1. Iran exceeded the limits on heavy water at least twice. See, for example the Radio Free Europe article https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-iaea-heavy-water-exceeds-level/28106860.html. 2. Iran never came clean about its prior work on nuclear weapons. See, for example, PM Netanyahu presents conclusive proof of Iranian secret nuclear weapons program. https://mfa.gov.il/MFA/PressRoom/2018/Pages/PM-Netanyahu-presents-conclusive-proof-of-Iranian-secret-nuclear-weapons-program-30-April-2018.aspx 3. Even after the implementation of the JCPOA, Iran continued to try, and in some cases succeeded, in procuring illicit nuclear technology. See, for example, German Intelligence: Iran Still Seeking Illicit Nuclear Technology. http://www.thetower.org/5181-german-intelligence-iran-still-seeking-illicit-nuclear-technology/ 4. Iran stored tons of illegal radioactive material in Tehran and then, when revealed by Israel, denied doing so and spread the material around to avoid detection. Despite being given the evidence by the Israeli government, the IAEA first refused to investigate and then delayed, apparently in the hope the evidence would be gone by the time they looked. However, that didn't work and the IAEA recently found evidence it could not cover up. See, for example, the July 11 Jerusalem Post article Material at Iran site, proving it broke deal - Report. https://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/Mossad-leads-IAEA-to-find-radioactive-material-in-violation-of-nuke-deal-report-595375 5. Iran, in direct violation of the JCPOA, procured replacements parts for the Arak reactor. Iran's Nuclear Chief Salehi: We Had Secretly Purchased Replacements for Nuclear Equipment That the JCPOA Had Required Us to Destroy; Yellowcake Production Facilities are Operational; We Are Advancing in Nuclear Propulsion. Watch the twitter video. https://mobile.twitter.com/memrireports/status/1089192238515654667 6. Iran failed to file reports to the IAEA based on their own SELF-INSPECTED data of their own sites. (Can you believe that the JCPOA allowed them to self-inspect?) 7. The head of Iran’s nuclear agency told lawmakers that Iran has enriched 24 metric tons of uranium since the 2015 nuclear deal was reached in clear violation of its terms. https://en.radiofarda.com/amp/30080066.html and https://m.jpost.com/Middle-East/Iran-enriched-24-tons-of-enriched-uranium-since-signing-nuclear-deal-597039/amp
Wednesday, July 31, 2019
How Has Iran Been Violating the JCPOA? Let Me Count the Ways
This list of seven ways is courtesy of Peter Goodman. If we've missed any, let us know.
Saturday, July 13, 2019
Open letter to Needham Patch about Amnesty International's fanatical Zionophobia
The Needham Patch on July 10 published an article "TripAdvisor Criticized For Palestine Listings" without correcting any of Amnesty International's factual errors or balancing any of its virtually insupportable and biased assertions.
The article may be found at https://patch.com/massachusetts/needham/tripadvisor-profits-war-crimes-palestine-listings-group. I sent the following letter to the Needham Patch at Needham@Patch.com with a copy to the reporter, Jimmy Bentley, at jimmy.bentley@patch.com.
Dear Needham Patch and Jimmy Bentley:
I have long been disappointed by the way Amnesty International, an organization I used to admire, has lost its moral compass when it comes to the Arab-Israeli conflict and has, in effect if not intent, crossed the line into antisemitism. I was thus not surprised by one of AI's latest outrages, but am disappointed that it was reported empathetically in the Needham Patch with no corrections of the factual errors or caution about the bias or absurdity of AI's action and assertions.
I urge you to publish a followup in which you educate readers about those errors, absurdities and misrepresentations. I include below an analysis of some of those and, since my summer home is nearby, in Natick, I would be happy to meet with you and explain and discuss some of these issues in person.
Sincerely,
Alan Stein
Natick, Massachusetts and Netanya, Israel
Founder, PRIMER-Massachusetts
Promoting Responsibility in Middle East Reporting
Analysis:
The errors begin with the headline, "TripAdvisor Criticized For Palestine Listings," referring to "Palestine" as if it were a state. Even Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, clearly recognizes there is no such state, notwithstanding the way he has applied for and, incredibly received, recognition of status as a "non-member state" from the United Nations General Assembly. He often demands the establishment of the "state of Palestine" with a capital in "East Jerusalem," itself a non-existent "city;" obviously, there would be no need to establish "Palestine" if it already existed.
The article begins: "The world's largest human rights organization accused a local online travel company of 'profiting off war crimes' by listing hotels and other businesses at Israeli settlements in Palestine on its website." This once again refers to "Palestine" as if it were a state and ups the ante by referring to alleged but non-existent "war crimes," which it refers to again in the next paragraph when it quotes AI claiming TripAdvisor is "profiting off war crimes by listing tourist attractions and properties in illegal Israeli settlements."
While some claim the Jewish communities in the disputed territories, pejoratively referred to as "settlements," are "illegal," this is highly questionable and even if they were it they would hardly constitute "war crimes."
The San Remo Conference following World War I called for "close settlement" by Jews in what was then called Palestine; this resolution was approved by the League of Nations, giving it the status of international law, was incorporated into the founding documents of the United Nations, and has never been revoked. It would thus appear that Jewish settlement in the currently disputed territories is not only not illegal, but encouraged under international law. This should have been noted along with AI's questionable claim.
The absurdity of claiming that Jewish building in Jerusalem (inaccurately referred to as "occupied" by many) and the disputed territories is illegal is obvious if one considers the following.
The portions of Jerusalem militarily captured by Jordan in the 1948 war included the Jewish Quarter. Jordan kicked out all the Jews and destroyed all the synagogues. After Jerusalem was reunited in 1967, Jews moved back into the Jewish Quarter and many of the synagogues were rebuilt. To call that building in the Jewish Quarter "illegal" and a "war crime" is effectively sanitizing the violent ethnic cleansing carried out by Jordan and is patently absurd.
The same is true of the Etzion Bloc. In fact, many of those who moved to the Etzion Bloc after 1967 were members of some of the very families that were kicked out by Jordan, some being the very people who had been kicked out.
According to AI, returning to one's family's property and running a hotel or restaurant or renting an apartment there constitutes a "war crime" and when TripAdvisor lists one of those family businesses it is "profiting off war crimes."
Can you think of anything more absurd? Yet AI's claims were reported not just as if they weren't absurd, but relatively favorably.
The article, without comment, quotes Amnesty International's letter saying "The settlements have had a devastating impact on Palestinian communities over the past five decades, ... "
According to the World Health Organization, in 2015, life expectancy in the disputed territories was 72 years for males and 75 years for females. In 1967, it was 49 years.
