Showing posts with label Israel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Israel. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 22, 2014
Thoughts on Israel
War is a terrible thing, and it is terrible that Israel has been involved in conflict for most of its existence. I do not apologize for Jewish self-defense, and I also note that if the Israelis were not careful, the civilian death count would have been much higher in Gaza. The problem that makes Israel necessary is that the Jews had nowhere to go, hence Israel can only be discussed in its historical context. Now that it exists, the many who say that it should not exist is proof enough for me that it needs to exist, for those same people are the ones who murdered the Jews. Do you think that the always large number of Jew haters love Israel? Where did the followers of Father Coughlin and Henry Ford go? Many went to Ron Paul. When people shoot rockets at a country, there are many responses possible, but condemning the response but not the rocket firing is evidence enough that the critics are bigots.
Monday, July 21, 2014
Why I am a Zionist
Land area Gaza strip: 139 square miles
Population Gaza Strip: 1.8 million
13,000 people per square Gaza mile
Land area Singapore: 276 square miles
Population Singapore: 5.3 million
19,202 people per square Singapore mile
Chief occupation of Gazans; Hating Jews, shooting
rockets at Jews
Chief occupation of Singaporeans: trade,
business
GDP per capita Gaza: $6,100
GDP per capita Yemen: $2,250
GDP per capita Singapore: $51,709
I had sent this email to Gerald Celente, who considers himself a courageous hero because he's jumped on the anti-Zionist bandwagon.
Much of the anti-Israel narrative is based on the lie that the Israeli land
was stolen from Palestinians. This link offers an alternative perspective. The land was a barren hellhole, but the Jews bought it from large Arab landowners. The
anti-Israel narrative also omits half of Israeli Jews’ being Sephardic or Mizrahi, i.e.,
they come from other Arab countries. In Arab countries Jews are routinely
brutalized. People like Gerald Celente omit that history. The only remaining
Middle East country with Jews is Iran, with about 15,000. Wikipedia says this:
Thirteen Jews have been executed in Iran since
the Islamic revolution, most of them for alleged connections to Israel. Among
them, one of the most prominent Jews of Iran in the 1970s, Habib Elghanian
who was the head of the Iranian Jewish community was executed by a firing squad
by the Islamic government shortly after the Islamic Revolution of 1979 on the charge having had contact with Israel, among
others. In May 1998, Jewish businessman Ruhollah Kadkhodah-Zadeh was hanged in
prison without a public charge or legal proceeding, apparently for assisting
Jews to emigrate.[68]
Since 1979 about 70-80,000 Jews have left Iran, presumably mostly for
Israel. In the other Arab countries conditions are worse. In Yemen Jews must
pay a jizya, a special tax on non-Muslims. I haven’t heard Celente talking about
the Yemini jizya; apparently he approves. Almost all Yemini Jews have left for
Israel. Did the Yemini Jews steal the Palestinians' land, or did Yemen still the
Jews’ land? The same can be said about the 75,000 Jews who’ve left Iran. I
haven’t heard Celente or his friends comment on them.
Christians and Jews are not allowed to be citizens of Saudi Arabia. According to Wikipedia
There is virtually no Jewish activity in Saudi
Arabia in the beginning of the 21st century. Jewish (as well as Christian and
other non-Muslim) religious services are prohibited from being held on Saudi
Arabian soil.[12]
When American military personnel were stationed in Saudi Arabia during the
Gulf War,
permission for small Christian worship services was eventually granted, but
Jewish services were only permitted on US warships. Yet, Celente and his friends
do not protest American arm sales to Saudi Arabia (from Wikipedia):
On October 20, 2010, U.S. State Department
notified Congress of its intention to make the biggest arms sale in American
history - an estimated $60.5 billion purchase by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The package represents a considerable improvement in the offensive capability of
the Saudi armed forces.
Jews have also fled Syria. According to
Wikipedia, “Syrian Jews derive
their origin from two groups: those who inhabited Syria from early times
and the Sephardim who fled to
Syria after the expulsion of the Jews from Spain (1492 AD). There
were large communities in Aleppo, Damascus, and Qamishli for
centuries. In the early twentieth century a large percentage of Syrian Jews
emigrated to the U.S., Central and South America and Israel. Today only a few
Jews still live in Syria. The largest Syrian-Jewish community is located in
Israel, and is estimated at 80,000.” Much of this immigration has to do with
ill treatment. Again, I haven’t heard protests about this from Celente or the
anti-Semites-masquerading-as-anti-Zionists about this treatment:
The Syrian government passed a number of
restrictive laws against the Jewish minority. In 1948, the government banned the
sale of Jewish property. In 1953, all Jewish bank accounts were frozen. Jewish
property was confiscated, and Jewish homes which had been taken from their
owners were used to house Palestinian refugees.[46]
Again, did Syria steal Zionists’ land, or did
Zionists steal Palestinians’ land? My own ancestors came from various places,
including the Middle East and Central Asia but predominantly from Europe.
During the postwar period Poles were literally murdering Jews in the street.
Hannah Arendt documents this in Eichmann in Jerusalem. Perhaps out of
concern for Celente’s moral opinions the few Jews remaining in Poland should
have remained there and been murdered. Maybe people with morals like that don’t
need to be taken seriously.
I too find the warfare and killing of
Palestinian children troubling. At the same time, if someone shot rockets at
my home, I don’t think I’d be charitable. Like Celente, I’ve lived my whole
life in a safe environment.
Monday, May 30, 2011
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Does Obama Intend to Sue Israel Too?
The Obama administration is proving itself to be so extreme, and so extremely inept, that I, who have been talking about a split government as being advantageous, have concluded that almost any Republican would be preferable to Obama's continuing in office.
Cornel West, Princeton's African-American diversity expert, sounds like he's coming to a similar conclusion. West says in The Boston Globe that Obamai is“a black mascot of Wall Street oligarchs and a black puppet of corporate plutocrats.” I think he started reading my blog because I first said that three years ago. West's racist Obama-supporting Princeton colleague, Paul Krugman, likely disagrees. With a name like "Krugman" he might be concerned about Obama's eagerness to return Israel to its 1967 borders. But the Democratic Party's Judenrat is eager to defend Obama's claim that he is eager that Israel's borders be defensible once they've been returned to an indefensible position. ABC News reports that an officer of the Democratic Party's Judenrat, The Atlantic Monthly's Jeffrey Goldberg, defends Obama's statement as does the Anti-Defamation League of B'Nai B'Rith.
The Judenrat's reasoning seems to be that Obama has been such a success at protecting America's borders that he will do an excellent job with Israel's. In fact he is so successful at defending the US's borders that he is suing the state of Arizona. I can see why the ADL and Jeffrey Goldberg are eager to see Obama secure Israel's borders. Obama will then sue Israel if it tries to defend itself.
On the other hand, Commentary's Omri Ceren writes:
>Having abandoned past U.S. assurances on this overarching core issue, the President is now asking the Israelis to take enormous risks—in the aftermath of a Fatah-Hamas merger, no less—based on future U.S. assurances. This frankly bizarre diplomatic and rhetorical strategy seems unlikely to succeed.
Yup. Obama thinks his Texas border policy has been so successful that he aims to transfer it to Israel.
