If I could choose a day to be in France, it would be next Wednesday so that I could buy one of the estimated one million copies of Charlie Hebdo that will be on the racks. I have lived in two countries during periods of national mourning (the U.S. after 9/11 and Israel after Rabinâ??s assassination), and it is touching to see a nation unite in common grief. I have followed the French press for many years, and had fervently hoped that the firebombing of the Charlie Hebdo offices in 2011 would be the last attack on the satirical magazine. Alas, it was not to be.
Like any sensible person, I was appalled at the barbarity on display in Paris this week. If it were up to me, the suspects would be rounded up, tried, and executed. I have delivered many speeches condemning terrorism on behalf of Jewish organizations, and fervently hope that the killings will not deter the French government from actively participating in the battle against terrorism worldwide. That said, as a member of a religion that, like Judaism, has been publicly ridiculed and attacked, Iâ??ve found myself agreeing with the French foreign ministerâ??s view of Charlie Hebdoâ??s many attempts to stick its thumb in the eyes of Muslims worldwide.
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