It seems that the Jewish people has chosen a method of self-destruction somewhat reminiscent of an ancient Roman custom.
How did people commit suicide in ancient Rome?
A person would get inside a warm bath and cut his own veins.
Then he would sit there and bleed quietly, peacefully, unto death.
This is what is happening to the Jewish people nowadays.
There is a constant bleeding, not dramatic, but ongoing and unceasing.
–Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz
From On Being Free, p.6, by Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz