VIRAL VIDEO: Black cop tells the TRUTH about Trump rallies via You Tube, March 20, 2016
Archive for March 20, 2016
VIRAL VIDEO: Black cop tells the TRUTH about Trump rallies
March 20, 2016Bernie Sanders Bows to Anti-Jewish Bigots, Skips AIPAC
March 20, 2016Bernie Sanders Bows to Anti-Jewish Bigots, Skips AIPAC, Front Page Magazine, Daniel Greenfield, March 19, 2016
Bernie Sanders has dodged his Jewish ethnic roots throughout the campaign. He avoided campaigning in Jewish areas in Florida. He has a history of hostility to Israel. So it’s not surprising that he decided to blow off the AIPAC conference.
AIPAC conferences are lightly pro-Israel consensus events. AIPAC is willing to provide cover for just about any politician willing to show up. Actual pro-Israel views are not required. Hillary Clinton and Trump will be there. Obama has been there. Showing up at an AIPAC conference is basically a politician saying that he or she is willing to extend an olive branch to Jews. However thin.
Bernie Sanders has once again chosen to pander to the anti-Semitic radical left. The petition calling for him to skip AIPAC was authored by the son of Hillary Clinton’s pet consigliere, Max Blumenthal, who has called for the ethnic cleansing of Jews from Israel. Hillary Clinton is a fan of Blumenthal’s hateful views on Israel. Views which were cited by the Kansas City Community Center gunman.
Sanders could have stood up to the anti-Semites. He could have stood up to bigots like Roger Waters and Max Blumenthal. Instead he chose to bow out with an excuse.
But then again Bernie has nothing to say. After San Bernardino, he whined loudly about the shift to foreign policy for that debate. When asked about lone wolf attackers, he began ranting about Wall Street. He would have nothing to say at the event anyway. His views on Israel come down to vocal support for Obama’s nuclear Iran and his past opposition to arming Israel.
Hmm, Where Could All This Hatred Be Coming From?
March 20, 2016Hmm, Where Could All This Hatred Be Coming From? Gatestone Institute, Douglas Murray, March 20, 2016
(Haven’t they blamed Trump yet? — DM)
♦ As with the Labour party students at Oxford, it is hard to argue that party members should have zero-tolerance towards anti-Semites when the party’s current leader has spent his whole career happily tolerating them.
♦ As many on the so-called left have earlier shown, their sinister idea of “re-education” for their opponents supposes that their own ideas on “education” are correct.
♦ “Anti-Semitism isn’t just tolerated in some sections of the British Muslim community; it’s routine and commonplace. Any Muslims reading this article — if they are honest with themselves — will know instantly what I am referring to. It’s our dirty little secret.” — Mehdi Hassan, The New Statesman.
♦ Is it not possible that anti-Muslim feeling, if it exists, might be in part propelled by the discovery that anti-Semitism and other forms of prejudice (against women and gay people to name just two other “minorities”) are also “routine and commonplace” among British Muslims?
Not a month goes by in Britain without some left-wing proponent of anti-Jewish racism exposing themselves. Last month it was the Oxford University Labour Club (OULC) that was found to be harbouring anti-Semites among its members. In recent weeks there have been a number of adult members of the Labour party who have been readmitted to the party or promoted within it while holding extreme anti-Jewish views.
The most recent case revolves around one Vicki Kirby, a Labour parliamentary candidate before the last general election, when she was suspended from the party for tweeting about Jews having “big noses,” Adolf Hitler being the “Zionist god” and other ramblings. Naturally, Ms. Kirby’s suspension has since been lifted. As with the Labour party students at Oxford, it is very hard to argue that party members should have zero-tolerance towards anti-Semites when the party’s current leader has spent his whole career happily tolerating them. Last week it came to public attention that Ms. Kirby had now become the vice-chair of her local party chapter.
The story was broken on right-of-centre websites, which ordinarily means that left-of-centre activists dismiss them as “smears.” But these stories are now coming in so thick and fast that an increasing number of people on the left are starting to admit they might have a problem. At least they are choosing to throw the more minor anti-Semites under the bus while preserving those at the top of their ranks. Had the charges aimed at Ms. Kirby been aimed at Mr Corbyn, we would still be being told that these were “rumours,” “innuendo” and the like.
Nevertheless, some Corbyn loyalists have decided that Ms. Kirby may indeed be a bit much, and realized that it is probably time to address the problem. Unfortunately, having failed to recognize the virus earlier, the remedies these people are now suggesting for cure are predictably wrong-headed.