Infant mortality is now 14.1 deaths per 1,000 live births, compared to 152 in the West Bank and 162 in Gaza in 1967. This hardly constitutes a "devastating impact."
AI continues: "To make way for their construction, Israel has demolished tens of thousands of Palestinian homes, forcibly displaced large portions of the population and diverted water and other Palestinian natural resources for settlement use."
Almost all Israeli construction has been on previously uninhabited land and takes up a miniscule portion, in the neighborhood of 1-2% of the disputed territories. There is rampant illegal construction by Arabs in the disputed territories, only a small portion of which has been demolished by the Israeli government. Hypocritically, the same people who criticize the destruction of illegal structures built by Arabs demand the destruction of structures built by Jews. I personally have Jewish friends who were forced by the Israeli government to demolish a home they had built because they hadn't obtained the required permits.
Israel also created important infrastructure, including roads, schools, hospitals and water resources, which had been neglected or was non-existent during the 19 years of Arab occupation. During the Oslo period, Israel has actually provided more water to the Palestinian Authority than called for by the accords, while the Palestinian Authority has not only declined to cooperate with Israel on the management of water resources but allowed activities, such as illegal drilling of wells, that has sabotaged the scarce shared resources.
AI continues: "By promoting tourism in these illegal settlements, TripAdvisor is boosting their economy, helping them to expand and contributing to the mass suffering they've caused."
Not only does AI once again incorrectly call the Jewish communities "illegal," but falsely claims they contribute to "mass suffering." In actuality, the Israeli recapture of the disputed territories was a boon to the Palestinian Arabs. I noted the amazing improvements in life expectancy and infant mortality. The Jewish communities also provide employment opportunities that have been a godsend to many Arab workers and their families, with salaries paid on the Israeli scale, far higher than those paid by Arab companies or the Palestinian Authority.
Rather than "expanding," the Israeli government has authorized the construction of just one single new Jewish "settlement" since the Oslo process began a quarter century ago; the footprint of the Jewish communities has remained essentially unchanged.
According to the article, "Amnesty International argued TripAdvisor could be the leading voice against human rights violations if it drops the travel listings."
There are hundreds of territorial disputes in the world today; by ignoring others singling out the world's only Jewish state, one which has a strong claim to the disputed territory, which is in the Biblical Jewish homeland and was designated by the League of Nations to be part of the reestablished, sovereign Jewish state, AI is acting in a discriminatory, indeed antisemitic manner. It also effectively rewards the Palestinian Arabs for their refusal to make peace and their pathological commitment to terrorism; in this way, AI is actually encouraging human rights violations by other terror groups.
It is reasonable to report Amnesty International's actions, but it is not responsible or balanced to fail to note the factual errors or the strong counterarguments.
The article may be found at https://patch.com/massachusetts/needham/tripadvisor-profits-war-crimes-palestine-listings-group. I sent the following letter to the Needham Patch at Needham@Patch.com with a copy to the reporter, Jimmy Bentley, at jimmy.bentley@patch.com.
Dear Needham Patch and Jimmy Bentley:
I have long been disappointed by the way Amnesty International, an organization I used to admire, has lost its moral compass when it comes to the Arab-Israeli conflict and has, in effect if not intent, crossed the line into antisemitism. I was thus not surprised by one of AI's latest outrages, but am disappointed that it was reported empathetically in the Needham Patch with no corrections of the factual errors or caution about the bias or absurdity of AI's action and assertions.
I urge you to publish a followup in which you educate readers about those errors, absurdities and misrepresentations. I include below an analysis of some of those and, since my summer home is nearby, in Natick, I would be happy to meet with you and explain and discuss some of these issues in person.
Sincerely,
Alan Stein
Natick, Massachusetts and Netanya, Israel
Founder, PRIMER-Massachusetts
Promoting Responsibility in Middle East Reporting
Analysis:
The errors begin with the headline, "TripAdvisor Criticized For Palestine Listings," referring to "Palestine" as if it were a state. Even Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, clearly recognizes there is no such state, notwithstanding the way he has applied for and, incredibly received, recognition of status as a "non-member state" from the United Nations General Assembly. He often demands the establishment of the "state of Palestine" with a capital in "East Jerusalem," itself a non-existent "city;" obviously, there would be no need to establish "Palestine" if it already existed.
The article begins: "The world's largest human rights organization accused a local online travel company of 'profiting off war crimes' by listing hotels and other businesses at Israeli settlements in Palestine on its website." This once again refers to "Palestine" as if it were a state and ups the ante by referring to alleged but non-existent "war crimes," which it refers to again in the next paragraph when it quotes AI claiming TripAdvisor is "profiting off war crimes by listing tourist attractions and properties in illegal Israeli settlements."
While some claim the Jewish communities in the disputed territories, pejoratively referred to as "settlements," are "illegal," this is highly questionable and even if they were it they would hardly constitute "war crimes."
The San Remo Conference following World War I called for "close settlement" by Jews in what was then called Palestine; this resolution was approved by the League of Nations, giving it the status of international law, was incorporated into the founding documents of the United Nations, and has never been revoked. It would thus appear that Jewish settlement in the currently disputed territories is not only not illegal, but encouraged under international law. This should have been noted along with AI's questionable claim.
The absurdity of claiming that Jewish building in Jerusalem (inaccurately referred to as "occupied" by many) and the disputed territories is illegal is obvious if one considers the following.
The portions of Jerusalem militarily captured by Jordan in the 1948 war included the Jewish Quarter. Jordan kicked out all the Jews and destroyed all the synagogues. After Jerusalem was reunited in 1967, Jews moved back into the Jewish Quarter and many of the synagogues were rebuilt. To call that building in the Jewish Quarter "illegal" and a "war crime" is effectively sanitizing the violent ethnic cleansing carried out by Jordan and is patently absurd.
The same is true of the Etzion Bloc. In fact, many of those who moved to the Etzion Bloc after 1967 were members of some of the very families that were kicked out by Jordan, some being the very people who had been kicked out.
According to AI, returning to one's family's property and running a hotel or restaurant or renting an apartment there constitutes a "war crime" and when TripAdvisor lists one of those family businesses it is "profiting off war crimes."
Can you think of anything more absurd? Yet AI's claims were reported not just as if they weren't absurd, but relatively favorably.
The article, without comment, quotes Amnesty International's letter saying "The settlements have had a devastating impact on Palestinian communities over the past five decades, ... "
According to the World Health Organization, in 2015, life expectancy in the disputed territories was 72 years for males and 75 years for females. In 1967, it was 49 years.
Infant mortality is now 14.1 deaths per 1,000 live births, compared to 152 in the West Bank and 162 in Gaza in 1967. This hardly constitutes a "devastating impact."
