Shalom My Gantseh Megillah Family and Friends,

Happy New Year to all of you and your loved ones. It is my hope that 2010 brings good health, prosperity and peace to your lives.

The past year has been full of fear and uncertainty due to the looming economic crisis. Actually, most of the decade, since Sept 11, 2001, has been fraught with anxiety. I am aware that the media and our government benefit from playing up the fear factor. We are encouraged to look over our shoulders and live in a state of perpetual crisis. This behaviour is exactly what our terrorist enemies were striving for.

There is no realistic way terrorists can win a war with the United States in traditional military terms. Their goal is far more pragmatic. Their aim is to change the American lifestyle, and to collapse our economy. The sad news is that we are helping them to succeed beyond their wildest expectations.

These scum of the earth murderers have changed us from a freewheeling society into one that quakes in fear. They have caused our government to abandon the principle foundations of our country by countenancing torture, secret renditions, eavesdropping on American citizens, to name but a few examples. As the Twin Towers collapsed, panic ensued and irrationality began to rule the day.

Our serious economic problems are exacerbated by the hundreds of billions of dollars we continue to spend fighting multiple wars against an enemy who is not part of an organized military or government. We are heading in a direction of perpetual war if we permit this flagrant irrationality to rule our thinking.

Fighting our enemies intelligently is the only way to securing anything close to victory. Our enemies are a well spread out group of militant terrorists located in many parts of the world, and they continue to branch out to new territories as they become available. We are spreading ourselves so thin, and indiscriminately bombing areas where we are not even sure our enemies are located, and all we seem to be accomplishing is instilling more fear, and hostility.

As a Jew I am a great believer in Tikkun Olam; leaving the world in a better way than which we found it. Eliminating Al Qaeda, and other terrorist groups, would be a great way of working towards that goal. But we must not destroy the very earth we are trying to save, nor should we crack the foundation on which our great country was founded. I have been living in Canada for many years, but I am still a proud American citizen, and I do consider the United States to be a great country, but greatness is a reputation we must earn every day.

It is my sincere wish that 2010 ushers in new wisdom for us as well as our political leaders. Unpiloted drones dropping bombs on remote villages doesn't feel like a well thought out approach to handling the terrorist situation. We need greater wisdom and accountability so we can either embrace or reject this tactic. Sowing terror among isolated and illiterate populations maybe making us part of the problem rather than a step towards the cure.

Arnold and I thank you for your support and membership, and it is our plan to make 2010 a banner year for the Gantseh Megillah and our Megillah family.

Much love to all of you,
Michael