Take for example the Guardian-published Corbyn activist, Owen Jones. Last week, ignoring his own history of stirring up lies against the Jewish state, he responded to his party’s latest embarrassment by arguing that Labour’s rules should be changed so that “anyone found guilty of anti-Semitism — or any other form of racism — is expelled from the party.” He went on to say that, “Their readmission should only happen when they have demonstrably been shown to have been re-educated.” There is the start of the problem. As so often with those on the Corbyn-ite wing of politics, the answer to problems of the heart or mind is “re-education.” The only problem — as the left many have earlier shown in a range of twentieth-century initiatives ranging from Stalin to Mao — is that their sinister idea of “re-education” for their opponents supposes that their own ideas on “education” are correct. As Jones goes on to show, this is rarely the case.
For his second prevarication for dealing with Labour’s anti-Semitism problem, Jones wrote that the party should:
“… set up two commissions: one on antisemitism, the other on anti-Muslim prejudice, respectively headed by a leading Jewish and a Muslim figure. Both forms of bigotry are on the rise in Britain, and both exist within progressive circles and the Labour party. The commissions could issue a series of recommendations, both for dealing with it when it arises within Labour, and also in wider society.”
As everyone involved in politics knows, there are two ways truly to ignore a problem: the first is just to ignore it; the second is to “set up a commission.”
But there are several perhaps unwittingly interesting things about this flaccid suggestion. The first is the reflexive and unthinking demonstration among many these days that they cannot possibly deal with anti-Semitism unless they also throw Muslims into the mix. To deal with anti-Semitism on its own might throw up too many problems and raise too many communal problems.
But let us say that two such commissions were set up. And let us pretend for a moment that they were indeed headed by people who were not merely “leading” but also honest figures.
The head of the commission to look into anti-Semitic prejudice, might find a number of startling things. He or she might find, for instance, that the dominant strand of anti-Semitism in British life in 2016 comes not from Ms. Kirby’s ilk, but from the British Muslim community. The commission head would not have to go far to learn this. One only has to pick up a copy of the British left’s in-house magazine, The New Statesman, and read an article from just three years ago by the British-born Al-Jazeera broadcaster, Mehdi Hassan. In an unusually honest piece entitled, “The sorry truth is that the virus of anti-Semitism has infected the British Muslim community,” the author explains that:
“Anti-Semitism isn’t just tolerated in some sections of the British Muslim community; it’s routine and commonplace. Any Muslims reading this article — if they are honest with themselves — will know instantly what I am referring to. It’s our dirty little secret.”
So as Hassan has reminded us, the sorry truth is that if a commission into anti-Semitism were set up, it would have to finger the majority of British Muslims as at least a very large part of the problem.
Meanwhile, let us say that the second commission were set up — the one that gives cover to the anti-Semitism commission which is looking at “anti-Muslim” feeling. This commission might come to an equally problematic conclusion. This commission might conclude, for instance, that to the extent that any “anti-Muslim” feeling might be said to exist in the UK, it comes from a number of factors quite separate from innate and unalterable prejudice in the hearts of the British people. It might come, for instance, from a dislike of suicide-bombings, assassinations, beheadings and other varieties of terrorism carried out while discussing the greatness of Allah. Although most British people will remain perfectly capable of understanding the difference between the actions of the extremists and the behaviour of the vast majority of British Muslims, they may be concerned about the amount of deflection and denial that they see even from leaders of very mainstream Muslim organizations. Indeed, is it not possible that anti-Muslim feeling, if it exists, might not also be in part propelled by the discovery that anti-Semitism and other forms of prejudice (against women and gay people to name just two “minorities”) are also “routine and commonplace” among British Muslims?
Perhaps after all it would be best if the Corbyn-ite element of the Labour party does not attempt this process of “re-education”? The path to wisdom must include some self-understanding. Yet the Labour party’s anti-Semitism problem comes from people who propel the very hatred they profess to despise. As such, they remain in no position to “re-educate” anyone, as they so stubbornly refuse to educate themselves.
Rabbis Boycotting Trump At AIPAC Aren’t Being Fair Or Following Jewish Law
March 20, 2016Rabbis Boycotting Trump At AIPAC Aren’t Being Fair Or Following Jewish Law, The Jewish Press, Jeff Dunetz, March 20, 2016
While these Rabbis are walking out on Donald Trump, there was never a boycott of the anti-Semitic, anti-Israel, Barack Obama, nor is there a plan to boycott Hillary Clinton despite her anti-Israel activism. Ms. Clinton is on the schedule to address AIPAC also.
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{Originally posted to the author’s website, The Lid}
He who answers a word before he understands-it is foolishness for him and an embarrassment- Mishlei (Proverbs) Chapter 18: Verse 13
A Reform Rabbi from Florida by the name Jeffrey Salkin (of Temple Solel in Hollywood) is organizing a boycott of Donald Trump’s speech at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) conference Monday, and it’s not because of Trump’s statement about being neutral in Israeli/Palestinian negotiations.