AI continues: "To make way for their construction, Israel has demolished tens of thousands of Palestinian homes, forcibly displaced large portions of the population and diverted water and other Palestinian natural resources for settlement use."
Almost all Israeli construction has been on previously uninhabited land and takes up a miniscule portion, in the neighborhood of 1-2% of the disputed territories. There is rampant illegal construction by Arabs in the disputed territories, only a small portion of which has been demolished by the Israeli government. Hypocritically, the same people who criticize the destruction of illegal structures built by Arabs demand the destruction of structures built by Jews. I personally have Jewish friends who were forced by the Israeli government to demolish a home they had built because they hadn't obtained the required permits.
Israel also created important infrastructure, including roads, schools, hospitals and water resources, which had been neglected or was non-existent during the 19 years of Arab occupation. During the Oslo period, Israel has actually provided more water to the Palestinian Authority than called for by the accords, while the Palestinian Authority has not only declined to cooperate with Israel on the management of water resources but allowed activities, such as illegal drilling of wells, that has sabotaged the scarce shared resources.
AI continues: "By promoting tourism in these illegal settlements, TripAdvisor is boosting their economy, helping them to expand and contributing to the mass suffering they've caused."
Not only does AI once again incorrectly call the Jewish communities "illegal," but falsely claims they contribute to "mass suffering." In actuality, the Israeli recapture of the disputed territories was a boon to the Palestinian Arabs. I noted the amazing improvements in life expectancy and infant mortality. The Jewish communities also provide employment opportunities that have been a godsend to many Arab workers and their families, with salaries paid on the Israeli scale, far higher than those paid by Arab companies or the Palestinian Authority.
Rather than "expanding," the Israeli government has authorized the construction of just one single new Jewish "settlement" since the Oslo process began a quarter century ago; the footprint of the Jewish communities has remained essentially unchanged.
According to the article, "Amnesty International argued TripAdvisor could be the leading voice against human rights violations if it drops the travel listings."
There are hundreds of territorial disputes in the world today; by ignoring others singling out the world's only Jewish state, one which has a strong claim to the disputed territory, which is in the Biblical Jewish homeland and was designated by the League of Nations to be part of the reestablished, sovereign Jewish state, AI is acting in a discriminatory, indeed antisemitic manner. It also effectively rewards the Palestinian Arabs for their refusal to make peace and their pathological commitment to terrorism; in this way, AI is actually encouraging human rights violations by other terror groups.
It is reasonable to report Amnesty International's actions, but it is not responsible or balanced to fail to note the factual errors or the strong counterarguments.
Friday, May 10, 2019
Israel-Gaza Conflict: Is There Hope segment on All Things Considered
The following comments were sent to NPR about the All Things Considered segment "Israel-Gaza Conflict: Is There Hope," broadcast on May 9, 2019. The transcript of the segment may be found at
https://www.npr.org/2019/05/09/721828940/israel-gaza-conflict-is-there-hope.
From: Alan Stein
To: All Things Considered
Re: Israel-Gaza Conflict: Is There Hope (May 9, 2019, 4:07 PM)
I have some comments and questions about this segment.
• You repeatedly refer to "Palestinian militants." Both Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad are terror organizations. Why do you not point that out? Firing 690 missiles into civilian areas constitutes 690 acts of terrorism? Why do you not use that word?
• Ari Shapiro uses the inaccurate term "cycle of violence," as if there is an equivalence between terrorist attacks (but Gaza terrorists) and the defense against terror attacks. It's not a "cycle of violence;" it's a cycle of terror attacks followed by reactions to the terror attacks.
• Daniel Estrin says "Israel considers Hamas to be an enemy out to destroy it." Why the insinuation that this is an opinion rather than an undisputed fact, declared by Hamas itself in its charter? Why did Ari Shapiro not point this out?
• Estrin also says "Hamas fires rockets to pressure Israel to lift its restrictions on Gaza." But Hamas started firing rockets long before there was the so-called "blockade." (Traditionally, blockades do not involve the blockader transferring massive amounts of humanitarian assistance, building materials, fuel and power to the enemy they are blockading.) Hamas also calls its weekly (and often more often) violent riots its "Great March of Return," meaning the "return" of millions of descendants of refugees to a place they've never lived, Israel, in order to destroy it.
Why do you not at least speculate that the reason Hamas wants the various restrictions eased is to make it easier to launch even more rockets at Israel?
• Estrin refers to allegedly banned items and notes "Israel's worried Hamas might use [them] to build military infrastructure." Why is it not pointed out that Hamas has already used those items to build not just military infrastructure like terror tunnels but weapons, like missiles?
• Estrin remarks that with border controls, "people can't go to work in Israel like they used to." There's irony in that remark, given that people in Gaza couldn't go to work in Israel before 1967 and it became hard for people from Gaza to work in Israel only after Gaza was taken over by the Palestinian Authority and terrorism became a massive problem. One wonders why a creative observer doesn't express the obvious inference that things were best in Gaza when it was governed by Israel.
• When will All Things Consider start considering the obvious question: why do so many in the world - sometimes it seems like virtually everyone in the world - expect Israel to provide for an entity from which it's continually attacked, governed by a terror organization dedicated to the destruction of Israel? Can you even find any similar situation in history?
https://www.npr.org/2019/05/09/721828940/israel-gaza-conflict-is-there-hope.
From: Alan Stein
To: All Things Considered
Re: Israel-Gaza Conflict: Is There Hope (May 9, 2019, 4:07 PM)
I have some comments and questions about this segment.
• You repeatedly refer to "Palestinian militants." Both Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad are terror organizations. Why do you not point that out? Firing 690 missiles into civilian areas constitutes 690 acts of terrorism? Why do you not use that word?
• Ari Shapiro uses the inaccurate term "cycle of violence," as if there is an equivalence between terrorist attacks (but Gaza terrorists) and the defense against terror attacks. It's not a "cycle of violence;" it's a cycle of terror attacks followed by reactions to the terror attacks.
• Daniel Estrin says "Israel considers Hamas to be an enemy out to destroy it." Why the insinuation that this is an opinion rather than an undisputed fact, declared by Hamas itself in its charter? Why did Ari Shapiro not point this out?
• Estrin also says "Hamas fires rockets to pressure Israel to lift its restrictions on Gaza." But Hamas started firing rockets long before there was the so-called "blockade." (Traditionally, blockades do not involve the blockader transferring massive amounts of humanitarian assistance, building materials, fuel and power to the enemy they are blockading.) Hamas also calls its weekly (and often more often) violent riots its "Great March of Return," meaning the "return" of millions of descendants of refugees to a place they've never lived, Israel, in order to destroy it.
