Supporter of the Jewish people and Israel are like the salesperson who produces. If you don’t recognize the achievement it might not happen as often. Thank you Robert De Niro and to this random bunch of Iranian soccer fans at FIFA World Cup 2014 in Brasil. What’s your favorite pro-Israel and or pro-Jewish display?
Let’s hope these guys don’t get hurt for being decent human beings.
This article originally published by the Jewish Daily Forward http://forward.com/articles/181701/barcelona-soccer-star-lionel-messi-visits-western/ shows what a high-profile superstar looks like when his moral compass is facing in the right direction. Lionel Messi preaches peace and football. He is the sports version of Paul McCartney and someone to be looked up to. Let there be no question about that. In fact, I like him so much I won’t even mind if he wins the FIFA 2014 World Cup for his country Argentina. Unless they face the Netherlands again.
Quick answer; it could. If only the politicians and power mongers would let it. In a world filled with violence and hatred, I am one of those who truly believes that the majority of the people watching care more about their country scoring a goal than any territorial conflict or prejudice against people. Despite my belief that FIFA may very well be corrupt, a belief somewhat influenced by The Netherlands’ inability to break through and win it all, I truly believe this tournament, FIFA World Cup 2014 in Brasil, can do a lot more good than harm. In fact, I don’t even think it is close. I am not naive. As a Jew and as an American, I know there are people who hate us. But wouldn’t it be great if all the battles and anger could be left on a soccer pitch? I know my prejudices towards countries like Holland, America and England are based on personal experiences that make me root in favor of their success, just as my prejudices against Iran, Algeria and France are also based on my experiences or perceptions. However, wouldn’t it be great if it stopped there for everyone. I wouldn’t gloat over the death of Iranians, but I certainly gloated over their defeat in a World Cup match. When I say I hate Cristiano Ronaldo and I hate Portugal, it is because he strikes me as arrogant and I see Portugal as a villain in international soccer tournaments, not because I hate the country or people. On the contrary, I have Portuguese blood. My mother’s maiden name is Rodrigues-Lopes, a Portuguese name. And my hatred for Ronaldo wants me to see him fail in football, excuse me, soccer, not fail in life. And yes, as a Jewish man and Zionist I would much prefer Palestinians dancing in the streets because Israel didn’t qualify or because the U.S. got eliminated, not because of a successful terrorist attack that killed Jews.
The good news, I believe the majority of the planet would agree with this sentiment. They just need to fight to create governments that feel the same way. It may be a pipe dream, but to quote my favorite line from the movie Flashdance, “when you lose your dreams, you die.”
Look who broke the heart of one the nations that wants to wipe Israel from the planet. (READ IMPORTANT POST SCRIPT)…………Just one of those random things that helps me believe in God. In the first minute of added time at the end of the game Lionel Messi of Argentina (seen in this picture) breaks a 0-0 tie against Iran to destroy their hopes of getting an unexpected point against one of soccer’s giants. With the animosity constantly shown towards Israel from Iran, I can’t help but admit the pleasure I received watching the beautiful late goal being scored by a man who showed solidarity towards Israel in the past and now regarding the return of the 3 kidnapped Yeshiva students. Way to go Messi! This just makes it even more enjoyable for me to call you the best player in the world. DOES THE WORLD CUP UNITE US? CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT
Let me start by saying that I believe in the value of all human life. I do not sit down with the intent of portraying Jewish life as being more valuable than other life, rather to defame those who do not, never have nor ever will see Jewish life as being equal in value.
I am blessed to have visiting in my home the daughter and son-in-law of Bertus and Geeske te-Kiefte, the couple that saved my mother’s life in Holland during Nazi occupation. During the time we have spent together we have had conversations revealing our similarity in values and our respect for all that is decent and good in the world. We recognize the value of all human life and speak with tremendous honor and respect for those who put their lives in danger to protect others. We share a common value for human life. As a Jew in today’s world it has become strikingly apparent that many people out there do not share the same value for Jewish life and even more worrisome is that it has become clear to me how the world allowed the Nazis to do what they did to the Jewish people. It just didn’t care. Or even worse, it approved.
I do not have a persecution complex by any means. In fact I make the argument that there is no reason to go after those who do things that appear to be anti-Semitic if they make claim to not be anti-Semitic. First case in point is Macklemore, who dressed up in a costume during one of his performances that was seen as being a stereotypical caricature of a Jewish man with a big nose. Whether that was his intent or not, his strong claim that he did not mean it to be a portrayal of someone Jewish and that he was not at all anti-Semitic is enough for me to not see him as the problem. Second case in point is the Nike commercial with evil clones taking over international soccer with images on their uniform that could be construed as Stars of David. Nike issued a statement that the image was not intended to resemble a Star of David at all and that they were not trying to draw any connection to Israel or the Jewish people. The Nike statement was also enough for me to not see them as the problem.