But, for many of the rabbis who will be attending AIPAC, Trump’s appearance poses political, moral, and even spiritual quandaries.
It is quite simple. Trump’s hateful rhetoric is abhorrent to a great many rabbis, for a variety of reasons. In particular, the Reform movement has eloquently spoken out on Trump.
(…) We have been urging rabbis to simply not attend the Trump speech — to let our absence be felt and noted.
Yes, AIPAC must be hospitable to Trump, but that does not mean that AIPAC participants are hospitable to the candidate’s ideas and candidacy.
While I understand the boycotting Rabbis distaste of Mr. Trump (just look at the hateful comments I get from Trump fans) and plan to vote against him in the New York State primary, the boycotters are not being fair to Donald Trump, nor are they observing Jewish law which demands people listen to all sides before making a judgment.
According to the Washington Post, “Those who have signed on so far primarily represent the Reform and Conservative movements of Judaism.” For those unfamiliar with the differences between Jewish movements, both the Reform and Conservative (where I worship) movements are very progressive. Sometimes putting their political beliefs in front of the needs of the Jewish people. Or as I said when the leadership of the Conservative movement met with Barack Obama in the summer of 2012 and gave him an implied endorsement, they worship the golden calf of big government. Sometimes when hearing a liberal skewed sermon from the pulpit makes me feel very unwelcome at my own Shul.
Not Being Fair To Trump:
Why are they holding Donald Trump to a different standard than President Obama or Hillary Clinton? During his seven plus years as president, Barack Obama has shown himself to be anti-Israel and even worse, anti-Semitic. For example during the push for the Iran deal the president had a phone call with “Jewish Leaders.” In the 20-minute phone call Obama said over and over that opponents of the Iran deal come from the same “array of forces that got us into the Iraq war,” he said a “bunch of billionaires who happily finance super PACs” are “putting the squeeze on members of Congress.”
The message was clear to the Jewish participants, William Daroff Senior Vice President for Public Policy & Director of the Washington office of the very liberal, Jewish Federations of North America tweeted during the meeting “Jews are leading effort to kill #Irandeal. ‘Same people opposing the deal led us into Iraq war,’” and followed with “Canard: Jews got us into Iraq War.”
When Lee Rosenberg of AIPAC questioned the president’s statement comparing people who object to the Iran deal to those who supported the invasion of Iraq he pointed out that many anti-Semites falsely claim the Jews pushed Bush into invading Iraq. Obama explained that Netanyahu supported the Iraq invasion (true). But Bibi wasn’t the premier at the time he was a private citizen. The prime minister Ariel Sharon strongly urged Bush not to invade Iraq, arguing correctly that if Saddam were removed, “Iran, a far more dangerous player, will be rid of its principal enemy and free to pursue its ambitions of regional hegemony.”
If one looks at Hillary Clinton’s public history one finds a lifetime of anti-Israel positions. But wait some might say, Hillary was a big supporter of Israel when she was in the U.S. Senate. Indeed, she was. With the possible exception of the time from her first campaign New York’s Senate seat in 2000 to her resignation from the Senate to become Secretary of State in January 2009– except for the time she needed New York’s Jewish voting bloc, Hillary Clinton has never been pro-Israel. And when she held the position of Secretary of State, she helped Barack Obama craft his anti-Israel positions.
While these Rabbis are walking out on Donald Trump, there was never a boycott of the anti-Semitic, anti-Israel, Barack Obama, nor is there a plan to boycott Hillary Clinton despite her anti-Israel activism. Ms. Clinton is on the schedule to address AIPAC also.
Not Following Jewish Teachings:
There is an old Yiddish expression, “It’s ‘shanda fur die goy.” It means making the Jews look stupid in front of the Gentiles. And in this case by not following Jewish teachings and not listening to Trump these Rabbis are embarrassing the Jewish people.
The first word of one of the holy Jewish prayers is Sh’ma, it means listen. Listening to people before judging them is an important Jewish teaching. Because of their political leanings one could reasonably suspect that these Rabbis have only seen the snippets of Trump speeches broadcast or printed by the mainstream media. If they haven looked at his entire speech, or all his speeches they aren’t listening. By boycotting him at AIPAC they are judging him by not giving him the opportunity to explain himself.
The verse from Proverbs posted above, “He who answers a word before he understands-it is foolishness for him and an embarrassment,” is trying to teach us to listen and understand someone before making a judgment. Pirkei Avot 2:5 reads, “Do not judge your fellow until you have reached his place.” As long as you have not reached his place, i.e. have a clear picture of his complete situation, and look at the broader picture you must give him the benefit of the doubt. Pirkei Avot is a book of the ethical teachings and maxims of the Rabbis written during the first two centuries CE.
Just like King Solomon (who wrote Proverbs), the ancient Rabbis taught us to understand someone before they judge that person.
