Thank you Edith,

Approaching Pessah, we are amazed about the wisdom of our laws, which command us to tell the story of the plight of the Children of Israel in Egypt. At the same time we are told and warned in the Hagadah about the constant enemies during the time of history that tried to destroy us. At the Seder ceremony, we are given four questions to answer. But for the current Seder I have more updated four questions to ask; First: "What was the danger of the Israelites then and what is it today?" The answer: " then, we were supposed to die in the Red Sea - and today it is the Mediterranean." Second question: What is the name of the man who promised freedom for the Jews and lied? "Then - his name was Pharao - today it is Yasser Arafat." Third question is: What was the situation of the Jews then and what is it today? "Then the Jews were desperate and feared for their life" and today there is no difference, the Jews are desperate and fear for their life." Question four is: "Who saved the Jews then and who will save them this time?" And the answer is: "God gave his message to his people and they heeded him and said: "we hear you and we will do." And God saved the children of Israel then and will save them, us, today, again.

The lesson should have been learned. We should know the worthlessness of promises by enemies whose goal it is to kill us. When we believe in these lies, only others do not fool us, but we fool ourselves. So much for the effectiveness for any possible truce.

Fact is that at the moment there is no chance for any compromise the Arabs are willing or even capable to make. The incompetent and fanatic Arab leaders have incited their people for decades. Generations were brought up with hate against Jews and with promises, which were not only unjust but impossible to implement. The willingness of the suiciders to die in glory is due to education and brainwashing they received from kindergarten on. Should a new generation of children arrive and not be indoctrinated with hate as the previous generation, they may be able when grown up to make peace. Before this, every hope for a peaceful settlement is an illusion.

As the hate of the Palestinians is so deeply engraved, no initiative or pressure from above can work today. The only possibility for temporary non- belligerence can be achieved, when the price to pay for their attacks will be so enormous, that the people will put pressure on their leadership and beg to stop the war for their own sake. Maybe to achieve this, to destroy empty buildings is not enough.

The Haggadah tells us, that though we were attacked in every generation, God always delivered us. We are sure, he will do it again, but we better do also our part.

Chag Sameach, have a Happy Pessah

I am Shlomo Fleischmann

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