Dr. Jeff Kunkes’ Rosh Hashanah Message for 2024
Dr. Jeff Kunkes shares his thoughts and inspiration for the Jewish New Year.
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world. The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and … (Yeats). This has been a tough year. We have all like in the Godfather gone to the mattresses.
This state of affairs stared when our alleged pro-Israel leadership gave wavering support to Israel while stopping sanctions and allowing Iran to take in millions. This money went to arming Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthi’s. Then came the Hamas horrific, barbaric attack on Israel. For ten minutes the world was sympathetic, but a long building antisemitism bubbled to the surface endangering Jews and Jewish elected officials.
We were all asleep at the wheel. Through blindness focusing our concerns on side issues we thought we were safe but in the past year we all saw our children attacked and harassed on the very campuses which we gave support. Campuses became battlegrounds. While we were asleep faculty and administrators hostile to the American dream took control, of the media, subverted our history, taught false history and unleashed a war on Jews.
I remember with pride when JFK and RFK sent in troops to protect Blacks trying to attend the University of Alabama. Now our dithering Attorney general does nothing to protect our campuses and RFK Jr. is being blocked from state ballots and Secret Service protection for no reason except to enforce a political agenda. Few have been arrested, fewer deported, and no effort made to follow the money which pays for this true insurrection and fascist attacks of the First Amendment.
We have to use this year’s High Holidays not only to tone down the rhetoric, renew relationships with family and friends, restart dialogues and cleave a new path forward. In the 1980’s marches on Soviet embassies helped free Jews. This was done by direct action, not by attending countless lectures on the plight of Jews. As an ENT doctor I know well the difference between hearing and listening.
As a surgeon, I know the difference between action and inaction. But most important, we cannot tolerate another year of lies and gaslighting of the truth. Inflation has devastated many less able to afford the basic necessities of life than most of the readers of this paper. The influx of illegal immigrants has swamped many cities and communities across the country. Our standing on the world stage did take a nosedive when our current administration abandoned Afghanistan. Now our open Southern border witnessed over 12 million illegals to cross into our country which has disrupted municipal budgets, public safety, voter integrity and overwhelmed our nation’s healthcare.
We need our Jewish leadership from the behma and from our countless organizations to initiate financial boycotts of universities which will not protect Jewish students. We need expulsions and removing scholarships to those students who not honor our Constitutional rights. We need to demand our DOJ follows the money and see who is funding this insurrection. We need to deport those who have overstayed their student visas. We need to stop funding Palestinians who use our dollars to pay a stipend to the families of those who kill Jews. We need to have the leadership of the Carter Center stop lying and calling Israel an apartheid state. In short we should use this New Year to rededicate ourselves to being Jews who proudly stand up for our rights and safety in the United States and in Israel. We need action more than just donating money.
May we all be inscribed in the Book of Life and work for the peace which will allow the fulfillment of the prophesy to turn our swords into plowshares.
Dr. Jeff Kunkes is an otolaryngologist in Clayton County.
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