Thursday, December 06, 2012

Building In Jerusalem: A Strategic Imperative

Click on the link below. Well written short paper from the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies.

'via Blog this'

Saturday, November 17, 2012

Rubin Reports » Here’s How—As With This Israel-Hamas War—Western Elites Are Baffled by the Middle East

Rubin Reports » Here’s How—As With This Israel-Hamas War—Western Elites Are Baffled by the Middle East

Is the Congressional Turkey Coalition Pro-Hamas? « Commentary Magazine

Is the Congressional Turkey Coalition Pro-Hamas? « Commentary Magazine
" Each and every member of the Turkey Caucus should watch this video of the Turkish ruling party welcoming the leader of Hamas, and this clip of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan speaking candidly in the years before he took the premiership, and ask whether this is the man and the government they want to be endorsing. Here is Erdoğan telling Charlie Rose that Hamas rocket attacks are a hoax, and Bülent Yildirim, a friend of Erdoğan and the head of the charity behind the Gaza flotilla, praising Hamas."

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Angry Turkish Secularists Plant Flag at Ergenekon Trial - NYTimes.com

Angry Turkish Secularists Plant Flag at Ergenekon Trial - NYTimes.com

"Yet the recent sight of security forces clashing with thousands of secularist protesters who were celebrating Turkey’s Republic Day in violation of a government ban belied the government’s democratic credentials. Turkey’s reputation has also been rattled by reports from the European Union and the Committee to Protect Journalists, an advocacy group based in New York, that have undermined Mr. Erdogan’s efforts to portray Turkey as a rising democracy for the region to emulate.
The European Union said the Ergenekon case, and other criminal cases, raise “real concerns about their wide scope and the shortcomings in judicial proceedings.” The C.P.J. said Turkey is “waging one of the world’s biggest anti-press campaigns in recent history.” More journalists are in jail in Turkey than in any other country, the C.P.J. report said."

Sunday, October 14, 2012

More Trouble: Will Jordan Be the Next To Fall? The Possibility Is Bad News for Israel and the U.S. – Tablet Magazine

Will Jordan Be the Next To Fall? The Possibility Is Bad News for Israel and the U.S. – Tablet Magazine

Asia Times Online :: The horizon collapses in the Middle East

Asia Times Online :: The horizon collapses in the Middle East
I don't totally agree with all the conclusions in this article, but this is the most original -- and grounded in facts -- analysis that I've seen of the Middle East in a while.

When the Arab Jews Fled - WSJ.com

When the Arab Jews Fled - WSJ.com
Fascinating story, certified by the UN  population exchange of Arab Jews for Palestinians. Under international law and custom, population exchanges of refugees has always been the accepted (indeed preferred) method for dealing with refugee communities. Telling this story can only help. Part of the  Palestinian problem is the sense of shame by their Arab brothers for the one-sided fate that befell them. If it is not one-sided anymore, it helps with the issue of Arab shame and could make a solution easier, or at least help  Israel's PR in the west.
For more background on the issue of Arab-Jewish and Palestinian refugees, see this post I wrote in 2006. http://commonsenseforaworldpopulatedbyhumans.blogspot.com/2006/10/reuters-on-jewish-refugees-for-israeli.html

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Will Free Gaza implode due to ant... JPost - Diplomacy & Politics

Will Free Gaza implode due to ant... JPost - Diplomacy & Politics

Greta Berlin, the US co-founder of FGM, posted on Twitter in late September that “Zionists operated the concentration camps and helped murder millions of innocent Jews.”

Her tweet appeared on the Free Gaza Twitter account with a link to a video from Eustace Mullins, who declared that Adolf Hitler formed an alliance with Zionists “to force anti- Zionists to accept Zionism.”

