With Tuesday’s indefinite cease fire between Israel and Hamas, questions range as to how long the cease fire will last and what the impact of it will be. Both sides feel that they won the war, yet I believe that unfortunately, like in all wars, neither side did. Until Israel is safe from rocket attacks, the battles are far from over. It is because of this that our congregation continues to say Psalm 121 every day at the end of morning minyan (though I have thought about discontinuing it if the cease fire continues after Rosh Hashanah).

I view Hamas as having the same goals and the same agenda as ISIS and Al Queida and that as long as Israel is threatened, no western country is safe. This was highlighted to me in this morning’s Newsday which indicated that 12,000 individuals, many of them westerners, have flown to Syria to be trained by and join radical Muslim groups. These individuals can fly back to their country of origin at any time undetected (if they are not known to be affiliated with said group) and carry out a terror attack. The article ended with a quotation from a Florida man who flew to Syria to join the Islamic State’s army. He said “You think you are safe? You are not safe. We are coming for you, mark my words.” With extremists like this, what good does a cease fire do? Let us pray for the moderate Muslim leaders (who Rabbi Arthur Schneier wrote about in this week’s The Jewish Week) to come forward and usher in a reign of peace rather than one of terror.