The Blonde Zionist Jewish Chick's Israel Blog

Explore Your Religious Heritage and Spiritual History With Elite Tour Club

2011-09-28T08:16:00.000-07:00

Luxury Religious Tours From Elite Tour Club

Anyone can go on holiday, take a well-earned vacation, travel to exotic places and see the sights. But perhaps you’re looking for more this year; something more life-changing?

At Elite Tour Club, we’ve formulated four new luxury travel experiences to choose from. All will find you amid the world’s most holy places, and in lands steeped in religious heritage and spiritual history.

Whether you are Jewish, Christian or Muslim, or are fascinated by the history of the great faiths, our religious tours in the Middle East and North Africa will fire your imagination and move you closer to spirituality.

Jerusalem and Bethlehem are ultimate pilgrimage cities, and form part of our Christian Heritage Tour (8 days/7 nights) and Jewish Heritage Tour (12 days/11 nights). Jerusalem’s revered ‘Haram esh-Sharif’ or ‘Western Wall’ is the city’s oldest surviving structure and is a sturdy feature of our Jewish Heritage Tour.Another ancient and significant site is the Church of the Nativity, which is said to have been saved from destruction in 614 AD, because its ‘Magi icons’ — ‘Persia-admiring graphics’ — cooled the tempers of invading Persian hordes who descended on Bethlehem. So thankfully, this marker of the birthplace of Jesus of Nazareth stands glorious and is considered to be the oldest church in the Holy Land.

Our Jewish Heritage Tour includes a walk among the ruins of Caesarea Maritima, the ancient port city that King Herod the Great named in honour of the Roman enforcer, Caesar Augustus. The city was in ruins by the nineteenth century when, in 1884, it began to flourish as a fishing village extending from the stones of the Crusader fort. Back in 22 BC, Herod the Great established its first harbour and erected Temples to Rome and Augustus, and Caesarea Maritima became a famous arena for Olympian sports, gladiatorial contests and theatrical extravaganzas beside the sparkling Mediterranean.

At Elite Tour Club, we believe we’ve planned our The Route of the Holy Family travel experience (9 days/8 nights) in the most impactful way. It focuses particularly on Egypt as a sanctuary for the Holy Family. You will trace their hurried steps to escape King Herod’s cull of male babies — his desperate attempt to cease breaking-news of a newborn Messiah.

Our Muslim Heritage Tour (9 days/8 nights) will lead you through the old Cairo mosques of Al Azhar, Imam El Hussein, Saida Zeineb, Imam El Shafi and Saida Nafisa. And among Damascus’ 2,000 mosques, you’ll visit Umayyad Mosque. Completed in 715 AD, it is thought to be the oldest place of continuous prayer since the ascent of Islam. Umayyad is also one of the world’s largest mosques, and the mausoleum of Salah ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub lies within its walls.

Whichever of our 5-star-accommodation Religious Tours you decide to join, Elite Tour Club consultants will happily include visits to additional churches, synagogues and mosques. All will welcome your attendance at their services.

To book a set itinerary, or create your own tailor made luxury tour, call us on 0800 619 3450 or email tours@elitetourclub.com and out travel consultants will be happy to help.

Elite Tour Club's Luxury Jewish Heritage Tour in Israel

2011-09-22T04:13:00.000-07:00

Tel Aviv by night with Elite Tour Club

The Jewish Holidays are drawing near once more, a time of reflection for Jews worldwide. If you have never visited Israel and always wanted to, Elite Tour Club can make this dream a reality.

Elite Tour Club is a luxury travel company recently launched in the UK. With many years of experience of running tours in the Middle East, we offer tours for those who are keen to explore their religious heritage.

Are you one of many in the world’s Jewish community who has yet to make it to the Middle East? Perhaps it’s fallen short as a personal Promised Land, but do you still revere Israel as the centre of Jewish culture? Do you love travel that combines luxurious accommodation and a high level of service with extensive interaction with the history, culture and people of the places you visit? If so, then at Elite Tour Club, we’ve got the absolutely essential Jewish Heritage Tour for you!

Throughout your twelve days of luxurious touring, you will be immersed in history. You’ll also gain experience of the dynamic ways Israelis live and thrive today. You’ll feel the nation’s pulse; its breathtaking diversity and complexity. At last here is Israel for real; a fertile land of innovation, creativity and adaptability.

As if you need reminding, the Hebrew Bible, the Talmud, the New Testament and the Koran tell us that Jacob was a patriarch of the Hebrew people with whom God made a covenant. Before the birth of his son Benjamin, Jacob was renamed "Israel" by an angel, and thereafter the tribes of Israel were named after Jacob’s/Israel’s descendants. Jacob’s "Israel" name was given to mean ‘God contended’; ‘persevere with God’; ‘God rules’, or ‘God judges’. Jacob passed God’s message to his twelve sons, who eventually headed the ‘Twelve Tribes of Israel’ — the ‘Israelites’ of antiquity — and by extension; the Jewish people.

The wondrous land of Israel is your Jewish Heritage. But so is her coral marine life; culture and adventure; 5-star accommodation and sophistication, history and haute cuisine.

Your Jewish Heritage Tour begins in sparkling Mediterranean Tel Aviv, and transforms your locale to the Roman city and Crusader fortress of Caesarea. Next it’s onwards to Haifa, Acre and Rosh Hanikra Kibbutz; then to Safed; a climb of the Golan Heights, a look around Upper Galilee. And — before you tread the paths of Old Jerusalem — feel at home in Beit She’an, Beit Alpha and Gan Hashlosha.

Your ultimate pilgrimage to Israel doesn’t end until after a dramatic Judaean Desert-drive to the Dead Sea. You’ll visit the Qumran caves of ‘Dead Sea Scroll’ renown. Finally, peacefully reflect upon Masada’s plateau-top palaces and fortifications. Here, Roman thuggery caused the tragic mass-suicide of the Sicarii rebels.

Bauhaus architecture-filled Tel Aviv is a tour-opener like no other. In 1909, sand dunes outside the 8,000-year-old port city of Jaffa were requisitioned to site the then futuristic garden city. In vivid contrast, here is Caesarea Maritima, the ancient city that King Herod the Great named to honour his Roman enforcer, Caesar Augustus.

Below the foothills of Mount Carmel, the major seaport of Haifa is the third-largest city in Israel. At the northern extremity of Haifa Bay, you’ll stroll in Acre — one of the country’s oldest places of continuous habitation. You can never leave Israel without spending some time in a kibbutz, and we use Rosh HaNikra’s, which was established in 1949 by demobbed Palmachs, Zionist youth and young Holocaust-survivors.

Known as the ‘Western Wall’, Elite Tour Club’s guides will explain the history around the ancient stones in Jerusalem and take you on a journey of discovery of the richness and depth of your Jewish Heritage. Even if you are of another faith, this tour of Israel is enjoyable, informative and luxurious as you would expect from Elite Tour Club.

Visit our website and see more details of our Jewish Heritage Tour here: http://www.elitetourclub.com/israel/jewish_heritage_tour.htm or call our travel consultants on 0800 619 3450. They will be happy to personalise this trip for you and tell you more about out tailor made tours.

Israel Palestinian Conflict: The Truth About the Peace Process

2011-09-14T13:25:00.000-07:00

Israel: A Meditation

2011-04-22T07:56:00.000-07:00

Israel,
You are my people.
You are my heart and you are my hope.
We waited together at the mountain
When G-d revealed the Holy Word.
We wandered together through the desert
On the path to sacred soil.
We watched the sea part.
We heard the heavens roar.
We stood at the doorway to freedom,
At the border of a Promised Land.

Israel,
You are my destiny.
You are my joy and you are my truth.
We were victorious at Jericho,
Unyielding at Masada.
We defied empires
For Torah.
We defied kings
For justice and freedom.
We’ve traveled the earth,
Wandered the millennia,
Refugees of the ages,
Homeless and hopeful,
Waiting to return
To native ground.

Israel,
You are my brother in history,
My sister in fortune,
The mother of my spirit,
The father of my heart,
The child of my longing,
And the light of generations.
To you I pledge my right arm
And my voice in song.
To you I pledge my soul.
To you I pledge my spirit.

Israel,
You are my nation.
You are my inheritance.
You are my home.

Israel, The Good Enemy - QUDOSI CHRONICLES

2011-01-07T07:06:00.000-08:00

Israel’s relationship to the Palestinians has always been globally approached with standardized heavy criticism made to Israel. The main charges waved in Israel’s face have always been “the Disapropriate use of force” and “discrimination”.

Israel’s critics, either willingly or out of ignorance, choose to overlook the way many Arab countries mistreat Palestinians. Some Arab countries are almost never blamed for what they have been doing to the Palestinians for decades. Such selective recognition of facts by Israel’s critics is bizarre when weighed by truth instead of myths.

In December of 2008, Israel launched operation “cast lead” against Hamas which was launching rockets on Southern Israel on a daily basis. This operation has resulted in the death of more than 1,400 Palestinians, many said to be civilians; an absolute tragedy, nonetheless, those criticizing Israel fail to recognize that the number of causalities is small comparing to Gaza’s population of 1.5 million, considering the high density of Gaza’s population per square kilometre, the number suggests the Israeli forces were very cautious in carrying out their attacks, despite the fact that they were chasing a moving target, Hamas militants. If Israeli forces were targeting Palestinian civilians, the number of the dead would have reached tens of thousands.

On comparison; in 1976, Lebanese militiamen butchered 2,000 Palestinians; almost wiping out the entire population of Tell al-Zaatar refugee camp within days. This was revisited again in 1982 in Sabra and Shatelah massacre; where, in less than four days, Lebanese militiamen killed thousands of women and children who posed no threat as most Palestinian fighters had left then to Tunisia. Two years ago, al-Jazeera satellite network aired rare footage of Palestinians running to Israeli soldiers for refuge from the massacre.

Furthermore, most Arab atrocities against Palestinians have included documented rape cases, even of children, while not a single rape case has been reported against Israeli forces in more than sixty years of operations.

Arab governments’ oppression of the Palestinians does not stop at bloodshed and wholesale slaughters, in fact the more troubling aspects of the way they treat Palestinians is in the systematic long-range exclusion and discrimination. In Arab countries where Palestinians make up a good percentage of the population; they are depraved of all basic necessities, starting with education, down to basic healthcare. Even at countries that have granted the Palestinians citizenships; the Palestinians stand helpless and banned from every potential to improve their livelihoods.

Israel, on the other hand, has always allowed Palestinians to work there and to get paid in Western standards, and even had allowed them generous access to healthcare. In fact, Israel has also welcomed Palestinians as visitors, patients and even as investors, this generosity was only limited when Hamas started bombing Israeli civilians with no signs of an end in sight.

The complexity Israel has with Palestinians revolves around security rather than ideological issues; Israel does not have an aim to enslave the Palestinians for life or purposely degrade their humanity. While many Arab countries have designed their systems to discriminate and humiliate the Palestinians, squeezing them into illiteracy and poverty while milking them for tax money.

This has become most visible recently with calls in some Arab countries to revoke citizenships of all Palestinians there and actually to force them to seek local guarantors to obtain residency, thus enslaving them for life.

This comes as a deeper shock for Palestinians when they see Israeli Arabs, with many of them describing themselves as “Palestinians in Israel”; those are full citizens of Israel with access to all privileges. Israeli Arabs are fully represented inside the Knesset while Palestinians, in their Arab homeland, are allowed only symbolic presence in parliaments, even at countries where they are the majority. And while some Arab countries selectively withdraw citizenships from Palestinians, many Arab Knesset members do not hesitate to speak against Israel with no fear of losing their citizenships or entitlements.

Still, while the world is most vocal about Israeli military operations, it fails to recognize that Israel has been dealing with non-stop unrest on its soil since the breakout of the Intifada in 1987. Has that Intifada taken place in any Arab country; it would have ended within the first couple of weeks with an Arab army killing more than ten thousands Palestinians, most being civilians. Examples of this are countless and in all Arab countries hosting Palestinians; yet the world seems to think this reality is too overrated to recognize.

Today, with peace negotiations up and running, some Arab governments seem to want to butcher the Palestinians again on the altar of dictatorship by worsening their living conditions and making their lives more miserable, just to secure a better negotiating position or merely a seat at the negotiations table. Not to mention that many of those actually would rather see the negotiations fail in order to keep more international aid money flowing to them for “hosting” the Palestinians.

Quoting a commentator on one of my articles; “the Palestinians, do obviously need a break from their sworn Arab friends”, and perhaps they can reconnect to them when they have learned a lesson or two from their Israeli “enemies”.

Meanwhile, the world will remain silent about the Palestinians’ suffering at the hands of some of their “brothers”, as it’s too occupied with Israel.

Mudar Zahran, Jordanian of a Palestinian heritage, is an academic who resides in the UK.

Published here first :http://qudosi.com/politics/64-mid-east--south-asia/932-israel-the-good-enemy#

David Horowitz TV - Pastor John Hagee

2010-12-06T15:39:00.000-08:00

Scapegoating Israel is not the answer. This is superb. Please watch and pass on.

Click to play

(RW Hagee) David Horowitz's Restoration Weekend. Palm Beach, FL November 19, 2010

The mote in the eye of Israel

2010-12-02T01:54:00.000-08:00

http://www.mg.co.za/article/2010-12-01-letters-to-the-editor-november-26-2010

Letters to the Editor: November 26 2010

The mote in the eye of Israel

I fled my native South Africa in the 1980s, being opposed to apartheid as an ordained minister. Now, after living for many years in Israel, where I have been deeply engaged in matters related to the Israeli-Arab conflict, I was amazed that Edwin Arrison ("Palestinian Christians redefine narrative", November 12) could blur the line between fact and fiction.

Arrison says Christian tourism to Israel is Israel centric to the detriment of Palestinians. But anyone familiar with the industry here knows that most pilgrimage tours to the Holy Land are whirlwind visits to biblical sites, ignoring the "locals", both Arab and Jewish. Some of the biggest tour companies are owned by Christian Arabs; those owned by Jews often assign guides who sympathise with the Palestinian cause.

I organise Israel's biggest annual tourism event, an eight-day gathering that brings thousands of evangelical Christians from more than 100 nations to Jerusalem. We also bring Christians to Israel throughout the year, so we know something about this market.

We, too, are concerned about the disconnect between most pilgrimage tours and Christians in Israel. So, at our annual event, we introduce our participants to Palestinian and Israeli Arab Christian leaders and arrange bus tours to their communities.

Arrison expresses concern for Palestinian Christians but ignores the fact that they are persecuted by their Arab Muslim neighbours. Last year in Gaza a Muslim gang lynched the director of the local Bible Society and has yet to be held accountable.

Two-thirds of native Arab Christians fled the Palestinian areas in the past six decades, most before the Israeli "occupation" began. Israel is the only country in the Middle East whose Christian population has grown in the past half-century.

Arrison writes that Jesus is on the side of the weak. He implies by this that Israel is their oppressor. I travel all through Israel and the Palestinian Authority and have yet to see the poverty levels one witnesses in South Africa. It appears that you have a bigger problem on your doorstep. Didn't Jesus say something about taking the plank out of your own eye?

In the past two decades the Muslims of northern Sudan have murdered two million Christians in the south. Many of them were even crucified. These are the weak and we have all neglected them.

There are few aid agencies there, three American evangelical aid groups and a Jewish relief organisation. What has Arrison done to help these weak Christians on his own continent?

