Fred S. Teng: Enough is Enough

Fred S. Teng, President, Chinese Community Relations Council

Israel Solidarity Rally, Sunday January 11, 2009, 11:00 am

Enough is enough.

I am here today not merely as a Chinese American feeling sympathy for the Jewish community. I am here today, because I was there. Yes, while the whole world was in Beijing watching the Olympics, I was in Israel. I was there in Sderot only a few months ago. I was minding my own business, visiting a university with JCRC. As we were walking into the parking lot, sirens went off. We were rushed back inside to a safe room. Later I found out it was a Qassam Rocket. That Qassam Rocket landed near a kindergarten and about half a mile away from where I was. Half a mile is like from here to the entrance of the Midtown Tunnel. 10 blocks down. I was furious of this reckless cruel terrorism, thinking how those children from this kindergarten might get hurt. I was furious because I have my daughter right next to me. The thought of my daughter might be injured, make me feel for all of the parents in Israel what they have to deal with every day.

Enough is enough.

I usually like to dress in black, and I like to think that I am standing up to all of the injustice in this world. But today I wear ORANGE. This orange is my solidarity with Gush Katif, 17 settlements, 8000 people, leaving behind $23 billion in assets, and with a production capacity that can earn $200 million a year. And what is the gratitude in return? Qassam Rockets? We cannot let Gush Katif and other settlements from West Bank and Gaza sacrificed in vain

Enough is enough

I was talking with a friend last week. If in New York, there are two buildings across from each other, and there are people in one building shooting bullets at the other building every day. Maybe one bullet a day, sometimes it is a nuisance, sometimes it scrape on someone's arms, and a few times the bullets kills a few people. Then one day, 80 bullets were shooting from this building every day. Do you shoot back 80 times, NO, you send in 500 to 1,000 people to the other building and kick down every door and find every shooter to put a stop to it.

Proportional Response is NOT an acceptable solution.

Enough is enough

These Qassam Rockets and the people behind them are like Drive-by Shootings. We have to put every gang member away for good, not just the ones that did the shooting.

These Qassam Rockets and the people behind them are like a Fire in the Forest,

You can't STOP only half of the fire in the forest, and thinking you will be safe.

If your house is next to the fire, you won't think so.

These Qassam Rockets and the people behind them are a Deadly Virus,

It is not the size; sometimes it is small or even invisible.

It is the threat, if we don't kill the virus, the virus will kill you and me and everyone else.

Can you imagine stopping only a partial spreading of a deadly virus?

It is not the Qassam Rockets; it is the people behind the Qassam Rockets that we need to go after.

This is an Epidemic Threat to the entire world.

In the last 60 years, every gesture of PEACE by Israel only met with escalated VIOLENCE

Every PEACE PROPOSAL, whether it is multi-lateral, bi-lateral, or uni-lateral was never HONORED by the terrorists.

Enough is enough

However, in this time of extreme difficulties, we shall not lose HOPE

We shall say yes to Peace SHALOM

We shall say yes to Life L'Chaim

And we shall forever say yes to an eternal Israel Am Yisrael Chai!