Arab Media Coverage of the Obama-Romney Race Is a Stark Contrast to Conspiratorial Reportage of the Past – Tablet Magazine

Arab Media Coverage of the Obama-Romney Race Is a Stark Contrast to Conspiratorial Reportage of the Past – Tablet Magazine

State Dept.'s "Inexplicable" Emissary Choice :: The Investigative Project on Terrorism

State Dept.'s "Inexplicable" Emissary Choice :: The Investigative Project on Terrorism

Thursday, August 30, 2012

Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features » Neologism and Nationalism

Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features » Neologism and Nationalism
" Enemies of “Zionism,” as a term and a concept, attack not just the actual state of Israel but the aspirational aspect of Jewish nationalism and Jewish sovereignty.  That is, it attacks the very idea of a Jewish state as illegitimate, not simply the manner in which the state conducts itself. If such attacks were founded in uniform opposition to all nationalism, they would at least have some consistency and intellectual foundation—but, of course, they are not."

Saturday, August 18, 2012

Monday, July 30, 2012

Andrew Klavan: Batman Battles the Politics of Resentment - WSJ.com

Andrew Klavan: Batman Battles the Politics of Resentment - WSJ.com
 "Free markets lift us all. People's "revolutions" inevitably result in tyranny. Forgiveness and self-betterment redeem society while embittered extortions in the name of "social justice" poison it. None of these simple truths is hidden in the film. That is why left-leaning critics on both coasts have reacted to the movie with the same willful blindness with which they view history."

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Banning Guns Won’t Stop the Next Aurora, but Better Mental-Health Policies Might – Tablet Magazine

Banning Guns Won’t Stop the Next Aurora, but Better Mental-Health Policies Might – Tablet Magazine
 Indeed, a day after the shooting, a chart began making the rounds on Facebook, citing the statistic that while the United States lost 9,484 people to gun violence in 2008 (the last year for which comprehensive data are available), Finland—where, by the way, guns are easy enough to come by, with 32 privately owned firearms per every 100 civilians—lost only 17. In Finland, there are inpatient and outpatient programs designed to accommodate anyone feeling anxiety or distress, as well as 24-hour emergency services provided free of charge. The government also provides occupational health care, which, according to the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health’s website, “supports the maintenance of mental health, prevention of problems and early identification of problems among the working-age population.” Visit the website of the Colorado Department of Human Services, and you’re told that if you happen to be uninsured, you should seek “family members or close friends who can provide financial assistance.” Which approach do you think is more effective if we’re trying to stop a deranged young man from reaching the point of no return?

Banning Guns Won’t Stop the Next Aurora, but Better Mental-Health Policies Might – Tablet Magazine

Banning Guns Won’t Stop the Next Aurora, but Better Mental-Health Policies Might – Tablet Magazine

Mursi: Recognition Of Peace Agreement With Israel – Conditional; MB Calls For Jihad To Liberate Palestine

Mursi: Recognition Of Peace Agreement With Israel – Conditional; MB Calls For Jihad To Liberate Palestine
Reality in the Arab world.  Thomas Friedman can keep blaming Israel for a lack of peace, for not giving all the West Bank to the Pals, but the simple fact is that most Arabs don't want peace, they simply want "No Israel", as a matter of religious conviction. The Muslim Brotherhood is sweeping power in the Arab world -- what further proof do they need?

Thursday, June 28, 2012

Adolph Hitler's Lesson -- What Are We Waiting for with Iran?

Note to correspondents in response to questions about remarks by the Vice-President of Iran

New York, 27 June 2012
In response to questions about remarks by the Vice-President of Iran, the Spokesperson has the following to say:
"The Secretary-General has on many occasions called on Iranian officials to refrain from these kinds of anti-Semitic statements. He does so again in response to these latest reported comments. He believes it is the responsibility of leaders to promote harmony and understanding and he deeply regrets expressions of hatred and religious intolerance."
New York, 27 June 2012