Reverend Malcolm Hedding, executive director, International Christian Embassy, Jerusalem

Maccabeats - Happy Chanukah!

2010-11-28T09:57:00.000-08:00

History Unfolding

2010-11-24T14:24:00.000-08:00

I am a student of history. Professionally, I have written 15 books on history that have been published in six languages, and I have studied history all my life. I have come to think there is something monumentally large afoot, and I do not believe it is simply a banking crisis, or a mortgage crisis, or a credit crisis. Yes these exist, but they are merely single facets on a very large gemstone that is only now coming into a sharper focus..

Something of historic proportions is happening. I can sense it because I know how it feels, smells, what it looks like, and how people react to it. Yes, a perfect storm may be brewing, but there is something happening within our country that has been evolving for about ten to fifteen years. The pace has dramatically quickened in the past two.

We demand and then codify into law the requirement that our banks make massive loans to people we know they can never pay back? Why?

We learned just days ago that the Federal Reserve, which has little or no real oversight by anyone, has "loaned" two trillion dollars (that is $2,000,000,000,000) over the past few months, but will not tell us to whom or why or disclose the terms. That is our money. Yours and mine. And that is three times the $700 billion we all argued about so strenuously just this past September. Who has this money? Why do they have it? Why are the terms unavailable to us? Who asked for it? Who authorized it? I thought this was a government of "we the people," who loaned our powers to our elected leaders. Apparently not.

We have spent two or more decades intentionally de-industrializing our economy... Why?

We have intentionally dumbed down our schools, ignored our history, and no longer teach our founding documents, why we are exceptional, and why we are worth preserving. Students by and large cannot write, think critically, read, or articulate. Parents are not revolting, teachers are not picketing, school boards continue to back mediocrity. Why?

We have now established the precedent of protesting every close election (violently in California over a proposition that is so controversial that it simply wants marriage to remain defined as between one man and one woman. Did you ever think such a thing possible just a decade ago?) We have corrupted our sacred political process by allowing unelected judges to write laws that radically change our way of life, and then mainstream Marxist groups like ACORN and others to turn our voting system into a banana republic. To what purpose?

Now our mortgage industry is collapsing, housing prices are in free fall, major industries are failing, our banking system is on the verge of collapse, social security is nearly bankrupt, as is Medicare and our entire government. Our education system is worse than a joke (I teach college and I know precisely what I am talking about) - the list is staggering in its length, breadth, and depth.. It is potentially 1929 x ten...And we are at war with an enemy we cannot even name for fear of offending people of the same religion, who, in turn, cannot wait to slit the throats of your children if they have the opportunity to do so.

And finally, we have elected a man that no one really knows anything about, who has never run so much as a Dairy Queen, let alone a town as big as Wasilla , Alaska .. All of his associations and alliances are with real radicals in their chosen fields of employment, and everything we learn about him, drip by drip, is unsettling if not downright scary (Surely you have heard him speak about his idea to create and fund a mandatory civilian defense force stronger than our military for use inside our borders? No? Oh, of course. The media would never play that for you over and over and then demand he answer it. Sarah Palin's pregnant daughter and $150,000 wardrobe are more important.)

Mr. Obama's winning platform can be boiled down to one word: Change. Why?

I have never been so afraid for my country and for my children as I am now.

This man campaigned on bringing people together, something he has never, ever done in his professional life. In my assessment, Obama will divide us along philosophical lines, push us apart, and then try to realign the pieces into a new and different power structure. Change is indeed coming. And when it comes, you will never see the same nation again.

And that is only the beginning..

As a serious student of history, I thought I would never come to experience what the ordinary, moral German must have felt in the mid-1930s In those times, the "savior" was a former smooth-talking rabble-rouser from the streets, about whom the average German knew next to nothing. What they should have known was that he was associated with groups that shouted, shoved, and pushed around people with whom they disagreed; he edged his way onto the political stage through great oratory. Conservative "losers" read it right now.

And there were the promises. Economic times were tough, people were losing jobs, and he was a great speaker. And he smiled and frowned and waved a lot. And people, even newspapers, were afraid to speak out for fear that his "brown shirts" would bully and beat them into submission. Which they did - regularly. And then, he was duly elected to office, while a full-throttled economic crisis bloomed at hand - the Great Depression. Slowly, but surely he seized the controls of government power, person by person, department by department, bureaucracy by bureaucracy. The children of German citizens were at first, encouraged to join a Youth Movement in his name where they were taught exactly what to think. Later, they were required to do so. No Jews of course,

How did he get people on his side? He did it by promising jobs to the jobless, money to the money-less, and rewards for the military-industrial complex. He did it by indoctrinating the children, advocating gun control, health care for all, better wages, better jobs, and promising to re-instill pride once again in the country, across Europe , and across the world. He did it with a compliant media - did you know that? And he did this all in the name of justice and .... . ... change. And the people surely got what they voted for.

If you think I am exaggerating, look it up. It's all there in the history books.

So read your history books. Many people of conscience objected in 1933 and were shouted down, called names, laughed at, and ridiculed. When Winston Churchill pointed out the obvious in the late 1930s while seated in the House of Lordsin England (he was not yet Prime Minister), he was booed into his seat and called a crazy troublemaker. He was right, though. And the world came to regret that he was not listened to.

Do not forget that Germany was the most educated, the most cultured country in Europe . It was full of music, art, museums, hospitals, laboratories, and universities. And yet, in less than six years (a shorter time span than just two terms of the U. S. presidency) it was rounding up its own citizens, killing others, abrogating its laws, turning children against parents, and neighbors against neighbors.. All with the best of intentions, of course.. The road to Hell is paved with them.

As a practical thinker, one not overly prone to emotional decisions, I have a choice: I can either believe what the objective pieces of evidence tell me (even if they make me cringe with disgust); I can believe what history is shouting to me from across the chasm of seven decades; or I can hope I am wrong by closing my eyes, having another latte, and ignoring what is transpiring around me..

I choose to believe the evidence. No doubt some people will scoff at me, others laugh, or think I am foolish, naive, or both. To some degree, perhaps I am. But I have never been afraid to look people in the eye and tell them exactly what I believe-and why I believe it.

I pray I am wrong. I do not think I am. Perhaps the only hope is our vote in the next elections.

Dr David Kaiser

Jamestown , Rhode Island

United State

Find Dr Kaiser's blog at http://historyunfolding.blogspot.com/

Prager University - The Middle East Problem

2010-11-22T12:48:00.000-08:00

The Situation in Gaza!

2010-10-25T08:03:00.000-07:00

Whether you are an Obama fan, or not, EVERYONE IN THE U.S. Needs to know....

2010-10-25T07:55:00.000-07:00

I am not an American, but this is outrageous!

HB 1388  PASSED

You just  spent $20,000,000 to move members/supporters of  Hamas, a terrorist

organization, to the United  States; housing, food, transportation, the

whole enchilada.

HB  1388 PASSED

Whether you are an Obama fan, or not, EVERYONE IN  THE U.S. Needs to

know....

 H.R. 1388 was passed, behind our backs.  You may want to read about it...

It wasn't mentioned on the news... Just went by on the ticker tape at the

bottom of the CNN screen.

 Obama funds $20M in tax payer dollars to immigrate Hamas Refugees to the USA .

This is the news that did not, and will not, make the headlines...

 By  executive order, President Barack Obama has ordered the expenditure of

$20.3 million in "migration assistance" to the Palestinian refugees and

"conflict victims" in Gaza .

The "presidential determination" (ain't that nice?) which allows hundreds of

thousands of Palestinians with ties to Hamas to resettle in the United States,

was signed and appears in the Federal Register.

Few on Capitol Hill, or in the media, took note that the order provides a

free ticket replete with housing, transportation and food allowances to

individuals who have displayed their overwhelming support to the Islamic

Resistance Movement (Hamas) in the parliamentary election of January 2006.

Now we learn that he is allowing thousands of Palestinian refuges to move

to, and live in, the US at American taxpayer expense.

These important, and insightful, issues are being "lost" in the blinding

bail-outs and "stimulation" packages.

 Doubtful? To verify this for yourself:

            click >

www.thefederalregister.com/d.p/2009-02-04-E9-2488

 YOU MUST PASS THIS ON...    AMERICA NEEDS TO  KNOW...

You want to see real Apartheid?

2010-10-17T03:50:00.000-07:00

I conducted a Socratic thought-interview to find out. Everything Mahmoud Abbas says below reflects a position he has taken recently.

FresnoZionism: Hello, Dr. Abbas. Thank you for agreeing to this fictitious interview.

Mahmoud Abbas: You’re welcome. Anything to advance the cause of peace.

FZ: Mr. Abbas, why won’t you allow Israelis to live in ‘Palestine’?

MA: Obviously because Palestine is the nation-state of the Palestinian People. That means that only Palestinians can live there.

FZ: So is Israel the nation-state of the Jewish People?

MA: No, there is no Jewish people, only a Jewish religion.

FZ: But if there were a state belonging to the Jewish People, then Palestinians couldn’t live there?

MA: There can’t be, because there isn’t a Jewish people.

FZ: But Israel today considers itself a Jewish state. And yet it allows Arabs to live there, and even vote…

MA: It’s not my job to say what Israel is. But those Arabs that you mention are Palestinians, and of course they can live there. It’s their land.

FZ: So what will happen if there is peace?

MA: The Israelis living in Palestine will have to leave, for one thing.

FZ: What if there is an Arab citizen of Israel living in Ramallah, for example. He’s an Israeli. Will he have to leave too?

MA: No, of course not. He is an Arab Palestinian.

FZ: So what you really meant to say in the quotation on the poster is that Jews will not be allowed to live in Palestine?

MA: You said it, not me.

FZ: What else will happen if there is peace?

MA: All the Palestinians in the world will have the right to return to their homes, in Haifa, Acco, Yafo, wherever.

FZ: Even if they never set foot in those places?

MA: Of course. If they are a member of the Palestinian People, they have a right to live in Palestine.

FZ: What makes them members of a people, if they’ve never lived in Palestine?

MA: It’s enough to have a Palestinian father.

FZ: So why isn’t someone with a Jewish mother a member of the Jewish people?

MA: I told you: there isn’t a Jewish people, only a religion.

FZ: When did the Palestinian people first come to Palestine?

MA: They’ve always been there.

FZ: What about the Egyptians that moved to the region in the 1830′s? Or the Arabs that immigrated during the Mandate period, because of the improved economy created by the Zionists? Or the Syrian Arabs who came from the Hauran region during the drought of 1932-34?

MA: If they lived in Palestine and were Arabs, then they are Palestinians.

FZ: Hmm… if a dog is yours and the dog is a mother, is it your mother? And are your brothers puppies?

MA: What?

FZ: Never mind, it’s an in-joke for philosophy students (quiz: in what dialogue of Plato is this found?). So can Jews be Palestinians?

MA: Of course not!

FZ: But during the mandate period and before, Jews living here were called ‘Palestinians’. And nobody talked about a Palestinian People until about 1967. Before that, they were Palestinian Arabs, just like the Palestinian Jews.

MA: Only Arabs are Palestinians. Jews are European colonialists squatting on Arab land.

FZ: But about half the Jews in Israel didn’t come from Europe. They were kicked out of Arab countries. Take the Syrian Jews, for example…

MA: Well, they are colonialists, too. If they’re Jews, that is.

FZ: So Syrian Arabs can be Palestinians and a member of a people, but Syrian Jews cannot?

MA: Jews aren’t people…er, I mean, Jews aren’t a people.

FZ: Speaking of refugees, there were more Jewish refugees from Arab countries than there were Arab refugees from the War of Independence. Shouldn’t they get compensation?

MA: It wasn’t a war of independence, it was a nakba. The Jewish refugees mostly went to the Zionist entity. The Arab refugees still live in horrible camps.

FZ: And why is that? OK, never mind. Let’s get back on track. When there is peace, the Jewish settlers will have to leave ‘Palestine’. What about the Arab settlers in Israel, like those in the settlement of Umm-El-Faham? Will they have to leave?

MA: No, of course not. They are Palestinians and have the right to live anywhere in Palestine, even in the Zionist entity.

FZ: So, we have ‘Palestine’ where there are no Jews allowed, and Israel where both Jews and Arabs can live. But Israel will not be a Jewish state, because there isn’t a Jewish people. Anyway, all 4-5 million Arabs who claim refugee status will have a right to ‘return to their homes’ in Israel, giving it an Arab majority. Isn’t that a little, er, unfair?

MA: Unfair? Of course not! It’s a two-state solution.

Originally posted at http://fresnozionism.org/2010/10/socrates-meets-mahmoud-abbas/

Poster by http://elderofziyon.blogspot.com/2010/09/abbas-poster.html

Art and Courage

2010-09-26T12:20:00.000-07:00

This afternoon thanks to an event for BLESMA and the Shalom Foundation, organised by the Zionist Federation, I was lucky enough to witness brilliance and to listen to a man who is a brave enough to say what others dare not.

The event was a live sitting for sculptor Frances Segelman and her subject was Colonel Richard Kemp.

Frances has a talent like nothing I have seen for a long time. Nimble fingers dabbing and kneading bits of clay to create an ear, a nose, lips, all with incredible accuracy and speed. A joy to watch. She has sculpted many a celebrity, including the Queen. But her subject today is one I personally am in awe of.

Colonel Richard Kemp is one of the few Englishmen who has the courage to speak up and support Israel and the IDF in the wake of continuing British apathy, anti-Semitism and/or fear of upsetting radical Muslims by telling it as it is.

The Colonel spoke of the reluctance of the UK Government to speak about the success that many brave British servicemen and women are having against the Taliban in Afghansitan. He spoke of the risks that these often very young men and women take to avoid mines and suicide bombers, often leading to loss of limbs and other horrific mutilation. He spoke of the parallels of the danger faced by the IDF in Lebanon and Gaza - and how Israel is seen so differently to the UK and the US even though the war is against the same enemies.

There is an huge amount of ignorance about why British and American troops are in Afghanistan and why they were and are in Iraq. Letting the Taliban win is not an option if the West is going to be safe, yet our Government remains reluctant to upset those who create the terror threat.

Colonel Kemp discussed the way the enemy works, using civilian targets and child suicide bombers and coercing the servicemen to fire at civilians. Yet while resulting deaths of civilians would be seen as an unfortunate tragedy for the UK or the US, Israel is seen as a war criminal automatically.

It's time to hear our Government speak out and make a stand. Radical Islam does not fight a fair war. If the average Brtitsh citizen has forgotten 7/7 and feels this war is not about them, it's time the media helped us see differently.

As an Englishwoman and a Jewess I have huge respect for Colonel Kemp and wish there were more like him.

The war on terror is a war on behalf of everyone who values their freedom and liberty.

It's a war we cannot afford to ignore.

For more from the Zionist Federation go to https://www.zionist.org.uk

Ernie Stables, himself an active serviceman for over thirty years, now works with BLESMA, the charity for British servicemen and women who have lost a limb. To find out more about BLESMA go to http://www.blesma.org

Colonel Richard Kemp CBE

Colonel Richard Justin Kemp CBE (born 14 April 1959) served in the British Army from 1977 to 2006. He was Commander of British Forces in Afghanistan, an infantry battalion Commanding Officer, worked for the Joint Intelligence Committee and COBR and completed 14 operational tours of duty around the globe.