Why do you not at least speculate that the reason Hamas wants the various restrictions eased is to make it easier to launch even more rockets at Israel?
• Estrin refers to allegedly banned items and notes "Israel's worried Hamas might use [them] to build military infrastructure." Why is it not pointed out that Hamas has already used those items to build not just military infrastructure like terror tunnels but weapons, like missiles?
• Estrin remarks that with border controls, "people can't go to work in Israel like they used to." There's irony in that remark, given that people in Gaza couldn't go to work in Israel before 1967 and it became hard for people from Gaza to work in Israel only after Gaza was taken over by the Palestinian Authority and terrorism became a massive problem. One wonders why a creative observer doesn't express the obvious inference that things were best in Gaza when it was governed by Israel.
• When will All Things Consider start considering the obvious question: why do so many in the world - sometimes it seems like virtually everyone in the world - expect Israel to provide for an entity from which it's continually attacked, governed by a terror organization dedicated to the destruction of Israel? Can you even find any similar situation in history?
Thursday, December 13, 2018
Americans Benefit From Israel's Expertise in Keeping People Safe
Many Americans are safer because their police departments have benefitted from training in Israel. Unfortunately, BDSers (shorthand for anti-Israel fanatics who are more interested in defaming and delegitimizing Israel than in the welfare of the Palestinian Arabs and even the safety of the American people) have managed to convince some police departments to back away from gaining valuable, life-saving knowledge.
Recently, the police chief of Wayland, a town adjacent to the one in which I live when I'm in the United States, resisted pressure from these haters and was publicly criticized for it in a letter published in the MetroWest Daily News. The following letter was sent in response, with the suggested title "Wayland residents will benefit from Israel's expertise."
To the editor:
A few days ago, Israel destroyed a tunnel Hezbollah had dug into Israel from Lebanon, a tunnel intended to be used to send hoards of well-armed Hezbollah fighters into Israel to terrorize the people living in the Galilee. The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has more than 10,000 military personnel in southern Lebanon, with the mandate to make sure the area is free of other non-government forces, but they were unable to discover that tunnel, or the others Hezbollah has built. Yet Israel, without even having the on-site presence, was able to use its expertise and ingenuity to discover that tunnel and destroy it. Nor has UNIFIL been able to prevent Hezbollah, with generous financial assistance from Iran, much of it thanks to the nuclear deal (JCPOA), from installing an estimated 150,000 rockets and missiles in southern Lebanon. Yet Israel not only knows those missiles are there, but also knows where most of them are sited.
A few weeks ago, Hamas and other terror groups based in Gaza fired 460 rockets and missiles into Israel in the course of a single day. Thanks to the advanced defensive measures Israel has created, such as bomb shelters in every home and the innovative Iron Dome missile defense system, whose development and deployment has been helped by generous American financial assistance, only one person - ironically, a Palestinian Arab who lives in Hebron but defied BDS to obtain gainful employment in Israel - was killed.
The terror doesn't just come from Gaza and Lebanon; it also comes from the Palestinian Authority-controlled Areas A and B of the territory Jordan renamed the "West Bank" after capturing it militarily in 1948. More than 500 terror attacks have been thwarted in the past year.
Israel's expertise in defending against terror attacks is unequaled. This expertise comes out of necessity. Not only has Israel had to constantly defend against terror attacks since its reestablishment seven decades ago, but the Jews in what was then called Palestine were subject to incessant terror attacks for decades before that. Virtually ever new terror tactic is first used against Israeli Jews.
On December 3, the MetroWest Daily News reported that the Wayland police chief, Patrick Swanick, was traveling to Israel to take advantage of the hard-earned expertise of Israelis. I'm proud that my Israeli brethren are willing to share their lifesaving knowledge. I'm grateful that my American compatriots will also be able to benefit from that knowledge.
I thus strongly disagree with the opinions Mark Golden expressed in his December 6 letter, parroting the lies and distortions of those dedicated to the destruction of the world's only Jewish state, preferring to risk the safety of the people of Wayland rather than taking advantage of the knowledge gained by the only democracy in the Middle East.
Sincerely,
Alan Stein
Netanya, Israel and Natick, Massachusetts
Recently, the police chief of Wayland, a town adjacent to the one in which I live when I'm in the United States, resisted pressure from these haters and was publicly criticized for it in a letter published in the MetroWest Daily News. The following letter was sent in response, with the suggested title "Wayland residents will benefit from Israel's expertise."
To the editor:
A few days ago, Israel destroyed a tunnel Hezbollah had dug into Israel from Lebanon, a tunnel intended to be used to send hoards of well-armed Hezbollah fighters into Israel to terrorize the people living in the Galilee. The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has more than 10,000 military personnel in southern Lebanon, with the mandate to make sure the area is free of other non-government forces, but they were unable to discover that tunnel, or the others Hezbollah has built. Yet Israel, without even having the on-site presence, was able to use its expertise and ingenuity to discover that tunnel and destroy it. Nor has UNIFIL been able to prevent Hezbollah, with generous financial assistance from Iran, much of it thanks to the nuclear deal (JCPOA), from installing an estimated 150,000 rockets and missiles in southern Lebanon. Yet Israel not only knows those missiles are there, but also knows where most of them are sited.
A few weeks ago, Hamas and other terror groups based in Gaza fired 460 rockets and missiles into Israel in the course of a single day. Thanks to the advanced defensive measures Israel has created, such as bomb shelters in every home and the innovative Iron Dome missile defense system, whose development and deployment has been helped by generous American financial assistance, only one person - ironically, a Palestinian Arab who lives in Hebron but defied BDS to obtain gainful employment in Israel - was killed.
The terror doesn't just come from Gaza and Lebanon; it also comes from the Palestinian Authority-controlled Areas A and B of the territory Jordan renamed the "West Bank" after capturing it militarily in 1948. More than 500 terror attacks have been thwarted in the past year.
Israel's expertise in defending against terror attacks is unequaled. This expertise comes out of necessity. Not only has Israel had to constantly defend against terror attacks since its reestablishment seven decades ago, but the Jews in what was then called Palestine were subject to incessant terror attacks for decades before that. Virtually ever new terror tactic is first used against Israeli Jews.
On December 3, the MetroWest Daily News reported that the Wayland police chief, Patrick Swanick, was traveling to Israel to take advantage of the hard-earned expertise of Israelis. I'm proud that my Israeli brethren are willing to share their lifesaving knowledge. I'm grateful that my American compatriots will also be able to benefit from that knowledge.
I thus strongly disagree with the opinions Mark Golden expressed in his December 6 letter, parroting the lies and distortions of those dedicated to the destruction of the world's only Jewish state, preferring to risk the safety of the people of Wayland rather than taking advantage of the knowledge gained by the only democracy in the Middle East.
