No fantasy

Kudos to Gil Troy for his timely and long overdue article, “ReligioGoons – the Jewish Taliban – threaten Judaism and Zionism,” Center Field, April 13. He tells it exactly like it is, and it isn’t pretty.

The “kippa-wearing criminals” he so eloquently and correctly condemns do not represent the goodness of our society but are fast becoming the face of Israel abroad, seen and used against us, whether in supporting boycotts, questioning Israel’s legitimacy or justifying plain anti-Semitism.

Troy’s article should be a call to action for every member of the Knesset, who, regardless of party affiliation, is truly committed to the betterment of this country. Let each of them, one by one, in a “profile of courage,” take the podium and condemn in the strongest possible words these fanatic hooligans and the maniacal rabbis who encourage and incite them.

Then let us see and record those who remain cowardly seated, condoning the violence and hypocrisy with their very silence. Let it be such a dramatic event that even the New York Times and the Associated Press will be forced to report it to the world.

And while in the realm of fantasy, let every rabbi of good faith and belief, from whatever stream of Judaism, stand up and repudiate the theocratic thugs among them, those ayatollahs with tzitziot who scurry from their dark holes to spew hatred and intolerance in the name of religious pseudo-doctrine.

The menace that confronts us, however, is no fantasy and the sooner we recognize it for what it is, the sooner it can be checked by all the means a democracy has at its disposal.

All that appears to be lacking is the will to act. GERALD FLANZBAUM

Hadera