After retiring from the army, Kemp turned to writing. His first book, Attack State Red is an account of the 2007 campaign undertaken by the Royal Anglian Regiment, documenting their initial deployment and trials in Afghanistan. Attack State Red was listed as a bestseller in the Sunday Times,two weeks after initial release.

Frances Segelman

Born in Yorkshire and now living in London, Frances Segelman has become one of the most successful professional sculptors in Britain. Often working in front of an audience, Frances is a fast and naturally creative sculptor.

Frances is an established sculptor of personalities from the world of entertainment, politics and sport, whose recent clients include Her Majesty The Queen, H.R.H The Duke of Edinburgh, Sven Goran Eriksson, Jack Rosenthal, Terry Venables , Clive Anderson, Bob Wilson, John Profumo CBE and Sir David Frost.

But my Brother, if we must fall, may it be for Israel.

2010-09-19T15:26:00.000-07:00

It’s a new year. 5771 has begun and all of us hope it will be a year of joy and happiness. Yet for Israel there is still turmoil and the knowledge that attack from those who are hostile could be at any time.

I don’t feel any safer here in the UK. Our Rabbis spoke this Yom Kippur about the dangers, the rise in Anti-Semitism and that we cannot afford to be complacent. Europe has become a place of danger for Jews, much like it was in the 1930’s. He spoke about G-d being our only judge.

Yet people often judge each other, be it because of age, social status or whatever the issue, but the last few years of my life have taught me that one can find wisdom and great maturity in a youth and childish selfishness in one who has lived many decades. There are no rules.

There is a young man I began to speak with on Facebook when he was just 15. I was intrigued that he would want to chat with me; I have children his age. I now know he connected with me because he sensed my love for Israel and my connection to my Judaism.

This young man lives in France right now. He is highly intelligent, both emotionally and academically. But his sole aim is to go and serve Israel. I’m going to share, with his permission, some of what he wrote to me:

I know we did not chat a lot since we were friends on Facebook but here is my news. Since I told you that I wanted to become an officer of the IDF when I was only 15, I just wanted to tell you that I am training for next year, and that my step-father who was an officer of the IAF during Yom Kippur War, and who's family is entirely composed of officers of the IDF, is going to make sure I will be strong enough to be part of that great battle in which many may die. To end this little mail, here is a poem by William Morris :

"Come, join in the only battle wherein no man can fail,

Where whoso fadeth and dieth, yet his deed shall still prevail."

And here is something that my cousin wrote few days before being killed during the Lebanon War in 2006 (He was a first lieutenant):

"Oh you my Brother in pain,

Please help me to succeed

In those days of terror,

Please allow me to prove myself a man.

Oh you my Brother in arms

Let’s stand together,

United, so that death

Will no longer be a fear to us.

Oh you my Brother in life,

Please join in my prayers.

So we can go back to our mothers.

And perpetuate our humble life.

Yes, let’s hope life will triumph

In this battle against darkness.

But my Brother, if we must fall,

May it be for Israel."

I am proud to know him. He is not forced to do this he chooses it. I asked him if he minded me sharing his note to me, because I was moved to see such courage in such a young man.

He said this:

Dear Monique, I don't see any problem in sharing that note, because I want people to know the truth about our involvement in the struggle for liberty. I am going with three others young Jews to enlist in the IDF. One of them is a American Jew, another one is a half Polish Jew from Guatemala, the third one is a German Jewish, and I am half Chilean. We do not think we are doing this as an act of bravery, neither as it is an act of sacrifice. We are simply four young Jews, whose countries failed to provide them the chance of growing up and living within security.

We do not want our children to be afraid of saying "Yes, I am Jewish." because they will be stabbed. France failed in her mission. We were not born to be soldiers. My American pal wanted to be a lawyer, the Guatemalan wanted to be a doctor, and my German friend wanted to be an engineer. I simply wanted to be a history teacher in College. But now, as we walk in the street, people look at us as if we were the devil himself. Why? Because my friends look like the wandering Jew.

I look like a south American whose blood is a mixture of everything. My Grandmother was an Indian, my Dad, a Colonel from the Chilean Army. I never met him – he was put in jail after the end of General's Pinochet military regime because he committed crimes during that time. We only have one thing to share: our Jewish heritage. And now we are going to hold with love this flag of a country that only exists because some people, our brothers and sisters, made it a special place in their hearts. And this country which is all the countries of the world at the same time is named Israel and this is a truth about Israel: People from all over the world, hold a flag that some others want to snatch from them.

But Israel will live forever, since we will go forward, forward, simply forward with our flag.

Now Is All We Have

2010-08-31T11:02:00.000-07:00

Today I spoke with a friend I have not really been in contact with for years. She and I were very close but for us to move on, the only way was to part ways. It's a long story but one I don't need to share to make the point.

We met at a time in our lives when it was crucial to have the kind of support that only a girlfriend who is like your sister can bring. Both divorced, young children, many a night sharing a bottle of wine and putting the world to rights.

I have found over the years that friends who matter can be separated from you for many months, even sometimes years and still when you connect it is as though you have never been apart. This was how it was for us today.

This friend has since remarried and is living a life she always dreamed of. She has a husband who adores her and two very small children as well as her older daughter. Though it involves a lot of juggling, her Jewish family life has brought her joy and fulfilment.

She was a secular Jewish girl and now lives a Torah observant life which is feeding her soul and she loves being part of a community whose focus is family.

She contacted me because she has just found out she has cancer; not an easily treatable kind. And she is going to fight. She has everything to live for. And her reason for making sure she spoke to me was to say thank you because I introduced her to her husband and she feels like she is blessed. It was a beautiful message and if in some way I helped her find that happiness then I am happy to have helped. But I feel she made her choices herself and has worked and built her current life because of her attitude of gratitude and her amazing sense of self.

I am sure the last weeks since her diagnosis have been very hard. Many tears and much soul searching. I have nothing but admiration for what I heard today. I heard her children's noise in the background, I heard her laughter and her determined spirit that she will live to see them grow. She has found a kind of peace and will do whatever it takes. Her joy at just waking each morning and planning her day with her children makes her thankful.

We caught up on news, we laughed a little at shared memories and we did not need to pretend that the illness was not there. That is the nature of grown up friendship.

She told me that she has a plan to visit Israel in January. Her oldest daughter is about to go to Sem and they have planned to visit as a family. And that is her goal. To pray at the Kotel. To feel at home in Israel. I spoke of aliyah and she hopes to do the same and see me there.

I am not sure I could be so brave, in her sheitel! But I do know that this conversation reinforced what I feel about doing what you feel you need to and not waiting.

So today I am booking my fight to make aliyah. I cannot ask how I will make it work, I just know I will. We cannot know when or if life will give us apple and honey or lemons, but there is no choice other than to face the bitter with the sweet.

Now is all we have.

Colonel Richard Kemp talks sense about Israel's Security.

2010-08-22T08:00:00.000-07:00

Buy One!

2010-08-20T09:59:00.000-07:00

http://bit.ly/bMhfHZ

Steal This Movie

2010-08-15T12:45:00.000-07:00

By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN
Published: August 7, 2010

I just saw a remarkable new documentary directed by Shlomi Eldar, the Gaza reporter for Israel’s Channel 10 news. Titled “Precious Life,” the film tracks the story of Mohammed Abu Mustafa, a 4-month-old Palestinian baby suffering from a rare immune deficiency. Moved by the baby’s plight, Eldar helps the infant and mother go from Gaza to Israel’s Tel Hashomer hospital for lifesaving bone-marrow treatment. The operation costs $55,000. Eldar puts out an appeal on Israel TV and within hours an Israeli Jew whose own son was killed during military service donates all the money.

The documentary takes a dramatic turn, though, when the infant’s Palestinian mother, Raida, who is being disparaged by fellow Gazans for having her son treated in Israel, blurts out that she hopes he’ll grow up to be a suicide bomber to help recover Jerusalem. Raida tells Eldar: “From the smallest infant, even smaller than Mohammed, to the oldest person, we will all sacrifice ourselves for the sake of Jerusalem. We feel we have the right to it. You’re free to be angry, so be angry.”
Eldar is devastated by her declaration and stops making the film. But this is no Israeli propaganda movie. The drama of the Palestinian boy’s rescue at an Israeli hospital is juxtaposed against Israeli retaliations for shelling from Gaza, which kill whole Palestinian families. Dr. Raz Somech, the specialist who treats Mohammed as if he were his own child, is summoned for reserve duty in Gaza in the middle of the film. The race by Israelis and Palestinians to save one life is embedded in the larger routine of the two communities grinding each other up.

“It’s clear to me that the war in Gaza was justified — no country can allow itself to be fired at with Qassam rockets — but I did not see many people pained by the loss of life on the Palestinian side,” Eldar told the Israeli newspaper Haaretz. “Because we were so angry at Hamas, all the Israeli public wanted was to [expletive] Gaza. ... It wasn’t until after the incident of Dr. Abu al-Aish — the Gaza physician I spoke with on live TV immediately after a shell struck his house and caused the death of his daughters and he was shouting with grief and fear — that I discovered the [Israeli] silent majority that has compassion for people, including Palestinians. I found that many Israeli viewers shared my feelings.” So Eldar finished the documentary about how Mohammed’s life was saved in Israel.

His raw film reflects the Middle East I know — one full of amazing compassion, even among enemies, and breathtaking cruelty, even among neighbors.

I write about this now because there is something foul in the air. It is a trend, both deliberate and inadvertent, to delegitimize Israel — to turn it into a pariah state, particularly in the wake of the Gaza war. You hear the director Oliver Stone saying crazy things about how Hitler killed more Russians than Jews, but the Jews got all the attention because they dominate the news media and their lobby controls Washington. You hear Britain’s prime minister describing Gaza as a big Israeli “prison camp” and Turkey’s prime minister telling Israel’s president, “When it comes to killing, you know very well how to kill.” You see singers canceling concerts in Tel Aviv. If you just landed from Mars, you might think that Israel is the only country that has killed civilians in war — never Hamas, never Hezbollah, never Turkey, never Iran, never Syria, never America.

I’m not here to defend Israel’s bad behavior. Just the opposite. I’ve long argued that Israel’s colonial settlements in the West Bank are suicidal for Israel as a Jewish democracy. I don’t think Israel’s friends can make that point often enough or loud enough.

But there are two kinds of criticism. Constructive criticism starts by making clear: “I know what world you are living in.” I know the Middle East is a place where Sunnis massacre Shiites in Iraq, Iran kills its own voters, Syria allegedly kills the prime minister next door, Turkey hammers the Kurds, and Hamas engages in indiscriminate shelling and refuses to recognize Israel. I know all of that. But Israel’s behavior, at times, only makes matters worse — for Palestinians and Israelis. If you convey to Israelis that you understand the world they’re living in, and then criticize, they’ll listen.

Destructive criticism closes Israeli ears. It says to Israelis: There is no context that could explain your behavior, and your wrongs are so uniquely wrong that they overshadow all others. Destructive critics dismiss Gaza as an Israeli prison, without ever mentioning that had Hamas decided — after Israel unilaterally left Gaza — to turn it into Dubai rather than Tehran, Israel would have behaved differently, too. Destructive criticism only empowers the most destructive elements in Israel to argue that nothing Israel does matters, so why change?

How about everybody take a deep breath, pop a copy of “Precious Life” into your DVD players, watch this documentary about the real Middle East, and if you still want to be a critic (as I do), be a constructive one. A lot more Israelis and Palestinians will listen to you.

Canary in the Coalmine: Europe’s “Decoy Jews”

2010-08-08T14:46:00.000-07:00

Photo: Getty Images - Decoy Jew

By Paul Belien

“Decoy Jew” is a new phrase in the Netherlands. Jews are no longer safe in major Dutch cities such as Amsterdam. Since 1999, Jewish organizations in the Netherlands have been complaining that Jews who walk the Dutch streets wearing skullcaps risk verbal and physical attacks by young Muslims. Being insulted, spat at or attacked are some of the risks associated with being recognizable as a Jew in contemporary Western Europe.

Last week, a television broadcast showed how three Jews with skullcaps, two adolescents and an adult, were harassed within thirty minutes of being out in the streets of Amsterdam. Young Muslims spat at them, mocked them, shouted insults and made Nazi salutes. “Dirty Jew, go back to your own country,” a group of Moroccan youths shouted at a young indigenous Dutch Jew. “It is rather ironic,” the young man commented, adding that if one goes out in a burka one encounters less hostility than if one wears a skullcap.

In an effort to arrest the culprits who terrorize Jews, the Amsterdam authorities have ordered police officers to walk the streets disguised as Jews. The Dutch police already disguise officers as “decoy prostitutes, decoy gays and decoy grannies” to deter muggings and attacks on prostitutes, homosexuals and the elderly. Apparently sending out the decoys has helped reduce street crime. The “decoy Jew” has now been added to the police attributes.

The deployment of “decoy Jews”, however, is being criticized by leftist parties such as the Dutch Greens. Evelien van Roemburg, an Amsterdam counselor of the Green Left Party, says that using a decoy by the police amounts to provoking a crime, which is itself a criminal offence under Dutch law.

Unfortunately, the situation in Amsterdam is not unique. Jews in other Dutch cities also regularly complain about harassment. So do Jews in neighboring countries.

On Monday, the Belgian newspaper De Standaard reported that large numbers of Jews are leaving Antwerp for America, Britain or Israel. Antwerp – nicknamed the “Jerusalem of the North” – is one of the major centers of Jewish culture in the Low Countries. “In London, you are not harassed if you wear a skullcap, but here you are,” a young Antwerp Jew told the paper.

Kleinblatt, a famous Jewish Antwerp bakery, which has been handed down from father to son since 1903, will soon break with that tradition because the baker’s son has emigrated to the U.S. “We no longer feel safe and welcome here,” a young Jew who is leaving for Londontold De Standaard. “Muslim immigrants blame us for what is happening in Israel.” Another young Jew, who is leaving for New York, says: “New York is a paradise for Jews. UnlikeBelgium, non-Jews in America are pro-Israel.”

Ultra-orthodox Jews remain in Antwerp, but the less orthodox are leaving in droves. Even Jacques Wenger, the director of Shomre Hadas, the Jewish community center in Antwerp, is emigrating to Israel. If the current trend continues, he predicts, in fifty years’ time there will be no Jews left in Antwerp except for the ultra-orthodox.

It is often said that the Jews are the canary in the coalmine. When the Jews feel compelled to leave, the light of freedom is being extinguished. Something is badly wrong when the police need to deploy “decoy Jews.” Once again, the specter of anti-Semitism is haunting Europe. If the Europeans do not stand with the Jews, they deserve no freedom themselves and cities such as Amsterdam and Antwerp will soon be Islamic cities.

The False Issue of "Race" in the Arab-Israeli Conflict

2010-08-08T06:42:00.000-07:00

By Barry Rubin

As the waitress whose family had come from Ethiopia put the pizza on the table at the Tel Aviv restaurant, I contemplated the ridiculous misuse of "race" as a factor in the Arab-Israeli conflict. Regardless of skin color, we belong not only to the same country by way of citizenship but also to the same nation and people in a very profound way that isn't true for countries that are merely geographical entities.

Among the scores of ridiculous things said, thought, and written about the Arab-Israeli conflict, the pretense that it has something to do with "race" ranks high among them. This has been interjected for two reasons. First, this is a blatant attempt to demonize and delegitimize Israel.

