The Suicide Solution; Conference Dynamism

The Suicide Solution

By Moshe Feiglin
6 Tevet, 5767 (Dec 28)

When the Nazis came into power, many of the assimilated Jewish intellectuals in Germany committed suicide. Their cultural world was the German world. When they realized that there was no room for Jews in their world, the only option they saw was death. The national process that Israel's elites are leading is becoming eerily reminiscent of the same psychosis.

If you listen to former Mosad Chief Donny Yatom or to a wide range of intellectuals and public opinion makers, you will conclude that all the rapid escapes, disengagements, peace pacts and restraints that the Oslo people have wrought upon us have been a dizzying success whose conclusion is clear: We must retreat from the Golan Heights and drive its Jewish residents out of their homes, we must continue to supply the good terrorists with weapons so that they can fight the bad terrorists, and, of course, we must release all the bad terrorists in Israeli jails so that they can join forces with the good terrorists. Even Gilad Shalit's father spoke this week in favor of a terrorist release prior to his son's release. We do not accuse all of these people of stupidity or wickedness. Something much deeper is triggering their solutions.

The hard core Leftists control all the State's power hubs that are not up for election -- culture, security, justice and economy. As far as they are concerned, if it is impossible to make peace -- in other words, if it is impossible for Israel to be a normal nation accepted by its neighbors -- there is no reason for the State to exist. The most basic Zionist ethos calls for normalization of the Jewish nation. The powers that be -- the Left -- have no intention of surrendering that vision. They will continue to grab at every last straw -- as ridiculous or dangerous as it may be -- in a desperate attempt to realize their vision.

It is important to understand that Israel's defense policy derives from Leftist Messianism. When Yossi Beilin, Shimon Peres and other Oslo criminals illegally met with terrorists, opening Israel's floodgates to the largest terror organization in the world, it wasn't because they were stupid or suffered from political/security myopia. They were simply clinging to the last straw they could find in their attempt to be accepted to the family of nations. As far as they are concerned, any "window of opportunity" is worth the risk, for if we do not make peace with our would-be murderers, we will remain a nation apart from all other nations. In other words, we will remain alone -- with only our Jewish identity.

Israel's government is reminiscent of those assimilated Jews who, when forced by the Nazis to accept their identity, preferred to commit suicide rather than face the truth. Israel's government will continue to cling to its suicidal policies in an effort to maintain its control over the nation against all odds -- marching stridently toward the unfeasible vision of negation of its Jewish identity and national assimilation.

The current leadership mindset will never come up with a solution for the Kassams because having a solution means fighting, winning and defeating the other side. Obviously, it doesn't have a clue how to deal with the Iranian nuclear threat.

Clearly, the solution is outside the parameters of Israel's Western-based ideology. It exists on the plane of Jewish identity that will elect Jewish leadership to express our Jewish values and destiny.


Conference Dynamism

Although the Manhigut Yehudit Chanukah Conference took place over a week ago, the enthusiastic reactions are still pouring in. Both Manhigut veterans and newcomers alike have taken the time to call or write and tell us how inspired they were by the conference. Their message is basically the same: Manhigut Yehudit has given us hope that there really is a solution for Israel's crisis. It has restored our faith in our power to really make a change. It has inspired us to act to make Israel the Jewish State that we have always dreamed of.

Rivka, who attended the conference although she knew almost nothing about Manhigut, described her feelings at the end of the evening as a tremendous sense of relief. Concerned about Israel's future, she had tried activism in various political factions, but always left disappointed. "Do you hear what he's saying?" she loudly whispered in the middle of Michael Fuah's speech. "He said that when you vote Left, you get Left, and when you vote Right, you get double Left! Why hasn't anybody dared say that before?" Rivka is now busily handing out Manhigut Yehudit brochures to her friends and acquaintances, preparing the ground for a local meeting that she plans to hold at her home. "Nobody but Manhigut Yehudit is proposing a realistic solution," she says. "My friends feel the same way and have been extremely interested and supportive."

A couple from Gush Katif called our office after the conference to express their deep thanks. They related that since they were driven out of their home a year and a half ago, they have been despondent. They had always believed in the State, and when the cruel reality finally hit home, they felt that they had nowhere to turn. Looking around, they saw no leadership that was facing reality and taking practical steps to improve it. "The Manhigut Yehudit Conference rekindled our hope and the strength we need to face our problems and solve them," they said. We cannot thank you enough, and plan to do our utmost to create belief based leadership for Israel."

These are just two small examples. There are countless more. The warm response stems from a number of factors:

First, when the Nation has authentic Jewish leadership, it stands up proudly for its values. Second, Jewish leadership is the only all- encompassing solution that there is. That is why everybody feels comfortable with it: Religious and secular, veteran Israelis and olim, those who feel more esteem toward State institutions and those who feel less. Third, the candle-lighting ceremony, that undoubtedly provided the Conference's most moving moments.

The candle lighting ceremony was a perfect example of the difference between sectarian activity and leadership that presents itself as a national alternative. Sectarian leadership will always attempt to disassociate itself from those who it feels will drag it outside the comfort of the "consensus." But leadership that believes that it represents the Nation does not draw its legitimacy from the current government. It clearly declares its intention to replace it. This type of leadership has no problem placing the most reviled and rejected heroes of our generation at center stage. We are not ashamed to lead the way, honoring those people who have paid a price for clinging to the truth.

Click here, to view a short film of the Chanukah Conference.

Click here, to listen to live interviews from the Chanukah Conference.

Click here to rate this post on JBlog

The Israeli Government Is Running Out Of Cheeks To Turn

In true Xmas spirit of turning cheeks, the Israel government has taken appeasement to new levels. Invoking memories of Kevin Bacon's fraternity initiation in "Animal House" ("Thank you sir, may I have another?"), there has a been a flurry of good will activity, all in good cheer to strengthen our Holocaust-denying partner-in-peace, Abu Mazen, with Condi et al pulling the strings from behind her egg nog.

Let's see, first there were to be 59 checkpoints removed, then 400. Then came word of release of a "few" prisoners in time for the Muslim holidays. All this as the Kassams kept flying in during the cease fire (which according to the Foreign Ministery report here, qualifies Israel as a non-country since it cannot protect its own citizens. Really. I quote "Even though most of these rockets have fortunately not caused serious harm to the civilians they were aimed at, no country in the world would tolerate any such attacks on its civilian population.") and shot all office pool predictions of just how many Kassams it would take for Israel to push the button (apparently Kadima MK Tal was not even close when he rhetorically asked the PM over the weekend if 40 was the magic number) to hell.

And all this as we find out:

• That Jimmy " I am not an anti-Semite, I am a Jew-hater" Carter was in bed with the Arab-backed infamous Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI) otherwise known as "the bank that would bribe Gd" and hence the funds for his latest anti-Israel screed.
• That one Kassam landed near a kindergarden and another in Ashkelon.
• That the US State department still thinks all the "Palestinians" want is just a state to call home and that they will gladly lay down their arms.
• That Israel really is hell-bent on paying $100 million to the PA for humanitarian purposes.
• That the Egyptians will generously let us keep Eilat.
• That the shooting of Israelis in the West Bank has already started as the checkpoints come down.
• That the current Shabak head has a gift for pointing out the obvious and I quote ""We're trapped. If we don't respond - the Qassams will continue to fall and if we do respond against the rocket cells the calm will collapse," This is calm? I would hate to see manic or nervous.
• All this while no one in government seems inclined to give the IDF the green light to stop the Kassams but yet somehow finds the time to criminally harass another 15 year-old girl from Chevron. Whew!! For a minute I was worried priorities were misplaced.

Yes peace in our time with the Israeli government doing its best Neville Chamberlain impression. Peace and good will on earth and all it takes is Israel offering itself up on a platter to the jackals seeking its destruction. Yes, peace is all around and in the words of Gregory House, MD, "Sure, and dogs will stop licking themselves." Someone get the plastic surgeons ready to do those extra cheek implants.


Click here to rate this post on JBlog

Oh Mr. Kotter, I Am Sooooo Confused; Who Are The Majority of Israelis?

