I have a dream..."

It's strange that Rev. Martin Luther King chose to use the word 'I' in this often quoted, subtle beginning to what was to become a legendary passage of history. The things he dreamt of --"every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be low, the rough places will be made plains and other crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together"-- were simple ideas of peace. Yet, he chose not to use the inclusive "we," we have a dream. Did he have too little faith in society to include everyone in his eloquent prayer? Was it so hard to believe in the universality of the dream?

Obviously, King was correct in his use of "I" -- racism is prevalent, homophobia is rampant, and one only has to look to the Middle East these days to see anti-semitism at its most violent. Do "Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics" all join hands and sing the words, "Free at last! Free at last?" As a Jewish student at Penn State, I can attest that this is certainly not true. Unfortunately, King's dream is still far from reality.

On a personal level, I have received anti-semitic jokes on my answering machine. I have been told by a fellow student that it is time for a Great American Holocaust. I've been told by a German student, "I've learned to live with what my family did -- you should learn to live with your nose."

Jewish students at Penn State are constantly forced to choose between religious holidays and inconsiderately planned tests. Swastikas are frequently popping up on campus buildings, pavements, and classroom desks. And all one has to do is say the word, "Fiji" and the Jewish community is reminded just how callous some individuals can be.

And most importantly, on a national scale, the United States is a country where respected leaders have been quoted as calling Judaism a guttersnipe religion and telling the Jewish community to forgive and forget the Holocaust.

But, you know, forgiving and forgetting is very hard, especially with Saddam Hussein's recent attack on Israel, and the imminent threat of chemical weapons. On Thursday night as Iraq's SCUD missiles landed on the coast of Tel Aviv and Haifa, every Jew's heart was sitting in the pit of his/her stomach. I felt that I had been attacked. Why was Israel attacked? To tear apart the Arab block of the U.N. coalition. Why would this action draw countries like Syria and Iran to Iraq's side? Because Israel is a country of Jews, and Arabs hate Jews more than they hate each other.

It may sound as though I am bitter -- as though I carry a chip on my shoulder that is impossible to knock off. But the Jews have over 6,000,000 matyrs to hold up to the world in this century alone. No more are needed. Judaism is not a handicap, but a blessing which gives me strength to face everyday realities and to have the courage to believe in dreams. Like King, I embrace my heritage, and respect those who suffered so that I could retain my identity.

In her diary, Anne Frank wrote, "It's really a wonder I haven't dropped all my ideals, because they seem so absurd and impossible to carry out. Yet I keep them because in spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart. I simply can't build up my hopes on a foundation consisting of confusion, misery and death. I see the world gradually being turned into a wilderness. I hear the ever approaching thunder that will destroy us, too. I can feel the suffering of millions, and yet if I look into the heavens, I think that this cruelty too will end, and that peace and tranquility will return again. In the meantime, I must uphold my ideas for perhaps the time will come when I shall be able to carry them out."

Obviously, Anne Frank and King shared the same dream. Anne Frank also wrote, "That's the difficulty of these times: ideals, dreams, and cherished hopes rise within us, only to meet the horrible truths and be shatterd."

The dream and the reality, of Israel for me and millions of other Jews will never be shattered. The most important word in Judaism is 'echad,' which means "one" -- one god, one nation, one people, and we will stand together in solidarity to protect this small stretch of land in the middle of the desert, surrounded by only enemies. Never again will we face the gas without masks.

It is everyone's responsibility who shares the dream and moral challenge presented in the works of both King and Anne Frank, to ensure that they did not die in vain, and to eradicate "the horrible truths" so that the dream of racial and spiritual harmony will someday be reality, and a little country like Israel, which only seeks its self-preservation, will be able to co-exist peacefully with its Arab neighbors.