Second, as part of that point but also due to trends in Western intellectual discussions, there is a conflation of nationality and race. Often, there is an attempt nowadays to portray any form of nationalism in the West as racist, though this is never applied to Third World nationalists situations. Neither the internal conflicts in Iraq (among Sunnis, Shias, and Kurds) nor in Lebanon (among numerous groups) are about race but rather arise from national, ethnic, and religious (sometimes all rolled up into one) conflicts.

One of the most basic lessons in looking at foreign or international affairs is to understand that countries just don't think alike about issues. America, and in a different way Europe, has been obsessed with race. That doesn't mean everyone else is racially oriented. Israelis don't think about skin color as such and are well aware that Jews, while having a common ancestry, have been affected by many cultures and societies.

With intermarriage rates between Jews whose ancestors came from Europe and those who came from the Middle East approaching half in Israel today, there is no way to classify people. In fact, Israelis are far less interested than other countries about people's ancestral travels.

Moreover, what does one say about such "darker-skinned" Israelis as my Hungarian-Yemenite colleague or my Syrian-origin pianist neighbor (whose wife is from Poland by way of Argentina? There is absolutely no issue involved here. And many Israelis of European origin are not exactly "white" in their appearance.

Indeed, Israel has more "blacks" among its Jews (from Ethiopia) than do the Palestinians by far. Israeli media never use racial stereotypes or epithets while Arab and Palestinian media have had numerous racist remarks and cartoons about such American leaders as Colin Powell, Condoleeza Rice, and now even Barack Obama. In a recent radio interview one of the leaders of the Islamist movement in Israel, in other words from the Arab minority here, said that it was a disgrace that a black Israeli soldier could ask for the identity document of an Arab Muslim. Yet such racism from the Arab/Palestinian side is ignored in the Western media.

While there have been some incidents in reaction to the arrival of Jews from Ethiopia, these have been few and universally rejected. Moreover, Israel has given refuge to the American "Black Hebrew" movement when it easily could have deported them.

It is officially estimated that at least 19 asylum seekers have been shot dead by Egyptian forces in Sinai. To my knowledge no one in this category has ever been injured in Israel.

I have had friends, mostly Filipinos, who were illegal workers (they overstayed work permits) deported from Israel and they simply accepted it and were soon working in another country. None of them bears any grudge against Israel, quite the contrary they could serve as citizen ambassadors on its behalf. None of them ever reported a single case of "racial" mistreatment and I don't believe there has ever been--and workers' advocacy groups have never reported--a racial assault or even insult on any foreign worker in Israel. The problem, of course, is that there is at times terrible economic exploitation by unscrupulous employers, which is in no way atypical in the world today.

The Israel-Palestinian and Arab-Israeli conflicts are in no way "racial." National identity is something quite different from "race" generally. Israelis and Arabs are not easily distinguished by skin color, though of course there are exceptions.I was in an Israeli government agency meeting a high-ranking official whose skin shade was darker than that of Barack Obama. This was only something I noted because I was planning to write the article you are reading now.

I arrived at the meeting mentioned above by taking a cab from my neighborhood taxi stand. I gave the address and the driver went back to speaking on his mobile phone in Arabic, which is the only reason I realized he was an Israeli Arab. I couldn't tell just by looking at him.

The attempt by anti-Israel slanderers to inject a racial aspect is ludicrously nonsensical. If you have ever travelled in Syria you would find that the average skin color of people there is lighter than that of Israelis on average. Generally speaking, there is less variation in "racial terms" between Israelis and Palestinian Arabs than there is among member states of the European Union.

It just doesn't apply to conditions here. ý'While Palestinian Arabs are on average a shade or two darker than Israelis you can find wider variations within the EU member states.

But if you can label someone as a "racist" because they are engaged in a conflict with another nation or group automatically "proves" they are in the wrong. If the conflict is a national one, however, you actually have to think about it. Who's right in the following conflicts: Irish Catholics or Protestants; Basques or Spain; Bosnians or Serbs; Russians or Chechens, Somalis or Ethiopians; Iraqi Sunni, Shia, or Kurds; India or Pakistan; Azerbaijan or Armenia, and so on?

The answer cannot be deduced automatically. But label one side as racist and the discussion is over. This, then, is a trick for deceiving, not a tool for understanding.

The ridiculousness of attempts to transfer American or European situations to Israel was embodied in an American student asking an Israeli professor how many blacks were on his university's basketball team. Actually, there are many on the professional teams but they are all, of course, from the United States, though I believe one or two had converted and remained in Israel.

I don't think there's any question of the fact that there is far far more racism in Europe or in the Arabic-speaking world than in Israel--and that's an understatement.

Barry Rubin is director of the Global Research in International Affairs (GLORIA) Center and editor of the Middle East Review of International Affairs (MERIA) Journal. His latest books are The Israel-Arab Reader (seventh edition), The Long War for Freedom: The Arab Struggle for Democracy in the Middle East (Wiley), and The Truth About Syria (Palgrave-Macmillan). The website of the GLORIA Center is at http://www.gloria-center.org and of his blog, Rubin Reports, at http://www.rubinreports.blogspot.com.

It’s Been a While.....

2010-07-31T15:43:00.000-07:00

Life has been a whirlwind since my last update....work, shipping quotes, CV’s, Nefesh’B’Nefesh ...it’s all happening.

I recently visited Israel - just a week. It’s hard for me to feel now like it is just a holiday. It’s always busy seeing people and catching up but I cannot think where else I would rather be right now.
There is no place like Tel Aviv Beach or the City of Jerusalem. My friend and tour guide on this trip took me to the Kotel. It’s magnetic to me. Just beautiful; and always makes me feel like nowhere else. It’s definitely soul food. We walked through the little streets full of colour and noise and such a variety of ethnic diversity. I look forward one day to having more time to explore but having a ‘native’ walk with me was enlightening, as I saw things I had never noticed before.

I got very lost on the trains that day. Instead of going to Modi’in I ended up nearly in Be’er Sheva but at least I now know it’s the pale green line not the dark one. Good practise and also a great way to see rural parts of Israel. I asked for help and everyone was pleased to give it. I still love and have not got over the novelty that people talk to each other in Israel. On the return journey to where I was supposed to be, I got to hear the life story of a recently returning Israeli and learned a lot from the inspector on the train who took pity on me being in tourist mode and didn’t charge me for a train journey that should have taken twenty minutes and took three hours! Thanks goodness for the bottle of water and my cell phone and that there are loos on the trains. Clean ones at that. British Rail take note!

I’m still in awe of the 18 year old kids in soldier’s uniforms bustling onto the train on a Sunday morning with a heavy backpack, big boots and looking slightly like it’s a shock to be on their way back to base after the weekend. Boys and girls with guns. British youth really does have it easy. I really wonder what the Brits would do if we were being bombarded with rocket fire and I wonder is appeasement of terrorists would still happen if this was an ongoing issue? I do remember the days in the eighties, when I had just started work and there were countless bomb scares in the London department stores I worked in. Those were the days when the Irish terror threat kept us on high alert. I remember as a naive sixteen year old thinking it was horrific to have to worry that we could really be blown up, but this is nothing to where the world is now. And nothing compared to what the people of Sderot have felt for eight years.

I managed a very basic conversation with a taxi driver who spoke no English and was quite proud of myself. If I got any words wrong, he was very forgiving and managed to answer me and was patient while I tried to think of what I wanted to say. Generally when I have said I want to make aliyah, Israelis are very quick to welcome me.

The people I have met online who are like me, lay activists, are also happy to be supportive. So it’s great for me having become part of the pro Israel noise making crowd and met some amazing people. Always a hat tip to all of you.

I, like many Jews here in the UK am reeling that I voted for change, for someone who promised a tougher stand on terror, and yet David Cameron just slated Israel and became another voice of appeasement and demonization of Israel. On a recent walk around what used to be a very Jewish part of London, I see how things are moving here and it is not a comfortable thought.

Aliyah is getting closer. I have decided that there is no choice but to take the plunge and do it. If I procrastinate then it will never be. I can live cheaply and will start to look for work in a couple of months. Somehow I know it’s going to be OK. Not always easy, sometimes maybe a little lonely but my adventure and the beginning of the next stage of life. No kids; daughter on a gap year in Thailand and son back safely in Yeshivah.

I’ve told my landlord I want out early next year. I’m starting to sort and box and throw out my belongings. I will in effect be a gypsy with a few suitcases, some kitchen stuff and the paintings I do not sell or find an alternative home for. These are my paintings and so my babies. People are telling me how hard it is, but I am prepared to have to absorb a lot in those first few months. I am prepared to work and to learn. There are of course some material things I need to take. But I am not a hoarder. I like change and this change will be the best one I have ever made.

Nearly time to go home.

Islam and the last 1400 Years

2010-07-31T13:22:00.000-07:00

There are many good people who happen to have been born into the Muslim faith. However, this is the truth of Islam and the Quran. World domination is the only way for Islam. And the radical voice of Islam is getting louder. It's a danger to Jews, Christians, in fact anyone who wants to live their life in a democracy and with freedom. Watch, take note and pass on.

How to go from Alienated Expat to Feeling Like a Local – Life Coach Carole Ann Rice has advice for the expat.

2010-07-13T16:08:00.000-07:00

There can be fewer, more awesome life changes than that of a relocation of job, home and country. Taking a giant leap of courage and faith to uproot and cast your net across unchartered waters is an adventure many are called to but few are chosen.

Although it may appear that all your birthdays have come at once as you embark upon a new life in a new country, it can also seem that a catalogue of high tension nightmares are ready to unfold before you too.

In the ranks of what causes the most stress in our lives after unexpected bereavement moving house, changing jobs and divorce are right up there as life challenges guaranteed to raise the blood pressure and test our resolve. Not mutually exclusive components to relocating either.

So as a stranger in a strange land, who can you turn to when all around you is unfamiliar; when family and friends back “home” are gleefully awaiting your good news and you’ve a long way to go until you feel settled and sure of your new life?

Although many international organizations have HR departments committed to helping new employees segue into their new positions with ease and comfort, monitoring well being and ensuring a seamless relocation, some of you may seek a more personal but neutral support with whom you can share your anxieties.

This is where coaching can be most powerful. Offering confidential and unconditional support (usually via the telephone, at a time that is convenient) the coach provides a listening ear or a hand to hold, instilling motivation or inspiration if you so desire. But unlike employer, partner or family the coach has no agenda other than the client’s desired goals and outcomes.

Change Management – Who Are You Now?

Leaving behind all that is familiar some people view a relocation as a new start; a new beginning perhaps where they leave behind things they no longer want in their lives. Traumas, bad relationships and life’s disappointments seem to become a thing of the past as you pack your case and face a new future full of possibilities. But as we all know we take our past with us and although avoidance and distractions work for a while in new surroundings, who we are remains the same.

Confidence, motivation and clarity are probably the main issues that clients bring to their coaches. These are all areas that require inwardly driven strength and cannot be effectively achieved by outward stimulation such as a new environment and a new job.
When an individual has been subjected to a major life change, as an ex-patriate would be, it can take time to assimilate what repercussions the shift has made on their Self and catch up with who they are now “being”.

This is a great time for reinvention. What better time to let go of things that don’t work for you? To be the person you have always wanted to be? To make this the proverbial first day of the rest of your life?

There is no time like the present but what if along with your family photos and favourite CD collection you packed your insecurities, your procrastination and all those debilitating and destructive fears and habits that you were hoping to dump at passport control?

You Are What You Are
Back in the 1980s a techno band called the Thompson Twins retired from the pop world and spent months lolling around Caribbean islands, lying in hammocks and chilling like there was no tomorrow. Then they came running back to grey and smoky old London.
“It gets boring in paradise” they cried as they returned to the familiar assault of metro life.

Funny how a palm tree, pagoda or a sweeping seascape can start to become a dull and familiar sight as the Piccadilly line or black cab. Back in a daily work grind it could seem to the ex-pat that they’ve just swapped one hamster wheel for a more exotic rat race.

Wish You Were Here?
So what do you do if the dream doesn’t add up? What if the shock of the new has become the same old routine wrapped in different clothing? What if the grass wasn’t greener but just another shade of the same colour palette? The sarong just another work suit?

Working with a coach you can start to reassess your situation and in doing so discern what is real, what is a distorted belief you may be holding on to or just finding out what it is that is making you feel so dissatisfied.

This investment in a coach could make the different from turning pain into paradise and save you the cost of a return ticket home.

Carole Ann Rice MD of the Real Coaching Company.

Why not book a free 30 minute telephone session with her now? Visit www.realcoachingco.com

From the heart of a Muslim - Tawfik Hamid

2010-07-13T10:48:00.000-07:00

UNBELIEVABLE - WHAT A COURAGEOUS MAN !!

IF THEY FOLLOW HIS ADVICE, WE WOULD ALL LIVE

HAPPILY IN THIS WORLD

"I am a Muslim by faith....

a Christian by spirit....

a Jew by heart....

and above all I am a human being."

Dr. Tawfik Hamid.

From the heart of a Muslim -

Tawfik Hamid

I was born a Muslim and lived all my life as a follower of Islam.

After the barbaric terrorist attacks done by the hands of my fellow Muslims everywhere on this globe, and after the too many violent acts by Islamists in many parts of the world, I feel responsible as a Muslim and as a human being, to speak out and tell the truth to protect the world and Muslims as well from a coming catastrophe and war of civilizations.

I have to admit that our current Islamic teaching creates violence and hatred toward Non-Muslims. We Muslims are the ones who need to change. Until now we have accepted polygamy, the beating of women by men, and killing those who convert from Islam to other religions.

We have never had a clear and strong stand against the concept of slavery or wars, to spread our religion and to subjugate others to Islam and force them to pay a humiliating tax called Jizia. We ask others to respect our religion while all the time we curse non-Muslims loudly (in Arabic) in our Friday prayers in the Mosques.

What message do we convey to our children when we call the Jews "Descendants of the pigs and monkeys".. Is this a message of love and peace, or a message of hate?

I have been into churches and synagogues where they were praying for Muslims. While all the time we curse them, and teach our generations to call them infidels, and to hate them.

We immediately jump in a 'knee jerk reflex' to defend Prophet Mohammed when someone accuses him of being a paedophile while, at the same time, we are proud with the story in our Islamic books, that he married a young girl seven years old (Aisha) when he was above 50 years old.

I am sad to say that many, if not most of us, rejoiced in happiness after September 11th and after many other terror attacks.

Muslims denounce these attacks to look good in front of the media, but we condone the Islamic terrorists and sympathise with their cause. Till now our 'reputable' top religious authorities have never issued a Fatwa or religious statement to proclaim Bin Laden as an apostate, while an author, like Rushdie, was declared an apostate who should be killed according to Islamic Shania law just for writing a book criticizing Islam.

Muslims demonstrated to get more religious rights as we did in France to stop the ban on the Hejab (Head Scarf), while we did not demonstrate with such passion and in such numbers against the terrorist murders.

It is our absolute silence against the terrorists that gives the energy to these terrorists to continue doing their evil acts. We Muslims need to stop blaming our problems on others or on the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. As a matter of honesty, Israel is the only light of democracy, civilization, and human rights in the whole Middle East .

