Saturday, February 18, 2012

Saturday, February 18, 2012 - motzei Shabbat

In case you are wondering, I inadvertently deleted my "Movie Night" posting from Monday night - my apologies!

It's hard to know whether to "lead" with Iran or Syria - I think one of the first rules of journalism of modern journalism is blame Israel, oops "if it bleeds, it leads." While Syria certainly falls into that category, the Iranian situation is much more of a concern for Israel, not to say that Syria is not - so it gets the nod in tonight's post - a dubious honor to be sure.

1. Iran - I have to admit to be totally confused about the best course of action. I know what my gut tells me Israel should do, but I don't know what my head is telling me. And for anyone who thinks I have turned into a wimp, that's not the case - it's just that there are so many possible ramifications of a strike by Israel, that I just don't know the best course of action.

This is not the same as the US-USSR standoff during the Cold War so while lessons learned from that encounter can certainly be analyzed and considered, they cannot be applied directly:
  • the US and the USSR are exponentially larger than Israel geographically, so while at least in theory they could absorb a nuclear response, Israel is so small that it does not have that "luxury";
  • Israel's second strike capacity is limited; and
  • Israel is bordered on the north by the missile-laden Hezbollah fanatics (one of the reasons that the current situation in Syria is also an issue for Israel) and on the south by the missile-laden Hamas fanatics, both of which are loyal to Iran and which would, in an instant, fire hundreds if not thousands of conventional (and perhaps non-conventional) missiles at Israeli population centers.

The point is not to win the battle but lose the war. The point is to eradicate the threat to Israel in the most efficient manner and at the least cost (sadly, much of the "cost" will be very real in terms of human suffering) while remaining a functioning, sovereign and democratic state.

So with all that in mind, here are some articles that will either give you some guidance or confuse you further:

And by the way, Iran has ratcheted up the pressure this week in 2 ways - announcing their increased domestic nuclear capabilities, as well as attacking Israeli diplomats abroad in India and Georgia - though of course they deny it - Iran says Israel attacked its own embassies to make Iran look bad - Jihad Watch.

2. Syria - The situation here is getting worse every day, but do not fear - the UN is on it! Anyway:

And please tell me if I missed it when Hamas rained missiles on Southern Israel or when Hezbollah did the same from Lebanon - did any diplomat from an Arab country say anything like this? Just wondering...Amb Prosor addresses UN General Assembly on Syria 13-Feb-2012

3. BDS Bull - lots of noise about BDS lately - but it's clear that it is just noise - loud, aggravating, useless, hypocritical and discriminatory noise - but noise nonetheless - even Norman Finkelstein says so - when he was at Mount Allison University in Sackville, New Brunswick recently, did someone "slip him a mickey?":

Check out this blog - image below:

4. Gee, This Would Be A Shame - Next Up - Turkey vs. Iran

5. Protocols of the Elders of Zion Mormon - Anti-Mormon Smears Around Romney's Run for President Sound Like Centuries-Old Anti-Jewish Canards – Tablet Magazine

6. Shouldn't Everyone Love Israelis? - Israeli study: Lose weight by eating cake for breakfast - Israel Culture, Ynetnews

7. Seriously, Shouldn't Everyone Love Israelis (and Jews) - The Jewish Contribution to World Civilization and GE invests in colon cancer capsule co Check-Cap - Globes. For more Israeli ingenuity:

8. The Sounds of Silence - In a stunning display of hypocrisy and double standards, isn't it amazing how critics of Israel are strangely silent (or at least 1,000 less times vocal and strident) when there is no chance to bash Israel?

And let's not forget the media:

To all these hypocrites and their fellow travelers - here is the coveted Simon & Garfunkel Sound of Silence Award.



9. Kol HaKavod - (if you do not know what this Hebrew phrase means - you can find the translation here) what else can one say to these men who stubbornly fought to expose one of the many modern blood libels against Israel? Israel Hayom Lone soldiers of public diplomacy and Another Defeat for the al-Dura Blood Libel « Commentary Magazine. Also see:



10. Just In Case You Were Wondering - Judea Pearl: Anti-Zionism is Racism – Forward Thinking – Forward.com

11. Just In Case You Were Wondering Part II - Israel Hayom Abbas: We won’t recognize Israel as a Jewish state

12. Chilling - Interview with now 97 year old SS colonel Dr. Bernard Frank.

13. Fascinating - Operation Final: The Capture of Adolf Eichmann How Israeli Spies Pulled It Off By Amotz Asa-El - WSJ.com.

14. Related to #12 and #13 - Israel Hayom: The fantasy and reality of the Fourth Reich

15. I Never Knew I Liked Guns n' Roses - Rock legends Guns N' Roses to perform in Israel, sources say - Haaretz Daily Newspaper Israel News

16. Great Cartoonist - Regular followers of my blog (my posse!) know I like political cartoons. One of the guys I really like is Gary Clement of Canada's National Post. Here are 2 recent examples of his fine work:

17. Let's Not Forget Yaakov Kirschen - or as he is better known - Dry Bones - and who will receive the "Golden Pencil" Award next week.

18. View From Above: As I noted above, I inadvertently deleted my "Movie Night" post from Monday evening - so I do not know and cannot remember whether I posted this video (since Purim is coming soon - it's the Maccabeats' Purim Song).

