I was in Israel last week. The country brings together major threads of Western civilization and three major religions. We also have relatives that we were visiting. There was much joy until Saturday, October 7th. We were in Tel Aviv and heard sirens going off and then an explosion. We assumed it was one of the occasional missiles that Hamas fires into Israel to terrorize the population. Fortunately, our Iron Dome anti-missile protection works for the most part. However, we only became aware of the horrific attacks taking place in southern Israel. We now know the brutal attacks by Hamas, the militant leadership of Palestinian Gaza, on a civilian population. Men, women and children killed in their homes and at a music festival that promoted peace. One wants to turn away from those bloody and tragic images. Yet, if we do, we become insensitive to what is wrong in this world. We can't fix all that is wrong, but we can pay enough attention to move our community in a life-affirming direction. It is important to note that the Israeli response includes warning to civilians to avoid military action; by contrast, Hamas wanted to kill and maim and take hostages without any warning. This is the difference between following international law and the actions of barbarians.

One way to pay attention is to see what our school administrators, business and political makers are saying about this atrocity. Are they making statements condemning this dehumanizing attack or are they staying silent. Compare President Biden's commitment to supporting Israel, moral and military, to other congressional members who speak in support of this mindless brutality -- as if longstanding disputes justify killing civilians indiscriminately. This is not just about two sides to an issue, but one of speaking against terrorism just as we expected with 9/11. If you are interested in a good discussion, here is a link to Bari Weiss's essay at The Free Press. She draws our attention to those in  leadership positions, especially at our universities.

At our most prestigious universities there is silence from administrations that leapt to speak out on George Floyd's killing and on the war in Ukraine. Meantime, the social justice crowd offers explanations for the massacre---a massacre that, in part, targeted a group of progressive Israelis at a music festival. Terrorists came to that festival on paragliders carrying machine guns to start their slaughter. They raped women there next to the dead bodies of their friends.

What are they saying, whether they are silent. This is very important in our schools and how they model moral understanding to our students and children.

We would appreciate if you could see what your local school administrators are saying or not saying. If they have spoke out about other issues, but not about the immorality by Hamas in its attack on Israeli civilians, why?

CFER would like to track how our school leaders measure up to understanding moral action. Please forward any such statements to info@cferfoundation.org if you received any.