Even worse than his Texas-in-Israel position is Obama's traitorous intent to thwart the 2nd Amendment through a United Nations treaty. I received a call today from the National Rifle Association. The caller, an NRA member, told me that the Obama administration is planning to participate in and sign a United Nations initiative that would interfere with the 2nd Amendment. Pajamas Media's Howard Nemerov reports:
The UN seeks a 'comprehensive, legally binding instrument establishing common international standards for the import, export and transfer of conventional arms.'
Last October, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton declared the Obama administration’s support for the United Nations plan to regulate 'convention arms transfers.' Brady-endorsed Congresswoman Ellen Tauscher (D, CA-10) was chosen as under secretary for arms control and international security in the State Department.
I more than doubled my lapsed membership donation to the NRA plus gave them extra to cover the membership of a serviceman. We need the NRA to protect America from tyranny. It is not going too far to call a president who would threaten the Second Amendment with a United Nations treaty not just a tyrant, but a traitor.
Obama must go. The Republicans must defeat him. Doing so will not stop America's longer term decline, which would require the election of Ron Paul or Gary Johnson plus a Tea Party Congress. America's decline is as much due to Progressive Republicans like Mitt Romney and George W. Bush as it is to the Democrats. But anything is better than a traitor like Obama.
Cornel West, Princeton's African-American diversity expert, sounds like he's coming to a similar conclusion. West says in The Boston Globe that Obamai is“a black mascot of Wall Street oligarchs and a black puppet of corporate plutocrats.” I think he started reading my blog because I first said that three years ago. West's racist Obama-supporting Princeton colleague, Paul Krugman, likely disagrees. With a name like "Krugman" he might be concerned about Obama's eagerness to return Israel to its 1967 borders. But the Democratic Party's Judenrat is eager to defend Obama's claim that he is eager that Israel's borders be defensible once they've been returned to an indefensible position. ABC News reports that an officer of the Democratic Party's Judenrat, The Atlantic Monthly's Jeffrey Goldberg, defends Obama's statement as does the Anti-Defamation League of B'Nai B'Rith.
The Judenrat's reasoning seems to be that Obama has been such a success at protecting America's borders that he will do an excellent job with Israel's. In fact he is so successful at defending the US's borders that he is suing the state of Arizona. I can see why the ADL and Jeffrey Goldberg are eager to see Obama secure Israel's borders. Obama will then sue Israel if it tries to defend itself.
On the other hand, Commentary's Omri Ceren writes:
>Having abandoned past U.S. assurances on this overarching core issue, the President is now asking the Israelis to take enormous risks—in the aftermath of a Fatah-Hamas merger, no less—based on future U.S. assurances. This frankly bizarre diplomatic and rhetorical strategy seems unlikely to succeed.
Yup. Obama thinks his Texas border policy has been so successful that he aims to transfer it to Israel.
Even worse than his Texas-in-Israel position is Obama's traitorous intent to thwart the 2nd Amendment through a United Nations treaty. I received a call today from the National Rifle Association. The caller, an NRA member, told me that the Obama administration is planning to participate in and sign a United Nations initiative that would interfere with the 2nd Amendment. Pajamas Media's Howard Nemerov reports:
The UN seeks a 'comprehensive, legally binding instrument establishing common international standards for the import, export and transfer of conventional arms.'
Last October, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton declared the Obama administration’s support for the United Nations plan to regulate 'convention arms transfers.' Brady-endorsed Congresswoman Ellen Tauscher (D, CA-10) was chosen as under secretary for arms control and international security in the State Department.
I more than doubled my lapsed membership donation to the NRA plus gave them extra to cover the membership of a serviceman. We need the NRA to protect America from tyranny. It is not going too far to call a president who would threaten the Second Amendment with a United Nations treaty not just a tyrant, but a traitor.
Obama must go. The Republicans must defeat him. Doing so will not stop America's longer term decline, which would require the election of Ron Paul or Gary Johnson plus a Tea Party Congress. America's decline is as much due to Progressive Republicans like Mitt Romney and George W. Bush as it is to the Democrats. But anything is better than a traitor like Obama.
Friday, February 4, 2011
Meshugana Jews Voted For Obama
In the recent past, Jews have been saddled with the holocaust, oppression in the Soviet Union and the dhimmi, embodied in the jizya tax, in many Islamic countries. Now that some have their own country, Israel, and others live in America, they are free from tyranny. Ironically, though, given American freedom, many if not most American Jews have supported reinstatement of the socialism that murdered them in Germany and the Soviet Union and from which they fled. The self-destructive support for "progressivism" is a martyr wish. The Jews' martyrdom is a biblical theme: the Jews sin, suffer penalties like the breaking of the tablets by Moses, and then are redeemed through suffering like the Babylonian captivity.
In voting for Obama 77 percent of American Jews aimed to induce a biblical cycle. The Jews' favored candidate, whether through incompetence or intent, is about to destabilize the Middle East and pose a serious threat to Israel's existence. In a recent letter David Horowitz writes:
The situation on the streets of Cairo is confusing, but so too is the message coming out of the Obama White House. The White House appears to be leaving Hosni Mubarak, an ally for three decades and lynchpin of Mideast stability, twisting slowly in the wind. And worse, it appears to be open to allowing the Muslim Brotherhood play a key role in a "reformed" Egyptian government, as long as the organization renounces violence and supports democracy... If the Obama White House really believes this is possible, it is even more hopelessly incompetent than we imagined...In suggesting that the Muslim Brotherhood can be a democratic partner in Egypt, the Obama White House has outdone even the Carter administration's destabilization of the Shah of Iran in 1979 and its welcoming of the theocratic fascist Khoumeni as a "saint."...From the Bolshevik Revolution, through Mao and the Ayatollah Khoumeni, the left has always seen figures who turned out to be monsters as "reformers."
There were probably some Jews who supported Hitler in 1932, before he got to power. The effects on Israel of the Obama administration's actions could turn out worse than I thought likely in 2008 (but not worse than I feared). His meshugana Jewish supporters bear responsibility for the threat that Muslim Brotherhood now poses to the Jews.Friday, October 22, 2010
Letter from Mayor Ed Koch Supporting George Phillips for Congress
Dear Friends:
With less than two weeks to go before the mid-term election, we know this letter -- asking for support for George Phillips for Congress – is coming very late in the day. But we are making this unusual request because this is both a moment of urgency and opportunity.
The urgency is that this is a crucial moment in the U.S.-Israel alliance. Iran is edging ever closer to becoming a nuclear power. If that should come to pass, a grave threat will become an existential threat for the state of Israel. All against the backdrop of an aggressive international campaign of deligitimization and isolation against Israel. So now more than ever, Israel needs strong allies in America – and strong allies in the United States Congress.
Unfortunately, when it comes to Maurice Hinchey, who represents New York’s 22nd District, we have one of the least sympathetic, most hostile lawmakers in Congress on all issues impacting the U.S.-Israel relationship. Hinchey is a member of a small group of Representatives that routinely votes against the bipartisan resolutions and legislation by which Congress supports the U.S.-Israel alliance.
Consider just a few items from his record:
-In 2002, at the height of the Intifada, as Israeli civilians were being murdered by the hundreds in suicide bombings, a simple House resolution expressing solidarity with Israel passed by a 352-21 margin. Hinchey voted “present.”
