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ARE YOU KIDDING ME? There are some things you cannot make up. Parviz Davlatbekov was a 24 year old citizen of Tajikistan. This past December Parviz decided, in honor of the holiday, to greet his relatives dressed up as Santa Claus. So one day Parviz dressed up as Santa himself, walked over to his family’s apartment building, where he was surrounded by a crowd of 30 young men, who pulled out knives and stabbed him, while shouting “Tu kofiri!” In case you’re not up on their language, “Tu kofiri” means “infidel.” No, these were not some poverty stricken gang members. These were third year college students following the dictates of one of Tajikistan’s religious leaders, who had just proclaimed that decorating a Christmas tree was alien to Tajik culture and contradicted the laws of Islam. If you ask me why some people feel so threatened by someone who dressed up as Santa Claus, that they would stab him to death, to that I can only say, “Are you kidding me?” Are people so fanatical in their beliefs that they cannot tolerate the existence of others who do not share their beliefs? Do not for a second believe that this problem is exclusive to the Islamic world. Here is the dirty little secret. We Jews are also infected by fanaticism.

Naama is an eight year old girl who was born in the United States and who moved with her family to Israel. She is all of eight years old and attends a religious school in a city near Jerusalem called Beit Shemesh. Keep in mind that Naama is religious. Yet elements of the ultra-Orthodox community apparently do not believe that Naama is “ultra” enough. So Naama was walking to school one day when some Hassidim surrounded her and began to scream at her and spit on her, proclaiming that she was a prostitute and nothing better than an animal. As a result, this eight year old girl is now afraid to walk to school. I wish I could tell you that this was an isolated incident, but there are growing examples in Israel of ultra-Orthodox Jews who not only believe that their traditions are correct, but who insist upon thrusting their customs upon others. So in the space of a few days, there are people who believe it is God’s will to spit on and stab others. To this I can only say, “Are you kidding me?”

Thomas Jefferson once wrote, “that fanatics are the kinds of people you should avoid as you would avoid an angry bull.” As Jefferson said, “It is not for a man of sense to dispute the road with such an animal.” In such a world as ours, stabbing and spitting is not the kind of thing you can ignore and avoid. Sometimes, even if you say that what you’re doing is in the name of religion, it doesn’t make it right. A fanatic is a fanatic, whether you wear a turbin or a Yarmulka. If you are a Christian and you want to dress up as Santa Claus that should be your business. If you are Jewish and you want to walk down the block to your own school without being afraid, then you should be able to do so. The Torah’s basic teaching is “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Translation: We don’t all have to be the same, but we need to figure out how to walk on the same streets in peace. We must make it clear to the next generation that intolerance is intolerable. If we are afraid to say that then we become just as guilty as those who spit on children and who stab people dressed in costumes. Are you kidding me? There has to be a better way!