Hamas War

Thursday, May 10, 2007

Can life be like the movies?



My neighbors and I sometimes exchange movies on DVD or video. A few weeks I found myself with The Majestic, starring comedian Jim Carrey, who also starred in the bio-pic about my former classmate, Andy Kaufman.

I didn't know what to expect the first time I saw The Majestic, yes, the first. And yes, that means I've seen it more than once already. It's an amazing movie, especially the last major scene before the end.

The movie deals with the communist witch hunts which were going on in the United States, especially Hollywood, in the early 1950's.


It ends in one of those heroic scenes which seems so easy and obvious in hindsight. I'd like to see all those freedom-loving souls who cheer Jim Carrey every time they see the picture cheer those brave enough to challenge Israeli witch hunt.
Yes, I'm referring to the young protesters and demonstrators, like Miriam Adler, mother of six who is jailed for her opinions. The police attacked her when they arrested her, and the courts refuse to hear her charges against the police. But they have no problem convicting her. She doesn't recognize the rights of the court to try her.
Many young demonstrators, including neighbors of mine, spent months in jail, because they discovered that the system was so corrupt and immoral, they couldn't cooperate with it.
Maybe fifty years from now, or even less, a movie will be made about their struggles for justice. It will be a heroic movie, and everyone will cheer, tears streaming down, as the actresses and actors say the words these young idealists have been saying in Israeli Courts.
But why do we have to wait so long? Why can't Israeli and international civil rights activists admit that the Israeli government is depriving lovers of Eretz Yisrael their civil rights? Why aren't they demonstrating to let Miriam Adler go home to live with her children and husband? Why aren't they demonstrating to have all of the anti-Disengagement demonstrators given clean records?
Where is justice? Is it just on the screen or will we see it here in the Land of Israel?
Shabbat Shalom u'Mevorach!

3 comments:

beakerkin said...

Hollywood has done a lousy job portraying what really happened. These people were not idealist and were advocates of a hostile ideaology and were in the service of a hostile foreign power.

Communists sine their earliest days have had an obsession with Jews and Zionists in particular.
Even reading the Venona Intercepts reveals the depth of the anti-semetic depravity of the Communist.

Anonymous said...

In the days of the cold war, they used to say "visit Russia before Russia visits you"...Frank Kafka wrote about it and so did George Orwell (1984 & Animal Farm). If these books were in the school curriculum, maybe the public would realise that we are being led by a self-interested criminal mafia, who not many years ago schemed and implemented the expulsion of 10,000 citizens to draw attention away from a certain prime minister's financial shenanigans. Miriam, may G-d give you the strength to stand for what is right, ultimately the truth will win!

Batya said...

bearkin, Hollywood may not be accurate, but they tell a great story.

the true, innocent idealists arrested and punished in Israel are treated like the enemy.

yoni, our country isn't ready to see the truth.