Sincerely,
Alan Stein
Netanya, Israel and Natick, Massachusetts
Saturday, December 8, 2018
Yale Zussman's Suggested Readings
Hi Folks,
Here is my latest collection of suggested readings. You will note that the mood darkens as we move into the late fall. The tea leaves point toward even worse to come with the arrival of winter.
Palestinians' Latest "Apartheid Fatwa"
by Bassam Tawil
July 17, 2018
by Bassam Tawil
July 17, 2018
Jerusalem Mufti bans sale of land to Jews because of waqfrequirements.
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Israeli Officials Let Down Guard On Trump, Kotel
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Israeli Officials Let Down Guard On Trump, Kotel
by Gary Rosenblatt
New York Jewish Week
Nov 7, 2018
New York Jewish Week
Nov 7, 2018
Worth reading.
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AFTER PITTSBURGH, TIME TO HAVE A CONVERSATION ABOUT ANTISEMITISM TODAY
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AFTER PITTSBURGH, TIME TO HAVE A CONVERSATION ABOUT ANTISEMITISM TODAY
Eric R. Mandel
Nov 7, 2018
The Jerusalem Post
https://www.jpost.com/Opinion/After-Pittsburgh-time-to-have-a-conversation-about-antisemitism-today-571322
Nov 7, 2018
The Jerusalem Post
https://www.jpost.com/Opinion/After-Pittsburgh-time-to-have-a-conversation-about-antisemitism-today-571322
It's time to acknowledge that anti-Zionism is antisemitism, and that the antisemitism of the Left and of the Muslim World is a clearer danger to more Jews than the antisemitism of the American Right.
Case in point from London:
https://unitedwithisrael.org/watch-muslims-shout-down-vigil-for-jewish-massacre-victims-in-london/?utm_source=MadMimi&utm_medium=email&utm_content=Israeli+Minister+Rebukes+French+President+for+Praising+Nazi+Collaborator%3B+Muslims+Shout+Down+Vigil+for+Jewish+Massacre+Victims&utm_campaign=20181108_m148157565_Israeli+Minister+Rebukes+French+President+for+Praising+Nazi+Collaborator%3B+Muslims+Shout+Down+Vigil+for+Jewish+Massacre+Victims&utm_term=Islamic-extremists-ruin-Jewish-memorial_v1-249x169_jpg
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The Depths to Which the Oslo Process Has Driven Israel
https://unitedwithisrael.org/watch-muslims-shout-down-vigil-for-jewish-massacre-victims-in-london/?utm_source=MadMimi&utm_medium=email&utm_content=Israeli+Minister+Rebukes+French+President+for+Praising+Nazi+Collaborator%3B+Muslims+Shout+Down+Vigil+for+Jewish+Massacre+Victims&utm_campaign=20181108_m148157565_Israeli+Minister+Rebukes+French+President+for+Praising+Nazi+Collaborator%3B+Muslims+Shout+Down+Vigil+for+Jewish+Massacre+Victims&utm_term=Islamic-extremists-ruin-Jewish-memorial_v1-249x169_jpg
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The Depths to Which the Oslo Process Has Driven Israel
Ephraim Karsh
Nov 20, 2018
Nov 20, 2018
Consequences of "Peace processing" for Israeli political parties and elections.
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Jews Feel Safer in Europe's Conservative East Than Its Liberal West -- A pervasive false impression.
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Jews Feel Safer in Europe's Conservative East Than Its Liberal West -- A pervasive false impression.
By Evelyn Gordon
Nov. 26, 2018
https://www.commentarymagazine.com/anti-semitism/jews-anti-semitism-europe-east-west/
Nov. 26, 2018
https://www.commentarymagazine.com/anti-semitism/jews-anti-semitism-europe-east-west/
Based on survey data from interviews with Jewish leaders in various European countries.
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For a State, Palestinians Would Cede "Right of Return" -- and More
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For a State, Palestinians Would Cede "Right of Return" -- and More
David Pollock is the Bernstein Fellow at The Washington Institute
Fikra Forum
December 3, 2018
https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/fikraforum/view/for-a-state-palestinians-would-cede-right-of-return
Fikra Forum
December 3, 2018
https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/fikraforum/view/for-a-state-palestinians-would-cede-right-of-return
Read carefully. The data presented don't actually support the title. What Pollock reports is that there are somePalestinians ready to make these concessions, but nowhere near enough to make a solution workable.
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Is Israel weighing strike options in Lebanon?
By YAAKOV LAPPIN
DEC 04, 2018
https://www.latimes.com/fl-jj-israel-strike-options-lebanon-20181212-story.html
DEC 04, 2018
https://www.latimes.com/fl-jj-israel-strike-options-lebanon-20181212-story.html
Another take on Israel vs. Hezbollah/Iran.
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The mole inside the Hezbollah tunnel----------
Reviews the consequences of Israel's discovery and destruction of a Hezbollah tunnel into Israel. This incident likely foretells a very violent confrontation with Hezbollah, and possibly also with Iran.
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Let me take this opportunity to wish Jewish readers a Happy Hanukkah, and if I don't send another package by then, a Merry Christmas to my Christian readers. I'll risk waiting for the "Happy New Year" to follow.
-- Yale Zussman
The Miracle and the Light
This op-ed was published in the Danbury News-Times on December 2, 2018
Hanukkah, the Jewish Festival of Lights, celebrates the bravery of the Maccabees and the miracle of light. Overcoming the powerful Greek army and rejecting the Hellenistic life, a small band of Jews fought to keep our traditions and culture alive; and yes, we are still here! After three years, the Maccabean fighters were able to rededicate the Second Temple in Jerusalem and light one day's worth of oil, which then lasted for eight days, a miracle we remember and observe with the lighting of our menorah during the holiday.
The symbolism of light is a powerful metaphor. It represents freedom, hope and spirit. The battle against the powerful to retain our religious freedom has been a recurring historical theme, but one with a positive ending each time. Israel continues to overcome the hatred surrounding her.
After Pittsburgh, we know that hate speech can lead to murder. Those who hide behind anti-Zionism reveal themselves as anti-Semitic. We know that love and light are stronger than hate. As we go forward, let us dedicate ourselves to bringing more light into our world - lighting our menorahs and remembering the bravery of the Maccabees, the Jewish Legion and the State of Israel. May the light banish the darkness of the anti-Semites and extremists on the left and the right.
Miracles and light, faith, joy and freedom - may these ideals move us forward into greater light and a more compassionate world.
Cantor Deborah Katchko-Gray is a resident of Ridgefield.
