with light.
The eruption of unfounded hatred brought about the destruction of the Temple. We lost touch with unity, our foundation as a nation, and went out on a long exile. In the first round, egoism defeated love of others and came out on top.
Two thousand years later, the seeds of division that were planted in the human soil have ripened with their lethal fruits. The ideology of ISIS is false unity that is based on hatred of others.
We must wake up! Only our unity, as one man with one heart, can put out the black fire that is threatening to burn down the world.
Every effort to unite will generate a great force, a light that will spread from Israel to the entire world. This light will calm the terrorism and awaken the world’s sympathy toward Israel.
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