-In 2006, Hinchey voted against a bill to promote democratic institution-building in the Palestinian territories titled the “Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act.” It passed 361-37.
-In 2009, he voted against a resolution condemning the Goldstone Report, an infamous product of the UN that accused Israel of intentionally committing war crimes in Gaza. The anti-Goldstone resolution passed 344-36.
-This year, he signed a letter to President Obama that accused Israel of the “de facto collective punishment” of Palestinians in Gaza and demanded that President Obama pressure Israel to open its borders with Gaza, a move that would leave Israel dangerously vulnerable to terrorism.
-Most stunningly of all, Hinchey voted against one of the Obama administration’s most important foreign policy initiatives, the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions Act, passed by overwhelming margins in both houses of Congress and signed into law this summer. This key piece of legislation, vital to both American and Israeli security, sailed through the House 412-12.
Hinchey voted against it.
If there is a Member of Congress who has voted more consistently against consensus American foreign policy interests and against U.S.-Israel friendship, we would be hard-pressed to name him.
Fortunately, the opportunity comes in the person of George Phillips, a young and talented candidate who was born and raised in Endwell near Binghamton. Mr. Phillips -- a dedicated teacher who also brings foreign policy experience from his days as a Congressional aide -- has closed to within just a few points of Representative Hinchey. A race that was once thought of as untouchable is now winnable. New York’s 22nd District is now on the national political radar screen. A stunning upset is within reach. Which is where you come in.
The two of us signing this letter differ on many issues and indeed belong to different political parties. But we are united in our criticisms of and opposition to Maurice Hinchey; and in our support and enthusiasm for George Phillips, who would prove to be a strong and faithful friend of the US-Israel relationship.
Your help during this sprint to the finish will make a meaningful, and quite possibility a decisive, difference in the outcome of this race. That is why we are asking that you join this effort by going to www.electgeorgephillips.com, and make an online donation today.
George Phillips will prove to be what Maurice Hinchey has never been: A serious voice on American national security and a stalwart defender of Israel. In protecting the interests of Israel we are protecting the interests of America. The United States and Israel are animated by the same principles. We care about the same causes. We are hated by the same enemies. And our destinies are therefore inseparable. As one who cherishes the special relationship between both nations, we hope that you can find it within yourself to make a contribution.
It can make all the difference.
Sincerely,
Ed Koch
With less than two weeks to go before the mid-term election, we know this letter -- asking for support for George Phillips for Congress – is coming very late in the day. But we are making this unusual request because this is both a moment of urgency and opportunity.
The urgency is that this is a crucial moment in the U.S.-Israel alliance. Iran is edging ever closer to becoming a nuclear power. If that should come to pass, a grave threat will become an existential threat for the state of Israel. All against the backdrop of an aggressive international campaign of deligitimization and isolation against Israel. So now more than ever, Israel needs strong allies in America – and strong allies in the United States Congress.
Unfortunately, when it comes to Maurice Hinchey, who represents New York’s 22nd District, we have one of the least sympathetic, most hostile lawmakers in Congress on all issues impacting the U.S.-Israel relationship. Hinchey is a member of a small group of Representatives that routinely votes against the bipartisan resolutions and legislation by which Congress supports the U.S.-Israel alliance.
Consider just a few items from his record:
-In 2002, at the height of the Intifada, as Israeli civilians were being murdered by the hundreds in suicide bombings, a simple House resolution expressing solidarity with Israel passed by a 352-21 margin. Hinchey voted “present.”
-In 2006, Hinchey voted against a bill to promote democratic institution-building in the Palestinian territories titled the “Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act.” It passed 361-37.
-In 2009, he voted against a resolution condemning the Goldstone Report, an infamous product of the UN that accused Israel of intentionally committing war crimes in Gaza. The anti-Goldstone resolution passed 344-36.
-This year, he signed a letter to President Obama that accused Israel of the “de facto collective punishment” of Palestinians in Gaza and demanded that President Obama pressure Israel to open its borders with Gaza, a move that would leave Israel dangerously vulnerable to terrorism.
-Most stunningly of all, Hinchey voted against one of the Obama administration’s most important foreign policy initiatives, the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions Act, passed by overwhelming margins in both houses of Congress and signed into law this summer. This key piece of legislation, vital to both American and Israeli security, sailed through the House 412-12.
Hinchey voted against it.
If there is a Member of Congress who has voted more consistently against consensus American foreign policy interests and against U.S.-Israel friendship, we would be hard-pressed to name him.
Fortunately, the opportunity comes in the person of George Phillips, a young and talented candidate who was born and raised in Endwell near Binghamton. Mr. Phillips -- a dedicated teacher who also brings foreign policy experience from his days as a Congressional aide -- has closed to within just a few points of Representative Hinchey. A race that was once thought of as untouchable is now winnable. New York’s 22nd District is now on the national political radar screen. A stunning upset is within reach. Which is where you come in.
The two of us signing this letter differ on many issues and indeed belong to different political parties. But we are united in our criticisms of and opposition to Maurice Hinchey; and in our support and enthusiasm for George Phillips, who would prove to be a strong and faithful friend of the US-Israel relationship.
Your help during this sprint to the finish will make a meaningful, and quite possibility a decisive, difference in the outcome of this race. That is why we are asking that you join this effort by going to www.electgeorgephillips.com, and make an online donation today.
George Phillips will prove to be what Maurice Hinchey has never been: A serious voice on American national security and a stalwart defender of Israel. In protecting the interests of Israel we are protecting the interests of America. The United States and Israel are animated by the same principles. We care about the same causes. We are hated by the same enemies. And our destinies are therefore inseparable. As one who cherishes the special relationship between both nations, we hope that you can find it within yourself to make a contribution.
It can make all the difference.
Sincerely,
Ed Koch
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Great Video on the Flotilla
Saul Alinsky pioneered the use of the media to make one's opponent look bad. The flotilla was a classic Alinsky tactic, and the psychopathic left (including the Times) and its serial killing allies are eager to capitalize on it. Unfortunately the Isralis fell for the bait. But let us not confuse Alinsky tactics with facts. The Israelis had boarded the boat and were attacked with one thrown overboard first.
As far as the announcer's comments on the Times's biased coverage, it has long been obvious that the once-great newspaper can be taken less seriously than the Star or the Enquirer. The Star doesn't have ideological baggage or the economic interests of the Ochs Sulzbergers to color its articles and has been disciplined through law suits so that its coverage is truthful. The Times has no such discipline because no one will sue them for telling whoppers on behalf of the bailout and the Obama administration.
Hat-tip Merle Levine:
As far as the announcer's comments on the Times's biased coverage, it has long been obvious that the once-great newspaper can be taken less seriously than the Star or the Enquirer. The Star doesn't have ideological baggage or the economic interests of the Ochs Sulzbergers to color its articles and has been disciplined through law suits so that its coverage is truthful. The Times has no such discipline because no one will sue them for telling whoppers on behalf of the bailout and the Obama administration.
Hat-tip Merle Levine:
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Obama's War on Israel
My father just sent me this video, which Youtube attempted to censor. It shows that the passengers on the ship that Israel attacked had repeatedly assaulted Israeli soldiers, and threw one overboard.