Is it possible that in both situations we are being lied to and that these are two instances where high-profile celebrities or corporations are subtly trying to demonize Israel and the Jewish people? Sure. But sadly in a world where there are so many blatant, callous, disgraceful and violent attacks on Jews, the subtle attacks are not our problem. The rise in anti-Semitic attacks in Europe, most notably in France, is our problem. The BDS movement’s attempt to cripple the Israeli economy by spewing lies about Israel’s human rights record is our problem. And the kidnapping of three young boys just because they are Jewish and living in Israel is our problem.
The kidnappings are telling in so many ways. First of all it identifies the insincerity of the pigs committing the act. They are not freedom fighters battling for the well-being of their people who are attacking enemy combatants. They are cowards filled with hate and evil-looking to harm any Jewish person they come in contact with. The second telling fact is how once again this exposes the fraud that is the United Nations. When a statement comes from the UN stating that it has no evidence that these boys were kidnapped, they sound no different from the standard anti-Semite denying the Holocaust ever happened. And the third and possibly the most telling fact, is the media campaign throughout the Arab world glorifying the kidnapping. The three finger salute gaining traction and popularity, even being performed by Palestinian children, incidentally children looking happy not persecuted, might as well be accompanied by a resounding Heil Hitler, because it shows as little respect for Jewish life as the Nazis did when they terrorized Europe.
I am very careful and reluctant to compare anything to Nazi Germany, but when Jewish life is turned into something of no value, the comparison is dangerously justified. For me to have this forum, a forum established to promote a book telling the story of my parents, survivors of that horror of the Nazis, and to not speak up and speak my mind at this scary time in Jewish history would make me remiss in my responsibility as a Jew and a human being.
Never Again means Never Again will we remain silent when we see anyone in the world act as though Jewish blood is cheap. Too many people suffered and died in the past and we can’t allow the same to happen in the future. This is no longer the time to be silent. This is the time to raise our voices and proclaim to the world in the name of all that is decent, Never Again!
Hey Roger Waters, you no good piece of hypocritical garbage, where’s your voice of humanity now? By showing the world that only people who aren’t Jewish matter, you reveal your true intentions. This is what a genuine humanitarian does. Growing up I never thought I’d like Tony Orlando and Dawn more than Pink Floyd, but that is where I am at now. Thank you Tony Orlando for making a stand that shows those who will listen that Jewish life matters too.
Israel, the Apartheid State. The government that is persecuting Palestinians. The regime committing genocide against the people of Palestine. Really? Does this sound like a country that would be taking care of the wife of the leader of the Palestinian authority? Well that is exactly what happened this past weekend as the wife of Mahmoud Abbas had leg surgery in a hospital near Tel-Aviv. But did the fair-minded speak out about this? Did they ever stop to consider what would have happened if three Palestinian students had been kidnapped and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s wife would need surgery in most Arab nations? Or even closer to home in the West Bank or Gaza? As three Yeshiva students remain missing, likely kidnapped by Hamas or another similar terrorist organization, the Israeli government welcomed in and allowed the wife of Abbas to be cared for. Does this strike you as the behavior of a state motivated to wipe the Palestinians off the planet. Does it look like a government lacking in ethical human rights behavior?
We all know the answer. Roger Waters knows the answer. Emma Thompson knows the answer. Alice Walker knows the answer. But these phonies, Anti-Semites masquerading as humanitarians would never utter the words of truth that are so evident from the events taking place. The worldwide movements to discredit Zionists, a smokescreen for decreasingly less subtle attacks on Jews, would never declare the truth about Israel, that it is a true democracy with true freedom and the highest level of human rights. To do that would result in elevating the status of Jews worldwide, which in reality is why it is not done. If you doubt this to be true just look at what it is happening in France on a regular basis to people because they are Jews, not because they are Zionists. And look at the recent murders in Brussels and wake up to the truth. And that truth is that there are people who want to wipe the Jewish people from the planet, regardless of where they live.
We all say Never Again to something that on some very frightening levels has begun to happen again. Did we ever know what we would do to stop it if it did? Maybe not. But it starts by seeing the reality of the situation and not closing our eyes, pretending it is not there and hoping it will go away. That never worked and never will.