Every time I look at Amir Peretz, I try to think who else in history he reminds me of. Why comedian Gabe Kaplan came to mind the other day, I do not know. So while, I hate to date myself, raise your hands if you remember the 70's TV show, "Welcome Back Kotter". I have this image of a young John Travolta as class lothario Vinnie Barbarino, reacting to any complicated situation with his signature trademark phrase (said while crushing his face in his hands), "I am sooooo confused"!!!!

With that as background, let me see if I can summarize the last 48 hours or so.

• As Manhigut Yehudit starts the revolution:
• More Kassams fall.
• Olmert demonstrates his "Turn the other cheek" approach as taught to him by Il Papa.
• Peretz has another moment of lucidity to end restraint.
• Peretz then practices kisuy tachat (ie, CYA), and asks Olmert to end restraint.
• Bibi slams Olmert for being too passive, forgetting all about Chevron and the Arafat handshake.
• Gideon Ezra says he was being "metaphoric" when he suggested doing nothing for 10 days.
• Olmert decides to be metaphoric (euphoric? ) and turn the next cheek.
• Abbas comes to Jerusalem for a cup o' Joe. Ever wonder when an Israeli PM will go to Ramallah? Ever care?
• Abbas gets new friend Ehud to give him $$$ to kill more Jews (I mean bolster his standing, right Condi?), removes checkpoints in Yesha to end "Palestinian humiliation" while our buddies in the US State department veto arms and technology sales to Israel. That's OK, right?
  
• And previous messianic candidate Effie Eitam admits he is no longer interested in leading but would rather "influence" Bibi behind the scenes (eyes roll, tongues cluck, heads shake) employing the same failed model used by other "smart" religious Jews who thought they could accomplish the same thing working for Bibi, Livnat, etc......
• And wither the previous secular messiah (AKA Avigdor Lieberman)? Beats me. Must be studying Iran. Now I feel much more secure.
  

Yup, just another banner day in the pursuit of peace by the Gdless and the pursuit of the next secular messiah by the Gdfull. Ah, only in Israel, right Mr. Kotter?

Guest Blogger:

Who are the majority of Israelis?

By Yoel Meltzer

There is a widespread belief amongst the members of Israel's national religious community that the Israeli government represents the majority of Israeli Jews. This way of thinking is so prevalent that it affects both laymen and rabbi alike. A clear example of this can be seen in a pamphlet, written by leading national religious rabbis, which was distributed a few weeks ago throughout synagogues in Israel. Although arguably an admirable attempt to build some consensus in the face of threatened future withdrawals, nonetheless the pamphlet reveals the rabbis' belief with such statements as "a minority cannot impose its views on the majority". In other words, the minority (the faith-minded public that cares about Torah, the Land of Israel, and the People of Israel) cannot impose its views on the majority of Israeli Jews since the majority, via the electoral process, chose Ehud Olmert and his Kadima party.

However, what many of the signatories to this pamphlet, as well as many in the national religious camp in general, fail to understand is that this so-called majority is nothing but a fabrication of the ruling establishment. In other words, via the use of the media, the establishment has managed (already for many years) to implant the belief in the public that they represent the majority of Israelis. Thus, even when opposing the views of the ruling establishment, there is an accepted belief that 'we are the minority' and 'they are the majority'. Moreover, since it is accepted that they represent the majority, there is a constant attempt to be liked by the establishment. This way of thinking has unfortunately guided, and still guides, many of the good-intentioned members of the national religious camp. However, if it doesn't stop, the tragedy of last summer in Gush Katif will be nothing compared to the awaiting tragedy.

My question is, has anyone ever checked this notion of who are the majority of Israelis (a demographic question), or who represents them (a political question), rather than accepting it as a divinely-given fact?

On a political level, an analysis of Israel's elections for the past 30+ years presents a very interesting picture. (the following statistics can be found on the web site of the Israeli Knesset http://www.knesset.gov.il/description/eng/eng_mimshal_res.htm) Starting with the most recent elections in March for Israel's 17^th Knesset, as everyone knows Kadima received the most votes. However, has anyone bothered to notice that of all the eligible voters (of which, more than 35% chose not to vote), Kadima received roughly 15% of the votes. Or to turn this statistic on its head, of all the eligible voters, roughly 85% did not vote for Ehud Olmert and his Kadima party. If we analyze the elections this way, then even Ariel Sharon and his Likud party during the landslide victory in 2003 managed to receive only 20% of the votes (once again, of all the eligible voters, many of whom chose not to vote). Although obviously better than Ehud Olmert and his Kadima party, nonetheless of all the eligible voters roughly 80% did not vote for Ariel Sharon and his Likud party.

In fact, analyzing the election results this way for past 30+ years will show conclusively that no one party has ever came close to receiving a majority of all eligible votes. Even the biggest winner, when analyzed this way, only received roughly 30% of all eligible votes (this being the Alignment back in 1973).

True, Israel is a parliamentary-democracy (sort of) so the largest winner in the elections has usually managed to form some sort of governing coalition. However, these coalitions and their ensuing policies invariably have nothing to do with the wishes or desires of the majority of Israelis but rather are based upon (for the most part) a bunch of opportunists joining together to get access to, and control, the various sources of power in this country.

Turning to the demographic picture, there is the accepted notion that the majority of the Jews in Israel are secular and therefore the religious minority (to quote the pamphlet mentioned above) "cannot impose its views on the majority". However, similar to the "political majority" discussed above, the accepted "demographic majority" is also quite deceptive.

An article of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs (How Religious are Israeli Jews? by the late Professor Daniel Elazar, available on the web at http://www.jcpa.org/dje/articles2/howrelisr.htm) cuts through this assumption. Although based on statistics from 1993 and therefore a bit outdated, this article is nonetheless still relevant in that it clearly shows that the accepted demographic notion is far from the truth. Without going into all the details, it shows that nearly 25% of the Jews living in Israel define themselves as 'religious' (haredi, national religious, etc) while another 55% define themselves as 'traditional' (mainly Sephardim). Although it is true that amongst the individual Jews that fall within these two groups there can be found a wide range of religious differences (both in observance and outlook), nonetheless nearly all have some affinity for the Jewish tradition, the Torah, the Land of Israel, etc. Moreover, when viewed this way, the secular Jewish population comprises a mere 20% of all the Jews living in Israel. Thus, rather than being the majority (as is commonly assumed), the secular Jewish population in Israel is in fact the minority.

To summarize, a) the largest political parties in Israel do not represent the majority of Israeli Jews and b) the overwhelming majority of Jews in Israel define themselves as either religious or traditional. Given these facts, it should be clear that the national religious public has to stop viewing the establishment as representing the majority and stop trying to be liked by them, but rather should go on the offensive with their ideas since they, and not the establishment, are connected to the majority of Jews.

The first leader or political party that learns how to tap into the 'real majority' will easily change the face of Israel.

(Ed: Sounds like a Manhigut Yehudit candidate to me)

Click here to rate this post on JBlog

Achmadinijad's Secret Weapon

By Moshe Feiglin

Why does Achmadinijad keep banging on the Holocaust drum? What does he need it for?

Achmadinijad is very smart. His world view is grounded in the labyrinths of the Middle East, but he understands the weak spots of the West. Achmadinijad understands that the Holocaust created the world opinion that gave birth to the State of Israel. It is hard to argue with him on that point. The chance that the UN would have decided on the establishment of the State of Israel before the Holocaust is miniscule.

But the Holocaust is not just a one-time tool that Israel used to tweak the conscience of the world before the fateful vote. It is the tool that the State of Israel uses until this very day to justify its existence. Just like a beggar who displays his open wounds to drum up business, Israel coerces every VIP who visits here to run directly from the airport to the horrors of the Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem. Between us -- have you ever seen another country that justifies it existence by explaining that there is no other choice? "Look Mr. President... Please understand, Mr. Prime Minister, did you see what they did to us when we had no State? After pictures like these, can you even ask why Israel must exist?"

The ploy worked for fifty years. But the world is already tired of it. It is very unfortunate that you were once persecuted, but it doesn't give you the right to steal the land of a different nation -- that in the meantime has also learned how to create photo-ops of wretchedness and suffering, entangling the entire Western world in a struggle with the Islamic world.

Achmadinijad clearly identifies the weak point of Israel's claim:

If the only justification for Israel's existence is the Holocaust, then you know what? We'll find the Jews a solution in Europe or in outer space...