The incident follows the Obama administration's support for the UN's recent attack on Israel's nuclear capability. Mark Meed of Frontpagemag notes that "what is remarkable is the United States supported this resolution." In other words, under Obama the US now votes with the Third World tyrannies that hate Israel.
The incident follows the Obama administration's support for the UN's recent attack on Israel's nuclear capability. Mark Meed of Frontpagemag notes that "what is remarkable is the United States supported this resolution." In other words, under Obama the US now votes with the Third World tyrannies that hate Israel.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Concerns about US-Israel Relations Mount
I received this communication from Sharad Karkhanis:
Subject: Very disturbing information - sent to me by a friend.
I have just received this: from my friend in Israel, who moves in high circles in Israel. Tonight Clive and I heard very disturbing information – we heard it from a consultant to the United States who meets once a month with the President in the White house. He is in the know. This is what actually has happened with the relationship with Israel and the USA and it is not pretty:
1. Israel during the Bush and Clinton Administrations – had landing rights in Turkey , and in the USA bases in the middle east and more recently under George Bush, in Iraq . This was in case they were invaded by Iran , or Saudi or any other Arab country. Obama has withdrawn those landing rights. Israel now has nowhere to refuel in the middle east.
2. Netanyahu was instructed to come to the white house for a meeting. He was brought in through a servants entrance – the only head of state ever in US history to be given that disgraceful treatment. He was not offered even a cup of tea – but was lectured to by Obama who told him that he is not permitted to attack Iran and that he has to withdraw all forces from the West bank and may not build any more settlements (neighborhoods) in East Jerusalem.
3. Israel found out that there were four terrorists meeting in Dubai . As they have done for the past 62 years, they informed the US of that and said that these terrorists had to be dealt with. Obama said under no circumstances. Israel decided to go ahead. They killed the one terrorist who showed up. However the CIA was sent there to film the entire event by Obama – and then a concerted PR campaign was waged by the White house to discredit Israel and what they did – this kind of action has taken place with US support for the past 62 years since we have common enemies.
4. Obama has refused to oppose Syria ’s re arming of Hezbollah and Hamas – Israel now sits in imminent danger from the amounts of missiles that can be sent into her territory.
5. Israel will never tell the US again of its plans – since they cannot trust us.
6. Israel intends to attack Iran –there are over 30 installations of which 4 have underground bunkers that contain nuclear weapons. Israel cannot wait any longer. The US is no longer supporting Israel ’s
self defense.
7. This is the same man that gave the White House a full file on the 9.11 attack – his warnings and proof were laughed at.
8. He believes that the next attacks in the USA will be mass transportation – subways and malls – especially the largest malls where the most people can be killed - and that Vegas and wherever there are
conventions of employees will be a huge target. We are not prepared and are naïve in our lack thereof.
9. Once Israel attacks Iran , every Jew and Jewish institution will be at risk – temples, religious schools etc. We must be prepared.
10. This kept a room of 200 people spellbound. It is not fiction. It is fact. What can be done? It is essential that everyone who doesn’t know yet, now understands that the protection and survival of Israel is not on Obama’s list – and he is now taking ACTUAL steps to move all protections away – no more landing rights, negotiating with Iran and Syria and he is no friend of the Jewish people and Israel. We must be sure that we elect politicians who protect Israel as well as the USA – our interests are intertwined. Please forward to everyone you know.
Subject: Very disturbing information - sent to me by a friend.
I have just received this: from my friend in Israel, who moves in high circles in Israel. Tonight Clive and I heard very disturbing information – we heard it from a consultant to the United States who meets once a month with the President in the White house. He is in the know. This is what actually has happened with the relationship with Israel and the USA and it is not pretty:
1. Israel during the Bush and Clinton Administrations – had landing rights in Turkey , and in the USA bases in the middle east and more recently under George Bush, in Iraq . This was in case they were invaded by Iran , or Saudi or any other Arab country. Obama has withdrawn those landing rights. Israel now has nowhere to refuel in the middle east.
2. Netanyahu was instructed to come to the white house for a meeting. He was brought in through a servants entrance – the only head of state ever in US history to be given that disgraceful treatment. He was not offered even a cup of tea – but was lectured to by Obama who told him that he is not permitted to attack Iran and that he has to withdraw all forces from the West bank and may not build any more settlements (neighborhoods) in East Jerusalem.
3. Israel found out that there were four terrorists meeting in Dubai . As they have done for the past 62 years, they informed the US of that and said that these terrorists had to be dealt with. Obama said under no circumstances. Israel decided to go ahead. They killed the one terrorist who showed up. However the CIA was sent there to film the entire event by Obama – and then a concerted PR campaign was waged by the White house to discredit Israel and what they did – this kind of action has taken place with US support for the past 62 years since we have common enemies.
4. Obama has refused to oppose Syria ’s re arming of Hezbollah and Hamas – Israel now sits in imminent danger from the amounts of missiles that can be sent into her territory.
5. Israel will never tell the US again of its plans – since they cannot trust us.
6. Israel intends to attack Iran –there are over 30 installations of which 4 have underground bunkers that contain nuclear weapons. Israel cannot wait any longer. The US is no longer supporting Israel ’s
self defense.
7. This is the same man that gave the White House a full file on the 9.11 attack – his warnings and proof were laughed at.
8. He believes that the next attacks in the USA will be mass transportation – subways and malls – especially the largest malls where the most people can be killed - and that Vegas and wherever there are
conventions of employees will be a huge target. We are not prepared and are naïve in our lack thereof.
9. Once Israel attacks Iran , every Jew and Jewish institution will be at risk – temples, religious schools etc. We must be prepared.
10. This kept a room of 200 people spellbound. It is not fiction. It is fact. What can be done? It is essential that everyone who doesn’t know yet, now understands that the protection and survival of Israel is not on Obama’s list – and he is now taking ACTUAL steps to move all protections away – no more landing rights, negotiating with Iran and Syria and he is no friend of the Jewish people and Israel. We must be sure that we elect politicians who protect Israel as well as the USA – our interests are intertwined. Please forward to everyone you know.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Ed Koch Denounces Obama's Anti-Israel Stance
In 2008, Israel National News reported that 77% of American Jews voted for Barack Obama for president. Perhaps we might call this a suicidal commitment to political correctness. It was fairly evident at the time of the 2008 election that Obama would be anti-Israel. First, at a minimum Obama's upbringing was heavily influenced by the Islamic faith. He attended Islamic schools for several years while he lived in Indonesia. Second, Obama grew up with numerous far left influences. His mentor while he was growing up was Frank Marshall Davis. His mother was committed to a left-wing viewpoint. Third, Obama's cousin in Kenya, Raila Odinga, has led a violent insurrection that may have included appeals to support the imposition of Sharia law, and Obama went to Kenya to support him. Fourth, Obama has associated with far-left anti-Semites Reverend Michael Pfleger, Reverend Jeremiah Wright, and Louis Farrakhan as well as violent felon Professor William Ayers.
In a Washington Post article in January 2008, Richard Cohen wrote about Obama's membership in the Trinity United Church of Christ and that church's newsletter's having given an award to Louis Farrakhan. The newsletter said that Farrakhan ""truly epitomized greatness."
Cohen pointed out that "the Obama camp takes the view that its candidate, now that he has been told about the award, is under no obligation to speak out on the Farrakhan matter." Despite his perceptiveness, Cohen lapses into denial: "I don't for a moment think that Obama shares Wright's views on Farrakhan."