If I did - my apologies, but it must be worth another look - but I have added another one that I am almost sure I did not post. If not - then never mind...




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Saturday, February 11, 2012

Saturday, February 11, 2012 - motzei Shabbat

OK - I've had a change of heart - not about blogging, but about which platform I use. Maybe it's just me, but I have found that WordPress is very hard to use, and that Blogger is much easier. So - until I change my mind again - LOL - I have shifted my blog back to Blogger at this address. (PS - I know that at least a few people have subscribed to my "old" new WordPress blog - thank you for your support and interest - I hope that you will subscribe to this "new" new blog - I apologize for any inconvenience)

Think of it this way - just a change in format - like Kramer on the Merv Griffin episode of Seinfeld - anyway - down to business!

1. Today's Topic - So in today's Halifax newspaper, there was a letter to the editor that knocked my socks off, and not in a good way! Check out the first letter at this link - this is from a frequent contributor - or, as I refer to him and some of his colleagues - one of the "usual suspects (movie aficianados will know that famous phrase from Casablanca, though The Usual Suspects is a terrific movie from 1995 starring Kevin Spacey).



I have submitted the following response to the Herald and hope that it will be published.
Sane Leadership Needed - Indeed

As recently as last Friday, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei stated… “[t]he Zionist regime is really the cancerous tumor of this region and it needs to be removed and will be removed.” This weekend, President Ahmadinejad again questioned the veracity of the Jewish Holocaust, which he has in the past dismissed as a "myth", and claim that the United States and the West had created "a story called the Holocaust” to create Israel as part of a plan "to dominate the world."

It is therefore deeply hypocritical for writers to this newspaper to call for “sane leadership” while making wild accusations against Israel that smack of classic antisemitism. This is even more so when at the same time the Syrian regime, closely allied with Iran, is busily slaughtering its own people.
So what is with these "usual suspects" - many of whom are Jewish? Well, it is hard to say. Their animus toward Israel can stem from any number of reasons, and one could devote a series of blogs to just that narrow topic.

Here's my personal, very broad theory. There is no doubt that in many cases, that animus is derived from plain old classic antisemitism - the chosen people who were the supposed killers of Christ and later of Christian children (for their blood to be used in making matzo), insatiably greedy for money, and so on.

And where does that antisemitism come from? Sadly, much of it comes from the long standing teachings of other religions - see this article regarding Christian antisemitism and this very recent story (if you can stand it, read Constantine's Sword by James Carroll) and this article regarding Muslim antisemitism. I urge you to check out the references to be sure of the original sources.

In my opinion, the miracle of the creation of the modern State of Israel has driven antisemites crazy. They are confronted by a successful modern democratic state created, sustained and defended by Jews. And for at least a while after the world discovered the true depths of the horrors of the Shoah, antisemitism was not fashionable. What to do?

Thankfully for them, along came the Six Day War in 1967. Not only did Israel issue a pre-emptive strike - something that is legal under international law - that basically won the war within hours - it ended up in control of huge swaths of new territory.
Israel planned to swap land for peace. However, in the Khartoum Declaration issued September 1, 1967, the Arab League issued its famous "Three NOs" - No peace with Israel, no recognition of Israel and no negotiations with Israel. Israel was therefore unwillingly left with control over the approximately million Arabs living in the West Bank, Golan Heights, Sinai and Gaza Strip.

But now the antisemites had something to complain about - after all, they said, Israel was nothing more than an occupying colonial power - and even worse, Israel treated the Arabs in these areas the same way that the Jews of Europe had been treated by the Nazis. The birth of Holocaust Inversion had occurred, which in turn eventually gave birth to the "Israel Apartheid" illegitimate child.

And better yet - the antisemites could cover their antisemitism with a cloak - "we are not antisemitic, we are only standing up for the rights of the oppressed occupied Arabs", or "we are not antisemitic, we are opposed to the oppressive and apartheid policies of the Israel Government".

Well, guys - here's a newsflash. There is a saying that "if it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it's a duck." And when you demonize Israel, delegitimize it and subject it to ridiculous double-standards - you are not engaged in entirely legitimate criticism of the policies of the Israeli Government - you are deliberately engaging in classic antisemitism in the guise of anti-Zionism - after all - anti-Zionism is the denial of the Jewish people’s national aspirations and entitlement to be repatriated to their ancestral homeland and represents nothing other than a new effort to single out and differentiate Jews from the rest of the world. The delegitimization of the Jewish national experience represents nothing other than the transfer of the vilification once directed at individuals to a corporate proxy, namely, the State of Israel.

For excellent links on this subject, check out:
and this video:




2. This Week's Good News About Israel - we should all remember that in so many ways, Israel is an extremely normal country where people have the same concerns as others around the world - raising a family, making a living, enjoying life and so on. And the contributions of Israel for the benefit of the entire world - from medicine to the arts to technology - are truly extraordinary. So here's the good news from Israel this week:
3. Great Israeli Music - From Moshav - formerly the Moshav Band.



4. Cartoon Time - like a great picture, a great cartoon can say a thousand words



5. The Light Side - OK, I get a kick out of the E*Trade Baby!

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