And if the world will close its eyes again, as it managed to do in 1944,I am willing to do the dirty work and rid the world of the Jewish problem. I even dare to claim that the Holocaust never occurred, and nothing happened to me. If you don't get in my way, I will finish the job for you. It won't take more than a few minutes. By the time you open your eyes, it will all be over. We won't even have to deny anything.

Achmadinijad is also smart enough to surround himself with Jews. That way, he can say to the world, "What do you mean that I am Hitler? Did you ever see Hitler hug a Jew? On the contrary! I like Jews. All that I oppose is the Zionist attempt to turn the Jews into a nation that works within history and influences it."

In truth, I do not understand why everybody is so up in arms over the Ultra-Orthodox Jews that attended the Holocaust denial conference in Iran. Achmadinijad has not yet killed one Jew. Arafat, on the other hand, declared that his goal was to destroy Israel and never renounced it. Not only did he make declarations, he also acted on them. He murdered more Jewish citizens than any person since Hitler. But Arafat was the darling of Rabin, Peres, Netanyahu and a long line of Israeli personalities. So what does everyone want from an odd Jew from Brooklyn? Is he the Prime Minister of Israel? A Knesset Member? A prominent journalist? If Binyamin Netanyahu could warmly shake Arafat's hand and tell the world that he had "found a new friend," why should we be appalled by some bizarre Jews from the most eccentric fringes of Ultra-Orthodox Jewry who also found a friend from the same neighborhood?

The hugs that Arafat received from the representatives of the State of Israel obliterated Israel's most basic survival instinct. Not only did we no longer see any justification for our existence other than the Holocaust, we even began to accept the opposite claim -- that suggests that our existence be terminated.

Achmadinijad's best weapon is his claims. On one hand, they are based on Israel's inability to justify its existence for positive reasons. On the other hand, they play on Western Anti-Semitism and get additional maneuvering space in exchange. That is exactly what Hitler did. When the American bombers flew over Auschwitz without bombing it, he got additional time to finish his job.

To deal with Achmadinijad, we must deal with his claims. Israel currently fears the Jewish answer, rendering it incapable of justifying its existence. As a result, it cannot protect itself. Not from the Kassam and not from a nuclear Iran.

Click here to rate this post on JBlog

Ripped From The Headlines (or You Just Can't Make This Stuff Up)

Start The Revolution
For those of you looking for the birth of a revolution click here and advance the frame to 2:42.
I can tell you one thing, Bibi sure is nervous. We open a blog, he opens a blog (OK, his is prettier but Ron Lauder et al didn't pay for ours). We have a conference where twice the number predicted show up and he has to schedule a conference (wonder what he's paying per body and will he have sufganiyot?). Can someone put an original thought inside this man's head outside of a 12 hour planning horizon?

Peretz Has Moment of Lucidity (Quick, Get The Pen and Papers for the Home!!!)
From Ynet: "Peretz: I'd abdicate if it were for good of Israel"
Defense Minister and Labor chairman Amir Peretz told reporters on Wednesday evening that he "misunderstood the internal forces at work in the party," saying that he was for uniting the party ranks and not divisiveness but that today he understands that this is what the party is built on.

I judge myself very harshly, and if I believed that abdicating my post as defense minister would be in the best interest of the people, I would do it. But I know what I am capable of," said Peretz.

So do we, Amir, baby, so do we....

About that gentleman for whom 450 murderers were set free...
Well, Steve Plaut called it right..."Almost three years ago, Ariel Sharon released 450 murderer terrorists from Israeli prison in order to free Elhanan Tannenbaum, an Israeli criminal who had entered Lebanon under suspicious circumstances and was kidnapped there by the Hizbollah. Sharon also obtained the three bodies of Israeli soldiers (two Jews and one Bedouin) murdered in cold blood by teh Hizbollah, murders that were never avenged by Israel. At the time I published an article, "I am Ashamed to be an Israeli".
There I predicted that Sharon's cowardly capitulation would result in additional kidnappings and murders of Israeli soldiers and escalating terrorism by the Hizbollah. The mass release of terrorists also served as precedent, and that is why Olmert is currently considering putting hundreds more of murderers back on the street. At that time, and in that article, I reported the theory that the civilian held by the Hizbollah and released in the deal, Elhanan Tannenbaum, was in fact a drug smuggler, in Lebanon to buy drugs. In fact, I suggested that Israel might consider releasing some terrorists as a reward for the Hizbollah keeping Tannebaum in captivity. Some people criticized me harshly for that and for reporting the theory when Tannebaum was a fellow Jew who had not been convicted of drug smuggling nor had admitted publicly to it.
Yediot Ahronot today reports that Tannebaum has now indeed admitted he was in Lebanon as part of a drug smuggling operation. This means that hundreds of terrorists were released, Israeli deterrence was turned into a mockery leading to 4000 katyusha and other missiles landing on Israeli civilians this past summer, and serving as role model for new Olmert capitulations, all because of a now-admitted drug smuggler. Tannebaum was testifying in a customs smuggling trial for two other criminals and admitted all this in court. Tannenbaum, who personally did more to damage Israel than almost anyone else outside Israeli politics, has not been indicted in Israel for anything.


Wait, what's that? You're going to kill us AND we're going to pay you for it? Oh, OK.
From Arutz-7: Israel May Release Embargoed Funds to PA
20:42 Dec 20, '06 / 29 Kislev 5767

(IsraelNN.com) According to unnamed sources quoted by Reuters news agency, Israel may release hundreds of millions of dollars in embargoed funds to the Palestinian Authority in efforts to bolster the position of PA President Mahmoud Abbas. The monies in question are taxes collected by Israel on behalf of the PA on goods coming into the areas under PA control. Israel has withheld the revenue as leverage against the Hamas-led PA government. The prime minister declined comment on the report. He and Abbas will likely meet in coming days to discuss the deteriorating situation in the PA and other issues. But Wait, I Haven't Turned The Other Cheek Yet!! From Arutz-7: PM Olmert, DM Peretz: Restraint Also Has Its Limits 21:33 Dec 20, '06 / 29 Kislev 5767 by Nissan Ratzlav-Katz In the wake of stepped-up rocket attacks from Gaza on Wednesday, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert declared that Israeli restraint also has its limits, which are being reached. The prime minister said that the restraint Israel has displayed thus far in reaction to the ongoing rocket attacks from Palestinian Authority-controlled Gaza will soon end. Ah Ehud and pray tell what will replace this incredible restraint? A harsh round of finger-waving with the Italian salute? Anybody got a good caption for the picture of the dynamic duo here?

Click here to rate this post on JBlog

Question: Dude, Where's My Country? Answer: At The Manhigut Chanuka Conference

Last evening the fuse was lit, the spark generated, and all spiritual weapons brought to bear in a standing-room-only conference center at the Jerusalem Renaissance hotel. With this packed room, Manhigut Yehudit's Chanuka conference officially put the godless, morally bankrupt, corrupt apparatchiks that masquerade as a government, on notice that their time may be over sooner than they think.

The theme was "Returning the State to the People" and so it was that in addition to Moshe Feiglin, Michael Fuah, Eran Sternberg, Rav Shmuel Eliyahu, and Moshe Peled at the podium, those in the grassroots struggle that were asked to come up and light Chanuka candles included:

1. Shoshi Greenfeld, whose powerful eulogy at her brother's funeral during the Lebanon war was seen world over.

2. Esther Pollard, who publically proclaimed her and Jonathan's love and admiration for Moshe Feiglin.

3. Oriyah Shirel, the 15 year old daughter of Manhigut's Dovid Shirel, resident of Chevron, tossed into prison for three months on bogus charges and would not recognize the authority of a corrupt court system despite being put in solitary confinement and then with hardened criminals and was the subject of a vicious smear campaign in yesterday's Maariv newspaper.

4. Avi Abelow and all the soldiers who refused orders after Olmert's justification of the Lebanon war for his convergence plan

5. Those who have been illegally prevented from entering their homes in Yesha.

And so the grassroots revolution begins. Here, in this packed room at a gathering that was part political pep rally and good old fashioned "come to Gd" revival meeting. For it is only here in this room on this 5th night of Chanuka that one could feel hope that the word will spread that faith-based leadership is the only chance for this country. That only people who "have a Gd" both religious and secular, have the right to lead the Jewish people here in Gd's country. That these secular and religious people who danced together on stage to music from Areil Zilber and Aharon Rezel, have the fortitude to stand up to the decaying hegemony of the left and its Gdless adherents. That this night, from the ashes of Gush Katif, the will to do what needs to be done was reborn with the ashes adding to the spark.

