Where Have All the Signs Gone?

To the editor,

Last November, signs went up all around YU commemorating the Yahrtzeit of Meir Kahane. One outraged student wrote a letter to the Commentator berating YU for commemorating Kahane's Yahrtzeit while completely ignoring the one year anniversary of the assassination of Yitzchak Rabin. In the next issue of the Commentator the student who was responsible for the Kahane signs defended himself and presented a challenge - if you want to commemorate Rabin's yahrtzeit then put up your own signs .

Bearing this in mind, when signs went up around YU this year inviting the student body to a weekend commemorating Meir Kahane's Yahrtzeit, I took it upon myself, after consulting with a member of the YCSC, to make up signs in remembrance of Rabin's mur der. I included a recent article from the Jerusalem Post reporting that close to 10% of the Israeli population still support assassination as a legitimate mode of political expression against current politicians, from both the left and the right. I hung these signs next to all of the Meir Kahane signs. Within hours ALL of my signs were torn down.

I have to admit, I was not surprised by the behavior of Kahanists and their supporters. But I do have a question for the rest of us who take the commandment of Lo Tirtzach seriously. The simple fact is that all Orthodox Jews are seen, by the w orld, to approve of the actions taken by the few. The idea that shtika k'hoda'ah (silence is agreement), has already caused terrible chilulei Hashem, both with respect to the assassination itself, and with respect to the rest of the Kahanist's cla ims.

Ultimately, it is the students of YU who will determine what signs cover the halls, what activities are advertised, and the nature of acceptable discourse. In short, it is the students who determine the intellectual landscape of YU. We can collective ly choose to continue the chilul Hashem by identifying with mass murderers, for instance Dr. Baruch Goldstein, and assassins, or we can stand up for what we believe in, D'racheha darchai noam v'kol nitivoseha shalom.