In the book of D’varim (Deuteronomy) Chapter 1, Verse 16 Moses instructs the Jewish people in a similar way to Solomon and the ancient Rabbis, Judges have to hear all sides before they judge:
And I charged your judges at that time, saying: ‘Hear the causes between your brethren, and judge righteouslybetween a man and his brother, and the stranger that is with him.
There again in that verse is the Hebrew word שָׁמֹעַ: sh’ma, which means listen. We must listen before judge
The first two examples above were written by man, King Solomon and the ancient Rabbis. On the other hand Jews believe that the entire Torah was written by God. Therefore that verse in D’varim means the omnipotent one, who created the heaven and the earth, who teaches us right from wrong and gives each one of us the free will to decide our path wants us to listen before we judge.
I’m not suggesting that the Rabbis should support Trump (I don’t) or even vote Republican, what I am suggesting is that great human minds as well the word of God tells them they should sit and listen to Donald Trump, the same way they sat and listened to the anti-Semitic Barack Obama when he spoke to AIPAC, and like the will sit and listen to the anti-Israel Hillary Clinton when she addresses the very same AIPAC conference.
With the election less than eight months away they shouldn’t be divisive rather they should listen to all sides, listen to their hearts and pray. Perhaps with the prayer below:
Lord who grants salvation to kings and dominion to rulers, Whose kingdom is a kingdom spanning the entire universe and all eternities; Who places a road in the sea and a path in the mighty waters – may you bless the President, the Vice President, and all the constituted officers of government of this land. May they execute their responsibilities with intelligence, honor, compassion and love for the constitution wonderfully crafted by our founding fathers. May you grant the people of the United States the wisdom to select a leader who is wise and fair, and who will never make a decision without considering your teachings. May you always bless these United States and provide our leaders with the comprehension of your role in making this republic the land of the free and the home of the brave.
Six East African Countries Bid for Israel’s Help in War on Islamist Terror
March 20, 2016Six East African Countries Bid for Israel’s Help in War on Islamist Terror, DEBKAfile, March 20, 2016
Co-opting Israel to East Africa’s struggle against encroaching Islamist terror topped the agenda of Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta’s talks with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem in the third week of February, DEBKAfile’s exclusive sources disclose.
Their two countries are already bound by close military and intelligence ties. Kenyatta proposed expanding this partnership into a broad new alliance, comprising Israel and six East African states, for launching a combined campaign to rid their countries of the jihadist Islamic State, Al Qaeda and their affiliates, such as Somalia’s Al Shabaab.
Kenyatta said he had been entrusted on his mission to Jerusalem by Ethiopia, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and South Sudan. All six governments trusted in Israeli assistance acting as the lever for upgrading their Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), which normally deals with drought and development enterprises, into a multilateral sword against Islamist terror
As an associate member of IGAD, Israel would undertake to reorganize is members’ armed forces, intelligence capabilities and anti-terror bodies, and outfit them with the weapons systems and advanced electronic equipment needed to root out the scourge of terrorism.
Kenyatta emphasized that the six IGAD member states were turning to Israel after taking fright from Nigeria’s plight. Its failure to grapple with the ferocious Islamist Boko Haram had sent oil-rich Nigeria’s economy into freefall and devalued its currency, the Naira, by half.
DEBKA Weekly’s military and counterterrorism sources add that after many years of close military and intelligence cooperation, the Kenyan army is receiving training from Israeli military instructors on tactics for battling Al Shabab inside Somalia and a supply of Israeli weapons tailored for anti-terror warfare. Israeli and Kenyan officers put their heads together on the planning of Kenyan army operations in Somalia.
Saturday, March 19, Kenyan troops Kenyan army killed 21 Shabaab terrorists after two Kenyan troops were killed in a Shabaab IED ambush in southern Somalia. The Kenyan army is part ofthe African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM).
In the past year, Israeli counterterrorism and intelligence agencies set up a special command center in the Kenyan port city of Mombasa to lead operations against the Al Qaeda cells embedded in eastern and southern Kenya. When they met in Jerusalem, Kenyatta thanked Netanyahu for Israel’s assistance in breaking up most of those cells.
Ethiopia is another East African country with close military and defense links with Israel that go back many years.
Kenyatta explained that Israel was the six governments’ preferred partner for fighting terror, after the United States proved indifferent to East African concerns and limits its contribution to the war on terror to widely-spaced air strikes.
Although a US drone attack on March 7 eliminated 150 Islamist terrorists in Somalia, the Kenyan president said that US troops rarely emerge from their navy’s expeditionary base at Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti to confront Al Shabaab.
Chinese efforts to step into the anti-terror void left by the Obama administration were likewise rejected by the East Africans. They are wary of accepting Beijing’s military and economic largesse because it comes with a hefty price tag of Chinese expansionist economic and military footholds in their countries.
