Jewish World Review May 25, 2004 / 5 Sivan 5764

Dan Abrams

Abrams
JWR's Pundits
World Editorial
Cartoon Showcase

Mallard Fillmore

Michael Barone
Mona Charen
Linda Chavez
Ann Coulter
Greg Crosby
Larry Elder
Don Feder
Suzanne Fields
James Glassman
Paul Greenberg
Bob Greene
Betsy Hart
Nat Hentoff
David Horowitz
Marianne Jennings
Michael Kelly
Mort Kondracke
Ch. Krauthammer
Lawrence Kudlow
Dr. Laura
John Leo
Michelle Malkin
Jackie Mason
Chris Matthews
Michael Medved
MUGGER
Kathleen Parker
Wes Pruden
Sam Schulman
Amity Shlaes
Roger Simon
Tony Snow
Thomas Sowell
Cal Thomas
Jonathan S. Tobin
Ben Wattenberg
George Will
Bruce Williams
Walter Williams
Mort Zuckerman

Consumer Reports


Madonna lets terrorists win


http://www.NewsAndOpinion.com | The "London Sun" is reporting that Madonna canceled three concerts in Israel after an unnamed Palestinian terror group threatened to kill her and her children. It's ironic that when she announced the concerts almost two months ago, one article pointed out that Madonna was teaching a lesson in how not to give in to "terrorism's greatest weapon — fear."


In retrospect, it probably would have been better if she hadn't agreed to do the concerts at all, because now the terrorists will feel emboldened. For them, fear can be an even more powerful tool than death itself. Changing policy or even changing a star like Madonna's schedule can be the fuel that helps them thrive. At first, "The Sun" reported that she was prepared to go ahead anyway with extra security, but after it became clear that the terrorists knew details about her security staff, she decided it just wasn't worth it.


It's hard to blame her. Apparently the letters named her two children and said they would be killed if she performed in Israel. Having someone threaten to kill your kids would lead almost all of us to significantly alter our lives and do whatever was necessary to avoid the threat. But it serves as a reminder that as a nation, we must ensure we don't capitulate in the wake of threats, that we do not follow the lead of the Spanish who voted in a new government as a result of the bombings there, a government that had promised to remove troops from Iraq just as the terrorist had demanded.


It's clear that the only thing that scares the terrorists is the fear of irrelevance — that they will change nothing, that their efforts will be thwarted. We need to scare them back.


Donate to JWR


Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in Washington and in the media consider "must reading." Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.




JWR contributor Dan Abrams anchors “The Abrams Report,” Monday through Friday from 9-10 p.m. ET on MSNBC TV. He also covers legal stories for “NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw,” “Today” and “Dateline NBC.” To visit his website, click here. Comment by clicking here.

Up

ARCHIVES

© 2004, MSNBC