Rabbi Weiss’s words are yet another example of the denial that is almost universal among analysts of the jihad threat today: in most circles, if you don’t affirm that Islamic jihad supremacism as it is manifested today all over the world has nothing to do with the true, peaceful Islam, you won’t even get in the door.
So there is nothing unusual about what he says here, but as Pamela Geller observes here, it was a tremendous missed opportunity. The Rabbi had an opportunity to tell the world, at a moment when the world was watching, about the global jihad; about how Sharia mandates the conversion of Jews and Christians to Islam, or their subjugation as dhimmis, or their death; and about Islamic antisemitism and the need for all the groups that the Islamic jihadists have in their sights to join together to resist them.
Instead, he parroted the party line, and lulled back to sleep people who were awakened or should have been awakened to a threat to their freedoms and their very lives. The only ones who ultimately benefit from this are the Islamic jihadists, who can continue to work and count on the ignorance and indifference of most of the populace.
Pamela has further trenchant observations here. Also, I explained here why jihadists love attacking Jews. The dangers of ignoring or denying this should be obvious.
“Riverdale rabbi: Don’t blame Islam for terror plot to bomb synagogues,” by Tanyanika Samuels and John Lauinger for the New York Daily News, May 23 (thanks to all who sent this in):
In the Bronx neighborhood targeted by a terror plot, a prominent rabbi cautioned Sabbath worshippers Saturday against condemning the Muslim religion.
“We dare not condemn Islam over this one act,” Rabbi Avi Weiss told congregants at the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale.
Weiss’ temple was not targeted in the alleged conpsiracy [sic], but two other Riverdale synagogues were.
The four Jew-hating suspects were homegrown jailhouse converts to Islam – not hardened extremists trained in some Middle Eastern camp.
Weiss said that fact “reminds us that Islamic fundamentalism has spread here and attracted congregants.”…
“This cell was caught, but how many others are out there?” he questioned.
The foiled attack should send a sobering message to people of all faiths, Weiss said, noting the suspects appear to have randomly selected their targets.
“It could have been any synagogue. It could have been any temple,” he said.
“We dare not forget that an attack against any house of worship is an attack against every house of worship.”
And yet people from only one house of worship seem interested in attacking others.