January 2009

We are under attack!!! Some lop missiles at us, while others attack us using propaganda based in an ageless hatred of Jews and Israel. So why do we fight back? BECAUSE WE REFUSE TO LAY DOWN AND DIE!!! Israel was founded on the notion that we no longer will sit idle as we are victimized by the world around us. Having a much bigger and stronger fighting force than Hamas does is the only reason we have a country, and it is not enough, as we are faced with attacks by those who cannot win, but are determined to kill as many Jews as they can. Our only option in the face of this eternal hatred is to fight back and to continue living on as a people. No laws written by man have ever protected us in the past, and neither has wishing to be left alone. No words from a non-governmental organization will shield us from terror attacks. It is not a choice we get to make, it is made for us by others who decide hostility is the preferable way to deal with us. So we are left with only two options, lie down and die, or stand up and fight!

I was born a poor Jewish boy in the shadows of the shadows of the gas chambers. I’m a mixed breed of a Jew, I guess a Jewish mutt for a lack of better terms. My father’s father was an Italian Catholic and his mother, my grandmother, is a Greek Sephardic Jew. My mother’s father’s family was from Romania and my grandmother’s family was from the Russia/Poland border region. I have no immediate family who perished in the Holocaust, but my family would no doubt be much bigger on the Jewish side if the terrible horror had never befell us. Why is this the topic of discussion? Because I’m at my wits end about the prolific amount of Israel bashing equating it with Nazi Germany. It seems as if the lunatics are running not only the asylum, but the history as well.

We have seen a wide swath of vitriol with this made up parallel from the “intellectual branch” equating Israeli policy with the Nazis. First and foremost let us look at the truth of the matter and put all history into proper context, shall we.

The Nazis rose to power amidst the terrible conditions in Germany after World War I, being blamed for it all and being the scapegoat for everyone’s ire (especially the French representatives who draw up the treaty in Versailles). Histler manipulated the German masses to scapegoat the Jews as being the reason for the common German citizen’s woes. They elected Hitler, but he then violently took over the upper apparatus of the government, and with the putsch (epitomized in the night of long knives in 1933) - sound familiar? It seems like Hamas and the Palestinians who allowed them to freely act like the immoral beats they are re-enacting this vicious cycle.

I was very surprised to read a recent article in the Jerusalem Post about a British tabloid, Metro, that has recently apologized for asking its readers to comment on a poll asking if “Israel can be compared with the Nazis.” The article cited a Jewish Labor MP, Gerald Kaufman, who responded to an Israeli Major who stated that half of the Palestinian casualties were militants. Mr. Kaufman replied to that comment by saying that, “That was the reply of a Nazi. I suppose that the Jews fighting for their lives in the Warsaw ghetto could have been dismissed as militants.” What this Jewish MP forgets is that the “militants” in Warsaw were fighting for their lives because they were Jews. Even though some were labeled as subversive most were innocent citizens of these countries who were murdered for what, for being Jews. The palestinians have always been openly vehement and violent against Jews, and plenty of Muslims collaborated with Hitler.

I read another account of a Norwegian diplomat who sent out e-mails equating Israel with the Nazis from her office in, of all anti=semitic hubs, Saudi Arabia. She sent out the famed picture of the boy raising his hands next to a photo of an Israeli soldier pointing his gun at a Palestinian boy. One big difference we must all realize is what each of these boys must be thinking. The Jewish boy is scared to death, asking why are they doing this to me and taunting me, killing my friends and family because I’m Jewish. Hate was less of the equation and more of the sheer surprise of being part of the country and then being designated the outsider. On the other side of the coin is the little Palestinian boy. I have love for all who love, but that kid has no love for the soldier or his Jew friends. Palestinian kids are brought up on hate and a inferior superiority complex. If the shoe was on the other foot the Jewish kid in the first photo would have thrown the gun down, the Palestinian kid would have shot without blinking an eye.

