The world continues to reel from the deadly terror attacks that struck Paris on Nov. 13.
The scope of the operation, which hit six sites, killed 129 and wounded hundreds more, caught French security forces off guard. The scope of the tragedy has touched people everywhere, who deluged France with a flood of heartfelt condolences.
While the grieving goes on, France has, fittingly, declared war on ISIS, the terror group responsible for the Paris mayhem. Within hours, French fighter jets pounded ISIS targets in Syria, while raiding suspected jihadi safe houses across France.
Russia, too, increased the tempo of its airstrikes in Syria, as ISIS claimed responsibility for the Oct. 30 downing of a Russian passenger jet over the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt. Add to this American and other allied forces targeting ISIS, and what we have is a global determination to destroy this monstrous organization.
Make no mistake — this is a war. It is a just war, and a necessary one. The world must unite to destroy this strange new kind of enemy that knows no mercy and threatens all of humanity.
Even as we fight ISIS, however, we must not ignore the parallel issue of Syrian refugees. Hundreds of thousands of Syrian civilians have been driven from their homeland, seeking asylum in Europe, where many countries — but not all — have responded positively.
In this country, sadly, we have seen a disgusting display of xenophobia on the part of several Republican presidential candidates and 31 governors, all of whom said they would not welcome any Syrian refugees to their jurisdictions.
Need we point out that these are the very people fleeing the destruction wrought by ISIS? Need we point out that equally xenophobic and wrongheaded decision-makers turned away European Jews seeking asylum in this country in the 1930s?
The United States has offered to take in a mere 10,000 of the more than 1 million refugees seeking resettlement. Moreover, the vetting process is extremely rigorous. Americans should not only feel assured by this thorough process, they should be eager to see us get on with it.
The Jewish community in particular is commanded to welcome the stranger. As Avi Rose of Jewish Family and Community Services of the East Bay said in our story on page 9, “This is exactly the kind of time when we need to act on our values. Otherwise, what are they good for?”