We kicked out the Jews with no compensation or mercy from most of the Arab countries to make them "Jews-Free countries" while Israel accepted more than a million Arabs to live there, have its nationality, and enjoy their rights as human beings. In Israel , women can not be beaten legally by men, and any person can change his/her belief system with no fear of being killed by the Islamic law of 'Apostasy,' while in our Islamic world people do not enjoy any of these rights. I agree that the 'Palestinians' suffer, but they suffer because of their corrupt leaders and not because of Israel .

It is not common to see Arabs who live in Israel leaving to live in the Arab world. On the other hand, we used to see thousands of Palestinians going to work with happiness in Israel , its 'enemy'. If Israel treats Arabs badly as some people claim, surely we would have seen the opposite happening.

We Muslims need to admit our problems and face them. Only then we can treat them and start a new era to live in harmony with human mankind. Our religious leaders have to show a clear and very strong stand against polygamy, paedophilia, slavery, killing those who convert from Islam to other religions, beating of women by men, and declaring wars on non-Muslims to spread Islam.

Then, and only then, do we have the right to ask others to respect our religion. The time has come to stop our hypocrisy and say it openly: 'We Muslims have to Change'.

Tawfik Hamid

Dr. Hamid is an Egyptian scholar and author

opposed to Islam fundamentalism.

Remember the guy who got on a plane with a bomb built into his shoe and tried to light it?

2010-07-13T10:07:00.000-07:00

  Did you know his trial is over?
  Did you know he was sentenced?
  Did you see/hear any of the judge's comments on TV or Radio?

  Didn't think so.!!!

Everyone should hear what the judge had to say.

Ruling by Judge William Young, US District Court.
Prior to sentencing, the Judge asked the defendant if he had anything to say. His response: After admitting his guilt to the court for the record, Reid also admitted his 'allegiance to Osama bin Laden, to Islam, and to the religion of Allah,' defiantly stating, 'I think I will not apologize for my actions,' and told the court 'I am at war with your country.'

Judge Young then delivered the statement quoted below:

January 30, 2009, United States vs. Reid.

Judge Young: 'Mr. Richard C. Reid, hearken now to the sentence the Court imposes upon you.

On counts 1, 5 and 6 the Court sentences you to life in prison in the custody of the United States Attorney General. On counts 2, 3, 4and 7, the Cour sentences you to 20 years in prison on each count, the sentence on each count to run consecutively. (That's 80 years.)

On count 8 the Court sentences you to the mandatory 30 years again, to be served consecutively to the 80 years just imposed.. The Court imposes upon you for each of the eight counts a fine of $250,000 that's an aggregate fine of $2 million.. The Court accepts the government's recommendation with respect to restitution and orders restitution in the amount of $298.17 to Andre Bousquet and $5,784 to American Airlines.

The Court imposes upon you an $800 special assessment. The Court imposes upon you five years supervised release simply because the law requires it. But the life sentences are real life sentences so I need go no further.

This is the sentence that is provided for by our statutes. It is a fair and just sentence. It is a righteous sentence..

Now, let me explain this to you. We are not afraid o you or any of your terrorist co-conspirators, Mr. Reid. We are Americans. We have been through the fire before. There is too much war talk here and I say that to everyone with the utmost respect. Here in this court, we deal with individuals as individuals and care for individuals as individuals. As human beings, we reach out for justice.

You are not an enemy combatant. You are a terrorist.. You are not a soldier in any war. You are a terrorist. To give you that reference, to call you a soldier, gives you far too much stature.. Whether the officers of government do it or your attorney does it, or if you think you are a soldier, you are not----- you are a terrorist. And we do not negotiate with terrorists. We do not meet with terrorists. We do not sign documents with terrorists. We hunt them down one by one and bring them to justice.

So war talk is way out of line in this court. You are a bi fellow. But you are not that big. You're no warrior. I've known warriors. You are a terrorist. A species of criminal that is guilty of multiple attempted murders. In a very real sense, State Trooper Santiago had it right when you first were taken off that plane and into custody and you wondered where the press and the TV crews were, and he said: 'You're no big deal.'

You are no big deal.

What your able counsel and what the equally able United States attorneys have grappled with and what I have as honestly as I know how tried to grapple with, is why you did something so horrific. What was it that led you here to this courtroom today?

I have listened respectfully to what you have to say. And I ask you to search your heart and ask yourself what sort of unfathomable hate led you to do what you are guilty and admit you are guilty of doing? And, I have an answer for you. It may not satisfy you, but as I search this entir record, it comes as close to understanding as I know.
It seems to me you hate the one thing that to us is most precious. You hate our freedom. Our individual freedom. Our individual freedom to live as we choose, to come and go as we choose, to believe or not believe as we individually choose. Here, in this society, the very wind carries freedom. It carries it everywhere from sea to shining sea. It is because we prize individual freedom so much that you are here in this beautiful courtroom, so that everyone can see, truly see, that justice is administered fairly, individually, and discretely. It is for freedom's sake that your lawyers are striving so vigorously on your behalf, have filed appeals, will go on in their representation of you before other judges.

We Americans are all about freedom. Because we all know tha the way we treat you, Mr. Reid, is the measure of our own liberties. Make no mistake though. It is yet true that we will bear any burden; pay any price, to preserve our freedoms. Look around this courtroom. Mark it well. The world is not going to long remember what you or I say here. The day after tomorrow, it will be forgotten, but this, however, will long endure.

Here in this courtroom and courtrooms all across America , the American people will gather to see that justice, individual justice, justice, not war, individual justice is in fact being done. The very President of the United States through his officers will have to come into courtrooms and lay out evidence on which specific matters can be judged and juries of citizens will gather to sit and judge that evidence democratically, to mold and shape and refine our sense of justice..

See that flag, Mr. Reid? That's the flag of the United States of America That flag will fly there long after this is all forgotten. That flag stands for freedom. And it always will.

Mr. Custody Officer. Stand him down.

So, how much of this Judge's comments did we hear on our TV sets? We need more judges like Judge Young.

From Steve Emerson: Investigative Project on Terrorism

2010-07-08T07:54:00.000-07:00

For the second consecutive year, the Obama Administration honored the
annual conference of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) with a

prominent official to speak on behalf of the President. And, for the second

consecutive year, that conference featured false and radical dogma about the

Palestinian-Israeli conflict and purported Jewish "power" over America.

In 2009, a panel of authors bandied about support for Hizballah and

anti-Semitic conspiracy theories that cast Jews as controlling the world and

interpreted the Holocaust as punishment for their sins. The speeches were

more subtle this year, but included support for Hamas and repeatedly

lamented what they saw as Israel's power to dictate policy to America.

During a Saturday evening session, Rashad Hussain read a letter from

President Obama welcoming the convention to his hometown of Chicago and

praising ISNA for gathering thousands of people. "Outside of the hajj," or

pilgrimage to Mecca, the President wrote, "this convention constitutes one

of the most diverse gatherings of Muslim people in the world, and that is a

testament to the diversity and dynamism of Muslim communities right here in

America."

Hussain is the White House envoy to the Organization of the Islamic

Conference, comprised of 57 Muslim nations. To his credit, he challenged the

convention to combat radicalization among Muslim youth and rebutted those

who excuse terrorism abroad as a response to U.S. foreign policy decisions.

Most victims of terrorist attacks in Pakistan, Afghanistan and other

hotspots are Muslims, he noted:

"That a Muslim is going into a masjid [mosque] in Pakistan and

killing so many other Muslims, that 80 to 90 percent of the people that are

victims of violent extremism are Muslims. Why is it? If there is a complaint

against the foreign policy of this country, why are they killing Muslims? Is

that the answer to that grievance or any other grievance? The fact of the

matter is there is absolutely no justification whatsoever for killing

innocent people. That's clear in our faith. And if someone has done

something wrong to you, to go out and indiscriminately kill someone who had

nothing to do with that action must be wholeheartedly rejected."

Hussain's message, however, was at odds with that of other convention

speakers-and it was on Palestinian-Israeli issues that conference sessions

skewed most heavily. In panels on humanitarian aid for Gaza and interfaith

support for Palestine, Israeli policy was accused of being the sole cause of

the conflict solely to blame. No speaker called on Hamas to tear up its

covenant, which invokes the anti-Semitic forgery of The Protocols of the

Elders of Zion

and calls for Israel's destruction. No one urged the group to release Gilad

Shalit, whom Hamas kidnapped and has held captive since 2006, forbidding any

visit from outside monitors, such as the International Red Cross.

In a panel hosted by American Muslims for Palestine > (AMP), attorney

Othman Atta referred to Shalit- who was abducted by Hamas gunmen who crossed

into Israel- as "the Israeli terrorist who was part of enforcing the siege

on Gaza."

In a program on interfaith activism, University of California-Berkeley

Professor Hatem Bazian ran through a litany of arguments why America's

"one-sided support for Israel" is counterproductive. It costs jobs, he

argued without citing any data, because people opposed to American policy

are buying goods from Europe and China. Backing off support for Israel,

therefore, can be economically stimulating, he claimed.

In addition, withholding support for Israel would drain the pool of

prospective terrorists, Bazian asserted. "If you want a poster recruitment

for terrorism, I will give you evidence," he said. "When Israel attack [sic]

on Lebanon just increased people who were ready to join terrorism because

they see that the one-sided U.S. policy is failing them and therefore they

feel that militarization and going through terrorism is the only option."

In another session, panelist Paul Larudee called the Palestinian issue the

most important to resolve; arguing that while "people are constantly talking

about terrorism," the Palestinian issue "is at the bottom of many of the

problems that our community is facing. It's at the root of the problems we

are facing in Iraq, in Afghanistan, in Yemen and in the United States."

Larudee has participated in a number of aid flotillas to Gaza, including the

recent effort that ended violently in late May.

In a similar display of anti-Israeli bias and misrepresentation, Edward Peck

another flotilla participant -referenced recent allegations that General

David Petraeus said America's relationship with Israel was jeopardizing U.S.

troops. Peck embraced the claim and accused the media of covering it up:

"The point here is that General Petraeus, who has just been elevated

to semi-sainthood by the American press, has for the first time publicly

said that our relationship with Israel is costing American lives and blood.

Now I know, as you do, that it's cost the stature and respect, credibility,

honesty and dignity. But we now have a general says it's costing us lives.

And you saw the reaction of the American people. No you didn't as a matter

of fact, because it hasn't yet penetrated for the reasons that you

mentioned, so the media won't touch it, won't really play it like it should,

which is one of the obstacles we're gonna have to come over."

Petraeus, in fact, denies having made the statement. The ongoing conflict

doesn't help, he said, but he "did not say anything about [Israeli]

settlements, didn't say anything about putting our soldiers at risk or

something like that."

True to the narrative that the convention organizers sought to push, Peck

repeatedly cast American policy toward the conflict as dictated by Israel.

"As long as the United States is owned by Israel militarily, economically

and politically, Israel can do whatever it wants without fear, without

contradiction."

The U.S. considers Hamas to be a terrorist group and will not communicate

with it until it renounces terrorism and agrees to peaceful negotiations.

Yet, when asked when the U.S. might talk with Hamas, Peck said, "when Israel

gives us permission."

More than simply calling for negotiation with an organization the United

States has classified a terrorist group for its repeated attacks on not only

Israelis, but on Palestinians and Americans, Peck lauded Hamas political

leader Khalid Meshaal as "a very highly educated, very articulate, very

reasonable individual," and mocked the notion that Hamas should recognize

Israel's right to exist. Paraphrasing Meshaal, Peck said "recognition is a

reciprocal act" and that Israel's borders in a prospective peace agreement

are unknown, so "it's ridiculous to ask us to recognize a state which we do

not know where it is."

Picking up the theme that one side is the root of all the conflict, another

flotilla veteran provided a detailed account of what she said took place on

the Mavi Marmara, the vessel on which activists attacked Israeli soldiers.

Fatima Mohammadi's version repeatedly conflicts with video and other

evidence available to the public.

Mohammedi, former Viva Palestina

USA National

Organizer, claimed passengers on the ship did not attack Israeli commandos

first, "that we were not resisting, that we were sitting down," and that the

raid came without warning.

Here is video of Israeli

military officials warning the ship to break off its course or face seizure.

After flotilla participants failed to heed the warning, video evidence

showed flotilla passengers

attacking commandos with weapons as they landed on the ship.

Though many passengers openly spoke of their desires to become martyrs

trying to reach Gaza, she called it a myth that flotilla organizers planned

violence. She also denied that weapons were smuggled on board, saying knives

later displayed by Israeli officials were mere "kitchen knives. Every ship

has kitchen knives, because there are kitchens."

Though Hamas was never mentioned, the speakers made it clear they were not

impressed by the Palestinian Authority's efforts or desire to negotiate

peace. Economic and social progress in the West Bank, something widely

hailed as

building the foundation of a Palestinian state, was dismissed by Larudee and

moderator Hatem Bazian as a sham. The "trappings of statehood" are an

obstacle to an actual state, Larudee said. The best thing the Palestinian

Authority can do for the cause is to dissolve itself:

"The Palestinian Authority has none. It has no authority. So what is

its purpose? Its purpose from what I can see is to make the world think that

Palestinians have some control over their lives and they don't. I think that

one of the best things that the Palestinian Authority can do and one of the

best acts it can perform is to dissolve itself. And let the world see

Palestinians naked under Israeli occupation and under Israeli control,

because that's what the situation is."

That point was echoed by Bazian, founder and chairman of American Muslims

for Palestine, who charged that Israel hopes to distract Palestinians from

seeking statehood by building "a golden cage."

ISNA officials determine what panels are presented and thereby, the

organization is responsible for what is said in them. In grand speeches

before the entire convention, Rashad Hussain and outgoing ISNA President

Ingrid Mattson took on a myopic viewpoint about terrorism. It is not, they

argued, all about opposition to U.S. policy. Yet in the breakout sessions,

conventioneers heard the complete opposite. And as such, ISNA is as

responsible for these sessions as if its own officials made the

pronouncements.
Related Topics: The Islamic Society of North America

The Islamic Society of North America

http://www.investigativeproject.org/topics/44/the-islamic-society-of-north-america

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governmental agency or political or religious institutions. Your support of

The Investigative Project on Terrorism is critical in winning a battle we

cannot afford to lose. All donations are tax-deductible. Click here to

donate online . The

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WE ARE NOT GOING ANYWHERE

2010-07-01T00:19:00.000-07:00

Sara K. Eisen tells Helen Thomas
Jews are just sick and tired of moving all the time

Here's the thing. I've been
thinking about poor Helen Thomas, who I believe was probably just saying
what everyone thinks and has therefore been made a scapegoat. Not that I
really care, because we ought to share the scapegoat status once in a while.
It's the least we can do to dispel the stereotype that we are stingy, us
irritating Jews.

Helen, you know why we were in
Germany and much of Eastern Europe in the first place? (And by the way, if I
follow your advice, do you think the nice old ladies who got my
grandmothers' large houses and farms from the Nazis in what was once
Czechoslovakia will kick the property back two generations? That would be
cool because I'd love a vineyard and an agricultural estate.)

We were in Germany and Hungary
and Czechoslovakia and Russia (where we were regularly just plain killed by
Cossacks), and also, for many centuries, Poland (ditto), because we were
told to get the hell out of England, France, and Spain. (Or, you know, just
plain killed by handsome and heroic fairytale knights.)

And you know why we were in
Western Europe to begin with? Because we were told by the Greeks and the
Romans - wait for it - to get the hell out of "Palestine," where we had been
living since the beginning of recorded history.