The trick now? Carry it forward, keep the momentum, spread the word, and don't be discouraged no matter what the empty suits in the media say. Go, Feiglin, go. This is going to be really interesting.


Click here to rate this post on JBlog

Home Grown Israeli Nazis; Hanson says "Blame Israel!!", Steyn on Chanuka PC; Manhigut answers Dov Hikind

Home Grown Israeli Nazis

But does he have a Neturei Karta Membership card (see below)?

From Steve Plaut:
The Nazi Roots of Uri Avnery

Alon Dahan is a graduate student at the Hebrew University in "Jewish Thought" (not to be confused with a B-film actor in Israel with the same name). He also may well be the very best columnist in the Hebrew media. His features appear on the web site of Maariv, Israel's second daily, regularly. While he writes on a number of subjects, he specializes in exposing the anti-Semitic foundations of Israel's radical Left. Unfortunately his articles are not available in English as far as I know.

What may well be his very best piece yet came out Dec 13, 06 here.
I am trying to find someone to translate the entire piece but let me give you a synopsis here:
Against the outrage everyone is feeling about the Iranian Holocaust Denial and the growth of neo-nazism around the world, Dahan writes, one must be aware of the nazi roots of Post-Zionism and Israeli leftist anti-Semitism.
Such roots go back as far as the 1940s, and then "Canaanite" movement in Israel in the 1950s. The Canaanite movement was a movement of "Post-Judaism" that argued that the new emerging "Israeli" would be a new nationality altogether, composed of ex-Jews and ex-Arabs, with no ties to the Jewish Diaspora, practicing no religion, Hebrew-speaking gentiles of
pure Semitic "blood". The movement was popular in the 50s among many
clueless Israeli "intellectuals." It never managed to recruit any Arab
members.

The leading survivor of the early "Canaanite" movement today is Uri Avnery, a fanatic anti-Zionist and anti-Semite, whose Bash-Israel pro-Hamas articles appear everywhere one can find anti-Semitism, on the Right and the Left. Avnery is a regular on the neo-Stalinist pro-terror Counterpunch web magazine.

What is not well known is that:
1. Uri Avnery's original name was Helmut Osterman (Dahan at first
writes Joseph Osterman but then corrects himself in the talkbacks), born in Germany, and among the two leading figures in the "Canaanites"; and
2. Avnery/Osterman was an admirer of Nazism.

In 1941, Avnery wrote a pro-Nazi article in the Paris journal "Shem", whose contents were later revealed by the Hebrew University Orientalist
Prof. Yehoshua Porat in his book "Shelach V'At B'yado", page 182. Herr
Avnery was also fond of using the concept of "Hebrew Blood" in a racial
sense, in the same way as Hitler spoke of German Aryan Blood. In those
days he was anti-Marxist, although today has no problem with associating himself with Stalinists. Back then he repeatedly expressed admiration for the great job Hitler was doing in remolding and renewing the German nation. Avnery was an open admirer of Nazi propagandist Alfred Rosenberg, adopted the latter's rhetoric, and repeatedly declared that he saw himself as the Hebrew Alfred Rosenberg (which, in a sense, he is). Avnery ran a tiny "journal" called the Struggle, an obvious imitation of the name "Mein Kampf". He ran his own one-man party, whose official salute was a Nazi raised hand.

Avnery in those days advocated creation of a Semitic "race" that would lead the Middle East to greatness when combined with a new Hebraic non-Jewish culture. As such, he advocated the end of the Jewish people as a national entity and expansion of the new race into its "Semitic Lebensraum" (yes, he used that Nazi concept!). He later wrote of his dream for a new and better Hitler emerging, an anti-Nazi Hitler who will lead the struggle for peace and will promote the Palestinian cause (well, at least he got THAT part right!).

Avnery then left for Israel/Palestine. In the 60s he ran a semi-pornographic magazine called "Haolam Hazeh," as the Israeli Larry Flynt. The magazine also did some scandal mongering. Avnery later ran for parliament and got elected by a sort of protest vote, the same sorts of people who otherwise might vote for Homer Simpson or Cher.

[In the 1960s Avnery wrote "Israel without Zionists", the Bible of Israeli self-hating leftism. Ever since, he has been the Reverend Moon of Israel's far-leftist "Post-Zionists" and he runs the small and violently anti-Israel "Gush Shalom" organization. He is friends with Mikey Lerner and appears in Tikkun. When his own mother died, she disinherited him and declared in her will that her son is a traitor.]

Dahan then goes on and discusses how Avnerism has become entrenched among the Hate-Israel far Leftists in Israeli academia, among the "New Historians." Among those he specifically names are Ilan Pappe (Haifa U), Moshe Zimmerman (Hebrew U, and Uri Ram (Ben Gurion U). He cites Prof.
Shlomo Aharonson in describing the anti-Semitic ideological foundations of these pseudo-scholars and their need to trivialize and erase all memory of the Holocaust. He describes Ilan Pappe as a Jewish Holocaust Denier (his words), as are, by implication, all those with similar points of view." Click here for the full piece.

Victor Hanson says, "Blame Israel!!!"

"Jimmy Carter, silent about Iran’s latest promotion for its planned holocaust, is hawking his latest book — in typical fashion, sorta, kinda alleging that the Israelis are like the South Africans in perpetuating an apartheid state, that they are cruel to many Christians, and, as occupiers, are understandably the targets of suicide bombers and other terrorist killers. Sadly, all that shields this wrinkled-browed, lip-biting moralist from complete infamy is sympathy for a man bewildered in his dotage.
Meanwhile, some members of the Iraqi Study Group apparently think that since Israel’s neocon surrogates got us into Iraq, their puppet master must pay the price for getting us out. Thus, Israel must give up the Golan Heights, or perhaps the West Bank, since that would make the Islamic nations so collectively happy that they would join us in ridding Iraq of the terrorists whom many of these nations have subsidized, trained, and sheltered." Click here for the full article.

Hmm, do THEY have Neturei Karta membership cards?????


Steyn on Chanuka PC
"I passed through Shannon Airport in Ireland the other day. They've got a "holiday" display in the terminal, but guess what? It says "Merry Christmas." The Emerald Isle has a few Jews, and these days rather a lot of Muslims, and presumably even a militant atheist or two, but they don't seem inclined to sue the bejasus out of every event in the Yuletide season.

By contrast, the Associated Press reports the following from Riverside, California:

"A high school choir was asked to stop singing Christmas carols during an ice skating show featuring Olympic medalist Sasha Cohen out of concern the skater would be offended … "

I hasten to add this Sasha Cohen is not the Sacha Baron Cohen of the hit movie Borat. The Olympic S Cohen is a young lady; the Borat S Cohen is a man, though his singlet would not be out of place in a louche Slav entry to the ice-dancing pairs. Likewise, the skater-puts-carols-on-ice incident seems as sharply satirical of contemporary America as anything in Borat, at least in its distillation of the coerciveness of "tolerance":" Click here for the full article.

Hmm, do THEY, ahh forget it.....


Manhigut answers Dov Hikind:
New York Politician Calls on Olmert To Resign
08:00 Dec 15, '06 / 24 Kislev 5767

(IsraelNN.com) New York Assemblyman Dov Hikind has called the administration of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert "dangerous" and said he should resign from office. Hikind, a Brooklyn Democrat, said that "America now does not see Israel as this great Middle Eastern superpower it can depend on" following the failure of Israel to defeat Hizbullah after the terrorist organization's attacks on Israel last summer.

Hikind placed full-page advertisements in major Jewish newspapers asking the Prime Minister to resign "for the sake of Israel and the Jewish people." The advertisements state, "Albert Einstein is quoted as saying, 'The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting different results.' Unfortunately, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has become an expert at failing over and over again and expecting success instead."