Based on what?
During the course of the election, a televised interview of former Manhattan Borough President Percy Sutton (see video embedded below) revealed that Khalid Abdullah Tariq al-Mansour, personal advisor to the king of Saudi Arabia (recall Obama's bow to King Abdullah), had called him when Obama was applying to Harvard Law School. Mansour asked Sutton to intervene with Harvard on Obama's behalf.
I know that Ed Koch knew about all of this because I recall writing him an e-mail two years ago when I was shocked to hear of his support for then-candidate Obama. Mr. Koch was intelligent enough to know better. His failure was moral. He allowed political correctness and the desire to conform to the benighted opinions of the Democratic Party media to overcome his sense of decency.
The same is true of the Jewish community at large. The 77% of Jews who voted for Mr. Obama in 2008 are worse enemies of their fellow Jews than the most virulent of anti-Semites in America. They are a moral disgrace.
Now, in the video directly below (h/t Phil Orenstein and my cousin Don, the video of Sutton follows) Mr. Koch complains about Mr. Obama's all-out attack on Israel. The one perplexing question: why is Mr. Koch surprised?
In a Washington Post article in January 2008, Richard Cohen wrote about Obama's membership in the Trinity United Church of Christ and that church's newsletter's having given an award to Louis Farrakhan. The newsletter said that Farrakhan ""truly epitomized greatness."
Cohen pointed out that "the Obama camp takes the view that its candidate, now that he has been told about the award, is under no obligation to speak out on the Farrakhan matter." Despite his perceptiveness, Cohen lapses into denial: "I don't for a moment think that Obama shares Wright's views on Farrakhan."
Based on what?
During the course of the election, a televised interview of former Manhattan Borough President Percy Sutton (see video embedded below) revealed that Khalid Abdullah Tariq al-Mansour, personal advisor to the king of Saudi Arabia (recall Obama's bow to King Abdullah), had called him when Obama was applying to Harvard Law School. Mansour asked Sutton to intervene with Harvard on Obama's behalf.
I know that Ed Koch knew about all of this because I recall writing him an e-mail two years ago when I was shocked to hear of his support for then-candidate Obama. Mr. Koch was intelligent enough to know better. His failure was moral. He allowed political correctness and the desire to conform to the benighted opinions of the Democratic Party media to overcome his sense of decency.
The same is true of the Jewish community at large. The 77% of Jews who voted for Mr. Obama in 2008 are worse enemies of their fellow Jews than the most virulent of anti-Semites in America. They are a moral disgrace.
Now, in the video directly below (h/t Phil Orenstein and my cousin Don, the video of Sutton follows) Mr. Koch complains about Mr. Obama's all-out attack on Israel. The one perplexing question: why is Mr. Koch surprised?
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Eric Hoffer on Israel, 1968
My father just sent me this quote from an Eric Hoffer article in the LA Times in 1968. Hoffer was a longshoreman who gained fame as a social philosopher in the 1960s. Notice the reference to Sweden.
ISRAEL'S PECULIAR POSITION...by Eric Hoffer - LA Times 5/26/68
The Jews are a peculiar people: things permitted to other nations are forbidden to the Jews.
Other nations drive out thousands, even millions of people and there is no refugee problem. Russia did it, Poland and Czechoslovakia did it.
Turkey threw out a million Greeks, and Algeria a million Frenchman.
Indonesia threw out heaven knows how many Chinese and no one says a word about refugees.
But in the case of Israel , the displaced Arabs have become eternal refugees.
Everyone insists that Israel must take back every single one.
Arnold Toynbee calls the displacement of the Arabs an atrocity greater than any committed by the Nazis.
Other nations when victorious on the battlefield dictate peace terms.
But when Israel is victorious, it must sue for peace.
Everyone expects the Jews to be the only real Christians in this world.
Other nations, when they are defeated, survive and recover but should Israel be defeated it would be destroyed.
Had Nasser triumphed last June [1967], he would have wiped Israel off the map, and no one would have lifted a finger to save the Jews.
No commitment to the Jews by any government, including our own, is worth the paper it is written on.
There is a cry of outrage all over the world when people die in Vietnam or when two Blacks are executed in Rhodesia .
But, when Hitler slaughtered Jews no one demonstrated against him.
The Swedes, who were ready to break off diplomatic relations with America because of what we did in Vietnam,
Did not let out a peep when Hitler was slaughtering Jews.
They sent Hitler choice iron ore, and ball bearings, and serviced his troops in Norway.
The Jews are alone in the world.
If Israel survives, it will be solely because of Jewish efforts. And Jewish resources.
Yet at this moment, Israel is our only reliable and unconditional ally.
We can rely more on Israel than Israel can rely on us.
And one has only to imagine what would have happened last summer [1967] had the Arabs and their Russian backers won the war,
To realize how vital the survival of Israel is to America and the West in general.
I have a premonition that will not leave me; as it goes with Israel so will it go with all of us.
Should Israel perish, the Holocaust will be upon us all.
ISRAEL'S PECULIAR POSITION...by Eric Hoffer - LA Times 5/26/68
The Jews are a peculiar people: things permitted to other nations are forbidden to the Jews.
Other nations drive out thousands, even millions of people and there is no refugee problem. Russia did it, Poland and Czechoslovakia did it.
Turkey threw out a million Greeks, and Algeria a million Frenchman.
Indonesia threw out heaven knows how many Chinese and no one says a word about refugees.
But in the case of Israel , the displaced Arabs have become eternal refugees.
Everyone insists that Israel must take back every single one.
Arnold Toynbee calls the displacement of the Arabs an atrocity greater than any committed by the Nazis.
Other nations when victorious on the battlefield dictate peace terms.
But when Israel is victorious, it must sue for peace.
Everyone expects the Jews to be the only real Christians in this world.
Other nations, when they are defeated, survive and recover but should Israel be defeated it would be destroyed.
Had Nasser triumphed last June [1967], he would have wiped Israel off the map, and no one would have lifted a finger to save the Jews.
No commitment to the Jews by any government, including our own, is worth the paper it is written on.
There is a cry of outrage all over the world when people die in Vietnam or when two Blacks are executed in Rhodesia .
But, when Hitler slaughtered Jews no one demonstrated against him.
The Swedes, who were ready to break off diplomatic relations with America because of what we did in Vietnam,
Did not let out a peep when Hitler was slaughtering Jews.
They sent Hitler choice iron ore, and ball bearings, and serviced his troops in Norway.
The Jews are alone in the world.
If Israel survives, it will be solely because of Jewish efforts. And Jewish resources.
Yet at this moment, Israel is our only reliable and unconditional ally.
We can rely more on Israel than Israel can rely on us.
And one has only to imagine what would have happened last summer [1967] had the Arabs and their Russian backers won the war,
To realize how vital the survival of Israel is to America and the West in general.
I have a premonition that will not leave me; as it goes with Israel so will it go with all of us.
Should Israel perish, the Holocaust will be upon us all.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Democrats versus Republicans on Israel
Dan Friedman just sent me a link to the Rasmussen website. The polling firm finds that of Americans:
>Forty-four percent (44%) say Israel should have taken military action against the Palestinians, but 41% say it should have tried to find a diplomatic solution to the problems there, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey. Fifteen percent (15%) are undecided.
