Open Letter To Oskar Deutsch : WE CANNOT STAND BY AND WATCH OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS BLEED OUT

 

o.deutsch@ikg-wien.at

office@ikg-wien.at

Dear Mr. Deutsch,

It is probably no secret to any of us that the world can be a cold, cruel, mercurial place. Tragedies happen in the blink of an eye, and most of the time, all we can do, is stand by and watch. Maybe strive to learn lessons from those past tragedies. We can't control cancer or the elements. We are left frustratedly watching these tragedies play out, with very little control over their outcome. Very often.

But lest we be lulled into a resigned sense of complacency, there are things we can prevent. There are ways we can heal some of the endless pain we encounter. We are able to fight injustices. Nay, we must. You are not obligated to complete the work, but crucially, neither are you free to just walk away.

When we can help it, we cannot stand by and watch our brothers and sisters bleed out. We are exhorted again and again to intervene. Justice, justice shall you pursue. A life long's mission. As a people, we cannot stand by while others suffer.

I am sure that you know all this, I do not write to you to give a shiur. But I am so troubled by the injustice currently being suffered by one our own, a mother who has been cut off from her children. I don't have children, but I imagine that must feel something like losing a limb.

Beth Alexander is a mother in pain. A person who brought two wonderful boys into the world - flesh of her flesh, treasured even more than that. She has been in that kind of agony for far too long. I don't pretend to know what goes on in heaven, but I imagine God crying every one of her tears with her. Beth isn't alone, there are now a lot of us crying her tears with her. 

I'm writing to beseech you, as leader of the Vienna community to intervene and help rectify this injustice. To hear the cries of a mother who has done nothing but love them and fight for them since she was forcibly separated from them. Please do not stay silent in the face of the suffering of not just the mother, but those two boys who are being deprived of everything wonderful our mothers give us. 

Sincerely