Still, this all goes back to this gross and sloppy use of history to prive a point while evading the true meat and potatoes of the issue. The Nazis and Hitler’s machine was both concise yet very contradictory, with gads of scholarly work published each year (Proof which puts all the scumbags who deny the Holocaust happened). We cannot make these comparisons constantly because like in the great George Orwell Epic, 1984, if you keep repeating that 2 + 2 = 5, people will start believing it. The same with history. Big Brother manipulated history and kept rewriting it, let’s not let some ignorant and arrogant reporters, so-called academics and politicians get away with this.

Let’s stop the lunatics from running the asylum, in our minds.

I have no idea what the world is coming to, but as an optimist I refuse to be disappointed with reality and the way certain people perceive it. I have to say that the more I learn about Jewish history and political science the more I realize that the people who tormented, slaughtered, murdered, smeared, etc. etc. the Jews seem to have been lacking logic and reason.
I realize that I shouldn’t have put the last sentence in the past tense because it still goes on and our tormentors rationale is the same old load of hot air, loaded with slander and the use of the Almighty Double Standard.

One of the many double standards I want to point is the most recent call to prosecute Israel for committing war crimes. The war crimes were allegedly committed during the most recent clean up of Gaza. War crimes? Really?

What about the many atrocities committed by the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, including the long list of terrorist groups who have repeatedly targeted Israeli and Jewish civilians. We must never forget the Black September group, the PFLP, the DFLP, Islamic Jihad, Hizballah and all the other Muslim street gangs who have always targeted Innocent People. Just look at the last eight years and what was going on in Gaza and southern Israel. Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Fatah sympathizers and other thugs have launched thousands of rockets into southern Israel - Targeting Civilians. They use children as human shields and use their schools and religious buildings, c’mon guys have you no shame. Another terrible crime these terrorist groups commit is the indoctrination of young teens and children. They rob these children of their youth, making them live to hate and die, for what? salvation? Reward? I don’t understand how the United Nations and the EU Criminal court don’t prosecute the heads of Hamas and Hizballah and all the rest of their ilk. We have African tyrants from various countries such as Charles Taylor, who abducted children and made them brain washed zombie murderers who would shoot anyone on site. Many others are there, but what about the heads of these groups?

It’s amazing how the double standard is being left as the status quo, which is ridiculous. I think the world should wake up and smell the garbage heap, which they keep dumping on by constantly blaming Israel (Due to a degree of anti-semitism) and absolving All of these Muslim Terrorist groups. Come on guys, wake up, take the pillow from your head, and put a book in it.

Remember the good old days when a reporter had some knowledge and integrity? Apologies because not all of our modern day spin masters are arrogant and/or ignorant. However, with the coverage of the war in the Gaza Strip going into hyper drive across the globe I can’t help but see things are a bit askew. I believe that the coverage is scathing on Israel and glossing over the terrorist acts committed by Hamas for the past 8 Years and counting.

I am all for free press, but the recent coverage has been mostly against the Israeli “aggression” and coddling to the Palestinians in Gaza (Who have democratically elected Hamas, a terrorist organization, which has made it’s intentions crystal clear about attacking Israelis).

The majority of the condemnations have been coming out of Western Europe, with hints of protests and outrage across the Muslim world and the U.S. Certain Muslim countries, including Fatah have condemned Hamas and its manipulation of the people of Gaza. Also, some countries seem content with Israel’s actions to lessen their burden such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia. And some just seem downright belligerent like Turkey’s Prime Minister, Recep Tayip Erdogan, who said Allah will have his day of reckoning for Israel.

The United States has its share of commentators and ideologues on the air/vision waves from MSNBC to FOX News, etc. But I must admit that the protestant liberals have returned to their usual arguments championing the “underdog” Palestinians and barking at the bad old Jews in Israel. Some of these Uber liberals also wouldn’t mind seeing Israel gone, so they get along well with their European buddies.

European media outlets have a few sources who try to be impartial, however many of them pander to the Palestinians and condemn the Zionist Israelis. The irony is that it all falls into a pattern of collective guilt shared by most europeans. The bloodiest photos of civilian deaths including the most vicious language equating Israeli policies with Nazi policies comes from the very same continent which spawned the holocaust. This vile rhetoric and use of caustic language is used in the Muslim media, but also in the European media outlets as well. Why? because they are trying to erase their own past.