>Fifty-five percent (55%) of adults, however, believe the Palestinians are to blame for the current situation in Gaza, while 13% point the finger at the Israelis. Nearly one-third (32%) aren't sure.
>Men are far more sympathetic to the Israelis than women. Fifty-six percent (56%) of men support Israel's military action, compared to 34% of women. Whites narrowly give the edge to military action, but African-Americans by three-to-one say diplomacy was the better way to go.
>Sixty-seven percent (67%) of those who say they are following news out of Gaza Very Closely support Israel's military action, while 30% favor diplomacy.
>Sixty-two percent (62%) of Republicans back Israel's decision to take military action against the Palestinians, but only half as many Democrats (31%) agree. A majority of Democrats (55%) say Israel should have tried to find a diplomatic solution first, a view shared by just 27% of Republicans.
>While 75% of Republicans say Israel is an ally of the United States, just 55% of Democrats agree. Seven percent (7%) of Democrats say Israel is an enemy of America, but only one percent (1%) of Republicans say the same. For 21% of Republicans, Israel is somewhere in between, and 28% of Democrats agree.
The Jews are fools to stay within the Democratic Party.
>Forty-four percent (44%) say Israel should have taken military action against the Palestinians, but 41% say it should have tried to find a diplomatic solution to the problems there, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey. Fifteen percent (15%) are undecided.
>Fifty-five percent (55%) of adults, however, believe the Palestinians are to blame for the current situation in Gaza, while 13% point the finger at the Israelis. Nearly one-third (32%) aren't sure.
>Men are far more sympathetic to the Israelis than women. Fifty-six percent (56%) of men support Israel's military action, compared to 34% of women. Whites narrowly give the edge to military action, but African-Americans by three-to-one say diplomacy was the better way to go.
>Sixty-seven percent (67%) of those who say they are following news out of Gaza Very Closely support Israel's military action, while 30% favor diplomacy.
>Sixty-two percent (62%) of Republicans back Israel's decision to take military action against the Palestinians, but only half as many Democrats (31%) agree. A majority of Democrats (55%) say Israel should have tried to find a diplomatic solution first, a view shared by just 27% of Republicans.
>While 75% of Republicans say Israel is an ally of the United States, just 55% of Democrats agree. Seven percent (7%) of Democrats say Israel is an enemy of America, but only one percent (1%) of Republicans say the same. For 21% of Republicans, Israel is somewhere in between, and 28% of Democrats agree.
The Jews are fools to stay within the Democratic Party.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Would Obama Side With Iran?
Baron Bodissey of Gates of Vienna reports that Iran has tested a nuclear bomb. He quotes "Israel National News":
"(IsraelNN.com) A weekend 5.0 Richter earthquake in Iran was actually a nuclear bomb test, says an Iranian nuclear scientist claiming to be working on the project."
My question on this is whether Barack Obama would side with Iran in the event of a nuclear strike on Israel. Who's giving odds on this? And who's willing to compare the odds with a President McCain's?
"(IsraelNN.com) A weekend 5.0 Richter earthquake in Iran was actually a nuclear bomb test, says an Iranian nuclear scientist claiming to be working on the project."
My question on this is whether Barack Obama would side with Iran in the event of a nuclear strike on Israel. Who's giving odds on this? And who's willing to compare the odds with a President McCain's?
Thursday, October 30, 2008
What every Jew Should Know About Obama
A reader of this blog referred me to this video.
Also this:
Also see:
If Israel falls, who will be to blame?
Also this:
Also see:
If Israel falls, who will be to blame?
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Jesse Jackson Says That Under Obama, American Support For Israel Will Be Reduced
Pamela Geller of Atlas Shrugs (h/t Larwyn) reports that Jesse Jackson has publicly stated that:
"Zionists who have controlled American policy for decades", they'll lose a great deal of their clout when Barack Obama enters the White House. "decades of putting Israel's interests first" would end...Jackson warns that he isn't an Obama confidant or adviser, 'just a supporter.' But he adds that Obama has been 'a neighbor or, better still, a member of the family.' Jackson's son has been a close friend of Obama for years, and Jackson's daughter went to school with Obama's wife Michelle.
Read the whole thing here.
"Zionists who have controlled American policy for decades", they'll lose a great deal of their clout when Barack Obama enters the White House. "decades of putting Israel's interests first" would end...Jackson warns that he isn't an Obama confidant or adviser, 'just a supporter.' But he adds that Obama has been 'a neighbor or, better still, a member of the family.' Jackson's son has been a close friend of Obama for years, and Jackson's daughter went to school with Obama's wife Michelle.
Read the whole thing here.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Pirates Save Israel
Contrairimairi has sent me a link to Shirat Devorah with the following story:
On August 21st, 2008, the MV Iran Deyant, 44,458 dead weight bulk carrier was heading towards the Suez Canal. As it was passing the Horn of Africa, about 80 miles southeast of al-Makalla in Yemen, the ship was surrounded by speedboats filled with members of a gang of Somalian pirates who grab suitable commercial ships and hold them and their cargos and crews for ransom. The captain w as defenseless against the 40 pirates armed with AK-47s and rocket-propelled grenades blocking his passage. He had little choice other than to turn his ship over to them. What the pirates were not banking on, however, was that this was no ordinary ship.
The MV Iran Deyanat is owned and operated by the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) - a state-owned company run by the Iranian military that was sanctioned by the U.S. Department of the Treasury on September 10, shortly after the ship's hijacking.
The MV Iran Deyanat was brought to20Eyl, a sleepy fishing village in northeastern Somalia, and was secured by a larger gang of pirates - 50 onboard and 50 onshore. The Somali pirates attempted to inspect the ship's seven cargo containers but the containers were locked. The crew claimed that they did not have the "access codes" and could not open them...
Within a period of three days, those pirates who had boarded the ship and opened the cargo container with its gritty sand-like contents, all developed strange health complications...
The Somali pirates initially set the ship's ransom at $2 million and the Iranian government provided $200,000 to a local broker...
...She was an enormous floating dirty bomb, intended to detonate after exiting the Suez Canal at the eastern end of the Mediterranean and in proximity to the coastal cities of Israel. The entire cargo of radioactive sand, obtained by Iran from China (the latter buys desperately needed oil from the former) and sealed in containers which, when the charges on the ship are set off after the crew took to the boats, will be blasted high into the air where prevailing winds will push the highly dangerous and radioactive cloud ashore.
Given the large number of deaths from the questing Somali pirates, it should be obvious that when the contents of the ship’s locked cargo containers finally descended onto the land, the death toll would be enormous. This ship was nothing more nor less than the long-anticipated Iranian attack on Israel.
Read the whole thing here.
On August 21st, 2008, the MV Iran Deyant, 44,458 dead weight bulk carrier was heading towards the Suez Canal. As it was passing the Horn of Africa, about 80 miles southeast of al-Makalla in Yemen, the ship was surrounded by speedboats filled with members of a gang of Somalian pirates who grab suitable commercial ships and hold them and their cargos and crews for ransom. The captain w as defenseless against the 40 pirates armed with AK-47s and rocket-propelled grenades blocking his passage. He had little choice other than to turn his ship over to them. What the pirates were not banking on, however, was that this was no ordinary ship.
