by Sarit Catz

 

When I was little, I used to watch Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood. You may also remember the amazingly calm Fred Rogers leading us kids in science experiments, talking to the postman, and visiting a puppet land of make believe.

 

Today, let’s take a tour of Israel’s neighborhoods.  To the north, we visit Lebanon, where last year the government was taken over by Hezbollah, a terrorist group that continues to aim an estimated 40,000 rockets and missiles at Israel. 

 

Next we come to Syria, where the dictator brutally suppresses an uprising, killing thousands of citizens. It’s unclear what will happen to the regime and, if it falls, who could end up with its stockpile of deadly weapons.

 

On to Jordan, where King Abdullah is under increased pressure from citizens, mostly ethnic Palestinians, to reform his corrupt government and implement real reforms. Uncertainty abounds.

 

Now for a side trip into the Palestinian Authority-controlled areas; Fatah, which administers the PA, has agreed to unite with the terrorist group Hamas. Recently, the PA’s grand mufti spoke on official Palestinian television quoting a Muslim teaching calling for the killing of Jews. The official PA Facebook page celebrates terrorists, their schoolbooks incite hatred of Jews, and their leaders refuse to even recognize the Jewish connection to Israel.

 

Egypt is next, where the peace treaty with Israel is fragile now that the Muslim Brotherhood, the Salafists, and other radical Islamist parties have won a vast majority in the new parliament.  There have been days of rioting in the streets and democracy workers face charges.

 

Let’s hop over to Gaza, run by the terrorist group Hamas, which launches rockets and missiles at Israeli civilians on an average of two per day, and continues to call for the destruction of Israel.

 

We haven’t even gotten to Iran and its pursuit of nuclear weapons. No time. But, on the trolley, you can read how the Supreme Leader has laid out his case to kill all the Jews and destroy Israel.

 

Israel is truly a dangerous neighborhood. That is why on February 29, the CRC is co-sponsoring  an event called “Difficult Truths in a Dangerous Neighborhood”  with CAMERA (the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America) and Temple Beth Shalom of Livingston. Jerusalem Post military correspondent Yaakov Katz will speak and take questions.  This program is free and open to the public. Please register here.

 

Unfortunately, Israel’s neighborhood, unlike Mr. Rogers’, is no land of make believe.