What did the Vice President of Iran say to a UN Forum on the illegal drug trade?  http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/27/world/middleeast/irans-vice-president-rahimi-makes-anti-semitic-speech.html?_r=2&ref=world
" Iran’s vice president delivered a baldly anti-Semitic speech on Tuesday at an international antidrug conference here, saying that the Talmud, a central text of Judaism, was responsible for the spread of illegal drugs around the world"

"Mr. Rahimi, second in line to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, said the Talmud teaches to “destroy everyone who opposes the Jews.”
"The “Zionists” are in firm control of the illegal drug trade, Mr. Rahimi said, asking foreign dignitaries to research his claims."
" A European diplomat said afterward: “This was definitely one of the worst speeches I have heard in my life. My gut reaction was: why are we supporting any cooperation with these people?”"

Indeed, WHY?????

Is Obama any more than Neville Chamberlain on the eve of Munich? If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it is a duck. Take the Iranians at their word, as we should have taken Hitler at his, and stop trying to explain their logic, as we did for Hitler. They have called for the destruction of Israel, are bent on worldwide Shiite revolution (by their own words)  and control of the Middle East, and by virtually every independent account, are very far along on developing a nuclear weapons capability. What are we waiting for?

Friday, June 15, 2012

Howard Grief: Legal Rights and Title of Sovereignty of the Jewish People

Howard Grief: Legal Rights and Title of Sovereignty of the Jewish People
The objective of this paper is to set down in a brief, yet clear and precise manner the legal rights and title of sovereignty of the Jewish people to the Land of Israel and Palestine under international law. These rights originated in the global political and legal settlement, conceived during World War I and carried into execution in the post-war years between 1919 and 1923. Insofar as the Ottoman Turkish Empire was concerned, the settlement embraced the claims of the Zionist Organization, the Arab National movement, the Kurds, the Assyrians and the Armenians.

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

« The Ten Commandments of America’s Jews Commentary Magazine

« The Ten Commandments of America’s Jews Commentary Magazine
 Very good article, dovetails well with yesterday's poll on Jewish life in the NY area and the shrinkage of non-Orthodox communities. It comes down to the things mentioned in these "10 Commandments",  and a lack of shame (indeed, a sense of pride) in being a  narcissist.

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

On Jewish Community and Continuity, Orthodox Lead the Way « Commentary Magazine

On Jewish Community and Continuity, Orthodox Lead the Way « Commentary Magazine
" Is it any wonder then that, next to the Orthodox, Russian immigrants are the most identifiable conservative-leaning subgroup? Their more liberal brethren can’t be bothered to establish and support the kind of Jewish institutions that would help such immigrants form a bond with their new community. And the liberal/secular inclination to watch Jewish immigrants live in poverty while they pursue vague forms of tikkun olam and global citizenship is surely a failure to prioritize, even if their new pet causes are worthwhile (as many of them are)."

We Failed Zuckerberg - Forward - Jewish Ideas Daily

We Failed Zuckerberg - Forward - Jewish Ideas Daily

I am admittedly ignorant of the practices and ideology of Reform Judaism, though I feel its pain over stories like Mark Zuckerberg's. However, just from reading the inclusive, overly tolerant words of the reform rabbi/author of this opinion piece, I am forced to ask whether  a key problem faced by Reform Judaism concerns its ideological commitment, seemingly at every juncture, to NOT be judgmental and to therefore apparently stand for preciously little to its adherents.

As a traditional Jew  I know (in my heart) that there are certain things that I do that are wrong, religiously, but I do them anyway. My rabbi probably knows I do them and does not condone them or seek to explain them away out of pluralistic tolerance. The sense of shame that I have in breaking rules keeps me focussed on right and wrong even when I stray, like eating non-Kosher outside the home. Perhaps it keeps me from mixing milk and meat, and perhaps it helps me convey the concept of religious  commitment  to my kids, regardless of my apparent hypocracy. I would argue that Reform (and Conservative) Jews need to have a sense of shame when they violate their sect's rules, not be condoned. People wish to belong to something that stands for something, and doesn't just explain away "anything goes".

