<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto"><div dir="ltr"><span></span></div><div dir="ltr"><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><div dir="ltr"><span></span></div><div dir="ltr"><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8">Courtesy of today’s (November 19, 2018) Moscow-Pullman Daily News with thanks to Ghazi.<div><br></div><div>———————————————</div><div><br></div><div><div><h1 itemprop="headline" class="headline" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 42px; margin: 0px 100px 0px 0px; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.1; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Letter: Pittsburgh synagogue murders</span></h1></div><div><br></div><div>Violent expression of hate toward "others" has almost become the new normal in America; the despicable massacre at the Pittsburgh synagogue is the recent manifestation. As the gunman opened fire, he screamed virulent anti-Semitic epithets, including "All Jew must die."</div><div><br></div><div>His social profile used slurs such as "filthy," "evil," "an infestation" and also quoted the Bible, "Jews are the children of Satan" (Josh 8:44), mirroring white-nationalist beliefs. Clearly, there is a direct link between President Donald Trump's fanning the flames of fear/hate against "others" and the terror inflicted at the synagogue. Yet, with his usual pretense, he called the incident an "assault on humanity" and that "we must unite to conquer hate." Former President Barack Obama condemned it, correctly, as reflecting "hateful rhetoric." Further, in the wake of this tragedy, some groups are hastening to pursue a longstanding policy goal: passage of legislation that would criminalize any criticism of Israel as "anti-Semitic." Others are paralleling the tragedy with Palestinian "terror."</div><div><br></div><div>But here is the sad irony. In the Israeli-occupied Palestine (Gaza in particular), deliberate killings are a daily routine. There were nearly 40 Palestinians (including children) killed and more than 2,200 wounded during just the last few weeks (mostly in Gaza), yet hardly in the news. Israel Prime Minister Netanyahu applauds his military for doing the "holy work." And Israeli rabbis call the "slaughter of Palestinians" as "biblical duty" and a means "to get closer to God."</div><div><br></div><div>It's ironic that murders by individual biblical bigots are condemned, and quite properly so, but state-sponsored murders are applauded as performing "biblical duty" and "holy work." Some humans are not "human enough," it seems.</div><div><br></div><div>S.M. Ghazanfar</div><div>Acworth, Ga.</div></div><div><br></div><div>———————————————<br><br><div id="AppleMailSignature" dir="ltr"><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Seeya 'round town, Moscow, because . . .</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">"Moscow Cares" (the most fun you can have with your pants on)</span></div><div><a href="http://www.moscowcares.com/" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><font color="#000000">http://www.MoscowCares.com</font></a></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> </span></div><div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Tom Hansen</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Moscow, Idaho</span></div></div><div><br></div></div></div></div></div></body></html>