It is only with reluctance that I even comment on this stomach-turning video. But it seems to me that it must not be passed over in silence or ignored by Christians, Jews, and Muslims in the United States.
It is important for us not to avert our gaze from the fact that the vile and, it seems, ineradicable evil of hatred of Jews and Judaism continues to fester and is treated in some places as a respectable position or point of view. In the video, a Saudi cleric, one who evidently commands a significant following , slanders the Jewish people viciously, even to the point of reasserting the unspeakable lie that Jews use human blood in their religious ceremonies. The entire world should stand up and condemn this. Especially at a time of rising anti-Semitism even in Europe, where memories of the Holocaust among non-Jews seem to be fading.
The cleric in the video does not speak for Islam; and Christians, Jews, and others in the United States must not suppose that he does. His disgusting beliefs are not drawn from Islamic sources. He no doubt gets them from the same sewer Hitler drew them from. The vast majority of American Muslims are as appalled by his hatred and bigotry as the rest of us are. What we need is a united Christian-Jewish-Muslim witness against it. Ignoring it will not make it go away. It must be condemned by men and women of goodwill of every tradition of faith who share a sincere desire to honor God and observe his commandments.
You have a decision to make: double or nothing.
For this week only, a generous supporter has offered to fully match all new and increased donations to First Things up to $60,000.
In other words, your gift of $50 unlocks $100 for First Things, your gift of $100 unlocks $200, and so on, up to a total of $120,000. But if you don’t give, nothing.
So what will it be, dear reader: double, or nothing?
Make your year-end gift go twice as far for First Things by giving now.