The miracle and the light
By Cantor Deborah Katchko-Gray
Hanukkah, the Jewish Festival of Lights, celebrates the bravery of the Maccabees and the miracle of light. Overcoming the powerful Greek army and rejecting the Hellenistic life, a small band of Jews fought to keep our traditions and culture alive; and yes, we are still here! After three years, the Maccabean fighters were able to rededicate the Second Temple in Jerusalem and light one day's worth of oil, which then lasted for eight days, a miracle we remember and observe with the lighting of our menorah during the holiday.
The symbolism of light is a powerful metaphor. It represents freedom, hope and spirit. The battle against the powerful to retain our religious freedom has been a recurring historical theme, but one with a positive ending each time. Israel continues to overcome the hatred surrounding her.
After Pittsburgh, we know that hate speech can lead to murder. Those who hide behind anti-Zionism reveal themselves as anti-Semitic. We know that love and light are stronger than hate. As we go forward, let us dedicate ourselves to bringing more light into our world - lighting our menorahs and remembering the bravery of the Maccabees, the Jewish Legion and the State of Israel. May the light banish the darkness of the anti-Semites and extremists on the left and the right.
Miracles and light, faith, joy and freedom - may these ideals move us forward into greater light and a more compassionate world.
Cantor Deborah Katchko-Gray is a resident of Ridgefield.
Monday, November 26, 2018
Anti-Semitism didn't just crawl out from under its rock
The following letter was published in the MetroWest Daily News on November 25, 2018:
In her op-ed, "Anti-Semitism crawls out from under its rock," Cantor Jacqueline Breines well expresses the shock, heartbreak and anger unleashed by the recent terror attack and deaths of eleven people at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh. However, anti-Semitism in America didn't exactly just "crawl out from under its rock." It's been going mainstream for years, particularly in the thinly-disguised form of anti-Zionism, the movement which seeks to uniquely deny to the Jewish people the right to national sovereignty granted to other peoples.
Jews are harassed on college campuses for refusing to condemn the nation-state of the Jewish people. Speeches by Israelis are disrupted and cut short by violent protesters for whom the right to free speech does not extend to supporters of the only democracy in the Middle East; other speeches have been canceled because colleges decided they could not guarantee the safety of the students or the invited speakers.
Leaders of the Women's March are proud admirers of Louis Farrakhan, a blatant and unrepentant anti-Semite, and mainstream groups continue to work with them and even honor them.
The founders of the BDS movement have made clear their goal is the liquidation of world's only Jewish state, yet earlier this month several supporters of that inherently and irredeemably anti-Semitic movement were elected to Congress No, anti-Semitism didn't just "crawl out from under its rock" with the mass shooting in Pittsburgh; it's been rearing its ugly head for years, with murderous results not just in Israel, but in London, Paris, Mumbai, Buenos Aires and many other cities. The only novelty in Pittsburgh is that anti-Semitism again turned deadly in America.
Alan Stein
Natick
In her op-ed, "Anti-Semitism crawls out from under its rock," Cantor Jacqueline Breines well expresses the shock, heartbreak and anger unleashed by the recent terror attack and deaths of eleven people at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh. However, anti-Semitism in America didn't exactly just "crawl out from under its rock." It's been going mainstream for years, particularly in the thinly-disguised form of anti-Zionism, the movement which seeks to uniquely deny to the Jewish people the right to national sovereignty granted to other peoples.
Jews are harassed on college campuses for refusing to condemn the nation-state of the Jewish people. Speeches by Israelis are disrupted and cut short by violent protesters for whom the right to free speech does not extend to supporters of the only democracy in the Middle East; other speeches have been canceled because colleges decided they could not guarantee the safety of the students or the invited speakers.
Leaders of the Women's March are proud admirers of Louis Farrakhan, a blatant and unrepentant anti-Semite, and mainstream groups continue to work with them and even honor them.
The founders of the BDS movement have made clear their goal is the liquidation of world's only Jewish state, yet earlier this month several supporters of that inherently and irredeemably anti-Semitic movement were elected to Congress No, anti-Semitism didn't just "crawl out from under its rock" with the mass shooting in Pittsburgh; it's been rearing its ugly head for years, with murderous results not just in Israel, but in London, Paris, Mumbai, Buenos Aires and many other cities. The only novelty in Pittsburgh is that anti-Semitism again turned deadly in America.
Alan Stein
Natick
Sunday, September 9, 2018
Erev Rosh Hashana Shearim Newsletter
My Dear-Dear Friends,
A last minute communication. Apologies, but last week I underwent a surgical procedure in the hospital and couldn't pull myself together to sit down by the computer.
So, first of all, the year we are about to end was not the most pleasant for the State of Israel, with our borders on flame, or threatened by flames, both South and North. We fervently hope and pray that the New Year holds better prospects for us. We yearn for peace and quiet and cooperation for ourselves, our children and future generations. We did not return to our Land to fight, but to create a society that will contribute to the improvement of the human condition here and everywhere. First and most of all that's what we yearn for... And also for inner peace among ourselves. Though we were born of twelve tribes, that does not mean that we have to be endlessly split into twelve, or six, or three camps, rejecting each other. We COULD respect and embrace each other, though differing in opinion, ideology, taste and preference. If the seed of Jacob cannot attain peace within the family, how could we hope for peace with the seed of Ismael? And then with the Teutons and Slavs, with the Francs And Anglos, and more and more.
In a more intimate circle:
We are praying for health of our loved ones. We are praying for comfort and consolation of those of our friends who suffered Losses in the year and years gone by. May they find the healing balm that best suits their pain. We are praying for wisdom to enjoy each and every day, to see the beauty of the flowers, to accept the thorns that come with the roses, to learn to embrace the flowers and to shield ourselves as much as possible from the unavoidable thorns.
Dear Friends, I embrace you all with love, and ask for your forgiveness if I ever hurt you. Our Tradition tells us: "There is no Tzaddik who sins not". I do not think that I would want to hurt anyone deliberately, but I don't see myself as a Tzaddik, so please, keep no grudge against me.
A word about Shearim Netanya:
Its now thirty years to the founding of that organization. I hope it can continue into the forseable future - as long as Olim can benefit by it. I am asking for your support. Our financial donors dropped off. In our High Holiday prayers we state that TZEDAKAH helps us to overcome the hurtffullness of the decree. ("Utshuva, Utfila, Utzedakah --- Ma'avirim et ro'ah hagzerah") If you can afford it we would appreciate your help, with thanks and Deep gratitude. Checks can be made payable to SHEARIM NETANYA, POB 2695, Netanya 42126. (Note added by PRIMER: From the United States, tax deductible contributions may be made by sending them through Hands On Tzedakah (http://handsontzedakah.org), 2901 Clint Moore Road #318, Boca Raton, FL 33496, and specifying the contribution should be directed to SHEARIM NETANYA.)