Indeed, after explaining away several times the desire not to condemn religiously violative acts or be judgmental,  the Rabbi concludes himself,

"We failed Zuckerberg and will continue to fail young people like him because the pluralistic theologies of Reform Judaism articulated since the 1960s make it difficult to grasp what we Reform Jews believe on any given issue. Our faith is too amorphous. Math and science nerds, in particular, may be the type most likely to bolt. This is ironic because one of the raisons d’être of Reform Judaism was to create an approach to Judaism that would be scholarly and scientific. But we have lost our way, ignoring scholarship in favor of any type of “spirituality,” no matter how vacuous."

As Jews, of whatever stripe, we should pray that Mark Zuckerberg and the Reform Jewish movement finds its way, beyond that of being a waiting room to non-affiliation.

At the Edge of the Abyss » Main Feature » Jewish Ideas Daily

At the Edge of the Abyss » Main Feature » Jewish Ideas Daily
 Interesting book review. If European Jewry was looking at a bleak future before Hitler, for the stated reasons, then what type of future do we have?

Sunday, June 10, 2012

Israel Hayom | Why the Six-Day War still matters

Israel Hayom | Why the Six-Day War still matters

The Six-Day War: Day Six » Main Feature » Jewish Ideas Daily

The Six-Day War: Day Six » Main Feature » Jewish Ideas Daily
 "If Israel exchanged the sympathy of a beleaguered minority for the moral dilemmas of a majority in 1967, it is only because peace with her Arab neighbors was impossible. To quote Yael Dayan again: 'If our face is changed, it is only because security and peace did not prove to be synonymous and we have chosen the first, are not offered the second, and have to live with the results.'"

The Six-Day War: Day Five » Main Feature » Jewish Ideas Daily

The Six-Day War: Day Five » Main Feature » Jewish Ideas Daily

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Muslim Voters Change Europe :: Gatestone Institute

Muslim Voters Change Europe :: Gatestone Institute
" According to a survey of 10,000 French voters conducted by the polling firm OpinionWay for the Paris-based newspaper Le Figaro, an extaordinary 93% of French Muslims voted for Hollande on May 6. By contrast, the poll shows that only 7% of French Muslims voted for the incumbent, Nicolas Sarkozy.
An estimated 2 million Muslims participated in the 2012 election, meaning that roughly 1.7 million Muslim votes went to Hollande rather than to Sarkozy. In the election as a whole, however, Hollande won over Sarkozy by only 1.1 million votes. This figure implies that Muslims cast the deciding votes that thrust Hollande into the Élysée Palace."

The Refugee Question - Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs - Jewish Ideas Daily

The Refugee Question - Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs - Jewish Ideas Daily
...and on top the argument made in this article against the Palestinian right of "return", it ignores the issue of the virtual population exchange made when 800,000 Jewish Arab refugees (a UN figure -- higher than their Palestinian Arab refugee number by 100,000) were forced out of Arab lands with no compensation. Their descendants now make up half of Israel's population, pointing to a successful population exchange between peoples -- a concept well-recognized by international law. It is only Arab selfishness to their own brothers and the need to keep Israel a usefully distracting political issue that has stopped this from working for the Palestinians.

Friday, May 11, 2012

Stubborn Hope - Tablet - Jewish Ideas Daily

Stubborn Hope - Tablet - Jewish Ideas Daily
A great review on Bernard Lewis' latest book, summarizing many of the great issues in our time of Islam, taken not from an Islam hater.

The Future Belongs to Religious Conservatives - American - Jewish Ideas Daily

The Future Belongs to Religious Conservatives - American - Jewish Ideas Daily
It simply a story of demographics. Everywhere in the world, secular people do not have enough children, and religious people do.