In return for military intelligence assistance for combating terror, the six East African governments are offering Israeli firms preferential treatment for developing their markets. Netanyahu is expected by our sources to visit IGAD member capitals in the coming weeks to cement ties and finalize arrangements.
Watch: Violence breaks out during Trump rally
March 20, 2016Watch: Trump supporter attacks protester during rally A young man who protested at rally for the Republican candidate in Tucson, Arizona was the victim of violence when a Trump supporter attacked him. The young man held up a poster denouncing Trump. His female partner, who was wearing a Ku Klux Klan mask, was raising her hand in a manner that resembles a Nazi salute. While the 2 were being escorted outside by security guars, a Trump supporter attacked the male protester.
Mar 20, 2016, 11:45AM
Becca Noy
Source: Watch: Violence breaks out during Trump rally | JerusalemOnline.com
Thousands of Americans participated last night (Saturday) in a rally for Republican candidate Donald Trump. The controversial billionaire’s speeches usually cause outrage but this time, he was not at the center of attention. Instead, the violence that broke out during his rally made headlines.
Everything began when 2 anti-Trump activists, a man and a woman, infiltrated the rally for Trump supporters. The 2 chanted slogans against the candidate. The male protester, who appears to be wearing an American flag, was waving a poster that bears the face of Trump and the words: “Bad for America.”
The female protester wore a KKK mask and held her hand up, resembling the Nazi salute. The 2 were apprehended by security guards and police officers, who escorted them outside of the venue.
When the security guards were accompanying the protesters to an exit, a Trump supporter got so angry that he attacked the male protester. He punched him at least once and kicked him several times when he was lying on the floor. The police officers at the venue arrested the attacker as well.
Israel’s Christian Minority
March 20, 2016Israel’s Christian Minority, Gatestone Institute, Shadi Khalloul, March 20, 2016
♦ Christians in Israel, as well as all other minorities, understand today that serving in the Israeli military is essential. Many Christians and other minorities in Israel share the same fears: they understand that in this region, Israel is the only island of safety that allows them freedom and democratic rights.
♦ Christians and other minorities in Israel prosper and grow, while in other countries in the Middle East, including the Palestinian Authority, they suffer heavily from the Islamic movement and persecution — until forced to disappear.
♦ Contrary to propaganda, there is no “Apartheid” of any kind in Israel, and no roads on which only Jews may travel.
♦ In Israel, members of the Christian and Muslim minorities fill all types of high positions — just as any Jewish Israeli who wishes to have a successful career. There is the Maronite Christian Supreme Court Judge, Salim Jubran.
♦ Widely discussed in the region is how the Europeans secretly want Israel wiped out, too, and are hoping that their new laws, combined with old Arab violence, will do the trick.
Last year, Israel recognized the existence of a group of Christians — “Arameans” — within its borders; an act that no Arab or Muslim nation from the Middle East has ever done or would ever do. Israel recognized a distinct religious and ethnic group: the indigenous people of the ancient Fertile Crescent.
Their language, Aramaic, was the language spoken by Jesus centuries before Islam came to the region.
Israel not only supports and gives Christians and other minorities — Druze, Muslims, Baha’i, everyone — full civil rights, freedom and legal rights to exist peacefully and practice their faith as they wish, but also to develop themselves as a minority with all the implications of differences in culture. Arabs, for instance, are welcomed into the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), but are not, as opposed to Jews, required to serve. Israel’s founding Prime Minister, David Ben Gurion, humanely did not want Arabs to feel as if they were obliged fight their “brothers.”
In Israel, members of the Christian and Muslim minorities fill all types of high positions — just as any Jewish Israeli who wishes to have a successful career. There is the Maronite Christian Supreme Court Judge, Salim Jubran.
Contrary to propaganda, there is no “Apartheid” of any kind, and no roads on which only Jews may travel. Those roads are in Saudi Arabia, which has real Apartheid roads, since only Muslims may travel to Mecca.
Israel does this, moreover, in a neighborhood where most of its neighbors — often the most brutal enemies of humanity — wish Israel were wiped out and often do their utmost to make this wish come true. Sadly, many Europeans join in. Everyone has seen the recent vicious attempts by the European Union to snuff out Israel economically by labeling goods made in disputed territories. This requirement, made of no other country with a disputed border actually hinders any prospects for peace that working together is meant to bring about.
These Europeans are not fooling anyone. Their slyly sadistic, self-righteous “punishments” meant for Israel will only throw thousands of Palestinians out of well-paying, badly-needed work; these diktats also drive many newly out-of-work Palestinians to the employment bureau of last resort: Islamic extremism and terrorism. Ironically, these Europeans, to satisfy their wish to hurt Jews by pretending to help Palestinians, are actually seeding a new crop of terrorists who will later come to Europe and show them what they think of such hypocrites.