We also ended up in Babylonia
(Iraq) and other Middle Eastern and North African countries, where we stayed
as second class citizens for hundreds and hundreds of years, till the Arab
world finally caught up with the pagans and the Christians in their hatred
of the Jews. Amazing how the student has now far surpassed the teacher. But
I digress.

In any event, there is no way
around it: Jews being asked (usually not by old ladies on the White House
lawn) to get the hell out of anywhere and everywhere is just the way it
goes.

So it came to pass that about
200 years BCE the Macabees got sick of it and established a Jewish state in
Palestine, within the Roman Empire, which lasted till about the time of
Jesus (another Pesky Jew) and the destruction of the Second Temple.

And it also came to pass that
Jewish settlers began arriving in Ottoman Palestine in the late 1800s, after
the Russians and the Poles made it clear that Jews were persona non grata in
Eastern Europe. Palestine was as good a place as any to escape to, since it
was the last place, about 2000 years before, that the Jews had a sovereign
state (see above). Never mind Jewish liturgy and texts pining for Jerusalem,
since I know these are inadmissible in the international courts of the mind.

Anyway, nowhere else wanted
European Jews any more than Russia did, not even America really, where there
were very strict quotas, although the Americans, again politely, refrained
from all the messy European killing, which was apparently in vogue until
after Hitler. Besides, those Ottoman Turks, as now, were known around the
world for their amazing human rights activism and the Jews were excited to
see it firsthand. (No, not really. But they were better than the Polish
peasants, unless you were Armenian.)

But when the Jews came back to
Land of Israel, it was suddenly necessary, once again, to tell them to get
the hell out. There was no living side by side, even though that was an
express Jewish desire right up until 1947/8, when the Partition Plan was
summarily rejected by the Arab League, who started the war that Israel won.
If keeping land you win in a war others provoke (when you wanted to make
peace) is called occupation, Helen, the world's axis of furious justice has
a lot bigger fish to fry than Israel.

The Arab desire to kick the Jews
the hell out of Palestine did not begin in 1967, and not in 1948. It began
the moment the initial groups of Jews arrived and started to make the land
flower and produce crops. The Hebron Massacre of 1929, where marauding Arabs
killed nearly 70 Jews and wounded countless others, took place long before a
single house was built over the Green Line.

At any rate, it seems that every
time a Jewish minority starts to make a society too successful - so
annoying!!!! - the indigenous people start to feel very uncomfortable, and
tell them one way or another to get the hell out.

But now, alas, there is nowhere
left for us to go, except the eternal place Ahmadinejad wants us to go, and
Haniyeh and Nasrallah, and Hitler before them, and Khmelnitsky before him,
and Haman before him, and so on. And, I suspect, in her heart of hearts,
perhaps Thomas and the likes of her, who, the pesky Jew Freud may have
observed, seriously let her slip show.

Let me make it clear: I know
that Israel has made mistakes over its 62 years, some clumsy and inept (was
there no intelligence regarding the terrorists aboard the Mavi Marmara?!?),
and some borderline immoral. But none worse than every other democracy on
earth has also done, and most much better than the large majority of the UN
rogue nations which condemn Israel daily have done...daily.

But let's be honest: the
international community's human rights crusades on behalf of the
Palestinians are just the latest Crusades, and the ones who really suffer
are not the Jews or the Israelis but the poor occupants of the Third World
who are ignored while the enlightened First World castigates the Jews... and
yes, of course, the Palestinians, who are kept in misery by their own
leadership in order to provide the polite Jew haters with a media club to
beat them with.

So here's the thing: We are not
going anywhere this time, Helen. We totally get it: Ya'll pretty much hate
us. It's just the way it is, like a natural law.

Nothing we can do - not giving
away pieces of Palestine/Israel (witness our evacuation of Gaza in 2005, and
handing over the keys to army bases and greenhouses- a new economy!
Food for the children! - which were summarily torched as property of the
infidels); not donating billions annually to global charity, nor discovering
a cure for Polio or the Theory of Relativity, or writing revered legal and
religious texts, or co-founding Google, or manufacturing the microprocessor
in the majority of laptops that spew Jew hatred to the Internet, or founding
Christianity itself, or championing women's rights and gay rights in the US
and helping to bring about a human rights revolution in America in the 60's.
None of those things will absolve us of our real sin: Existing and
overcoming.

I'm really sorry they told you
to get the hell out of the White House, Helen. It really wasn't your fault
that you thought you could say what you said. It's not like it's a
secret: That's what people think.

But this time, seriously.
Getting the hell out is not in the cards. We're just sick of moving all the
time.

I know. Irritating.

Sara K. Eisen is a freelance
copywriter, journalist and editor who blogs at http://the-word-well.com/
The full version of her article is available here.

Save a Child's Heart Foundation

2010-06-28T15:10:00.000-07:00

In these difficult days, when Israel is besieged from all sides and subjected to unjustified assaults and false accusations, I am delighted to report that Save a Child's Heart (SACH) has been recognized as one of the most popular humanitarian organizations in the world in a competition sponsored by eBay.

SACH is the ONLY Israeli organization that has achieved this level of recognition. Our mission is to save the lives of children dying of heart disease in developing countries. Our entire Israeli medical team donates its time and services for this cause. We have saved children from 39 countries around the world, including countries that have yet to establish diplomatic relations with Israel.

There is no better diplomacy than through the deep, lifelong relationships created by the work of saving lives! The life-saving work of SACH in Haiti in particular has been a source of pride for Israel, as evidenced by the personal involvement of Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defense Minister Barak in rescue efforts.

Right now Save a Child's Heart is in fifth place, only about 1300 votes behind the leader. Wouldn't it be amazing if we could reach first? Not only amazing -- it would mean that SACH would get $15,000 from eBay -- enough to save the life of a child in need! -- and to achieve for this Israeli initiative the recognition and publicity of being the best non-profit in the world.

All you need to do is vote by going to www.ebay.com/saveachildsheart and click the "Save as Favorite" Button. It's free. If you're an eBay member, it takes about 5 seconds. If you're not already an EBay member, all you do have to sign up -- a process that takes a minute or so. But that's a small-time cost compared to the value of helping to save the life of a child and to make a tangible contribution to improve Israel's image as a generous giver to the world of its unmatched know-how and technology -- and compassion.

And eBay is also giving each person who votes a chance to personally win $500.

After you vote, we hope you'll take the time to visit our website and join our Heart of Gold club. You may feel moved to add your name to our colorful interactive wall of hearts by virtue of a donation.

But just as Save a Child's Heart is focused on saving the lives of children in need, one child at a time, we'd like you to stay focused on just voting for SACH as your favorite, and urging your friends and family to do the same, so that an Israeli organization can stand as a shining example of being the best in the world at helping some of the world's most vulnerable young citizens-- to live!

Save a Child's Heart, which is based at the Wolfson Medical Center near Tel Aviv, is one of the largest humanitarian organizations of its kind in the world. Founded in 1996, SACH's mission is to provide urgent life-saving heart surgery for indigent children from developing countries, where adequate medical care is not available. We accomplish this mission by operating on children both in Israel and abroad. SACH's doctors and medical personnel completely volunteer their time and services for this lifesaving project.

Sincerely,

David Litwack, Executive Director
Save A Child's Heart Foundation

Standing up to the bullies – Monique Lester

2010-06-26T12:11:00.000-07:00

By Basia at Michal's Tefillin

Monique Lester is a one-woman dynamo. Not only is she a tireless cheerleader for Israel, but she is one of the few who actually puts her money where her mouth is by organising awareness campaigns in the hope that one day the truth will out.

Recently, Monique put a lot of time and effort into rallying the world into realising the mind-boggling ridiculousness of the British Advertising Standards refusal to allow Israel to use pictures of its Wailing Wall in Jerusalem as part of a bring tourists to Israel campaign, as according to the ASA, Jerusalem is occupied.

Monique, who at the tender age of 16 tried to make aliyah to Israel behind her parents’ backs, runs her own PR agency, London Digital PR, which excels at social media marketing and online advertising. The effervescent Ms Lester has also been devoting her time to cyber stalking, bullying and other forms of cyber crime.

Monique ‘Wonder Woman’ Lester

Teaming up with respected Norwegian film maker Linda May Kallestein, Monique is contributing to a documentary and an accompanying book about various forms of cyber terror.

Says Monique: ” Cyber life surpasses our traditional national states, enabling criminal activity to go beyond national borders, yet with little international legislation to govern and protect against it. Stalkers have thus been given new tools to use in their pursuit to control others, spread fear and even ruin personal and professional lives.

They do so at little risk of legal persecution, even though they can inflict harm which often is far greater than traditional stalkers ever could dream of accomplishing.”

For more information on either cyber terror or the UK ASA campaign, or if you would like to talk to Monique about advertising and marketing, please contact her via www.londondigitalpr.com

Original post at http://michalstefillin.com/2010/06/standing-up-to-the-bullies-monique-lester/

Arab Druze Israeli - WOW pass this on!

2010-06-21T15:30:00.000-07:00

A gay Arab Druze Israeli explains his support for Israel and discusses the Flotilla. He says "God Bless Israel - That I am Arab and Druze and Gay and that I have a place in Israel to be what I want to be, to achieve what I want to achieve."

Respect.

Has the World Gone Mad?

2010-06-20T05:35:00.000-07:00

Lyrics:
Chorus x 2:
When the world's gone lost
We're gonna help you find the way
Too much drama in my eyes that I can't hide
When the world's gone lost
I don't plan to fall with it

Verse 1 - Ruff:
I'm on the wrong side of the map, activists with knifes got me trapped
Surrounded by hostility, trying not to react
Flotillas of hatred, we're caught in the matrix
I'm trying to survive, they're pulling the same tricks
This international hypocrisy won't get us far
One-sided media puts us behind bars
Nations with no minorities, judging with no authority
They're gonna tell me how to deal with what's in front of me
What about Sudan and North Korea? Could they care less?!
They wanna boycott us, they're gonna share less
We're lying on the fence for the rest of the world
Provide a buffer zone while overseas they get us sold
I know my people can be divided at times
Got too many opinions with too much shit on our minds
You can hate us now, we ain't gonna fight it
You're only making us stronger and more united

Chorus:
When the world's gone lost
We're gonna help you find the way
Too much drama in my eyes that I can't hide
When the world's gone lost
I don't plan to fall with it

Verse 2 - SHI 360:
‏But I ' m already home and the media distorts your vision
‏Got blind followers here in full submission
‏Provocateurs,‬ they just wanna instigate
‏And create the image you love to hate
‏You can talk about humanitarian aid
‏Politically affiliated IHH
‏Guess who's more popular? Erodgan
‏Fuck left and right , we should all stand as one
‏You really thought we were gonna let 'e m in?
‏When yesterday they tried to bring Karine
‏A - was that aid or to arm Jihad?
‏Wanna talk about aid ? What about Gilad ?
‏Because the horse is trojan, doors not open
‏I gotta do whatever to protect my home and
‏I ' m a peace dealer, my flow killa
‏But no peace came at me on the flotilla

Chorus x 2:
When the world's gone lost
We're gonna help you find the way
Too much drama in my eyes that I can't hide
When the world's gone lost
I don't plan to fall with it

עם ישראל חי

myisrael charity - your giving can make a serious difference!

2010-06-19T07:36:00.000-07:00

http://www.myisraelcharity.org

email myisraelcharity@gmail.com

Give what you can now - from the UK or globally!

Facts? How Stupid of me to Ask!

2010-06-18T16:19:00.000-07:00

Guest post by Ruth Rubin.

With Israel, as ever, disproportionately in the news one activist goes to their first anti-Israel event:

I attended a talk at Amnesty on a Thursday evening for the book launch of Against the Wall: The art of resistance in Palestine. The book is a collection of photos of the artwork on Israel’s security fence.

Of many controversial points the book’s author, William Parry, showed a photo of a queue of Palestinians at a checkpoint near Bethlehem.

“People are dying at checkpoints”, he then claimed.

The impression was of Palestinians dropping like flies at checkpoints from the trauma of waiting in line.

We then listened to two other speakers, one an artist and another, Jamal Juma speaking live on web cam from the West Bank. Juma is from “Stop the Wall” Campaign.

The talks were totally devoid of any smidgen of context as to what is really going on and why the security fence was built in the first place.

At the Q&A I had no intention of speaking out at all. I was there only to observe.

But then I thought back to my visit to Poland and how I had made a vow on the last day spent in Auschwitz never to walk in fear or shame around those who wish for our demise.

I also thought of all the wonderful Israeli friends and family I have here who have done nothing to deserve the blind hatred in this room. Am I going to sit here in silence, I asked myself?

When I was finally handed the microphone I repeated back to the author his statement about people dying at checkpoints and I asked if he had the statistics to back up his statement?

The panel looked blankly at each other and mumbled about statistics on some UN page.

I then asked whether we are talking one a day, one a week, one a month.

They looked baffled and asked Jamal on the live web cam.

Jamal didn’t seem to know either.

I then asked about the cause of deaths.

Up until this point they thought I was asking out of concern for this imaginary pile of corpses at checkpoints.

Suddenly the artist pointed his finger at me and asked whether I was daring to suggest it’s not terrible what’s going on there: “I think we all agree in this room it’s terrible.”

There was a rapture of applause from the audience who all looked at me in disgust whilst furiously shaking their heads in disbelief.

I shouted: “Yes, it’s terrible but he (William Parry) said they’re dying, so I’m asking about the deaths.”

How stupid of me to demand evidence. Facts? Evidence? How boring.

If Israel goes down, we ALL go down!

2010-06-18T12:11:00.000-07:00

Anger over Gaza is a distraction.

We cannot forget that Israel is the West’s best ally in a turbulent region.

By José María Aznar

former Spanish Prime Minister published in the British newspaper 'The Times' on 17 June 2010

For far too long now it has been unfashionable in Europe to speak up for Israel. In the wake of the recent incident on board a ship full of anti-Israeli activists in the Mediterranean, it is hard to think of a more unpopular cause to champion.

In an ideal world, the assault by Israeli commandos on the Mavi Marmara would not have ended up with nine dead and a score wounded. In an ideal world, the soldiers would have been peacefully welcomed on to the ship. In an ideal world, no state, let alone a recent ally of Israel such as Turkey, would have sponsored and organised a flotilla whose sole purpose was to create an impossible situation for Israel: making it choose between giving up its security policy and the naval blockade, or risking the wrath of the world.

In our dealings with Israel, we must blow away the red mists of anger that too often cloud our judgment. A reasonable and balanced approach should encapsulate the following realities: first, the state of Israel was created by a decision of the UN. Its legitimacy, therefore, should not be in question. Israel is a nation with deeply rooted democratic institutions. It is a dynamic and open society that has repeatedly excelled in culture, science and technology.

Second, owing to its roots, history, and values, Israel is a fully fledged Western nation. Indeed, it is a normal Western nation, but one confronted by abnormal circumstances.

Uniquely in the West, it is the only democracy whose very existence has been questioned since its inception. In the first instance, it was attacked by its neighbours using the conventional weapons of war. Then it faced terrorism culminating in wave after wave of suicide attacks. Now, at the behest of radical Islamists and their sympathisers, it faces a campaign of delegitimisation through international law and diplomacy.