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Vidal Sasson --Anti-Fascist Warrior-Hairdresser

 Our Greatest Generation.
Anti-Fascist Warrior-Hairdresser - Blaze - Jewish Ideas Daily
 From shampoos and conditioners to hairdryers and other styling tools, there are few who haven’t used, at some point in his or her lifetime, a Vidal Sassoon product. What most aren’t familiar with, however, is that the late Vidal Sassoon was more than just a trendsetting pioneer in the hairdressing industry. As it turns out, the man credited with popularizing the simple, “wash-and-wear” haircut also fought Islamists, Fascists and Anti-Semitism.

Monday, April 30, 2012

Foreign Journalists Visit Beit El Neighborhood - Inside Israel - News - Israel National News

Foreign Journalists Visit Beit El Neighborhood - Inside Israel - News - Israel National News
Good article, with a great YouTube piece embedded in the story. Aryeh Green, of MediaCentral (part of HonestReporting), demonstrates the tremendous value of his organization in simply exposing the journalists  to the entire story, and getting beyond the agendas of NGOs and simpletons (and worse) with political agendas. This is not about being "pro-settlement" or "anti-settlement" -- it is just about understanding the complete story. It would have been helpful, however, to have a map of the disputed neighborhood be part of the story to put this in context for people (I'd give you one if I knew how to do that).

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Josef Joffe: Gunter Grass's Tin Ear - WSJ.com

Josef Joffe: Gunter Grass's Tin Ear - WSJ.com
 The motive is unbearable guilt feelings, though Germany has evolved into a model democracy since 1945. How to regain moral worth? By projecting culpability onto Israel.

Monday, April 16, 2012

Text of Netanyahu's Letter to Flytilla Participants

http://p.twimg.com/AqdZon_CIAAJXCe.jpg

TURKISH-ISRAELI RELATIONS IN THE SHADOW OF THE ARAB SPRING

TURKISH-ISRAELI RELATIONS IN THE SHADOW OF THE ARAB SPRING

This article is a short analysis of how Turkey changed under AKP rule so that the regime no longer wished to have an alignment with Israel but, on the contrary, needed to treat Israel as an enemy.

Poison Pen » Main Feature » Jewish Ideas Daily

Poison Pen » Main Feature » Jewish Ideas Daily
A Nobel Prize-winning German novelist—a former SS soldier, no less—accuses the state of Israel of seeking to exterminate an entire people whose leadership has repeatedly publicly called for the end of Israel and is acknowledged by virtually all to be developing nuclear weapons capabilities. The literary republic yawns. But when Israel bars its accuser from entering the country, because ex-Nazis have no place in the Jewish state, the cries of "bullying" and "censorship" nearly drown out the original accusation.
How do you define the new anti-Semitism?

Tuesday, April 03, 2012

Peter Beinart, I Quit. » A great rebuttal to Left Wing, Post-Zionist Jews

Peter Beinart, I Quit. » Main Feature » Jewish Ideas Daily
This rebuttal to Beinart by one of his guest columnists is from the Daily Beast. Well worth the read, and is instructive about the hazy line between humanistic conscience, post-Zionism, mindless dogma and finally, the double-standard, downright self-hatred by a number on the Jewish left.

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Muslims and the First Amendment « Commentary Magazine

Muslims and the First Amendment « Commentary Magazine

The Lost Left - New Republic - Jewish Ideas Daily

The Lost Left - New Republic - Jewish Ideas Daily
The eyewitness accounts of late Mandate Palestine by the journalist I. F. Stone recall a time when the Left was capable of sympathizing with Palestinians without attempting to delegitimize Israel.

The Frank Truth about the Mormons - JTA - Jewish Ideas Daily

The Frank Truth about the Mormons - JTA - Jewish Ideas Daily
Good article shows us how little the Jewish G-d, FDR, was willing to do to save undesireable Jews, versus the acts of people of religious conscience -- "even Mormons". Throughout the Holocaust, the greatest, most selfless acts of kindness for Hitler's victims were made by men and women of religious virtue, not by "compassionate liberals", whose ideology always have (and always will) allow them to rationalize their selfishness.