Widely discussed in the region is how the Europeans secretly want Israel wiped out, too, and are hoping that their new laws, combined with old Arab violence, will do the trick. That way, the Europeans can pretend to themselves that they had “nothing to do with it.” These Europeans need to know they are not fooling anyone.
Israel, meanwhile, despite having to deal with the European and American fronts as well as often genocidal Muslim threats, continues actively to strengthen its minority communities through a variety of state-sponsored programs. Among them is a five-year plan to develop Israeli Arab and other minority communities adopted by the government on December 30, 2015, at cost of 15 billion shekels [roughly $4 billion]. Social Equality Minister Gila Gamliel, of the Likud Party is in charge of implementing the plan. Prime Minister Netanyahu, who is unjustly demonized, has for the last several years operated the “Authority for the Economic Development of the Arab, Druze and Circassian Sectors.” It is headed by an Arab Muslim, Aiman Saif, who controls a sizeable budget of 7 billion shekels [roughly $1.8 billion], which has mostly gone to different Arab cities and villages to develop modern infrastructure, industrial zones, employment opportunities, education and other elements. The rest was allocated to helping Christian villages in the Galilee.
Arabs have their own section in the Ministry of Education, headed by an Arab Muslim, Abdalla Khateeb, who is also in charge of a sizeable budget of 900 million shekels [$230 million].
Christians, as well as all other minorities, understand today that serving in the Israeli military is essential for their integration in Israel. Many Christians and other minorities in Israel share the same fears: they increasingly understand that in this region, Israel is the only island of safety that allows them freedom and democratic rights. The Muslim Arab community in Israel, as well as the Christian and other Arabic-speaking communities, see the tragic destiny of their brothers in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and other Arab countries. Muslims killing Muslims; fanatical Muslim groups killing Christians, uprooting them, slitting their throats, burning them alive, drowning them in cages and of course crucifying them, even little children. Israel’s minorities are very aware of this. They also cannot understand why no one is demonizing those villains. They fear that this devastation will spread, first to the holy land of Israel, and then to Europe.
This fear is one of the reasons there have been increasing numbers of Christians applying to serve in the IDF: 30% recruitment on a voluntary basis; while in general Jewish society, the number stands for 57% on an obligatory basis. Today there are even more than 1000 Muslim Arabs serving in the IDF.
We all know the danger of these fanatic Islamic jihadist groups such as Hamas groups, and feel ever more committed to protect this lone pluralistic state.
The community to which this author belongs, Aramean Christians, is of Aramean-Phoenician ethnic roots and language, and was originally based in Syria, Lebanon and Iraq. Over the 1400 years following the Islamic conquest, Aramean Christians were forced to switch to speaking Arabic, and more recently to flee their homes in Syria and Iraq. They have no status in Arab and Islamic states, most ruled according to Islamic sharia law. Aramean Christians also have no status in the Palestinian Authority, which now rules Judea and Samaria.
We are aware of some Christian groups, such as Sabeel, Kairos Palestine and others under the thumb of the Palestinian Authority, who still feel the need to pay lip-service to the Muslim Arabian lords who have conquered them.
Jerusalem is open to everyone. But it has not always been, especially under the jurisdiction of Jordan, until 1967. Not only were Jews not allowed in, but 38,000 Jewish gravestones were taken from the Mount of Olives cemetery and used as building materials and flooring for Jordan’s latrines.
Muslim Arab members of Israel’s Knesset [parliament] reject the right of Christians to preserve their unique heritage. On February 5, 2014, Knesset member Haneen Zoabi of the United Arab List party threatened the Israeli Christian representatives who lobbied in the Knesset Employment Committee in favor of a law that would add Christian representatives to a committee on employment equality in the Economy Ministry. Zoabi rejected their declaration that they were a separate Aramean Christian ethnicity. She insisted on forcing upon them an Arab and Palestinian identity. This identification was of course, as false as if we Christians had insisted that Muslim Arabs call themselves Native Americans. The law passed despite the efforts of Zoabi and her colleagues, due to a coalition of Knesset members — with vast majority of Jewish MKs voting in favor of it.
This incident illustrates how some of Israel’s Muslim Arabs, while asking their Jewish neighbors for help in preserve their own Muslim-Arab heritage, prohibit other ethnic minorities these same rights.
Instead, they try to impose Arabization and Palestinization by threats and by force. In September 2014, for instance, an Aramean Christian woman, IDF Captain Areen Shaabi, was stalked by Arab Muslim activists in Nazareth. She was threatened with shouts of “Allahu Akbar” [“Allah is Greater!”], and at night her car tires were slashed.