Dovid Shirel's response to the above article by Arutz 7

But who is actually insane? So we'll get Olmert to resign, bring down the Government, then we'll go to elections -- then what? What kind of "result do you expect?" Bibi? Bibi is not "dangerous"? If Bibi gets back in you may very well begin to miss Olmert. Bibi gave up Hebron, gave in to terror, supported the disengagement -- who knows what he'll do next. We are probably better off right now with a weak Olmert than a strong Bibi.

In any case, there is really no difference -- neither of them have any true vision, goal or plan for Am Yisrael (The Jewish People). They are all the same -- Bibi, Sharon, Olmert, Peres and Barak -- no one really expects any true Jewish leadership from them.

So Dov, "for the sake of Israel and the Jewish people." Let's stop demonstrating, complaining, and "doing the same thing over and over again." "Do you expect different results?" Start thinking about a true Jewish alternative.

The time has come -- LET'S RETURN THE STATE OF ISRAEL TO THE JEWISH PEOPLE.
The time has come -- LET'S TURN THE STATE OF THE JEWS INTO A JEWISH STATE.

And for these goals there is only one answer and solution: MANHIGUT YEHUDIT -- THE JEWISH LEADERSHIP MOVEMENT -- under the leadership of MOSHE FEIGLIN: www.jewishisrael.org



Click here to rate this post on JBlog

PERFIDY; Who Wants to be a Strategic Threat?; Aharon Barak joins the Plaintiff's Bar

By Moshe Feiglin

There is no choice. We must return the State of Israel to the Jewish People -- before it is too late.

Last week, Israel's daily newspaper "Yediot Acharonot" reported that Deputy Defense Minister, Ephraim Sneh, served as an advisor to the Baker-Hamilton Iraq Study Group appointed by President Bush. Sneh verified his involvement and expressed satisfaction with the Study's results. The Study Group essentially recommended buying quiet for the Americans in exchange for Israel's existential assets.

The implications of the Report are that Israel will be forced to destroy its settlements in the Golan Heights and to surrender the Heights to Syria -- all the way to the banks of the Sea of Galilee. In addition, Israel will have to agree in principle to "The Right of Return" for the Arabs who lived in Israel until 1948 and negotiate the details with the terror organizations. Clearly, the Right of Return is contingent on full acceptance of the Convergence Plan. In other words, Israel will destroy Jewish settlements in Judea and Samaria and relinquish the entire region to the terrorists -- a direct continuation of the ethnic cleansing that Israel perpetrated against the Jews of Gush Katif and Northern Samaria.

America never distinguished between the areas that Israel officially annexed after the Six Day War, and those settlements that were never officially annexed. Whoever thinks that the fact that Israel has declared sovereignty on Jerusalem's post Six Day War neighborhoods improves their international standing is mistaken. Israel has also annexed the Golan Heights. That does not seem to impress anybody: Not the Arabs, not the Americans and most importantly, not Israel's leadership. In short, this is the partial significance of the proposal that Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh helped to compile.

In an article on the precise cost of the Disengagement, economist Nachum Tavyumi estimated that the cost of expelling the Jews of Judea and Samaria from their homes -- if the compensation scale of Gush Katif were to be applied -- would be more than one and a half trillion shekels. (The exact figure is 1,650,447,000,000 shekels). This sum is three times Israel's entire GNP. Obviously, Israel is totally incapable of paying it. The US did not pay a cent for the expulsion of the Jews of Gush Katif and will certainly not pay such a fantastic sum, or even part of it.

The conclusion is simple. The Convergence Plan and the Baker Report that complements it mean the expulsion of all the Jews of Judea and Samaria and turning them into refugees with no compensation or housing/employment solutions. The International Court in The Hague has already ruled that a person who settles in occupied territory is a war criminal. Since, for all practical purposes, Israel has accepted the claim that the territory is occupied, the refugees will all be designated as war criminals who deserve no compensation.

The half million refugees from Judea, Samaria, Gush Katif and the Golan Heights who will converge into the borders of pre-1967 Israel will have to share the space with a torrent of Arab refugees from 1948: "Palestinians," their descendants, their children's children and other Moslems will all join the free-for-all. Clearly, this process means the quick destruction of the State of Israel without even one shot being fired. Even today, Israel plods along without even the most basic survival instinct that is a prerequisite for any national organism. Even today, a great majority of Israelis no longer believe that Israel will exist in the not too distant future. But it seems that most Israelis do not quite understand the personal price that they will be paying for the holocaust that traitorous leaders like Ephraim Sneh are bringing upon them.

As expected, Israel's media has warmly adopted the Baker plan. "Implementation of the report will be good for the US, but it will also be good for Israel..." gushed Orli Azulai, the Yediot Acharonot reporter in Washington. In a rerun of its approach toward the Oslo Process, the flight from Lebanon, the Disengagement and the Convergence Plan, Israel's media hurriedly rejoices at the prospect of destroying the settlements in Yesha -- even if our past experience and a simple analysis of the present clearly show that the entire State of Israel will be swept away along with the settlements.

Denial of our Jewish identity and hatred of the settlers and Biblical Israel are more powerful factors in Israel's media than the most basic survival instinct.

Ephraim Sneh, though, has reached new depths of perfidy. Sneh is not just another Left winger who suffers from periodic hallucinations. He is the Deputy Defense Minister of the State of Israel, a calculated and thinking man. He understands the clear significance of the Baker Report for Israel. But even if we assume that Sneh doesn't quite grasp that the Report will lead his country to a holocaust, G-d forbid, even if he believes that the Right of Return will be a great boon for Israel -- Israel's government still defines the idea as unacceptable. If so, we can simply say that the Deputy Defense Minister of the State of Israel was traitorous to his country when, by his own admission, he helped a foreign country to design a policy that will lead to the destruction of the State.

The problem is that Sneh is not alone. Perfidy pervades current Israeli culture and rears its ugly head in both private and State affairs. It is accepted and rationalized by Israel's ruling minority. But it is destroying us.

It is urgent to replace the culture of perfidy with a culture of loyalty: Loyalty to our spouses, to our family, to our Jewish heritage, our Jewish identity, our Land, our fellow Jews and our G-d. This is nothing short of a revolution. Manhigut Yehudit has provided the key with which to create the revolution. Now it is in your hands.

Who Wants to be a Strategic Threat?
The following article appeared in Israel's Ha'aretz newspaper this week.

A Strategic Threat

It's going to be one of the hot political stories of 2007...

It's the Feiglinites. Over the last years, approximately 11,000 extreme Rightists have become members of the Likud. Since then, they have been Likud party members, eligible to vote. They devotedly pay their annual membership fees. They can be counted on to pay, while the number of other Likud members has steadily decreased. Today, there are one hundred thousand Likud members. Every month, another few hundred stop paying their membership fees. Not the Feiglinites. If today they make up 11% of the Likud members eligible to vote, when the primaries will be held their relative strength is liable to increase to 15%. (The number of new members will not grow, as has previously been the case, before the primaries. The Likud constitution requires a minimum 16 month membership before one is eligible to vote).

In effect, they have even more power for a simple reason: The general voting rate for Likud primaries is approximately 50%-60%. But their voter turnout is between 90% and 100%. Their ability to influence the Likud's Knesset list will be significant. It will force the Likud's candidates to present extreme Rightist positions so that they can get onto the list. It will be the great opportunity of the Likud rebels, who will return to the Likud with more support than ever."

Yossi Varter
Ha'aretz News

You have two choices. You can sink into despair or you can be a "strategic threat."

The belief based public must understand what the radical Left has already grasped. If we unite and aspire to lead, we become a "strategic threat" to the forces of destruction that are bringing a holocaust upon us.

Chanukah is an excellent time to drive away the darkness. It is an excellent time for a true strategic turnabout. We need you at the Manhigut Yehudit Chanukah Conference, this Tuesday at the Renaissance Hotel in Jerusalem. Come and be part of the "strategic threat" to Israel's current oppressive leadership. Come and help us return the State of Israel to the Jewish People.

Look Who's Watching
Manhigut Yehudit's Chanukah Conference has stirred up a lot of media attention. This week, a television crew from Israel's channel 2 showed up at the home of Elchanan Engelsman to cover Moshe Feiglin's lecture there. With its sharp sense for a scoop, Israel's media has identified the "hot political story of 2007…"

There are many fine and talented people working in many important ways to save Israel. But only Manhigut Yehudit provides a strategic solution that deals with the entire problem with a clear and orderly plan of action.