The MV Iran Deyanat is owned and operated by the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) - a state-owned company run by the Iranian military that was sanctioned by the U.S. Department of the Treasury on September 10, shortly after the ship's hijacking.
The MV Iran Deyanat was brought to20Eyl, a sleepy fishing village in northeastern Somalia, and was secured by a larger gang of pirates - 50 onboard and 50 onshore. The Somali pirates attempted to inspect the ship's seven cargo containers but the containers were locked. The crew claimed that they did not have the "access codes" and could not open them...
Within a period of three days, those pirates who had boarded the ship and opened the cargo container with its gritty sand-like contents, all developed strange health complications...
The Somali pirates initially set the ship's ransom at $2 million and the Iranian government provided $200,000 to a local broker...
...She was an enormous floating dirty bomb, intended to detonate after exiting the Suez Canal at the eastern end of the Mediterranean and in proximity to the coastal cities of Israel. The entire cargo of radioactive sand, obtained by Iran from China (the latter buys desperately needed oil from the former) and sealed in containers which, when the charges on the ship are set off after the crew took to the boats, will be blasted high into the air where prevailing winds will push the highly dangerous and radioactive cloud ashore.
Given the large number of deaths from the questing Somali pirates, it should be obvious that when the contents of the ship’s locked cargo containers finally descended onto the land, the death toll would be enormous. This ship was nothing more nor less than the long-anticipated Iranian attack on Israel.
Read the whole thing here.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Nancy Razik's Questions about Barack Obama
Nancy Razik raises some questions about Barak Obama in an e-mail that parallels Candace de Russy's recent NR article. Nancy picked up the following from a friend's e-mail:
"Obama's radical Palestinian ties used to influence Jewish voters
"A telephone campaign in Florida and Pennsylvania is trying to convince Jewish voters in those states to drop their support for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama over his ties to and endorsement by Palestinian terrorist elements.
The Associated Press reported that the telephone calls are made under the guise of being a legitimate campaign poll, but really have only one purpose: to convince Jewish voters that Obama will sell out Israel to its enemies.
"Jewish voters who receive the calls are asked by the pollsters if Obama's providing funds to the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), his endorsement by Hamas, or his decision to hire advisors known for their anti-Israel bias would influence their vote.
"It is now well known that Hamas, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and other radical elements in the Middle East are rooting for Obama to win in November. What is less known is his past affiliation with groups that advocate and work for the violent downfall of the Jewish state.
"From 1999 to 2002, Obama served as a paid director for a Chicago-based non-profit organization called the Woods Fund. In 2001 and then again in 2002, the Woods Fund provided grants totaling $75,000 to the Arab American Action Network (AAAN), a radical organization with firm ties to the PLO that laments Israel's existence as a "catastrophe."
"AAAN co-founder, Professor Rashid Khalidi of Columbia University, has openly supported terrorism against Israeli Jews and even took an active role in PLO operations when Yasser Arafat's group was still considered a terrorist organization by the West.
"After learning that Obama was running for president, Khalidi embarked on a serious fundraising effort. The Obama campaign has gladly accepted the money raised by that effort.
"Also of note is the fact that Obama served on the Woods Fund board with admitted and unrepentant US domestic terrorist William Ayers."
"Obama's radical Palestinian ties used to influence Jewish voters
"A telephone campaign in Florida and Pennsylvania is trying to convince Jewish voters in those states to drop their support for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama over his ties to and endorsement by Palestinian terrorist elements.
The Associated Press reported that the telephone calls are made under the guise of being a legitimate campaign poll, but really have only one purpose: to convince Jewish voters that Obama will sell out Israel to its enemies.
"Jewish voters who receive the calls are asked by the pollsters if Obama's providing funds to the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), his endorsement by Hamas, or his decision to hire advisors known for their anti-Israel bias would influence their vote.
"It is now well known that Hamas, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and other radical elements in the Middle East are rooting for Obama to win in November. What is less known is his past affiliation with groups that advocate and work for the violent downfall of the Jewish state.
"From 1999 to 2002, Obama served as a paid director for a Chicago-based non-profit organization called the Woods Fund. In 2001 and then again in 2002, the Woods Fund provided grants totaling $75,000 to the Arab American Action Network (AAAN), a radical organization with firm ties to the PLO that laments Israel's existence as a "catastrophe."
"AAAN co-founder, Professor Rashid Khalidi of Columbia University, has openly supported terrorism against Israeli Jews and even took an active role in PLO operations when Yasser Arafat's group was still considered a terrorist organization by the West.
"After learning that Obama was running for president, Khalidi embarked on a serious fundraising effort. The Obama campaign has gladly accepted the money raised by that effort.
"Also of note is the fact that Obama served on the Woods Fund board with admitted and unrepentant US domestic terrorist William Ayers."
Monday, August 4, 2008
It's the Jewish Lobby's Fault
By CHARLES HUTZLER, Associated Press Writer
19 minutes ago
BEIJING - In an audacious and deadly attack just days ahead of the Beijing Olympics, two men from a mainly Muslim ethnic group rammed a truck and hurled explosives at jogging policemen in China's restive far west Monday, killing 16.
The attack in a city near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border brought an immediate response from China's Olympic organizers, who pronounced security precautions ready to ensure safety in Beijing and other Olympic venues when the games open Friday.
Yet the timing so close to opening day heightened the attack's shock value and bore the hallmarks of local Muslim militants, said Li Wei, a counterterrorism expert affiliated with the government.
19 minutes ago
BEIJING - In an audacious and deadly attack just days ahead of the Beijing Olympics, two men from a mainly Muslim ethnic group rammed a truck and hurled explosives at jogging policemen in China's restive far west Monday, killing 16.
The attack in a city near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border brought an immediate response from China's Olympic organizers, who pronounced security precautions ready to ensure safety in Beijing and other Olympic venues when the games open Friday.
Yet the timing so close to opening day heightened the attack's shock value and bore the hallmarks of local Muslim militants, said Li Wei, a counterterrorism expert affiliated with the government.
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Pamela Hall in Washington, DC
Pamela Hall of the United American Committee spoke on June 1o, 2007 in Washington, DC at a rally. Her speech is available on Youtube here. She concludes: "God bless America. God bless Israel." And God bless Pamela.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Review of Gary Tobin, Aryeh K. Weinberg and Jenna Ferer's, "The Uncivil University"
Gary A. Tobin, Aryeh K. Weinberg and Jenna Ferer
The Uncivil University
Institute for Jewish and Community Research, 2005
296 pages
Gary A. Tobin, Aryeh K. Weinberg and Jenna Ferer have written a useful and insightful book on anti-Semitism in universities. The book is actually more than that. It starts by discussing standards of academic competence and ethics. These standards have been increasingly neglected in recent years. Universities have become overly obsessed with money, with narrow fields of specialization and with protecting their prerogatives from external review, even as they require ever greater amounts of financial support from external sources.
