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?

Wistful in Jerusalem

Wistful in Jerusalem

Wistful in Jerusalem

Wistful in Jerusalem

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.

« 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.

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?

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

Day Four: "Attack! Attack!" » Main Feature » Jewish Ideas Daily

Day Four: "Attack! Attack!" » Main Feature » Jewish Ideas Daily

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

The Six-Day War: Day Three » Main Feature » Jewish Ideas Daily
Some of the most touching and exciting videos and audio of the breakthrough into and recapture of the Old City of Jerusalem, and reunification of Israel's ancient capital.

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

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

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

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

On the Eve of the Six-Day War » Main Feature » Jewish Ideas Daily

On the Eve of the Six-Day War » Main Feature » Jewish Ideas Daily