Manhigut Yehudit's Chanukah Conference is the opportunity for the belief based public to join forces, consolidate our energies and breath fighting spirit into our team as we enter Israel's leadership arena. Every participant in the Conference adds to the belief based public's power as we face the challenges of the future.

How can you be part of the strategic plan? Come to the Conference. Show the watching media that Manhigut Yehudit is a thriving movement that is constantly gaining momentum. Bring your friends, neighbors and families. There's a lot more that you can do. But the Conference is crucial. Israel needs authentic Jewish leadership before it's too late. This is your opportunity to make a true impact on Israel's future. The People of Israel are counting on the belief based public. We cannot afford to let them down.

Join us at the Manhigut Yehudit Chanukah Conference, Tuesday, the 28th of Kislev (Dec 19), the fifth night of Chanukah, at the Renaissance Hotel in Jerusalem at 7 p.m.
Your presence at the conference empowers us to establish belief based leadership for Israel.

Look for the English speakers registration desk
at the entrance of the Conference Hall.
We'll be there to greet you and
introduce you to other Manhigut English speakers.

If you have any questions or need more information please contact:
Dovid Shirel, Director, Manhigut Yehudit English Speakers
email: shir@manhigut.org or call: 02-996-1123

We're looking forward to seeing you!

Barak Joins The Plaintiff's Bar
As a farewell present before he steps down from his position as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Aharon Barak has handed down a decision that allows Palestinians to sue Israel for damages that they incurred in the course of Israel's counter-terror operations. This decision essentially allows "civilians" to provide cover for terrorists, with Israel footing the bill. The following is Manhigut Yehudit's reaction:

Compensation for Palestinians from Sale of Chief Justice's Apartments
Responding to the Supreme Court decision to compensate Arabs of Judea, Samaria and Gaza for damage incurred during counter-terror operations, Manhigut Yehudit Chairman Moshe Feiglin suggests selling the seventeen luxury apartments in which Former Chief Justice Aharon Barak has financial interests (presumably bought from his meager salary as a civil servant). Sale of the apartments will allow Barak to shoulder personal responsibility to fund his decision to aid the Palestinians he so admires.

Click here to rate this post on JBlog

Olmert as Dr. Strangelove and Other Nuclear Idiocy; Steyn: Chamberlain meets Oprah

Olmert as Dr. Strangelove and Other Nuclear Idiocy
Channeling Peter Sellers as Dr. Strangelove, Olmert left jaws agape on German TV by lifting the ambiguity veil that had served Israel so well in its "do they or don't they have nuclear weapons" scenario, by admitting yes we have nukes and then telling everyone why we're not like Iran in a sort of Geo-politics 101 lecture. It seems Olmert was hellbent to make Manhigut Yehudit's case for faith-based leadership a slam-dunk, and to allow new US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates to push Israel off the cliff. Gates, at his confirmation hearing, was all too eager to tell Congress, yes Israel has nuclear weapons.

Stabbed in the Back by Gates et al
As pointed out on Debka, "Gates and James Baker are pursuing a new policy line which sacrifices the traditional US-Israeli alliance for the sake of wooing Iran, Syria and Iraq’s neighbors for help in Iraq. During his senate hearings, Gates confirmed - and indirectly justified - Iran’s quest for a nuclear weapon by declaring that the Islamic Republic Iran wants the power of deterrence against “the nuclear countries surrounding them – Pakistan in the east, Russia in the north, Israel in the west and the United States in the Persian Gulf. "

Gates also said that “If Iran obtains nuclear weapons no one can promise it would not use them against Israel.”

Some Washington pundits accused the co-chairman of the Iraq Study Group, James Baker, as forcing President George W. Bush to resort to dealing with the Iraqi Shiite-led government for the sake of an orderly US exit from Iraq. The price offered is acceptance that Iran could go nuclear within two years at Israel’s expense.

The group’s recommendation of a Madrid-2 peace conference for a Middle East peace would pander to the Arabs and their European backers by pushing for a full Israeli withdrawal from territories captured in the 1967 war. Israel and its supporters in the United States would have no say – “…a unique opportunity for the US to strike a deal without Jewish pressure,” as one Washington observer put it.

This sort of crude language has not been heard in Washington’s top circles since George Bush the elder was president and James Baker his secretary of state.

The new-old gang has also revived the threat of an imposed “peace.” It is barely veiled in the Baker-Hamilton report’s statement: “The US cannot achieve its goals in the Middle East unless it embarks on a renewed and sustained commitment to a comprehensive peace plan on all fronts.”

The prime minister’s office in Jerusalem still clings to the now-meaningless statement that there is “no fear of a change in US policy towards Israel.” Click here to read the story.

Amazing. Just when I think that there's no lower Kadima/trash can fall, surprises like this show that new levels of hell can be reached with minimal effort. And all this as the man that the FBB (fabulous Baker boy) et al would like to "engage" was busy hosting a holocaust denial conference.

Steyn: Chamberlain meets Oprah
From the brilliant word processor of Mark Steyn: "So there you have it: an Iraq "Support Group" that brings together the Arab League, the European Union, Iran, Russia, China and the UN. And with support like that who needs lack of support? It worked in Darfur, where the international community reached unanimous agreement on the urgent need to rent a zeppelin to fly over the beleaguered region trailing a big banner emblazoned "YOU'RE SCREWED." For Dar4.1, they can just divert it to Baghdad.

Oh, but lest you think there are no minimum admission criteria to James Baker's "Support Group," relax, it's a very restricted membership: Arabs, Persians, Chinese Commies, French obstructionists, Russian assassination squads. But no Jews. Even though Israel is the only country to be required to make specific concessions — return the Golan Heights, etc. Indeed, insofar as this document has any novelty value, it's in the Frankenstein-meets-the-Wolfman sense of a boffo convergence of hit franchises: a Vietnam bug-out, but with the Jews as the designated fall guys. Wow. That's what Hollywood would call "high concept." Click here for the full article.

Yep, "F**k the Jews" lives on....

Click here to rate this post on JBlog

Macabees Then and Now; The Carpet Syndrome

Macabees Then and Now
By Moshe Feiglin

The process of Israel's collapse that we wrote and warned of over the past years is taking place before our eyes. The headless body in IDF uniform is roundly criticized by the State Comptroller for its lack of functioning. But it is actually functioning as expected. PM Olmert, who once promised that we would not return from Lebanon without the captives, writes them off in a calculatedly 'innocent' remark. Maybe that way, they will stop bothering him. Opposition head Netanyahu fantasizes about encouraging the 'moderate' Palestinian elements.

All the politicians, pundits, experts and journalists that have sunk us so deep in the mud, continue to fill our heads with nonsense -- completely disconnected from the reality that is closing in on Israel.

The good news is that new leadership is growing and taking hold. It is not dependant on the good will of the rotten and collapsing old leadership. This new leadership is Israel's real hope. It is growing from the belief based public that has dared to dream the dream of an authentically Jewish State.

The Macabees and their few followers faced off against the process of assimilation and normalization that was being led by the Hellenistic elite of Israel's society. Most of the Jews at the time went along with the Hellenists even though they despised the Western oppression and coercion being conducted in the name of liberty and democracy. They wished to express their truly free Jewish spirits, but were tyrannized by the despotic Hellenist minority.

Now it is our turn. This year on the fifth night of Chanukah, we will rekindle the flame lit by the Macabees. We will honor those truly free Jews of our generation who have dared to oppose Israel's current despotic regime. Together, we will work to create honest Jewish leadership for Israel.

Join us at the Manhigut Yehudit Chanukah Conference, Tuesday, the 28th of Kislev (Dec 19), the fifth night of Chanukah, at the Renaissance Hotel in Jerusalem at 7 p.m.
Your presence at the conference empowers us to establish belief based leadership for Israel.

We're looking forward to seeing you!

Manhigut Yehudit Chanukah Conference
Join us on Tuesday evening, the 28th of Kislev (Dec. 19) at 7 p.m. at the Renaissance Hotel in Jerusalem for our Chanukah Conference. The Conference is the place to be for everybody who wants to lend a hand and save Israel. Manhigut Yehudit representatives from throughout Israel will be available so that you can sign up to help in your own community. Dovid Shirel, Manhigut Yehudit's Educational Director and Director of English Speakers will also be at the Conference to organize Manhigut's English speakers into a dynamic Manhigut force that can really turn things around! Don't miss it and be sure to bring your friends! For questions, details, contact Dovid: shir@manhigut.org or call 02-996-1123 (Israel).