IDF Major Ehab Shlayan, an Aramean Christian in Nazareth and the founder of the Christian Recruitment Forum, awoke on the morning of August 2015 to find that a Palestinian flag had been put in front of his door during the night. On Christmas Eve, December 24, 2014, thirty Muslims throwing stones and glass bottles attacked a Christian soldier, 19-year-old Majd Rawashdi, and his home.
IDF Major Ehab Shlayan (far left), is an Aramean Christian from Nazareth and founder of the Christian Recruitment Forum, which encourages Israeli Aramean Christians to serve in the military. Muslim Arab Knesset member Haneen Zoabi (right) recently threatened Israeli Christian representatives, rejecting their declaration that they were a separate Aramean Christian ethnicity and insisting on forcing upon them an Arab and Palestinian identity.
All this is hypocrisy at the highest levels, mixed with racism.
In an official Christmas greeting to Israel’s Christians on December 24, 2012, Prime Minister Netanyahu said:
“Israel’s minorities, including over one million citizens who are Arabs, always have full civil rights. Israel’s government will never tolerate discrimination against women. Israel’s Christian population will always be free to practice their faith. This is the only place in the Middle East where Christians are fully free to practice their faith. They don’t have to fear; they don’t have to flee. At a time when Christians are under siege in so many places, in so many lands in the Middle East, I am proud that in Israel Christians are free to practice their faith, and that there is a thriving Christian community in Israel.”
Christians and other minorities in Israel prosper and grow, while in other countries in the Middle East, including the Palestinian Authority, they suffer heavily from the Islamic movement and persecution — until forced to disappear.
Op-Ed: Obama’s public face – a political theater of distraction and deception
March 20, 2016Op-Ed: Obama’s public face – a political theater of distraction and deception, Israel National News, Jeffrey Ludwig, March 20, 2016
In his article “Iran’s Diplomacy for Dummies,” Jonathan Tobin, a totally reasonable individual, again misses the perfidy of Obama’s policies, towards Iran. We brought to the UN our concerns about Iran testing ballistic missiles being a violation of the Iran deal. Russia stated flatly that they “would not permit sanctions to be [re-] imposed because Iran’s actions did not violate UN Security Council resolutions.” Samantha Powers expressed frustration and dismay at the Russian reaction to our concerns.
However, Amb. Powers’ comments against the Russians in the UN were nothing more than a charade. Her comments were a pretense of being offended by Russia. The Obama administration was just playing politics with the issue, and using Samantha as the actress to give voice to our “concern” in this one-act political theater. We pretend to be standing up for real-time enforcement of the Iran deal, and then blame the Russians when enforcement is prevented. Whereas the truth is there was no real expectation or desire for enforcement by Obama and his lady advisors from day one of the negotiations or our sign-off. Powers and Obama are merely trying to appear earnest in their implementation of the treaty (which they falsely called an agreement).
The charade (i.e., playacting) can be seen at work over a variety of political scenarios. These bits of play acting are the modus operandi of the Obama administration. They seek to reverse the idea found in Shakespeare’s drama “Hamlet.” There we find the line, “The play’s the thing. Wherein [to] catch the conscience of the king.” For the Obama inner clique, the principle is “the play’s the thing” to deflect our understanding of the king’s dereliction of duty for God and country.
We see this playacting during a recent interview. During the course of the interview, Obama tried to appear measured and sincere in his thinking. For example, he says to the interviewer, “Real power means you can get what you want without having to exert violence.” He presented himself as a wise Solon who prefers negotiation to force. Here he may not be completely duplicitous but simply be in denial.
Many so-called peaceniks on the left fail to see the cowardly and traitorous underpinnings (motives) of their pseudo-pacifism. Thus, seen in a more honest light, we need to understand that preference for negotiation over force is, in reality, a preference for capitulation and a policy of fear. Capitulation is then interpreted as being wise and detached, whereas it is actually a flight from reality and the unpleasant experiences that accompany any of life’s confrontations.
He also pretended to be detached in the Shiite-Sunni conflict. According to Obama, the two sides “need to find an effective way to share the neighborhood.” Bret Stephens of the Wall Street Journal tags this remark as sounding more “like Mr. Rogers.” However, this writer finds it to be more duplicitous and sinister than Mr. Stephens thinks. In reality Obama has taken the side of the Shiites and of the Muslim Brotherhood wing of the Sunnis. He has decided to reject Sunni leadership that is not rooted in Muslim Brotherhood ideology — in Libya (overthrew Qaddafi), Egypt (overthrew Hosni Mubarak and is not working cooperatively with General Abdel el-Sisi, but did send F-16s to el-Sisi’s predecessor Muslim Brotherhood President Mohamed Morsi), and Yemen (allowed a pro-Iranian Shiite faction to overthrow the pro-Saudi government).
Further, the U.S. has not lifted a finger to prevent Iranian-backed Hezbollah from taking over Lebanon.
