As 2001 draws to a close, we are sure to remember this year for its tragic events.
Sept. 11 was a wake-up call. We learned we must be vigilant against terrorism not just in distant lands but at home. We can no longer take our national security for granted.
We will enter 2002 with safer airports, more security in public buildings, and a new resolve to accept inconvenience in exchange for a safer existence.
We’ve also seen the Jewish homeland suffer an increase in violence. And because of the events of Sept. 11, Israel is receiving little criticism for branding the Palestinian Authority a supporter of terrorism.
While the United States battles terrorists in Afghanistan and possibly in our own midst, and Israel fights them in the West Bank and Gaza, we can only wonder when it will all end.
We ask ourselves when life will return to the heady days of the 1990s before the economy spiraled downward and more young people donned their country’s uniforms to fight an enemy most of us don’t understand.
Yet all is not bleak. The swift pace of the war in Afghanistan makes us optimistic that the battle may soon be over. If only we could feel the same about Israel’s strife.
Our economy is showing some signs that the recession may end in the year ahead.
Overall, we have expectations 2002 will offer brighter possibilities. We need to believe that democracies both here and in Israel can triumph over those who seek to destroy us. And we need to believe every recession runs its course and is replaced with even greater prosperity.
Since our custom is not to publish a newspaper the last week of the year, we want to take this opportunity to wish you all a peaceful and happy year ahead.
May our prayers bring hope and joy to all of us in the next calendar year.