He was a German U-boat commander in World War I, a Protestant minister, and early on, a supporter of Adolph Hitler. But in time, because his support wavered, Martin Niemoller was sent by the Nazis to Dachau, a concentration camp.

He survived, and later became president of the World Council of Churches. Niemoller died in 1984, and is best remembered for a warning he often gave in his speeches.

“In Germany,” said Pastor Niemoller, “first they came for the Jews and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Catholic. Then they came for me, and by that time, no one was left to speak up.”

I was reminded of that quote because of what seems to be the latest terror attack by al-Qaida.

It happened last month in Kenya. Several terrorists fired ground-to-air missiles at an Israeli charter jetliner with hundreds aboard. They missed. But at almost the same time, other suicide terrorists rammed a four-wheel drive vehicle into the lobby of an Israeli-owned resort hotel and blew it up. They killed 10 Kenyans and three Israelis.

Last week, Israel’s Foreign Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke of the incident. Netanyahu has long admired America’s resolve in the war against terror but has felt differently about other countries, particularly those in Europe.

So, warning that the Kenya attack was a threat to all innocents, he said this: “I call on the nations of the world: enough of silence. Help us to fight this plague of evil.”

It brought to mind the message of Martin Niemoller – that if we don’t stand with those targeted today, we could be targets tomorrow.

But now a confession: It’s easy to deny that truth. I did it myself last week.

Although a supporter of Israel, my first reaction upon hearing of the Kenyan attack was this: Thank goodness it wasn’t Americans. At least we’re still safe.

I thought the same thing in October after the terror bombing of Western nightclubs in Bali. More than 200 were killed there. But they were mostly Australians. It came out later that the Bali suspects had hoped to kill Americans.

As for Kenya, four years ago we were directly targeted there when terrorists blew up our embassy, as well as the one in Tanzania, killing 224. Still, it’s human nature to tell ourselves that was an aberration.

Similarly, it has been human nature for years to think that the suicide bombings in Israel were their problem alone. But it now seems obvious that Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida saw Israel as almost a laboratory. They learned from it that suicide bombings can be effective.

On Sept. 11, catastrophically, al-Qaida embraced the technique against us. Now, “martyrdom operations” have become romanticized among Islamic extremists.

That’s why Israel’s fight against terror is not just an internal matter. Just as we are on the front lines in Afghanistan and elsewhere, the Israelis are on the front lines of the same war. At home. And now in Kenya.

I’m not saying you need to agree with Israel’s policies. Many feel they should stop the settlements and offer the Palestinians more diplomatic concessions. Still, it’s in our interest that they prove that suicide terror doesn’t prevail. Because, the more it succeeds against them, the more it will be used against other “infidels.”

The bombing in Kenya may have targeted Israelis, but it’s a threat to all of us. Were he alive today, Pastor Martin Niemoller, having once denied that concentration camps were his problem, would no doubt agree.

First they came for the Jews …

– Mark Patinkin is a columnist for the Providence Journal. His e-mail address is mpatinkin@projo.com.