SHANA TOVA to you and all your loved ones. SHALOM to the whole People Of Israel, SHALOM to the State of Israel and all its loyal citizens.
With deep fondness,
Rabbi Ervin, Hadassa, Aiton, Liel and Daniel Birnbaum & their children
A last minute communication. Apologies, but last week I underwent a surgical procedure in the hospital and couldn't pull myself together to sit down by the computer.
So, first of all, the year we are about to end was not the most pleasant for the State of Israel, with our borders on flame, or threatened by flames, both South and North. We fervently hope and pray that the New Year holds better prospects for us. We yearn for peace and quiet and cooperation for ourselves, our children and future generations. We did not return to our Land to fight, but to create a society that will contribute to the improvement of the human condition here and everywhere. First and most of all that's what we yearn for... And also for inner peace among ourselves. Though we were born of twelve tribes, that does not mean that we have to be endlessly split into twelve, or six, or three camps, rejecting each other. We COULD respect and embrace each other, though differing in opinion, ideology, taste and preference. If the seed of Jacob cannot attain peace within the family, how could we hope for peace with the seed of Ismael? And then with the Teutons and Slavs, with the Francs And Anglos, and more and more.
In a more intimate circle:
We are praying for health of our loved ones. We are praying for comfort and consolation of those of our friends who suffered Losses in the year and years gone by. May they find the healing balm that best suits their pain. We are praying for wisdom to enjoy each and every day, to see the beauty of the flowers, to accept the thorns that come with the roses, to learn to embrace the flowers and to shield ourselves as much as possible from the unavoidable thorns.
Dear Friends, I embrace you all with love, and ask for your forgiveness if I ever hurt you. Our Tradition tells us: "There is no Tzaddik who sins not". I do not think that I would want to hurt anyone deliberately, but I don't see myself as a Tzaddik, so please, keep no grudge against me.
A word about Shearim Netanya:
Its now thirty years to the founding of that organization. I hope it can continue into the forseable future - as long as Olim can benefit by it. I am asking for your support. Our financial donors dropped off. In our High Holiday prayers we state that TZEDAKAH helps us to overcome the hurtffullness of the decree. ("Utshuva, Utfila, Utzedakah --- Ma'avirim et ro'ah hagzerah") If you can afford it we would appreciate your help, with thanks and Deep gratitude. Checks can be made payable to SHEARIM NETANYA, POB 2695, Netanya 42126. (Note added by PRIMER: From the United States, tax deductible contributions may be made by sending them through Hands On Tzedakah (http://handsontzedakah.org), 2901 Clint Moore Road #318, Boca Raton, FL 33496, and specifying the contribution should be directed to SHEARIM NETANYA.)
SHANA TOVA to you and all your loved ones. SHALOM to the whole People Of Israel, SHALOM to the State of Israel and all its loyal citizens.
With deep fondness,
Rabbi Ervin, Hadassa, Aiton, Liel and Daniel Birnbaum & their children
Saturday, September 8, 2018
Yale Zussman's Latest Recommendations
Here are a few items to keep you busy; the theme is looking to the future:
Does Israel have a strategy for Gaza?
Yossi Kuperwasser
Aug 19, 2018
https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/does-israel-have-a-strategy-on-gaza/
Reviews Israel's goals and methods for attaining them. There is a strategy for the short- to medium-term only.
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Abbas's Responsibility for Gaza Crisis
by Bassam Tawil
August 21, 2018
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/12898/gaza-crisis-mahmoud-abbas
Tawil attributes Abbas's current strategy to concerns that Trump's "peace plan" will envision separating Gaza from the PA territories. It is my sense that this separation has always been the key to finding a solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict, so if that is part of the so-far unseen Trump plan, he is on the right track.
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THE PA AT THE END OF ABBAS’S REIGN
BY LIOR AKERMAN
Jerusalem Post
AUGUST 30, 2018
https://www.jpost.com/Opinion/The-PA-at-the-end-of-Abbass-reign-566204
Identifies the candidates for successor and what each might mean for the future.
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The Last Days of Syria and the Non-Interventionist Catastrophe
Noah Rothman
Sep. 7, 2018
https://www.commentarymagazine.com/foreign-policy/middle-east/syria/syria-non-interventionist-catastrophe/
Recaps the errors that brought us to the current situation, then surveys where we might be headed: Not pretty.
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Let me take this opportunity to wish my Jewish readers a Shanah Tovah.
--Yale
Does Israel have a strategy for Gaza?
Yossi Kuperwasser
Aug 19, 2018
https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/does-israel-have-a-strategy-on-gaza/
Reviews Israel's goals and methods for attaining them. There is a strategy for the short- to medium-term only.
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Abbas's Responsibility for Gaza Crisis
by Bassam Tawil
August 21, 2018
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/12898/gaza-crisis-mahmoud-abbas
Tawil attributes Abbas's current strategy to concerns that Trump's "peace plan" will envision separating Gaza from the PA territories. It is my sense that this separation has always been the key to finding a solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict, so if that is part of the so-far unseen Trump plan, he is on the right track.
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THE PA AT THE END OF ABBAS’S REIGN
BY LIOR AKERMAN
Jerusalem Post
AUGUST 30, 2018
https://www.jpost.com/Opinion/The-PA-at-the-end-of-Abbass-reign-566204
Identifies the candidates for successor and what each might mean for the future.
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The Last Days of Syria and the Non-Interventionist Catastrophe
Noah Rothman
Sep. 7, 2018
https://www.commentarymagazine.com/foreign-policy/middle-east/syria/syria-non-interventionist-catastrophe/
Recaps the errors that brought us to the current situation, then surveys where we might be headed: Not pretty.
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Let me take this opportunity to wish my Jewish readers a Shanah Tovah.
--Yale
Sunday, August 19, 2018
D'Var Torah - Shoftim
[My American synagogue, Temple Israel of Natick, has for years had congregants give the D'Var Torah during the summer months. I gave the following on the 7th of Elul, 5778 (August 18, 2018), Shoftim.]
דבר תורה - שפטים
Shabbat shalom. I would like to thank Rabbi Liben for offering me this opportunity and for not preempting what I was going to say.
In Shoftim, Moshe instructs the Children of Israel to appoint judges, to “judge the people with righteous judgement.” As Rabbi Liben mentions, he says
צדק צדק תרדף
Justice, justice you must pursue
It actually continues
למען תחיה ויָרַשתָ את הארץ אשר ה׳ אלהיך נֹתֵן לָך
that thou mayest live, and inherit the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.