Following their discussion of the decline of universities, the authors discuss fiduciary and ethical duties of academics and academic administrators. They follow this with a discussion of a history of anti-Semitism in academia, in America more broadly, and in the Arab world. The authors do a good job of discussing the blurring of the distinctions among anti-Semitism, anti-Israelism and criticism of Israel, three areas which overlap. They include an interesting quote by Tamir Sorek of the Cornell Daily Sun in this regard. As the authors point out,
"There are only fourteen million Jews in the world out of a population of more than five billion. If one listens to the rhetoric of the anti-Semites and the anti-Israelists (and now the anti-American voices as well), one can only assume that there are hundreds of millions of Jews in the world controlling government, controlling the banks, controlling the media, and who are poised to profit from everybody else's distress."
Sadly, as the authors point out, p. 72, "the university and the left now seem interchangeable" with Jim Piereson labeling "higher education 'the left university'". Universities have become fonts of anti-Semitic propaganda and (p. 105) "the university has failed, permitting a converging rise of anti-Semitism and anti-Israelism on college campuses that marginalizes Jewish students." Politicized research marginalizes honest research.
For instance, Yale Assistant Professor Mazin Qumsiyeh circulated a list of Jewish students whom he labeled a "pro-war cabal". As well, Jewish students at the University of California, Berkeley have been spit on and called "Zionist conservative bastards" and "f**king Jews" when campaigning for student office." These are not isolated occurrences, but rather are widespread. Jews are routinely harassed and called vicious names at college campuses around the country. For instance, in 1993 Khalid Abdul Muhammad, speaking at Kean College, called Jews "bloodsuckers". The authors assert that:
"Professor Norton Mezvinsky, of Central Connecticut State University, has been quoted stating that Jews believe 'the blood of non-Jews has no intrinsic value' and that this allows Jews to consider that the killing of non-Jews does 'not constitute murder according to the Jewish religion'."
Professor Emeritus Helen Cullen of the University of Massachusetts, known as "the Harvard of Marxism", wrote a letter that was published in U. Mass.'s student daily, Collegian, saying that:
"Judaism and the Jewish identity are offensive to most human beings and will always cause trouble between the Jews and the rest of the human race."
The University of Illinois student newspaper published a letter from Ariel Sinovsky stating that "the President should act immediately...First, separate Jews from all government advisory positions and give them one year full paid sabbatical...Then the Jews might face another Holocaust."
In 2002 Santa Rosa Junior College's student newspaper The Oak Leaf published an article by Kevin McGuire stating that "Israel is the largest and most dangerous terrorist organization in the world..."
A key example is the low-quality field of Middle Eastern Studies. Bernard Lewis is quoted as saying that the field is of low quality. Students complain of marginalization, ideological harassment and intimidation. The Middle Eastern Studies field is junk and does not deserve to be part of the university. Columbia Professors such as Samir Awad, Gil Anidjar, Janaki Bakhle, Marc Nichanian, Hamid Dbashi, Joseph Massad, Frances Protchett, George Saliba, Nader Sohrabi and Marc van de Mieroop, all of Colubmia's Middle Eastern Studies program, dominated the list of signatories on a petition for divestment from Israel. The scholarship of Middle Eastern Studies departments has been of such low quality that it is a standing joke in academia.
To remedy these problems, the authors suggest enhanced external control. In 2005, Congress passed House Resolution 3077, subsequently folded into House Resoultion 609, that establishes an independent higher education advisory board to provide advice, counsel and recommendations on international education issues.
Uncivil University is a very well written and readable book. It is well researched and balanced. The authors have treated an important subject with care. The book deserves a wide readership.
The Uncivil University
Institute for Jewish and Community Research, 2005
296 pages
Gary A. Tobin, Aryeh K. Weinberg and Jenna Ferer have written a useful and insightful book on anti-Semitism in universities. The book is actually more than that. It starts by discussing standards of academic competence and ethics. These standards have been increasingly neglected in recent years. Universities have become overly obsessed with money, with narrow fields of specialization and with protecting their prerogatives from external review, even as they require ever greater amounts of financial support from external sources.
Following their discussion of the decline of universities, the authors discuss fiduciary and ethical duties of academics and academic administrators. They follow this with a discussion of a history of anti-Semitism in academia, in America more broadly, and in the Arab world. The authors do a good job of discussing the blurring of the distinctions among anti-Semitism, anti-Israelism and criticism of Israel, three areas which overlap. They include an interesting quote by Tamir Sorek of the Cornell Daily Sun in this regard. As the authors point out,
"There are only fourteen million Jews in the world out of a population of more than five billion. If one listens to the rhetoric of the anti-Semites and the anti-Israelists (and now the anti-American voices as well), one can only assume that there are hundreds of millions of Jews in the world controlling government, controlling the banks, controlling the media, and who are poised to profit from everybody else's distress."
Sadly, as the authors point out, p. 72, "the university and the left now seem interchangeable" with Jim Piereson labeling "higher education 'the left university'". Universities have become fonts of anti-Semitic propaganda and (p. 105) "the university has failed, permitting a converging rise of anti-Semitism and anti-Israelism on college campuses that marginalizes Jewish students." Politicized research marginalizes honest research.
For instance, Yale Assistant Professor Mazin Qumsiyeh circulated a list of Jewish students whom he labeled a "pro-war cabal". As well, Jewish students at the University of California, Berkeley have been spit on and called "Zionist conservative bastards" and "f**king Jews" when campaigning for student office." These are not isolated occurrences, but rather are widespread. Jews are routinely harassed and called vicious names at college campuses around the country. For instance, in 1993 Khalid Abdul Muhammad, speaking at Kean College, called Jews "bloodsuckers". The authors assert that:
"Professor Norton Mezvinsky, of Central Connecticut State University, has been quoted stating that Jews believe 'the blood of non-Jews has no intrinsic value' and that this allows Jews to consider that the killing of non-Jews does 'not constitute murder according to the Jewish religion'."
Professor Emeritus Helen Cullen of the University of Massachusetts, known as "the Harvard of Marxism", wrote a letter that was published in U. Mass.'s student daily, Collegian, saying that:
"Judaism and the Jewish identity are offensive to most human beings and will always cause trouble between the Jews and the rest of the human race."
The University of Illinois student newspaper published a letter from Ariel Sinovsky stating that "the President should act immediately...First, separate Jews from all government advisory positions and give them one year full paid sabbatical...Then the Jews might face another Holocaust."
In 2002 Santa Rosa Junior College's student newspaper The Oak Leaf published an article by Kevin McGuire stating that "Israel is the largest and most dangerous terrorist organization in the world..."
A key example is the low-quality field of Middle Eastern Studies. Bernard Lewis is quoted as saying that the field is of low quality. Students complain of marginalization, ideological harassment and intimidation. The Middle Eastern Studies field is junk and does not deserve to be part of the university. Columbia Professors such as Samir Awad, Gil Anidjar, Janaki Bakhle, Marc Nichanian, Hamid Dbashi, Joseph Massad, Frances Protchett, George Saliba, Nader Sohrabi and Marc van de Mieroop, all of Colubmia's Middle Eastern Studies program, dominated the list of signatories on a petition for divestment from Israel. The scholarship of Middle Eastern Studies departments has been of such low quality that it is a standing joke in academia.
To remedy these problems, the authors suggest enhanced external control. In 2005, Congress passed House Resolution 3077, subsequently folded into House Resoultion 609, that establishes an independent higher education advisory board to provide advice, counsel and recommendations on international education issues.
Uncivil University is a very well written and readable book. It is well researched and balanced. The authors have treated an important subject with care. The book deserves a wide readership.
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