Guest Speakers at the Conference:
Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu
Rabbi Uri Sharki
Former MK Moshe Peled
Manhigut Yehudit Director Michael Fuah
Manhigut Yehudit Chairman Moshe Feiglin

Master of Ceremonies: Eran Sternberg, former Gush Katif spokesman

Chanukah candle lighting:
Shoshi Greenfield
The teenage girls who refused to recognize the court system
The soldiers who warned that the emperor has no clothes

Featuring: Aharon Razel and Ariel Zilber

The Conference is dedicated in memory of Adir Zik, z"l

Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Admission FREE.
For more information: 02-996-1123 (Israel)

The Carpet Syndrome

BY Michael Fuah

"Strike them with all we've got!" -- The Right.

"Restraint and peace accords!" -- The Left.

"We will strike the extremists and encourage the moderates!" -- Netanyahu.

And all of them lead us to despair.

If we hadn't already fought with all we've got, maybe there would be hope.

If we hadn't exercised restraint and signed peace accords, maybe there would be hope.

If we hadn't armed Arafat and brought Hamas into power, maybe there would be hope.

But we've done it all. We've fought and we've shown restraint, we've arrested terrorists and released them, we've confiscated weapons and distributed them, we've hurt them and apologized, conquered and retreated, built and destroyed and nothing has helped. Our situation has just deteriorated.

The public debate between Right and Left is simply ridiculous. The old mantras are repeated ad nauseum -- as if the restraint and accords have not brought death and grief to our doorsteps and as if military might bereft of any political objective has not been the catalyst for more surrenders and retreats. Each side accuses the other -- and justifiably so -- that its 'solutions' only make the situation worse.

The public debate has reached a dead end. The dead end is where despair lies and presents Israel with an existential threat. Nobody believes that we can really change the situation. Consequently, even though there is no real coalition, there is also no real opposition. The fundamental contract between a state and its citizens has been breached. The State has openly declared that it cannot afford its citizens basic protection. Our entire country simply pretends that it is a carpet so that it will not feel degraded when it is stepped upon.

The reason for the dead end is that the debate is confined to parameters detached from our Jewish identity. The basic assumption is that there is a Palestinian nation with whom we must reach some sort of understanding within the confines of Western/Christian values as they are defined by Israel's Supreme Court. That is not the way out of the dead end. Facing Israel is an Arab populace whose goal is to destroy us. It works toward this goal with all the tools at its disposal. We are eternally on the defensive. The most that we can achieve is a stabilization of the negative situation and often, worse than that.

The solution is currently outside the parameters of the public debate. As long as the Supreme Court and its agenda to make Israel a state of all its citizens continues to control our society and as long as the ethical code of the IDF continues to be based on Western/Christian values, there is no solution. The dead end will relentlessly creep forward, spreading despair in every direction.

To emerge from these straits, we need leadership that is not the Israeli Left or Right. We need the Jewish Center. The belief based public has the solution and must begin to lead. We must not despair and we must not abandon the leadership of Israel to the current dealers and bureaucrats. This is the time to publicly challenge the government establishment that is leading Israel to destruction. This will give us the legitimacy to replace it when the time is ripe. Now is the time to build political and public power that will establish a true alternative to the current leadership on Election Day.

Click here to rate this post on JBlog

Memo to FBB (Fabulous Baker Boy): Whose Security?

By Matthew Mausner

The resurrection of James Baker from the foreign-policy oblivion where he belonged brings ill tidings for Israel. From both Republicans like Baker and Democrats like Jimmy Carter, we are hearing the same myths: that if only Israel would give the Arabs everything they want, there would be peace in all the world.

Iranians try to erase the Holocaust from history: Americans, it seems, want to erase 1967 from history. Was there perfect happiness for all Arabs before the six day war? Was there a happy Palestinian state, then? Was there no terror? The answer is, of course not. Pre-'67 Israel without Jerusalem, without the Golan Heights, without the west bank, was embattled and besieged. Constant PLO terror attacks, Syrian shelling of Jews in the Galilee, and massive armies on all borders were only the most visible problems Israel had. Jews were not allowed to visit or pray at the Western Wall or at the cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron, despite promises by Jordan.

Meanwhile, Egyptian occupation of Gaza and Jordanian occupation of Yehuda and Shomron were brutal and violent, with no real rights or hope for Palestinians (ironically, Israeli occupation resulted in a big improvement in Palestinian standard of living after '67.) Rather than being happy with the situation, Arabs were united as never before or since in the absolute need to destroy Israel; this would be accomplished by the armies of the Arab nations, who would parcel out the holy land between them. No provisions were made for an independent Palestinian State.

Is this what Baker would have us return to? To indefensible borders, supported by US 'guarantees'? I suppose the US public would support another major Middle East war in the near future, this time to defend Israel? I ask the American public, will you send your soldiers to the Galilee to repel a Syrian or Hezbollah missile threat or invasion? Will you allow your sons to be stationed in Sderot, under the missile fire of a Hamas-run "Palestine"?

The simple fact is, there are no Arabs or Muslims today-- countries, organizations, or people-- who can offer Israel "peace". The universal belief of the Muslim world is that Israel's very existence is an affront, an unbearable insult. Not just 'fundamentalist' preachers, but almost all Muslim media, education of children, and even theater, extols the virtues of martyrdom: it is better for Muslims to die than to let Israel and its Jews live.

Israel-- and the Americans who would presume to negotiate on Israel's behalf-- must be aware in any bargaining, there must be something offered on both sides. There is no point in negotiating for something the Arabs DO NOT HAVE. They do not have peace to offer, and the brainwashing has advanced so far that it will be several generations, if ever, that Muslims can conceive of truly accepting and living in peace with Israel within any borders.

Israel does not have 'peace' with Jordan, or with Egypt, which leads the world in anti-semitic propaganda; at best we can call it non-belligerency. Yet Israel has non-belligerency, in effect, with Syria, which is too scared to do more than merely irritate Israel via Lebanon or help for Hamas-- not so different from Egypt! And if the best they can offer is non-belligerency, why give up land? Would anything change, except that Israel would lose?

Tell James Baker to go back to his law firm, and tell Jimmy Carter to go back to his peanut farm. Israel can take care of itself. And it will, if it gets leaders who are willing to tell the oh-so-well-meaning American 'peace' advisers where to shove it.

Click here to rate this post on JBlog

Chareidi Tunnel Vision, Everybody (even Yuli Tamir) Needs An Education

By Jason Gold

Chareidi Tunnel Vision

Missing the Boat (or in this case, the Plane)
Thoughts from a Torah-observant (at least the best I can) non-Chareidi Jew. With all the hubbub about how El Al flew a makeup flight last Shabbat post Mafia, oops, I mean post Histadrut strike, I was reminded of a story that Moshe Feiglin told me last year. He was being interviewed by a secular radio host from Tel Aviv during the Likud primaries who at one point asked him why he wore a kippa (skullcap) and didn't he think he would appeal to more voters if he took it off? Feiglin answered that while that was probably true, he would not betray what he was although there was one potential circumstance where he would never wear a kippa. When asked what that was, he responded, that if the state tomorrow mandated all men should wear a kippa, he would not.

That story and the Chareidi reaction to what happened at El Al are symptomatic of one of the (many) problems in Israel that can be traced to a lack of faith-based, non-theocratic leadership in Israel today. Such leadership would be non-coercive in nature in that if some secular Jew wanted to open his store on Shabbat or if El Al wanted to fly on Shabbat, big deal, let it be. The observant Jew already knows that this shouldn't happen and so it does not affect him/her spiritually in the least. Forcing the secular Jew to close shop or forcing El Al not to fly will not increase secular Shabbat observance one iota. All it does is increase sinna or hatred of the Chareidim by the secular and makes the Chareidim look down their noses at the secular with an air of self-righteous spiritual superiority, all the while making the rift between secular and chareidi wider and wider. Even a Torah giant like Rav Elyashav, Shlit"a, as well as the rest of the Chareidi leadership, must come to realize that you cannot legislate Shabbat. You either feel it or you do not. By reaching out in a non-coercive way rather than throwing stones or yelling "Shabbos, Shabbos" to a non-observer, you stand a much greater chance of turning someone into a Shabbat observer. Calling for a boycott of El Al or again yelling "Shabbos Shabbos" at them is not the way, either.

