Initial Takeaways from the Disastrous Earthquake

As the scale of devastation from the earthquake that struck southern Turkey and Syria becomes clearer and more horrifying by the minute, initial takeaways are already surfacing. But before I talk about what I believe needs to be done, I wish to extend once more my deepest sympathy and prayers to the people of Turkey, and especially to those who have been affected by the quake. May they recover quickly, and may they never know sorrow again.

If we leverage the cooperation established in order to save lives during earthquakes and the like, we can begin to foster better and more constructive relationships among all the countries in the world.

Earthquakes are not uncommon in Turkey, including strong ones, though not as strong as the one that struck this past Monday, and its subsequent powerful aftershock. Therefore, it is surprising that Turkey did not take more extensive preventive measures against powerful tremors. Every country that is located in an area that is prone to earthquakes should take this into consideration. Just as Japan imposes strict construction standards that make its buildings much more quake-resistant than almost all other countries, so should every country do if it is located in an earthquake-prone region.

However, there is something that is just as important as imposing construction standards when it comes to saving lives: international cooperation. Member states of the NATO military alliance, for example, are required to meet certain military standards. Once a country becomes a member, the rest of the countries in the alliance are required to help it if it is attacked.

Similarly, there must be an international alliance that mandates all the member states to help one another in case of a significant seismic event. At the same time, members must meet minimum conditions that the alliance will determine as far as building and road construction standards, accessibility and durability of rescue routes, communication and energy infrastructure, and medical services.

Without such an alliance, each country will determine its priorities by itself, and usually, rare emergencies are at the bottom of the list. The problem is that emergencies do happen, and when they happen, the cost of years of neglect is horrendous in human lives, infrastructure, manufacturing, and money. By the time countries realize they should have prepared in advance, it is too late.

If neighboring countries are obligated to help because of their membership in an international alliance, such considerations as international relations and other political caveats will not impede the provision of assistance.

Therefore, by forcing its member states to take preventive measures, an international alliance can save thousands, if not tens of thousands of lives, as in the case of this week’s quake. Additionally, the mandatory mutual assistance will guarantee that affected countries do not have to face natural disasters on their own or rely on the generosity of other countries, which is never enough, and often comes with a political price tag attached to it. If neighboring countries are obligated to help because of their membership in an international alliance, such considerations as international relations and other political caveats will not impede the provision of assistance.

Moreover, maintaining an alliance against natural disasters can help foster better relationships that will reflect on other aspects of the countries’ relationships. Enemies do not talk; they fight. But once countries are engaged in an alliance, they communicate regularly and are no longer enemies. On the contrary, they are responsible for one another. Therefore, they can communicate with one another freely and directly, which can help resolve crises in other dimensions of their relationships.

Therefore, establishing an international alliance for dealing with natural disasters can have benefits far beyond the purpose for which it is established. If we leverage the cooperation established in order to save lives during earthquakes and the like, we can begin to foster better and more constructive relationships among all the countries in the world.

[Photo Caption: (EDITOR'S NOTE : Image taken with a drone) The center of Hatay, seen with destroyed buildings following the earthquake. Turkey experienced the biggest earthquake of this century in the border region with Syria. The earthquake was measured at 7.7 magnitude. (Photo by Tunahan Turhan / SOPA Images/Sipa USA)]

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In the Beginning, Are We All Jewish by Birth?

A Jew is one who develops the quality of bestowal and love of others, as is written in the Torah, i.e. to reach a state of “love your neighbor as yourself” and “love will cover all crimes.”

A Jew is one who develops the quality of bestowal and love of others, as is written in the Torah, i.e. to reach a state of “love your neighbor as yourself” and “love will cover all crimes.”

The positive force that we receive is in order for us to rise above the negative egoistic force, which exists in each of us. If so, in such a way, we do not hate the negative force, but we relate to it with understanding.

The negative egoistic force is our human nature that we were born with, and we also receive its opposite altruistic force, which we crown over the ego. The control of the positive altruistic force over the negative egoistic force brings us to a unique degree where the desire to receive (the negative force) will join the intention to give (the positive force), and with these two forces, we will do good to each other.

Our goal is to attain the unity in nature, which consists of both positive and negative forces, and to be adhered to their absolute source.

Eventually, between these two forces we will start researching, acknowledging, understanding and perceiving nature. We will see that these two forces come to us from nature, and with their attainment, we come to perceive and sense nature’s uniqueness. Our goal is to attain the unity in nature, which consists of both positive and negative forces, and to be adhered to their absolute source.

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New Antisemitism Needs Ancient Solution

In an attempt to counter rapidly growing antisemitism in the country, the French government updated its plan to combat antisemitism to include training teachers and requiring students to visit sites of antisemitic or racist incidents.?

Humanity will be able to connect on the condition that the people of Israel unite. Today, however, Jews are more divided than any other people. Therefore, antisemitism will gradually gain force and acquire forms that will unpleasantly compel us to unite.

The problem of rising antisemitism is hardly exclusive to France. We see this targeted hatred rising dramatically in many places. One may ponder why this age-old hatred does not go away despite initiatives like France’s Interministerial Delegation for the Fight Against Racism and Antisemitism (DILCRAH ), which it adopted in 2015 and updates every three years, and the multiple efforts in other places in the world where Jews are persecuted.?

Hatred toward the Jewish people has been a regularly recurring phenomenon over the course of history that started in ancient Babylon and has taken on many forms up to the current time when we see what we call the “new antisemitism” is the same old hatred clothed in new dressings.

Ancient Babylon was a time of great social turmoil marked by the shattering of the Tower of Babel when the Babylonians felt an outburst of the human ego and lost their ability to understand one another.

In response to the demands of the time around 4,000 years ago, a Babylonian priest named Abraham discovered a method for rising above humanity’s divisive inclinations to reveal the single unifying force of nature.

Essentially, Abraham led his followers on a path to the discovery of this uniting force of nature through work in practical actualization within the relationships between people who applied the principle, “love your neighbor as yourself.”

The uniqueness of the followers of Abraham was that they shared no biological roots. They came from among all the peoples, clans, and tribes of the region. They coalesced as a group formed of people from different nations in the area who were drawn together based on a unifying ideology and joined together by a commitment to work on themselves in order to attain the quality of love of others above the pressure toward social division that existed at that time.

The Jewish people became a nation through a pledge to be “as one man with one heart.” This common ideological connection among the people of Abraham was formalized into a binding covenant at the time of the reception of the Torah at the foot of Mount Sinai.

Since then, it has been our duty to maintain this connection between us and to pass it on to other peoples, a role that does not involve entitlement, but rather service to others. Therefore, it is the duty of the Jewish people to fulfill the law of love among ourselves and to set an example of this brotherly love to others.

Unfortunately, since the time this covenant was made, we have completely lost awareness of our Jewish unity, and in its place, frictions and separations prevail. However, this shared experience of attainment made an indelible impression on the Jewish soul that is so profound that it could never be erased.

Thus, we should not waste energy thinking about how to make small fixes here and there. Instead, we need to put all our effort into achieving unity. I am certain that if the few million Jews on the planet today would think about how to unite in order to do good to all of humanity, the unifying tendency would expand throughout the world and everyone would join in.

In short, humanity will be able to connect on the condition that the people of Israel unite. Today, however, Jews are more divided than any other people. Therefore, antisemitism will gradually gain force and acquire forms that will unpleasantly compel us to unite. Eventually, an inner perception will form within Jews that we need to be closer to each other. And by finally doing so, we will save ourselves and the whole of humanity from all hatred, division, and crisis.

More on the subject in my book, New Antisemitism: Mutation Of A Long-Lived Hatred .?