Europeans, as projected through their many media outlets, are trying to eradicate their guilt for doing nothing during the Holocaust. This excludes the many who saved Jews, and more a theory that holds its weight. They are trying to equate Israel with Nazi Germany so that they can wash their bloody hands of the past. If they make themselves believe that Israel is as bad as the Nazis they can get over the guilt of the parent’s apathy as their town’s Jews were rounded up in the local square, tortured, torn apart by wild animals for the Nazis pleasures, humiliated, stomped, beaten, marched, starved, sent off to the camps and it was a long dark tunnel to death or a life of agony and pain. It aggravates me to no end with this fictitious parallel being made. The sad part is that this is Europe’s rationale when dealing with their historical demons, the more they try to clean their closets the more dirty laundry will be tossed for the world to see their true ugliness held on false premises.

It seems the criticism of Hamas, including blaming Hamas and its supporters for the current death and destruction in Gaza, isn’t limited to Israel and its supporters. A Fatah official in Ramallah, speaking on condition on anonymity to the Jerusalem Post on Sunday, said, in part:

“The Iranians and Syrians are using Hamas to undermine the Palestinian Authority and other moderate Arab governments. Victory for Hamas in this war would mean victory for Iran, Syria and Hizbullah. This is something we need to prevent.”

So it seems even moderate Palestinians want an Israeli victory in Gaza. The anonymous official also hopes that Hamas leaders Mahmoud Zahar and Ismail Haniyeh would be tried before a Palestinian court as “war criminals.” The Hamas leaders, he charged, were responsible for the death of hundreds of innocent Palestinians.

“Ever since they came to power, they brought death and destruction to our people.”

Funny, if you listen to the U.N. and some media outlets you’d think that Israel was responsible for all the killing and only Israelis could ever be considered war criminals. It seems that objective and honest people, even Palestinians, see things differently.On the record Abdel Rahman, a senior advisor to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, mocked claims made by Hamas leaders about their successes against Israel. He added:

“The Gaza Strip belongs to the Palestinian people. The Gaza Strip is part of Palestine and not a Hamas-owned estate.”

I will repeat my contention that the only hope for peace to ever be achieved between Israel and the Palestinians depends on an Israeli victory in Gaza, not the premature ceasefire the U.N. is pushing for. Hamas must be removed from power and Gaza must be returned to Palestinian Authority control under international supervision.

Y.U. TAPS ISRAEL ’S IMMIGRANT GROUPS TO INSPIRE VISITING U.S. STUDENTS TO “RISE TO THE OCCASION”

YESHIVA UNIVERSITY SERVICE LEARNING PROGRAM WILL
ANALYZE IMMIGRATION AND PROMOTE JEWISH LEADERSHIP

(JERUSALEM, ISRAEL – January 4, 2009) The Yeshiva University Center for the Jewish Future (www.yu.edu/cjf) announced today that 35 students from select U.S. universities will be arriving in Israel next week for a seven-day interactive learning and community service program called “Project Connect: Israel Winter Mission.” The objective of the mission, scheduled for January 11-18, is to expose the students to cultural groups that have immigrated to Israel since the establishment of the State in 1948.

The seminar will be run in conjunction with the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation and will include students from Yeshiva University (YU), Columbia , NYU, and University of Maryland , among other top-ranked institutions. Participants will meet with families and individuals of every age group from Ethiopia and the former Soviet Union to learn about the historical and cultural heritages of these immigrant communities.

“Our unique program incorporates daily service projects and sessions with public figures and immigration experts that will help the students explore the halachik (Jewish law-related) and socio-economic absorption challenges faced by these communities, as well as open their eyes to the public policy aspects of integration,” said Rabbi Kenneth Brander, dean of the Yeshiva University Center for the Jewish Future.

However, the program is as much about promoting Jewish leadership as it is about examining the integration process.

“One of our many goals is to motivate those on the mission to make a difference in the Jewish community and the world at large,” explained Rabbi Brander. “We hope that after meeting individuals who overcame great challenges to transform society and better their communities, these students will be inspired to do the same.”