Lastly, and most important from a Jewish perspective, he has justified U.S. funding of Hamas via their alliance with the PLO in 2014. And we know that Hamas is a Shiite (Iranian-backed) organization with Muslim Brotherhood backing as well. Thus by saying to Goldberg that Shiites and Sunnis will just have to learn to get along, Obama was feigning a neutrality that in practice he totally rejects. His remarks are pure political theater, totally divorced from the policies and practices of his administration.
Although Bret Stephens characterizes Obama’s thinking as shallow, it seems to this writer that Obama’s playacting is not rooted in shallowness, but simply in his being wrong. His underlying principles are ultimately harmful. He is identified with left-wing pseudo pacifism (“pseudo” because violence is justified, but only for leftist ideals), a Marxist-derived anti-American bias that would portray the U.S. as an exploitative society, a bitter anti-Israel bias derived from his Muslim roots, and a false universalism (“false” because it is not God-centered).
His playacting is thus an attempt to distract from his deep ideological commitments. In Hamlet, the play was intended to reveal the hidden murderous action of the King of Denmark. With the present U.S. executive branch, the intent of the playacting is to hide the murderous intent.
Op-Ed: Trump and AIPAC, playing the race card
March 20, 2016Op-Ed: Trump and AIPAC, playing the race card, Israel National News, Art Liberman, March 20, 2016
(Please see also, Jewish leaders plan boycott of Donald Trump at AIPAC. — DM)
As the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee’s (AIPAC) annual conference is slated to commence this week, some self-appointed Jewish leaders are calling for AIPAC to disinvite GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump while others are calling for a walk-out or some form of boycott when he speaks. The former option isn’t even legally viable as AIPAC is registered as a 501(c)(3) and under this provision of the U.S. tax code, AIPAC must provide all candidates an equal opportunity to participate.
That leaves us with the latter option – a walk out. Those advocating this position argue that Trump is a “racist” presumably because he wishes to secure the U.S. border, wishes to address trade imbalances due to the unfair practice of currency manipulation by some foreign governments and wishes to protect Americans from malevolent ideologies that wish to destroy any semblance of Western civilization.
Of course, they’ll put a different spin on that matter. As Liel Leibovitz of Tablet puts it, Trump demonstrates “unmasked bigotry” by spewing “…repeated and vile denigration of immigrants, Muslims, and others for no purpose save for the inflammation of electoral nervous systems…” And just to make sure we all understand the point, pictured next to the article is a lighthouse with the words “Trump Watch” written in menacing Nazi-style calligraphy.
Putting aside for the moment that such Nazi-like comparisons are beyond asinine and denigrate the memories of the 6,000,000 who perished in the Holocaust, there is no question that Trump is a flawed person and a flawed candidate. He has demonstrated bouts of narcissism, is an unrepentant braggart and has “misremembered” on a number of occasions. But is he truly any different or worse than Hillary Clinton? She’s been caught fabricatingon more occasions than Richard Nixon on a bad day and has displayed sheer indifference to the lives of those sworn to protect our country – Benghazi comes to mind.
But let’s assume for the moment that Leibovitz is entirely correct. Let’s assume that Trump is bigoted and intolerant; what in heaven’s name does that have to do with AIPAC?
AIPAC is a non-partisan issue. It’s not about Donald Trump or any other candidate. It’s about solidarity with Israel and transcends any single individual or political party. The AIPAC conference celebrates an alliance that has endured through thick and thin for 68 years. An alliance that is based on shared strategic interests and cherished moral values. Those calling for demonstrations or boycotts against Trump during the AIPAC convention detract from this very important purpose. They are nothing more than sanctimonious narcissists who wish to hijack the conference to pursue agendas that have little if anything to do with the strategic U.S.-Israel partnership. They are of course free to protest and boycott but the AIPAC conference is certainly not the appropriate venue to do so.
Then there are those Trump detractors who feign concern over alleged acts of anti-Semitism at Trump rallies. Of the hundreds of thousands who’ve attended Trump rallies, they have only been able to present two instances involving two deranged individuals. With that, they are attempting to paint all Trump supporters and possibly Trump himself – who has an orthodox Jewish daughter – with a broad brush. It’s a sneaky and immoral tactic often used by unsavory elitists to fling mud but the underhanded tactic often works.
As stated, Trump is far from perfect but protesting his presence at an event designed to further cement relations between two great democracies, is completely inappropriate. It is therefore incumbent on AIPAC to take the necessary precautionary measures to ensure that this charade does not occur. Moreover, those who seek to link Trump with Nazism through symbolism or other nefarious methods, maintain ulterior motives that have nothing to do with combatting anti-Semitism and denigrate the memories of those killed in the worst act of genocide the world has ever known.
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