Does that mean the people of Israel will not live if we do not pursue justice? Does Moses mean we wouldn’t inherit the Land of Israel, or our children wouldn’t inherit the Land, if we didn’t pursue justice? Does it mean it doesn’t really matter whether we pursue justice outside Eretz Yisrael?
You won’t get an answer from me.
What about the last verse in Chapter 19?
ולא תָחוֹס אֵינֶך נפש בנפש עין בעין שֵן בשֵן יד ביד רגל ברגל
And thine eye shall not pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.
That verse is often used to malign what the people who do so usually call the “Old Testament.” A former rabbi of Temple Israel, Arnold Miller, gave a different interpretation.
You probably don’t remember Rabbi Miller of Temple Israel. That’s because he wasn’t rabbi of Temple Israel of Natick; he was the rabbi of Temple Israel of Waterbury, Connecticut.
Rabbi Miller was a wonderful teacher who explained “an eye for an eye” wasn’t meant to be taken literally. Rather, the rabbis interpreted it to mean that punishment should be appropriate and not disproportionate to the crime, a revolutionary concept in more compassionate justice at the time.
Rabbi Miller said something else I’m still wondering about. That Temple Israel was a Reform Synagogue and someone in our study group once asked him why he didn’t keep kosher. His answer was “God didn’t want me to keep kosher.” It took me a while to realize that answer was ambiguous and I still don’t know whether he meant God wanted him to NOT keep kosher, or God just didn’t care.
I’ve long enjoyed playing with language. One of my favorite books growing up was “Hidden Persuaders” by Vance Packard. Perhaps coincidentally, it was reissued about the time Mad Men appeared on television. One can imagine it having a prominent place on Don Draper’s bookshelf. Today, you can read it on your Kindle.
We see lots of misuse of language when it comes to the Arab-Israeli conflict.
“Students for Justice in Palestine” have no interest in justice.
“Jewish Voice for Peace” has no interest in peace.
JStreet used to call itself “the pro-Israel, pro-peace lobby,” falsely implying the real pro-Israel organizations, like AIPAC, JFNA, ADL, AJC and ZOA weren’t pro-peace.
Last Shabbat, when Ann Green managed to find a way to sneak in talking about cats while discussing Re’eh the way I’m managing to use Shoftim to talk about the misuse of language - and Israel, of course - an Associated Press story, published in the Boston Globe and the MetroWest Daily News, contained the contradictory language “Violence erupted at the Gaza border Friday, although the territory's militant Islamic Hamas rulers and Israel appeared to be generally honoring a cease-fire.”
Hamas generally honored the cease-fire by tossing firebombs and hand grenades, attempting to breach the Gaza border and send terrorists into Israel, and set off numerous fires in Israel using kites, balloons and condoms.
Since last Shabbat, things have calmed down considerably, although there have been more incendiary kites and balloons and more fires. Of course, that didn’t get reported in the American press. But by Thursday, it was reported that Israel reopened the Kerem Shalom crossing, although Israel had continued to send food, medicine and other humanitarian assistance even when it was supposedly closed.
What other country sends humanitarian supplies to its enemies? And that didn’t stop Hamas from organizing more bloody riots yesterday.
The article in the Boston Globe closed with the number of Arabs who were killed. Casualty counts are rarely mentioned when reporting on other conflicts, but they’re almost always included when reporting on the Arab-Israeli conflict. The article also said most of those killed were unarmed.
I wonder how many people noticed no source was given? I wonder how many realized the source had to be Hamas, the terror group which is not known for its honesty or its veracity?
Not mentioned: The fact that when casualties have been analyzed, approximately 83 percent turned out to be affiliated with Hamas, Islamic Jihad or other terror groups. And one has to be rather naive to believe most of those terrorists were unarmed.
Words. Language. They’re important. And they’re used against us. We’ve let Israel’s enemies determine the termology. Even Israeli government officials fall into the trap of using inaccurate terms like
occupation,
1967 borders,
Palestinian land,
East Jerusalem.
We need to take back control … of the border with Gaza and of the language being used.
Shoftim is also relevant to the decline in the character of the leadership in both Israel and the United States these days, a decline of which all parties, in both countries, are guilty. And in the last election in Israel, there were about 26 parties running.
When Harry Truman left the presidency, he went back to his modest family home in Independence, Missouri. That’s what ex-presidents used to do, but in a recent Washington Post column, Richard Cohen observed that “Gerald Ford changed everything by making money off his presidency.” That’s somewhat ironic, because Gerald Ford was probably one of the most decent men to ever become president, although he lost my vote because of his hostility to Israel and because he told my hometown to drop dead when it was facing bankruptcy. Who knew then that the guy I did vote for, the peanut farmer from Georgia, was such an anti-Semite and really hostile to Israel?
According to a recent article in Business Insider, Barack Obama today has a net worth 30 times what it was when he entered the White House … and he wasn’t poor going into the White House … and that’s before benefitting from his multimillion dollar Netflix deal.
Ben Gurion retired to Sde Boker, where he lived in a standard issue hut, far more spartan than the home of anyone in this room, and swept floors and milked cows like his fellow kibbutzniks. Menahem Begin retired quietly to his tiny apartment in Jerusalem.
During his first stint as prime minister, Yitzhak Rabin learned his wife had forgotten to close a small American bank account she had opened when he had served as ambassador to the United States. It was a minor, inadvertent violation of an obsolete law, but Rabin felt honor bound to resign.
What a contrast to the disgraced Ehud Olmert … and to Ehud Barak, who found his 8 million dollar apartment in Tel Aviv’s Akirov Towers too modest, so he sold it and moved to less spartan quarters.
In Shoftim. Moshe describes the selection, qualifications and duties of a king. Not just governing responsibilities, but moral responsibilities, such as “neither shall he multiply wives to himself” … that doesn’t seem to be a major problem today … and “neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold.”
Shoftim also says that when the king “sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book … and it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life; that he may learn to fear the Lord his God, to keep the words of this law and these statutes … that his heart not be lifted up above his brethren … .”
Harry Truman. Ben Gurion. Menachem Begin. Yitzhak Rabin. They led and lived and exemplified those values.
Israel just passed a controversial, albeit meaningless, new Basic Law. If you read Wednesday’s Jerusalem Post, you may have seen my letter about it. Maybe we - I’m speaking now as an Israeli citizen - need another Basic Law, requiring our leaders to adhere to the words of Shoftim.
And in America, perhaps we need an amendment to the Constitution, requiring the same of our leaders here, although since they probably won’t be able to understand it as dictated by God and written in the original Hebrew by the hand of Moshe, we might need to give them an English translation.
Shabbat shalom.
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