Remembering September 11, 2001

[phkrause]

by Rabbi Benjamin Blech

Because those who do not learn from history are condemned to repeat it.

No one can ever forget that September 11. It was 15 years ago but I can vividly recall exactly where I was standing and what I was thinking when I first heard that America was under attack and that the World Trade Center was falling.

It’s hard to believe that there are young people for whom the events of that horrific day are not personal memories but simply moments of recorded history. Yet 9/11 was not just traumatic, it was transformative. It brought a new understanding of the threats to our very survival. 9/11 was a wake-up call for civilization. Let us take stock of these five major messages, mindful of Santayana’s famous warning that those who do not learn from history are condemned to repeat it.

1. We Are All Israelis

Immediately after 9/11, the phrase “we are all Israelis” appeared in some reports. But it was soon forgotten or hijacked by other groups and different causes. Yet it captured a profound truth. The enemies of Israel turned out to be the same enemies intent on destroying the Western world and civilized society as we know it.

For years the United States as well as other democracies watched the terrorism and the intifada and the butchering and the sadistic slayings of innocents from afar and thought it had nothing to do with them. Suddenly came the recognition that there is no longer a concept of distance for terror. 9/11 made clear that an ocean can no longer keep Americans safe from attack and that the battle against jihad isn’t restricted to Jerusalem.

2. The Terrorists Shouted Allah Akbar

No amount of verbal camouflage can hide the truth. The people responsible for the murder of over 3000 innocent Americans were Muslims who proclaimed their deed a glorious act bringing glory to their God for the death of deserving infidels.

The extremist fanatics of 9/11 must be denounced in every mosque, condemned by every imam, censured by every fatwa on the anniversary of the day which ought to bring shame to every believer in a God of mercy and compassion.

Let us be ready to agree with all those who loudly proclaim that Islam is a religion of peace – but let us be convinced of their sincerity by their willingness to openly censure all those who continued to justify barbaric behavior in the name of their religion.

3. America Had No “Settlements”

The Palestinians have perfected slogans to justify their actions. It’s “the settlements.” It’s “the occupation.” It’s the flavor of the month they choose to give legitimacy to their cause.

No one seems to wonder why the same hatred and desire for the destruction of Israel post 1967 and the settlements was just as intense before Israel prevailed in a war not of their choosing and in which despite unbelievable odds they proved victorious.

There were no settlements nor was there an occupation when the Arabs massacred Jews in Hebron in 1929, just as these rationales for Jew hatred did not exist when the United Nations established legitimacy for the creation of the Jewish state only to be followed by a declaration of war intent on its destruction by the seven Arab nations surrounding it.

The attack of 9/11 against the United States was, in the words of Bernard Lewis, “a clash of civilizations.” Yes, there are those who want to see an end to democracy. Yes, there are those who want to see a global caliphate governed by the rules of sharia. Yes, 9/11 was a demonstration of the larger truth that there is a culture of hatred in the world which masks its essence under the guise of grievances which have nothing to do with its true motivations.

4. Real Evil Exists In This World

Shortly after 9/11, Newsweek magazine featured a column by a college student asking for “greater perspective and greater understanding”. After all, this spokesman for cultural relativism plaintively asked, who is to say whether those responsible should be judged by the standards of our morality rather those of their culture in which they died as martyrs in the name of a greater cause.

It is a point of view which still seems to enjoy some legitimacy in the academic halls of supra-liberalism. Some people, as Bertrand Russell famously put it, are so open minded they allow their brains to fallout. Cannibals may have justified eating other human beings, but being civilized surely demands a higher standard for ethical dining. Spare me the similar defense for Nazis who took part in concentration camp atrocities because “at the time” pushing Jews into the crematoria was considered acceptable.

Evil is evil. “Thou shalt not murder” was spoken for all times, for all places and for all people.

A post-9/11 world needs to remember that extreme evil must be fought even more than it must be understood.

5. Crises Remind Us of Our Potential for Greatness

There is a final message to be learned from 9/11. It is the one with the greatest power to turn tragedy into hope, despair into optimism.

Those of us who lived through the horror recall another part of the story. It was the remarkable effect of communal pain creating an unparalleled sense of comradeship. Unbearable hardship gave us a kind of kinship we hardly ever experience except in times of severe crisis. Somehow we knew and we understood that we were all in this together. Reading the stories of those who perished made us relate to every life in a way we never thought possible, and allowed us to understand all the better the preciousness of every moment of our own existence.

So many of us realized that we could just as well have been among the victims and felt a keener sense of gratitude for all the things we normally take so much for granted.

 

Abraham was tested with ten trials. The Hebrew word for tested has a dual meaning. It tells us he was tried but it also, remarkably enough, teaches us that he was elevated. Having endured the difficulties he gained even greater stature.

That is what 9/11 must achieve for us as well. On its 15^th anniversary, let us hope it can accomplish that if we but heed its crucial lessons.

Click here to read more articles about 9/11.

I know I'm a few days late! But better late than never!! 

[lazarus]

If the truth be told 911 was simply blow back. You can't go around waging war in the middle east and expect no repercussions.

[Geoarrge]

Skip to about 11-12 minutes in to start seeing the timeline maps.

 

[phkrause]

On 9/27/2016 at 11:16 AM, lazarus said:

If the truth be told 911 was simply blow back. You can't go around waging war in the middle east and expect no repercussions.

I do agree Laz! If we would look back at how we have treated others nations.....

