Question:
 
I am shocked by the resurgence of anti-Semitism in the world. When Jew-hatred comes from backward extremists and street mobs, it isn't so surprising. But when university educated, well-read westerners, who know history and have access to the facts, are able to demonize Israel and the Jewish people, something is wrong. Has the world gone mad?
 
Answer:
 
The academics who single out Israel for contempt are guilty of ignoring the facts. But those who are shocked by it are also guilty of ignoring the facts.
 
History has shown that being educated has nothing to do with being moral. Some of the most cultured people have also been the most evil.
 
The Holocaust was committed by men who appreciated classical music and read the works of great philosophers. From the very cradle of modern culture and enlightenment came the most barbarous attack against humanity the world has ever seen. The notion that evil stems from the ignorant masses, and the enlightened class are paragons of goodness is a simple myth.
 
Ideas have consequences. An education that teaches moral relativism, that there is no right and wrong, that there is no absolute truth and there is no G-d, is teaching moral confusion. And in a moral vacuum it is easy for the lowest of human impulses to take root. Civilized hatred is hatred nonetheless.
 
It is worth bearing this in mind when choosing an education for our children. Academics alone will not a mensch make. I want an institution that will not just sharpen my child's mind by teaching them to read and write, but will sharpen their moral character by teaching wrong from right.

 

~ Rabbi Aron Moss

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