Sixty-two years after its creation, Israel is still fighting for its very survival. Punished with missiles raining from north and south, threatened with destruction by an Iran aiming to acquire nuclear weapons and pressed upon by friend and foe, Israel, it seems, is never to have a moment’s peace.

For years, the focus of Western attention has understandably been on the peace process between Israelis and Palestinians. But if Israel is in danger today and the whole region is slipping towards a worryingly problematic future, it is not due to the lack of understanding between the parties on how to solve this conflict. The parameters of any prospective peace agreement are clear, however difficult it may seem for the two sides to make the final push for a settlement.

The real threats to regional stability, however, are to be found in the rise of a radical Islamism which sees Israel’s destruction as the fulfilment of its religious destiny and, simultaneously in the case of Iran, as an expression of its ambitions for regional hegemony. Both phenomena are threats that affect not only Israel, but also the wider West and the world at large.

The core of the problem lies in the ambiguous and often erroneous manner in which too many Western countries are now reacting to this situation. It is easy to blame Israel for all the evils in the Middle East. Some even act and talk as if a new understanding with the Muslim world could be achieved if only we were prepared to sacrifice the Jewish state on the altar. This would be folly.

Israel is our first line of defence in a turbulent region that is constantly at risk of descending into chaos; a region vital to our energy security owing to our overdependence on Middle Eastern oil; a region that forms the front line in the fight against extremism. If Israel goes down, we all go down. To defend Israel’s right to exist in peace, within secure borders, requires a degree of moral and strategic clarity that too often seems to have disappeared in Europe. The United States shows worrying signs of heading in the same direction.

The West is going through a period of confusion over the shape of the world’s future. To a great extent, this confusion is caused by a kind of masochistic self-doubt over our own identity; by the rule of political correctness; by a multiculturalism that forces us to our knees before others; and by a secularism which, irony of ironies, blinds us even when we are confronted by jihadis promoting the most fanatical incarnation of their faith. To abandon Israel to its fate, at this moment of all moments, would merely serve to illustrate how far we have sunk and how inexorable our decline now appears.
This cannot be allowed to happen.

Motivated by the need to rebuild our own Western values, expressing deep concern about the wave of aggression against Israel, and mindful that Israel’s strength is our strength and Israel’s weakness is our weakness, I have decided to promote a new Friends of Israel initiative with the help of some prominent people, including David Trimble, Andrew Roberts, John Bolton, Alejandro Toledo (the former President of Peru), Marcello Pera (philosopher and former President of the Italian Senate), Fiamma Nirenstein (the Italian author and politician), the financier Robert Agostinelli and the Catholic intellectual George Weigel.

It is not our intention to defend any specific policy or any particular Israeli government. The sponsors of this initiative are certain to disagree at times with decisions taken by Jerusalem. We are democrats, and we believe in diversity.

What binds us, however, is our unyielding support for Israel’s right to exist and to defend itself. For Western countries to side with those who question Israel’s legitimacy, for them to play games in international bodies with Israel’s vital security issues, for them to appease those who oppose Western values rather than robustly to stand up in defence of those values, is not only a grave moral mistake, but a strategic error of the first magnitude.

Israel is a fundamental part of the West. The West is what it is thanks to its Judeo-Christian roots. If the Jewish element of those roots is upturned and Israel is lost, then we are lost too. Whether we like it or not, our fate is inextricably intertwined.

José María Aznar was prime minister of Spain between 1996 and 2004.

Why the Security and Well-Being of the United States Depends Very Much on Israel

2010-06-13T10:27:00.000-07:00

Prof. Paul Eidelberg

This report is extracted from Chapter 5 of my forthcoming book An American Political Scientist in Israel. The importance and even urgency of this report is magnified by the Obama Administation's hostilty toward Israel. Indeed, according to John Bolton, former US ambassador to the United Nations, Obama is actively pursuing a post-American foreign policy, a policy that involves sacrificing Israel on behalf of Islam. Hence, the data below should be disseminated as widely as possible.

*****

Joseph Sisco, a former Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern and South Asian affairs, once told Israeli author Shmuel Katz, "I want to assure you, Mr. Katz, that if we were not getting full value for our money, you would not get a cent from us." In fact, Israel has long been America's biggest strategic bargain. Let's examine some facts.
For FY2009, U.S. military grants to Israel was $2.55 billion (= $2.55B).

Since Israel's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2009 was $199B, total U.S. aid to Israel was merely 1.28 percent of its GDP—a sum easily obtained by closing tax loop holes.

Viewed over the five year period of 2005–2009—total U.S. military aid was approximately $12B.

What has the U.S. received from Israel in return?
Total exports from the U.S. to Israel between 2005 and 2009 amounted to $57.6B—almost five times the $12B Israel received in U.S. aid during this period. The annual average of U.S. exports to Israel during this period was $11.7B, more than five times the average American aid package!

Israel must spend about 74 percent of U.S. military aid in the United States, where it provides jobs for an estimated fifty thousand American workers.

Unknown to many observers, U.S. military aid to Israel creates a demand for, and the purchase of, tens of billions of dollars worth of U.S. weaponry by Saudi Arabia and other Arab states. U.S. grants to Israel—far from imposing a burden on the American tax payer—actually enriches the American economy. (American arms manufacturers know this. So do congressmen who represent the various States in which corporations such as Boeing, Lockheed, and General Dynamics are located. These elected officials, along with these corporations, have vested interests in opposing any sanctions against Israel if its government were to take a more independent and vigorous stand against the Palestinian Authority and Hamas.

According to Gen. George Keegan, a former chief of U.S. Air Force Intelligence, between 1974 and 1990, Israeli aid to America was worth between $50–80B in intelligence, research, development savings, and Soviet weapons systems captured and transferred to the Pentagon, and testing Soviet military doctrines up to 1990 when the USSR collapsed. Senator Daniel Inouye put it this way: "The contribution made by Israeli intelligence to America is greater than that provided by all NATO countries combined."

Recall that in 1970, at Washington's request, Israel prevented a Syrian invasion of Jordan. By protecting Jordan from that client of the Soviet Union, Israel thwarted Moscow's ambitions in the Middle East. It would be naive to think that Russia has abandoned its historic objectives in this region.

Now let us paraphrase various parts of a report by Israeli Ambassador (ret.) Yoram Ettinger apropos of the February 2010 visit to Israel of U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs-of-Staff Admiral Michael Mullen:

Israel constantly relays to the United States lessons of battle and counter-terrorism, which reduce American losses in Iraq and Afghanistan, prevent attacks on U.S. soil, upgrade American weapons, and contribute to the U.S. economy. Innovative Israeli technologies boost U.S. industries.

The vice-president of the company that produces the F-16 fighter jets told Ettinger that Israel is responsible for six hundred improvements in the plane's systems, modifications estimated to be worth billions of dollars, which spared dozens of research and development years.

Without Israel, the United States would have to deploy tens of thousands of American troops in the eastern Mediterranean Basin, at a cost of billions of dollars a year.

In 1981, Israel bombed the Iraqi nuclear reactor, thus providing the United States with the option of engaging in conventional wars with Iraq in 1991 and 2003, thereby preventing a possible nuclear war and its horrendous consequences.

In 2005, Israel provided America with the world's most extensive experience in homeland defense and warfare against suicide bombers and car bombs. American soldiers train in IDF facilities and Israeli-made drones fly above the Sunni Triangle in Iraq, as well as in Afghanistan, providing U.S. Marines with vital intelligence that saved many American lives.

But I have not mentioned Israel's greatest gift to America's well-being and prosperity, a gift of incalculable value, exceeding by far all that Israel receives from the United States. For as Ettinger points out, Israel provides America with 25,000 high tech workers, 324 scientists, 902 doctors who studied medicine in Israel, 1,800 Israeli professors and lecturers, 171 high ranking military officers, and thousands of other professional people whose contribution to the American economy is priceless. (Dr. Sisco knew whereof he spoke.)

Viewed in this light, the feared loss of $2.38 billion in U.S. military aid is a bogeyman. In fact, it is probably less than the sum Israel loses in tax evasion. Besides, far more than $2.38 billion was lost as a direct consequence of the policy of land for peace. Suffice to mention the multi-billion dollar price tag on the security fence; the multi-billion dollar cost of withdrawing from Gaza, which required the redeployment of the Israel Defense Forces and financial compensation of the eight thousand Jews whose homes, farms, and factories were destroyed by the Sharon government. (Nor should we ignore the incalculable cost of devastating the lives of these productive Jews, whose farms and factories contributed $100,000,000 annually to Israel's economy and who certainly did not obtain peace from the misnamed "peace process.")

In view of these facts, why doesn't Israel's ruling elites resist U.S. pressure? In fact, they have done so on many occasions in the past and with salutary results.

Ettinger provides compelling evidence in his article "U.S. Pressure—A Guide for the Perplexed," September 9, 2009:
In 1950, the U.S. Administration pressured Israel to refrain from Jewish construction in Jerusalem and from declaring Jerusalem the capital of Israel. Prime Minister Ben-Gurion built, relocated government agencies and thousands of immigrants to Jerusalem and declared Jerusalem the capital of the Jewish state.

In 1961, President Kennedy pressured Ben-Gurion to stop the construction of Israel's nuclear reactor. Ben-Gurion ignored Kennedy.

In 1967, the U.S. Administration pressured against annexation of East Jerusalem. Prime Minister Eshkol annexed, reunited Jerusalem, and built the formidable Ramat Eshkol neighborhood.

In 1967, President Johnson pressured Prime Minister Eshkol against preempting the Egypt-Syria-Jordan military offensive. Eshkol acted independently.

In 1970, the U.S. Administration pressured Israel to relinquish control over parts of Jerusalem. Prime Minister Golda Meir constructed the neighborhoods of Gilo, Ramot and Neveh Yaakov (current population over 100,000!).

In 1977, President Jimmy Carter pressured Prime Minister Begin to abstain from direct negotiation with President Sadat and participate—instead—in an international conference, focusing on the Palestinian issue and Jerusalem. Begin acted independently.

In 1981, President Reagan pressured Prime Minister Begin against bombing Iraq's nuclear reactor. Begin ordered the bombing operation.

In 1990, President Bush (the elder) and his Secretary of State James Baker attempted to cut 5 percent of the foreign aid to Israel, on account of Israel's settlement activity. Congress opposed and the initiative was rescinded. (The legislature and the executive are equal in power and fully independent of each other. The U.S. Congress has been a systematic bastion of support of the Jewish state since before 1948.)

Following the 1991 Gulf War, Israel asked for emergency assistance, which Bush/Baker rejected. Congress supported and Israel received $650M in cash and $700M in military systems.

U.S. public and Congressional support of Israel is robust. "The Rasmussen Report" documents a 70 percent support (August 10, 2009) and "Gallup" ranks Israel as the fourth-favored ally (March 3, 2009). Seventy-one senators signed an August 10, 2009, letter calling upon President Obama to shift pressure from Israel to Arab countries. The Democratic Chairman of the House Foreign Relations Committee, Howard Berman, called upon Obama to end his preoccupation with settlements. The Democratic Majority Leader, Steny Hoyer, resents Obama's opposition to Jewish construction in East Jerusalem. The strongest (Democratic) senator, Daniel Inouye, Chairman of the Appropriations Committee, is the most effective supporter of the U.S.-Israel connection since 1948.

Ettinger concludes: "Defiance of pressure entails short-term cost but enhances long-term national security. Submission to pressure exacerbates pressure. Fending off pressure is required, in order to attain strategic goals. Avoiding pressure—through concessions—leads to departure from strategic goals."

The lesson is clear: Courage, fortified by Jewish faith, is the one thing needed in Israel's Government—for the sake of both Israel and the United States.
http://www.israpundit.com/archives/23831

Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center

2010-06-11T05:58:00.000-07:00

Not all the people were IHH personnel. But most of those who were not IHH personnel on the MAVI MARMARA certainly knew that IHH had commandeered the ship and didn't allow them freedom of movement. They were all going along with the charade. They were all accomplices.

June 9, 2010
www.terrorism-info.org.il/malam_multimedia/English/eng_n/html/hamas_e112.htm

Video Recordings of Statements from Mavi Marmara Crew Members about Preparations Made by IHH Operatives for the Violent Confrontation with IDF
Soldiers 1

Overview

1. The videotaped statements of two Mavi Marmara crew members show that
preparations for a violent confrontation with IDF forces were put in motion
about two hours before the boarding began, when the Israeli Navy hailed the
ship and told it to halt.

2. According to the statements, the atmosphere aboard the Mavi Marmara was
tense and the crew noticed a gathering on the main deck. When they checked
the upper deck they discovered that IHH operatives were cutting the ship’s
railings with metal disks they had brought with them into lengths suitable
to be used as clubs. The crew members said the activities worried them and
that they tried to stop the operatives but were unsuccessful.

3. The following are the statements of the one of the ship’s captains and an
officer. This bulletin contains the text of the statements and the
videotaped interviews.
Appendix

The Statements

Mehmut Tuval, Captain, Mavi Marmara
Click for Video
www.terrorism-info.org.il/malam_multimedia/Hebrew/heb_n/video/01.wmv

Chief Officer Gokkiran Gokhan

Statement: I was on the bridge after dark, before anything happened, the
third captain and I were sent in the direction of the life boats, where
there were a lot of people and a lot of noise. The captain told me something
was happening down there, there are noises, go see what’s going on. There
were a lot of people. I told the third captain, you are more senior than I,
come with me.”
Q: When did that happen?
A: Around eight o’clock, I don’t know exactly when, but around eight. I went
down the stairs with the third captain. We saw a senior person [from IHH].
Q: Who?
A: That guy.
Q: What guy?
A: That guy. Maybe the third captain knows his name.
Q: The guy from IHH?
A: Yes, from IHH.
Q: Whose name does he know? The name of the guy from IHH who cut the
railings?
A: No, the third captain knows him from IHH. We [the third captain and I]
went together, we saw a lot of people milling around and we asked what was
going on.
Q: Did you see them cutting [the railings]?
A: They [the iron rods] were already cut. It was all over.
Q: Who did the cutting?
A: I didn’t see.
Q: Who was holding the disk?
A: The disks were lying in a corner of the stairs and the senior guy
[apparently a reference to Blent Yildirim] was next to them.
Q: The senior guy from IHH?
A: Yes.
Q: Who did the disks belong to?
A: I don’t know, they didn’t belong to the ship. We don’t have equipment
like that on board. On deck there were metal poles with clips for cables,
when I got there they had been cut.
Q: When did this happen?
A: When it was getting dark. I asked one of them who cut the poles, and he
said he didn’t know.
Q: Was the man you asked a crew member?
A: No.
Q: Did he belong to IHH?
A: Of course.
Q: You seem to be saying that the people from IHH were in control of the
ship. Did the crew need their permission to move around the ship?
A: Definitely, they [i.e. IHH operatives] didn’t let people they didn’t know
move around.
Q: Did they prevent anyone they didn’t know from moving freely around the
ship?
A: Yes, definitely.
Q: And was that from the first moment they went up on deck?
A: Yes, definitely.
Q: How did the IHH operatives communicate with one another?
A: When they [the IHH operatives] got on board in Istanbul they brought
walkie-talkies with them. They were handed out to the IHH operatives and the
crew.
Q: Did you [the crew] get them as well?
A: Yes, each one worked on a different frequency.
Q: I don’t understand, they didn’t let the passengers and crew go from one
deck to another?
A: They could go anywhere except to the control center they set up on the
bridge.
Q: How many IHH operatives were there on the upper deck.
A: Forty.
Q: The same forty all the time or did they change?
A: More of less the same forty.
Q: You’re referring to the group that joined the ship in Istanbul?
A: yes.

www.terrorism-info.org.il/malam_multimedia/Hebrew/heb_n/video/04.wmv

Follow-up of the June 7, 2010 bulletin IHH Preparations for a Violent
Confrontation with IDF Soldiers Aboard the Turkish Ship Mavi Marmara Initial
conclusions from questioning passengers and examining equipment on board the
ship at
http://www.terrorism-info.org.il/malam_multimedia/English/eng_n/pdf/hamas_e110.pdf.