[phkrause]

Today in History: September 11, U.S. comes under attack

On Sept. 11, 2001, nearly 3,000 people were killed as 19 al-Qaida hijackers seized control of four jetliners, sending two of the planes into New York’s World Trade Center, one into the Pentagon and the fourth into a field in western Pennsylvania.

https://apnews.com/article/today-in-history-ayman-al-zawahri-d82e34e8028acda1ac421da0eccdece1?

Authorities identify remains of 2 victims killed in 9/11 attack on World Trade Center

NEW YORK (AP) — The remains of two people who died in the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center have been identified, the latest positive identification in the decadeslong effort to return victims to their families.

https://apnews.com/article/911-world-trade-center-victims-dna-testing-897661e99472e17509d08ea9b13ae9e0?

Performing arts center finally opens at ground zero after 2 decades of setbacks and changed plans

NEW YORK (AP) — In a mammoth room behind translucent marble walls, workers are setting the stage for the World Trade Center’s newest addition.

https://apnews.com/article/sept-11-ground-zero-arts-center-10b972a7518bc5ced4f0d0cc0064cdb4?

PHOTOS: Remembering 9/11

https://abcnews.go.com/US/photos/photos-remembering-911-148555/image-57734337?

[phkrause]

🇺🇸 America remembers

As seen from Jersey City, N.J. Photo: Gary Hershorn/Getty Images This was a test last night of the annual Tribute in Light display above Lower Manhattan — first presented six months after 9/11, then every year since, from dusk to dawn on the night of Sept. 11. Americans will gather today at memorials, firehouses, city halls and elsewhere to observe the 22nd anniversary of the deadliest terror attack on U.S. soil, AP reports. Commemorations will be held at the three attack sites — New York's Twin Towers, the Pentagon and Shanksville, Pa. The attacks killed 2,977 people and began a U.S.-led Global War on Terror, which included the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. A worker polishes names of victims yesterday at the 9/11 Memorial & Museum at ground zero in Manhattan. Photo: Andrew Ke/Reuters At ground zero in Manhattan, Vice President Harris will join a commemoration on the 9/11 Memorial & Museum plaza (photo above). President Biden will join service members and their families at a ceremony on a military base in Anchorage on his way back from Asia. The 9/11 Memorial in Manhattan yesterday. Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images A series of moments of silence will mark the unfolding tragedies of that day — beginning at 8:46 a.m. ET, when the hijacked Flight 11 crashed into floors 93-99 of the World Trade Center's North Tower. List of moments of silence ... Go deeper: 9/11 history.

[phkrause]

The US marks 22 years since 9/11 with tributes and tears, from ground zero to Alaska

NEW YORK (AP) — Americans looked back Monday on 9/11 with moments of silence, tearful words and appeals to teach younger generations about the terror attacks 22 years ago.

https://apnews.com/article/sept-11-terror-attack-anniversary-ceremonies-47488758b18fd78f541674041e36d263?

[phkrause]

Pictures: September 11 memorial tribute at Dr. Phillips High School

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2023/09/11/pictures-september-11-memorial-tribute-at-dr-phillips-high-school/?

[Rahab]

We watched it on tv

it seemed like it was not real

[phkrause]

US commemorates 9/11 attacks with victims in focus, but politics in view The U.S. is remembering the lives taken and those reshaped by 9/11, marking an anniversary laced this year with presidential campaign politics. Sept. 11 — the date when hijacked plane attacks killed nearly 3,000 people in 2001 — falls in the thick of the presidential election season every four years, and it comes at an especially pointed moment this time. Read more.

Key points: Fresh off their first-ever debate Tuesday night, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are both expected to attend 9/11 observances at the World Trade Center in New York and the Flight 93 National Memorial in Pennsylvania. It’s not yet clear whether Harris and Trump even will cross paths. If they do, it would be an extraordinary encounter at a somber ceremony hours after they faced off on the debate stage.   Regardless of the campaign calendar, organizers of anniversary ceremonies have long taken pains to try to keep the focus on victims. For years, politicians have been only observers at ground zero observances, with the microphone going instead to relatives who read victims’ names aloud.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ A 9/11 anniversary tradition is handed down to a new generation   Jon Stewart presses for a breakthrough to get the first 9/11 troops full care   News organizations seek unsealing of plea deal with 9/11 defendants

[phkrause]

📉 Military recruitment drops since 9/11

A U.S. service member salutes at the Pentagon. Photo: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

After the 9/11 attacks, military enrollment jumped in the U.S. — but that has plummeted to record-low numbers today. Why it matters: This year, the active-duty force is the smallest since 1940, and many service members are leaving due to uncertainty about spouses finding employment. By the numbers: Half of active-duty members cited employment for their significant other as a top issue, per a survey of over 9,000 military families conducted by Blue Star Families. About 3.7% of families in the DMV area are military families, per the census. "When our military families have access to dual income … it places [them] on par with our civilian counterparts," says Liz O'Brien, a military spouse who works at Hiring Our Heroes, helping to connect military spouses with jobs.

[phkrause]

🇺🇸 America remembers

Photo: Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images Vice President Kamala Harris, President Biden, former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, former President Trump and Sen. JD Vance were at Ground Zero today commemorating the 23rd anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. Photo: Adam Gray/AFP via Getty Images Relatives and friends of the victims laid flowers, American flags and other mementos at the memorial where the World Trade Center once stood.

[phkrause]

📷 = 1,000 words

Photo: Helen Dunn Here's a powerful image from reader Helen Dunn, taken on the corner of 21st Street and 7th Avenue in Manhattan on 9/11 last year. "I noticed this officer had paused to reflect as a crystal-clear rainbow stretched across Manhattan from the Empire State Building to One World Trade Center," she writes.