A Lesson from Rav Moshe
Rav Moshe Feinstein ZTK"L was once asked if a shul can give an aliyah or Torah honor on Shabbat to a man who, although supports the shul monetarily, is a known violator of Shabbat observance. He answered yes in that the shul was not being maskim (agreeing) to his lack of observance and by doing this, you might be able to reach out to him in a gentle way and gradually increase his Shabbat observance. I think the lesson is obvious. Tolerate this person and find common ground rather than shutting him out.

Watch the Hypocrisy as your Youth are Watching You
So now I have questions for the Chareidi leadership. With all the indignation raised at El Al, will you still take their tax money for your institutions and yeshivas or will you return it? Will you continue to distort the geo-political issues to someone like Rav Elyashav and force him into a position to make decisions that he should not have to make? Did you know that when Rav Feinstein ZTK"L was asked about things like land for peace and other political decisons he responded that he was not a diplomat or general or geo-political expert and therefore had no say in matters like this? How did you justify sitting in a government that threw 10,000 Jews out of their homes in Gush Katif while helping to organize a prayer rally at the kotel? How do you now help keep buffoons and thugs like Olmert et al in power while not lifting one finger to help a Shabbat/Torah observant Jew like Feiglin become manhig shel yisrael (leader of Israel)? I am not the only one asking these questions. Your youth are also asking these questions. Your youth are disgusted by what they perceive as the sell out by their teachers, their leadership, the ones who are supposed to teach them Torah and Torah values. Your youth are identifying more and more with the religious Zionist/Orange youth from the Shetachim (settlements). You think not? Then ask them where they are spending their Shabbat when not at home. Your youth are hungry for real, proud, faith-based Torah leadership. I saw this on Sukkot in the old city as they gobbled up pamphlets and CD's on Manhigut Yehudit. Your hypocrisy will cost you your youth if you do not alter a distorted worldview. Think, don't react in the old way, but think and think hard. Happy flying.

Everybody (even Yuli Tamir) Needs an Education
So says Ray Davies. So why is everyone so surprised that Peace now-nik and faux education minister Yuli Tamir wants to Green Line the textbooks? She is just being true to her ideology. In a way, she should be admired as she is trying to do what the Mafdal, Limor Livnat, et al failed miserably in doing, i.e., imposing an ideology (albeit a warped and twisted one) on the education curriculum. I mean what is the big deal, right? Seventy percent of these secular kids already can't complete the phrases "shema yisrael..." or "avraham, yitzchak....", and have absolutely no spiritual connection to the land. No? Aside from an amazing experience of Shabbat Chaye Sara in Chevron, it was sad that most of the secular soldiers guarding Maarat HaMachpela had no idea what they were guarding. So why not drive a few more nails in the coffin?

Sure Tamir is the new Shulamit Aloni, but so what? Tamir is a symptom of the disease of a corrupt, morally bankrupt government that is trying to strip any vestige of Judaism out of Israel. Is it any wonder that in the last Likud primary one of the hot-button issues identified by Feiglin and Manhigut was the need for Jewish education in the secular school system? The answer, class? Why again, it's all about faith-based leadership. Manhigut Yehudit. Keep repeating as eventually, the lesson will be learned, one way or the other.

Click here to rate this post on JBlog

Is There An Arab Dictator Nearby Whose Butt I Can Kiss?

By Jason Gold

In the category of "Wish I'd Said That":

John Podhoretz in Saturday's New York Post (OK, stop laughing. I like the sports section AND the columns as long as Uri Dan isn't polishing Sharon's legacy) on THE Iraq Study Group's James "Is There An Arab Dictator Nearby Whose Butt I can Kiss?" Baker and Lee "Yes, I'm Still Alive" Hamilton. Click here for the full column. I guess Baker's infamous "F**k the Jews" quote wasn't enough to give him the lifelong fame he felt he deserved.

The indomitable Mark Steyn in yesterday's New York Sun on the FBB (Fabulous Baker Boy): "James Baker's "Iraq Study Group" seems to have been cast on the same basis as Liza Minnelli's last wedding. A stellar line-up: Donna Summer, Mickey Rooney, the Doobie Brothers, Gina Lollobrigida, Michael Jackson, Mia Farrow, Little Anthony and the Imperials, Jill St John. That's Liza's wedding, not the Baker Commission. ........God, I can't go on. I'd rather watch Mia Farrow making out with Mickey Rooney to a Doobie Brothers LP. As its piece de resistance, the Baker Commission concluded its deliberations by inviting testimony from — drumroll, please — Senator John F Kerry. Click here for the full column.

Caroline Glick in yesterday's Jerusalem Post on savant as PM Olmert: "Olmert's embrace of a new imaginary "peace process" will win him the support of Haaretz and the other radical leftist elements in the Israeli media. These media organs will then work to prevent the opening of police investigations into Olmert's alleged criminal activities." Click here for the full article.

You know what the irony of all this is?
1. Bush's rejection of FBB's recommendation (at least for now) shows he has more B&B (balls and backbone) than I gave him credit for.

2. FBB has been shilling for the wrong guy. He should be implementing these policies as part of Olmert's advisory team to help the PM pucker up!! Whew!! Now it all works.


Rabbi in Acco: ´What is This, Nazi Germany Here?´
From Israel National News: "The latest and gravest escalation in the struggle between Jews and Arabs in the mixed city of Acco, between Haifa and the Lebanese border on the Mediterranean coast, occurred this past Friday night. Rabbi Avraham Shushan, a rabbi at the school at which the vandalism occurred, told Arutz-7's Shimon Cohen that a worshiper who arrived for early Sabbath morning prayers was the first to discover the destruction:



"He saw the lights on and the windows broken. He went in and the sight shocked him. All the walls had swastikas, and the Arabic words 'Hamas' and 'Allahu Akbar' [Allah is great]. Destruction all over - it looked like Sodom and Gomorrah. The vandals went into the classrooms, dumped out the equipment, turned over the principal's office, and threw the Torah books in all directions. They took expensive equipment worth thousands of shekels. The worshiper went by foot to the police and called them to come, which they did... He told me about it on Saturday night, and I called Rabbi Yashar, the rabbi of Akko. He came and cried out, 'What is this, Nazi Germany here?'"

Rabbi Shushan said that in his 30 years in the city, he had "never experienced an Arab pogrom like this one... I don't know what's going on here." Click here for the whole story from A-7.

Kavod HaRav, you don't know what's going on? Well, call up your PM and WhichEverMinisterIamToday Livni and thank them for their their spineless approach that has these islamo-fascists smelling Jewish blood from capitulation.

The Gift of Stating the Obvious:
From the Jerusalem Post : "Opposition leader Binyamin Netanyahu warned on Tuesday that Hamas was busy planning the next major rocket attack-and not just on Sderot. In an interview with Army Radio, Netanyahu said that "Gaza won't necessarily continue turning into a second Lebanon, but that is what's happening." "The time has come for us to draw conclusions," he said. "We can't close our eyes and say, 'I'm showing restraint, everything's okay.' Everything is not okay." The Likud leader called on Israel to stop showing restraint and to take an offensive stance toward Hamas.

Ah Bibi, you miss the point. We already have an offensive strategy. Haven't you been following your ex-Likudnik PM's moves? That isn't offensive enough for you? Oh and lest I pass up this opportunity for a cheap shot at you for continuing the land-for-peace idiocy by giving back Chevron, and being complicit in the death of Shalhevet Pass, HY"D, see the photo below.

You didn't literally kiss that butt, although contact with the face was probably worse.


Wish I could Say This and Get Away With It:
Qassam restraint saving lives (really, I could not make this up)
Sources in PM's Office respond to those demanding Israel respond to Qassam attacks despite ceasefire, say 'cost of human life could be higher if gov't doesn't continue exercising restraint'.
For full story click here.

Click here to rate this post on JBlog