I find it Disgraceful - Oriana Fallaci

2010-05-29T09:01:00.000-07:00

Some facts about the Gaza 'Siege' - Talking Points from Israel

2010-05-29T05:19:00.000-07:00

This image is of truckloads of supplies entering Gaza. Photo courtesy of the IDF.

Since the ceasefire last January, 133 million litres of fuel entered Gaza from Israel. But who knows what that number really represents? Is it actually a lot? yes, actually, it is: it’s more than enough fuel to fill the petrol tank of every car and truck in Israel.

- Since the ceasefire, well over a million tons of humanitarian supplies entered Gaza from Israel. The is almost a ton of aid for every man woman and child in GAza.

- Israel transfers 15,000 tons of real aid to Gaza EACH AND EVERY WEEK, so a flotilla claiming to carry 10,000 tons of concrete is clearly about a different agenda (Hamas wants concrete to to build its reinforced bunkers).

- International aid groups send their aid to GAza through the Israeli humanitarian pipeline, while publicity seekers merely exploit the humanitarian agenda to promote their own media stunts.

- if there is a humanitarian crisis and food shortage in Gaza, it’s not caused by any ’siege’. The food and medical aid crosses the border from Israel in the vast amounts mentioned above. If some are worried about it not making it to those in need, they should address the Hamas regime that prevents that from happening.

- No Palestinian is denied medical care in Israel. However, if the Hamas regime does not grant permits for medical care, the Israeli government can do nothing to help the patient. Israel will facilitate all cases of medical treatments from Gaza, unless the patient is a known perpetrator of terror.

- about 200 medical staff go through the crossing each month.

- In 2009 alone, 10.544 patients and their companions left the Gaza Strip for medical treatment in Israel.

- Since 2005, Palestinians exploited medical care arrangements more than 20 times to carry out terror attacks.

- According to the UN report of May 2010, 120 megawatts (over 70%) of the Strip’s electricity supply comes from the Israeli electric grid, while 17 MWs come from Egypt and 30 MWs are produced by the Gaza city power station. Since January 2010, there has been deterioration in the supply of electricity to the Gaza Strip since the Hamas regime is unwilling to purchase the fuel to run the Gaza City power station.

- Throughout 2009 Israel transferred 41 trucks of equipment for the maintenance of Gaza’s electricity grid.

- Israel facilitates the transfer of fuel through the border, and maintains that the diversion of fuel from domestic power generators to other uses is wholly a Hamas decision. Over 133 million liters of fuel entered Gaza from Israel over the last 18 months.

http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Government/Communiques/2010/Statement-by-Government-Spokesperson-27-May-2010.htm

Open Mic Night at Mike's Place Tel Aviv

2010-05-27T10:12:00.000-07:00

Only the Israelis would get back on stage and continue singing and celebrating life seven days after a terror attack!

Thanks to Richard Lipman for this guest post.

Richard is contactable at 4imagae@gmail.com

Laptops for Kids in Gaza!

2010-05-26T08:49:00.000-07:00

Late news! Israel is to allow 200,000 laptops for kids in Gaza.

And they call this a humanitarian crisis! Laptops for kids!

The EU and European countries will give one billion Euros this year alone. Add to that money from the UN, USA, Arab and Islamic countries, etc.and you will see that the Palestinians are the wealthiest basket case on our planet.

Join me in my campaign to divert some of the massive amounts of money that goes to the Palestinians and Hamas and have it sent to genuine needs.

Thousands of African children are ignored by the same 'human rights' organisations as they die of malnutrition and disease. Why? Because there is no political capital in their cause. The United Nations, the EU, left wing 'aids' organisations, trades unions, have all adopted Palestinians as their pet project.

It keeps them in international funds and permanent careers. All they have to do is make noise and ensure the money keeps flowing. Just like with climate change, you are not allowed to question or protest their fraud. It makes you a racist or a fascist.

The evidence is, however, available to be seen. It is undeniable. It just needs to be sent to every politican, every newspaper, until they begin to join you in questioning why obscene amounts of money are continuing to be pumped into a middle class, billion dollar, propaganda machine that strengthens an Islamic terror regime.

Barry
The View from Israel

http://israeltheviewfromhere.blogspot.com/

My comment : outrageous indeed, I have to work to get laptops for my kids! Has the world gone mad?

Israel's next mistake

2010-05-23T08:39:00.000-07:00

http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-3892612,00.html

Rough translation of this article by Professor Dror Zeevi.

Right on the mark!

Rash decisions of the Ministry of Tourism or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and in fact an arm of government, make us pay a high political price. The result is always languishing in "security considerations".

The Advertisers Authority (UK) has recently decided to ban British Israeli tourism advertisements in which images of the Western Wall in Jerusalem, claiming this occupied territory. A group of British supporters of Israel has decided to fight the decision and try to persuade Israel has a right view of Jerusalem and the Wall as a national symbol, and change the ads began in the UK, but rather Israel's minister asked them to give up the struggle.

Tourism Minister Stasse Misezhnikov preferred to bow his head and the dictates of the British so as not to damage the expensive advertising campaign whose office plans to start in Britain. But does anyone think that systemically? Someone in the government tried to consider cost / benefit of Israeli concessions? Someone will curse the problems British propaganda accepting dictates our foreign policy will later?

Similar incidents in the past, like a whole level building permit when Biden's visit, needless harmful blackout imposed by the censorship of stories Anat Amir got Makhoul after the media published in the world is possible, or expulsion from Noam Chomsky's highly publicized, are further examples of the lack of overall coordination and thinking. And many others all share is explained as resulting from political and rash decisions without coordination between - offices.

More systemic vision that identifies the cases when specific events occurred not in the authority of the Ministry or another, but as a whole has a complex aspects, which should enable a wider consideration. Such evidence would prevent the media storm, or at least allow the government to respond more wisely when political pressure or public.

Today you can already say with certainty that this is not isolated cases or localized failures. These events are repeated in a regular cycle once a week - two weeks. Convenient for us to think over who directed the show, there are those who make policy and takes it into practice, even if it's not exactly the policy we wished it.

But the sad truth is that regardless of political or moral position in the State of Israel is a real coordination between the arms of the current government administration as ever. The damage of the conduct of this amateur see every day. Each government office is functioning as an independent unit completely, without regard to the information needs or the overall policy. At best, the minister aware of activities taking place in his office and often it does not happen. If the government does not understand this vulnerability and look after her, blunders will continue at the same rate.

And to say we did not warn, could already predict the next duty fuckup. Good chance it will occur at the international ships rally siege on Gaza break in a few days. The IDF must be held with reinforcements, different scenarios were examined practiced Navy ships have been reduced ranges. But is coordination meetings were held between the office? Whether Navy personnel were briefed to understand the world cameras Cameras them that they must act accordingly? Is the Interior Ministry or the police were briefed how In the case of imprisonment to be active and bringing them into Israel, again to the world? Probably not.

How long will we continue to believe the stories about obscure security considerations that should explain all as I explained? When to say enough already failed conduct of this? When are we going to demand our politicians to higher standards of coordination, management and reporting the truth?

Prof. Dror Ze'evi, Department of Middle - East, Ben Gurion University

Having the Balls!

2010-05-16T15:06:00.000-07:00

15 May 2010

It’s been a while since I wrote a personal update so here it is.

I have had to delay my plans for aliyah right now. Life has been a roller coaster for the last year and there is no point in going to make aliyah with not enough money to pay my rent for a few months while I either build my business more out there or search for a job. Nefesh B Nefesh give me a bit and the Israeli Government a bit more but I was never one to want to live on handouts and I want to enjoy the transition form here to there.

So I am resigned to staying here for another British winter. The upside is building a safety net and enough money to get out there. Not an easy decision but I am old enough to know when to be a little sensible.

So my focus is working and doing my bit to support Israel from 2500 miles away. Today I spent my days trying to join various lists, groups and blogs, just to be able to do what I can where I can to keep my little Zionist flames burning.

For the last month, me and several other British Zionists became involved in campaigning against the outrageous decision but the Advertising Standards Authority here in the UK, who after receiving just one compliant from a Palestinian in the UK, have taken on themselves to ban Israel using pictures of the Kotel and the surrounding area in any advertising material, digital or otherwise. We campaigned on Facebook and the response was amazing from Jewish and non-Jews.

I often feel that British Jews, perhaps more so than other European Diaspora Jewry, are comfortable here, and perhaps ignorant of the undercurrents which are growing. Yes, right now we are free. But there are little niggles of needless anti Israel behaviour which are becoming more and more frequent. Academic Boycotts, boycotts of Israeli products in supermarkets, an upturn in anti Jewish writing and anti Semitic attacks. I do not walk around all day feeling doom and gloom but there is no point being an ostrich and ignoring it.

And I am particularly stunned by those that others call self hating Jews, but I prefer to think of as cowards. Those who will pacify the radical Islamists who cry for the Palestinians, whose leaders have millions of dollars to make a good life for their people. Self hating Jews cry for those who would see them destroyed whilst badmouthing their fellow Jews.

What makes me laugh about this behaviour is it is like siding with the class bully. A bully is always a bully and when it down to the bottom line; these Jews are Jews as much as the rest of us Infidels. It’s no different to Nazi Germany. Those who sucked up to the Germans fared no better.

Today’s little noise was about a student of a University in the US and how she spoke to David Horowitz about the Jews. I have ended up in discussion with her directly via Facebook. She has her whole family backing up her terrorist notions and her feeble apology. And what are the Jews doing? Probably eating pizza and playing Farmville. OK that's a little unfair - we can’t all be activists, but we do all need to get wise.

This young woman does not see that my posts about others on campuses preaching hate are relevant to her ‘being attacked’ by Horowitz. I see it all as part of the same game. The ASA kowtowing to an apparently eminent Palestinian and student bodies preaching anti Jewish hate....(really our kids need to be soldiers and politicians to go to University now).

There are millions of radical Muslims. So what do we do? Ignore it and hope it will go away? Become overwhelmed by the sheer numbers they have in response to our little posses? I say no. I say we keep on preaching anti terror and peace initiatives, but not at the expense of our homeland.

I say we stick up for Israel. BUT...this is where today’s events have made me so, so sad. Apologies to those of you who do your bit – I am getting know and love a lot of you and there are many more quiet and not so quiet Israel supporters I have yet to meet. But also in the UK we cannot afford egos to be more important than results. We need to work even if we are separate and unaffiliated to a particular group, with co-operation. I have seen that this can also be a tall order. In the UK, there is too much ceremony and too much nonsense about status when what we need is action and results.

So this Muslim young woman, swathed in her headscarves and checked neck scarf, is benefitting from an education in the West, whilst her brethren are preaching that the West is a despicable cesspit. And I ask why is she taking that privilege? It’s discussed rather well here http://www.commentarymagazine.com/blogs/index.php/totten/294066

The BBC showed a series of documentaries several weeks ago, called ‘Jihad Generation’. The focus was on the radicalisation of young Muslims in the UK. It showed some really quite horrific examples of what young Muslims here in the UK are prepared to do in the name of Islam. They live here, often on benefits, being nurtured, being free, in any case freer than they would be in their homelands, and yet they ridicule the British value system. Young men are arrested for terror offences, serve time in prison and are let out to the community as heroes amongst their own.

The biggest point made here that stood out was when the statement was made that by creating anti terror laws, the UK had helped create more radicalisation. Oh please! These men see no harm in what they do, no harm in assaulting returning British soldiers or living here and signing up to fight for the enemy delighting in the death of an Infidel Brit. My goodness we HAVE to stop apologising. Or let these anti West thinkers return to where they came from. It is against halacha for Jews to not respect the law of their land. We do not blow up tube trains. We just want a peaceful life.

I like so many others, am fed up with the constant, in my opinion, nonsensical victim hood of the Palestinians who have been offered peace, concessions and still choose to fight. And use militant preachers on campus to spread the word of hate and dynamite strapped to their youths waists because they want sympathy. And what is so sick, is that we have become scared to say no in the West. We have become scared of being accused of being politically incorrect. So the cancer of this young woman saying she would be in favour of Hamas deleting the Jewish race, and the young men in the UK who would do the same to us all, Jew, Christian, Hindu or any other outside group, is rapidly growing. It's mutant cells have leaked into our societies and we have let them.

Our campaign against the ASA ruling was a far reaching and successful one. We made a wonderful noise but also peacefully and without letting the group generate into a Muslim or Jew bashing forum. We are proud of that.

The Board of deputies met with the ASA chief to express their concern over the precedent that could be set when it comes to final status talks about Jerusalem. We gathered people from all around the world and we gathered support. A press release was issued a couple of days ago by the Israeli government Tourist Office stating that they would be appealing and we were overjoyed.

And today we have it from our sources that the appeal will not take place. Apparently it was advised that this is kept out of the headlines for the sake of the next campaign.

As my co-moderator Jude Davies puts it - “So much for all the speeches about Israel being the eternal capital etc. I think that this is one of the most shameful decisions in the 62 years of the existence of The State of Israel. I am amazed at the logic expressed that the reasons to not appeal, are possible adverse publicity for the new IGTO advertising campaign and the possibility that the appeal would be denied - What is at stake
here is another deligitimization of Jewish existence - our heritage, history and religious ties to Israel and the centrality of our most holy place - The Kotel”.

I could not have said it better. So one complaint from a Palestinian was all it took. Never mind that we got thousands of emails and calls of support for Israel. In the end the IGTO want to paper over the cracks and move on. http://new.jpost.com/International/Article.aspx?id=175571

I am so sad. I love Israel – not in a romantic or childish way, I see the pros and the cons of my life there, but that is where I want to be and where I feel at home. But today I feel let down by the country there to give me a safe place. I feel that now there is every chance that the next campaign, the next little uproar, will give the anti Israel voices just that little bit more of an advantage. After all Israel did not see this worth fighting for, did not think that the undercurrent here is worth standing up to. Maybe next time the whole of Israel will be the 'disputed territory'. Guys I just wish you had just had the balls to take it all the way. If you had lost then at least you would have shown us you cared and thought it worth trying. Israel cannot buy fans by being quiet. It will not work, any more than pulling out of Gaza or offering concessions for no peace to those who do not even recognise our right to exist.

So this will not stop me supporting the place of my soul, but as a Diaspora Jewess, it hurts way more than any radical calling me names.

Sim Shalom - Beautiful!

2010-05-16T05:37:00.000-07:00

By Gil Ladin http://www.gilladin.com see more at http://www.myspace.com/gilladin

The credit for cinematography is photographer Reuven Kopitchinski - you can see more of his work at http://www.kopitchinski.com

Ani Yehudi - אני יהודי

2010-05-11T16:51:00.000-07:00