In addition to those selected for the mission, five students from Jerusalem’s Ma’ale School of Television, Film, and the Arts will join the group to document their interactions with the different communities. The footage will be edited into a film that will be screened for the students on the final night of the program. The film will also be shown in a February assembly for students at the YU campus in New York .

Now in its third year, the Israel Winter Mission has seen a dramatic increase in registration for this year’s program, as more than 150 students from 17 universities applied to fill the 35 available slots. Though the service learning program had focused on other topics in previous years, organizers believe that the theme of integration into Israeli society is broad enough to revisit for years to come.

Posted on behalf of a good friend Elie Klein, Ruder Finn for Yeshiva University

Yesterday the Global Law Center issued a report titled International Law and the Fighting In Gaza. The report finds that Hamas has repeatedly violated international law and also cites “Israel’s exemplary conduct.” Here are a few key excerpts:

“Each one of the 6,000 rocket and mortar attacks by Palestinian terrorists on civilian targets in Israeli towns is a war crime. Both the terror squads carrying out the attacks, as well as their commanders, bear criminal responsibility.”

[…]

“A consortium of Palestinian terrorist groups have held Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit incommunicado and out of reach of the International Committee of the Red Cross since 2006. This is a clear violation of international law concerning prisoners of war.”

[…]

“The Palestinian attacks must be seen as terrorist attacks under the International Convention for the Suppression of Terrorist Bombings, which makes it a crime to bomb public places (such as city streets) with the intent to kill civilians. Under this Convention, the Palestinian attackers are considered international terrorists and Israel is required to assume criminal jurisdiction over them.”

[…]

“The Hamas attacks fall within this definition of genocide. The Covenant of Hamas explicitly advocates a religious holy war aimed at creating a regional Islamic entity encompassing the territory of Israel and the disputed areas.”

[…]

“In contrast to the illegal Palestinian attacks from Gaza, Israeli counter-measures have been legal. Indeed, Israel’s responses to Palestinian terrorist attacks and war crimes have been limited to far less than the full measure of actions Israel could legally have undertaken. In fact, Israel’s responses may be properly criticized on the grounds of international law, if at all, for being insufficient rather than excessive.

Many of the legal criticisms of Israel are implicitly based upon misinterpretations of the relevant international law. Moreover, many of the charges are disingenuously based upon misstatements of fact or misuse of legal terminology.”

[…]

“Under international law, it is certain that Israel has the right to use force in defending itself against Palestinian attacks from Gaza. If Gaza is an independent sovereignty, and entitled to all the rights of states under jus ad bellum, Israel would be entitled to use force against Gaza by authority of the inherent right to self-defense referenced by Article 51 of the UN Charter. Gaza would have lost its general immunity from attack by repeatedly striking at its neighbor state and Israel’s use of force would therefore be permissible on the grounds of self-defense.”

[…]

“At the same time, it is clear that Palestinian actions in conducting military operations from within built-up civilian areas, thereby increasing Palestinian casualties, constitute war crimes. It is important to note that Israel is not required to refrain from attacking Palestinian combatants simply because they have chosen to hide behind civilians. As Article 28 of the Fourth Geneva Convention makes clear, the presence of civilians ‘may not be used to render certain points or areas immune from military operations.’ The article also makes Palestinian attempts to use civilian shields unlawful. “

All of the accusations made against Israel to date have come from organizations with a long history of an anti-Israeli bias. These include Arab sources, the United Nations, and the International Committee of the Red Cross. The U.N., in particular, stands accused of conducting a diplomatic and political war against Israel in an editorial published in last Thursday’s New York Daily News by Anne Bayefsky of Eye On The U.N. Ms. Bayefsky believes that the 63 “Islamic [states] chokehold on the UN” leaves the organization incapable of even defining terrorism. She points to all the various condemnations of Israel and notes that the General Assembly has never found fault with other nations even in clear cases of genocide.

“The same Assembly never managed to hold a single emergency session on the 800,000 people who died in the Rwandan genocide, or the 3 million who are dead or displaced in Sudan.”