It was in the late 1970’s when we were living in the city of Arnhem, capital of the Dutch province of Gelderland, that my father was thrust into a situation no one would ever envy. As the Rabbi of Gelderland and 5 other provinces, his duties included visiting and counseling the sick, visiting Jewish inmates in prison, and probably the most common occurrence, the performance of funeral services. One day he received an urgent call saying that a well-known member of the community had taken a gun to his head and had killed himself. The man, someone we all knew well, was a good man, but a mentally tortured man. Whatever suffering he had endured at the hands of his Nazis was unknown to me, but we all knew that whether it was the suffering caused by the murder of his family or personal torture, this man was a victim of the Holocaust and sadly suffered mentally in a way the majority of people, myself included, could never understand. Under strict Jewish law, someone who commits suicide is not entitled to a proper Jewish burial and is not supposed to be mourned as others would be. My father, someone who had experienced the Nazi-occupation of Holland first hand, and a man of compassion and wisdom, would have no part of this. Understanding that this man was not a weak man taking the cowardly way out, but rather a victim of the horrors, my father ruled his death as a death by illness, regardless of whether or not the final action was self-inflicted or not. By my father making this decree, the man was able to receive the proper burial he deserved, and was mourned and remembered in the days, weeks and months that followed.
I was no older than 17 when this happened. It would be something I would never forget because this action was a testament to what was great about my father, Rabbi Nardus Groen who passed away 7 years ago today on June 13, 2007. As a son I always loved him. As a young man, this decision by my father made me admire him, and stayed we me my entire life.
On June 13, 2013 the debate going on in my head was whether or not it would be appropriate to make my first trip to the gym in about 12 years. The question stemmed from the fact that on June 13, 2007 my father passed away and I wondered if I should do something more somber to recognize the date or do nothing at all and just go home for the night. I came to the conclusion, one that everyone I spoke with agreed with, that to embark on a journey to improve my physical health would be something that would not only be appropriate but in some ways even honor the day. Subsequently one year ago tomorrow I began my work out routine and simultaneously changed around my diet and in turn my entire life.
As I sit on here on day 365 I am 40 lbs lighter than the 206 pounds I weighed in at back then. One day recently in the gym, one of my “brothers in iron” as I am told we are called, a term for people who see each other regularly in the gym and become friendly, gave me a 40 lb. weight and just told me to hold it. “That is what you no longer carry around in your body” he said to and gave me a thumbs-up. I was stunned by the force of the weight and wondered how my body ever handled such an extreme burden. I then did what anyone who had learned what I had over the course of a year would do. I put down the weight, thanked him, and went back to working out.
There is a reason it is called “working” out. It requires an extra effort not everyone is able to do or wishes to do. I make that statement with zero judgment attached, fully aware of the fact that I did not make that effort till I was 51 and alarmed by the amount of 51 year olds suffering from or dying from heart ailments. I am also cognizant of the fact that life sometimes doesn’t allow people the luxury of the time I have had available to institute my routine. But to those who can make it happen there are a few hints I wish to give you and words of encouragement I wish to provide.
Ideally the health routine is a three-pronged process. The three things are diet, exercise, and rest. There are many people who do not feel they have or truly do not have the time for exercise or rest. To those I offer you some good news. If you have to choose only one of the three, the most important one is without question, diet. It is nothing new to say that a good diet is not about eating less but eating better. I am, thank God, never hungry. I eat regularly. I just eat primarily healthy. I won’t bore you with my actual daily menu, but I will say that for those who really wish to eat healthy, there are multiple sources online to provide you with enough information to allow you to structure a way of eating that will allow you to be healthier while not starving yourself and still enjoying your meals. And for those who want the occasional binge with family or friends I will share with you the rule I live by. It is not what you do 5% of the time that matters, it’s what you do 95% of the time that matters.
Yes it is nice when the cute barista working at Starbucks comments on how much weight I lost, and a woman I work with tells me I’ve become better looking, but I can honestly tell you that I am doing this primarily for two reasons. The first is to increase my chances of living a longer healthier life, and the second is to feel better on a daily basis. Although there are no guarantees and regardless of what someone does the body does break down as you age, I am doing all I can do to increase my chances of living longer. And although I don’t always feel great, I usually feel better than I ever did before I started this routine. When I eat my grilled fish and quinoa for dinner and work out in the gym I do indeed feel a lot better than I did when I ate Fettuccini Alfredo and went home and had a bag of potato chips and a soda in front of the TV.
It’s about quality of life. And although there are so many things in life we can’t control, taking care of our bodies is something we can control. I sit here not thinking I am better than someone who doesn’t, but rather to let them know that the effort, no matter how hard it is in the beginning, is worth it. It is one of the best things you can ever do for yourself. And if it is something you truly wish to do, no one can stop you from doing it other than yourself. You look better, you feel better, and have a better shot at doing both for more years. We like what we like and always justify it by saying it makes us feel good, and it often does. I am here to tell you that when you treat your body better it feels even better. Why not go for it?
Holland's Heroes 
