When I was almost nine years old, my parents and I took a vacation to
the east coast. While there we visited the United Nations and I was totally
enchanted. How wonderful for all the nations of the world to get along. That
enchantment motivated me a few years later when my cousin and I decided to go
treat-or-treating on Halloween, not for candy, but for UNICEF. One of the first
houses we approached had a huge flagpole in the middle of the front yard and an
American flag hung from it daily. We were expecting a nice donation from the
owner and were totally blindsided when he gruffly refused to give us anything.
To the children behind us he became more affable. “I give the American way,” he
announced as he handed them treats.
That was close to sixty years ago and through the years as the UN passed
numerous anti-Israel resolutions, I came to understand that gruff neighbor more
and more. An organization that enchanted a young child has become a bastion of antisemitism.
The crowning insult was when their employees participated in the October 7th
massacre.
Now that UNRWA and other UN organizations are nominated for the Noble
Peace Prize I imagine my gruff neighbor is turning over in his grave. As for
me, well, I’m horrified, but then the world seems to have lost its moral
compass.
As I write this, we’re less than thirty-six hours until the beginning
of Yom Kippur, our day of atonement. Let’s do good deeds, give generous
donations, repent, and pray with all our heart for the Almighty to nullify His
harsh decrees and bring the world back to sanity.