A former President of the International Committee of the Red Cross once equated the Jewish Star of David with the Nazi swastika. Enough said.

Unfortunately much of the international media seems to share the anti-Israel agenda and serve as willing accomplices in the attempt to strip Israel of any ability to defend itself. Consequently I expect the Global Law Center report will get little or no media coverage. Both the organizations making the war crime changes against Israel and many in the media count on the fact that most people just aren’t educated about international law or what it really has to say. We can’t have the truth actually get out to people, can we? Rather the media assumes that a lie, repeated enough times, will become the truth.

The weather outside is promising for a rally today. It’s cold, mighty cold, where the air streaks around violently cutting into our bodies like sharp, stinging daggers. The hairs on our bodies are on end waiting for us to make contact with the hot gusts when we walk into our local corner store. So after we take that cup of coffee and egg/cheese sandwich to go, run out to the cold to meet the crowd and start chanting, Hell No We Won’t Go!

I think we are all well aware of the recent developments in southern Israel/Gaza. The Israeli government, under the commend of Defense Minister Ehud Barak, has decided to target terrorists who belong to the Hamas group in the Gaza Strip. This means that the Israeli Army, the IDF, has launched a counter attack due to the breakdown of the so-called ceasefire. First of all there was no ceasefire, Hamas decided to quiet itself in order to restock their vital goods, weapons of destruction and murder. On the second to last day of Channukah they decided to break that silence and launch around 80 rockets and mortars into Israel.

The response was due to this straw that broke the Israeli camel’s back. Because of this massive attack on Israeli civilians the government and military echelon have decided to hit these strategic targets. These targets are places where Hamas leaders sit and plan attacks on innocent civilians. They are also targeting the tunnels where most of these weapons come in, unhindered by the nascent Egyptian guards.

The recent attacks are rather proportionate because they are trying to stymie the outlets of which Hamas uses to bring in weapons of death and instruments of horror. I think we should all check the facts because the western world, excluding the U.S., has pounced on Israel while giving Hamas a flaccid reprieve. Check the facts and put yourself in civilian shoes because at least Palestinian civilians don’t have to fear Israeli attacks but the opposite is never the case. Why don’t the Palestinians do anything to break Hamas’s hold on them and the Gaza Strip? Because they are afraid to speak out because in Gaza you get shot for voicing opposition, in Israel you end up on the front page of the Jerusalem Post.

So lets go the rallies and pump our fists in the air and with the eggs and coffee on our breaths we can firmly say that this hate mongering and manipulation has to end. Israel has to be determined not to blink and stand it’s ground because there are plenty of people who agree that Hamas is nothing but a band of killers. So remember, you can’t make an omelet without breaking some eggs.

Today the U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passed a bipartisan resolution supporting Israel’s right to defend itself against the ongoing rocket attacks from Gaza. The resolution was cosponsored by the normally unlikely duo of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell.

Senator Reid (D-NV) stated that the resolution would :

“…”strengthen our historic bond with the State of Israel by reaffirming Israel’s inalienable right to defend against attacks from Gaza, as well as our support for the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.”

Senator McConnell (R-KY) made perhaps the strongest statement about why the United States continues to back the Israeli military action in Gaza, saying that Israel

“…responding exactly the same way [the US] would if rockets were being launched into the United States from Canada or Mexico.”

This is a perfect example of why I love the United States. The U.S., like Europe, has strong commercial interests in the Arab world, not to mention U.S. soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. It would be expedient to criticize Israel to protect those perhaps larger interests in the Muslim world. The U.S., unlike Europe, rarely if ever does that. There is an understanding of the history involved and a moral clarity that transcends the almighty dollar or partisan politics. There is a certain dishonesty in those who would condemn Israel and yet would demand action much like that taken by Israel if their own nations and families were under fire.

Sadly this reolution by the U.S. Senate today received little or no coverage in the American media. I had to go to the Jerusalem Post to find the story.

UPDATE: The Senate resolution actually passed unanimously, as did an identical resolution in the House of Representatives.  Every single U.S. member of Congress, without exception, voted to support Israel.

Last July President-elect Barack Obama visited Sderot, the Israeli town which has suffered most from Hamas rocket attacks eminating from Gaza. His words then were clear and unequivocal:

“If somebody was sending rockets into my house where my two daughters sleep at night, I’m going to do everything in my power to stop that. And I would expect Israelis to do the same thing.

In terms of negotiations with Hamas, it is very hard to negotiate with a group that is not representative of a nation state, does not recognize your right to exist, has consistently used terror as a weapon, and is deeply influenced by other countries.”

President Bush has been equally clear. On Monday he spoke about the current fighting:

“The situation now taking place in Gaza was caused by Hamas. Instead of caring about the people of Gaza, Hamas decided to use Gaza to launch rockets to kill innocent Israelis. Israel’s obviously decided to protect herself and her people.”

Democratic leaders in Congress have been almost uniformly taking exactly the same position. This is perhaps the one and only issue in American politics today where there is no partisan divide. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) has been a particularly forceful voice:

“Israel is acting in clear self-defense in response to heinous rocket attacks from Hamas-controlled Gaza. As a sovereign nation, Israel has an unequivocal right to take action to ensure the security and safety of her citizens. Indiscriminate attacks by Hamas are a serious detriment to the peace process in the region.”

There are very few, even among Israel’s harshest critics, who would deny the fact that the current crisis was started by unprovoked rocket attacks on Israel by Hamas. They, however, ignore this issue, reciting tired old lines about Palestinian grievances against Israel to justify Hamas terrorism and decry “Israeli aggression”. The usual suspects on the far left and in the international media highlight Palestinian deaths and show us pictures of crying Palestinian children to tug at the heartstrings and turn public opinion against Israel. Outside the United States and Canada they have largely succeeded.

Maintream American media, thankfully, has been more balanced. CNN’s Anderson Cooper showed the same disturbing images from Gaza but followed them with photos of Hamas rockets and destruction in southern Israel. PBS program “The News Hour With Jim Lehrer” has, as always, shown both sides of the conflict. This seems to me to be the main reason why American public opinion is so different from that in the rest of the world. Americans have all the facts at their disposal, something those who rely on more biased media simply do not have.

The most interesting reaction has been from the Arab world. Oh, the streets and most media outlets have been denouncing Israel steadily, using extreme language and exaggeration together with graphic images to stoke passions against the Jewish state. This is to be expected. Every Israeli action is a new “genocide” or “holocaust”. Those words have been so cheapened in that part of the world that they have almost lost any meaning, a tragedy in and of itself.

The reaction from Arab leaders has been far more muted for good reason. Moderate, mainly Sunni Arab leaders know that Hamas is their enemy as well and a proxy for Iran. Douglas Bloomfield, writing in the Jerusalem Post, calls these leaders “Israel’s reluctant allies:”

From this tendency of Arab leaders to speak out of both sides of their mouths, one might get the impression that they suffer from a collective case of schizophrenia, but it’s actually fear mixed with hypocrisy.

None of these dictators is a candidate for the next edition of Profiles in Courage. They are scared of the influence of the militant Islamists and the popularity of the Palestinian cause on the Arab street. Iran and its allies have focused on creating animosity to the entrenched and repressive Sunni regimes which, in the age of satellites and the Internet, can no longer turn public emotions on and off like a water tap.

That’s why they are praying so hard for an Israeli victory.

Defeating Hamas now will certainly result in a tragic loss of life. Many innocent people, the majority of them Palestinians, will certainly die. However, it is time that the bleeding hearts on the left in both North America and Europe realize that dislodging Hamas now will prevent repeats of this war and bloodshed in the future and might, just maybe, revive some slim hope for peace in the future. In the long run letting Israel finish what it has started will save lives. My biggest fear is that world leaders, including American leaders, will allow images from Gaza and public sentiment to sway them into pressuring Israel to end the conflict prematurely.

I also ask those who only mourn Palestinian casualties to think about President-elect Obama’s words. What would you want your government to do if missiles were raining down on your home and your family? Can any of you honestly say that you wouldn’t want your government to do anything and everything necessary to stop the rockets and save your family?