Tag Archives: Egypt

From Netanyahu to Netanyahu, there is none like Netanyahu

gif-leaders-netanyahuWhen speaking of the greatness of Rabbi Moses ben Maimon, otherwise known as Maimonides, it is often said, “from Moses to Moses, there was none like Moses.”  This of course speaks to the importance and greatness of Moses in the Bible, the prophet that lead the Children of Israel out of slavery in Egypt, and generations later the great impact Maimonides had in his and future generations as a Rabbi, philosopher and physician.

In June of 1976 the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine hijacked an Air France plane en route to Paris from Tel-Aviv and forced it to land in Entebbe, Uganda.  With the support of the Ugandan dictator Idi Amin, the hijackers took hostages, separating the Jewish passengers from the non-Jewish passengers and held the Jewish passengers hostage at Entebbe Airport. A group of 100 commandos, lead by Yonatan Netanyahu freed every single hostage on July 4, 1976, going down in history as one of the most amazing rescue missions of all time.  Sadly, Netanyahu, was killed during the mission.  He will always be remembered fondly as a great hero.

38 years later, Yonatan Netanyahu’s brother Benjamin is Prime Minister of the State of Israel during one of its most challenging times.  As is the case with any high-profile leader, Benjamin Netanyahu has his critics on both sides of the spectrum.  There are those who feel he is too compromising, accusing him of not having the willingness or stomach to do what needs to be done to eliminate Israel’s threats regardless of collateral damage or civilian casualties. The other critics go as far as saying he is a war criminal, guilty of leading a genocide against the Palestinian people.

I personally think he is a great man, one whose performance in the wake of tremendous pressure both internally and externally has been nothing short of exemplary.  His priority has been the safety and future security of the citizens of Israel.  He has shown respect for world opinion by publicly clarifying and explaining Israel’s actions, something expected from no other country, possibly with the exception of the United States.  He has displayed a calm leadership during chaotic times.  He has shown strength, reason, intelligence, and the quality he is given the least credit for, compassion.  I believe we are very lucky to have him.

From Netanyahu to Netanyahu, there is none like Netanyahu.

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The Egypt Factor

ancient-egypt-pyramids-wallpaperA few weeks back I started writing a piece titled: ” Does civilization’s future rest in its cradle?”  This title was based on the theory that the best hope at stopping the growth of Islamic fanaticism would possibly be Egypt’s ability to reassert itself in the region and use power and influence to mobilize forces against Islamic extremism.  I never finished that article and changed the title because there are a lot more factors to consider.

Egypt’s involvement in cease-fire talks between Israel and Hamas is certainly a good thing.  It represents a legitimate desire for peace and stability in the region, something Egypt has learned the benefit of over the years.  Also, as opposed to when the Muslim Brotherhood was sitting in power in Cairo, this is a government not aligned with Hamas and one that is just as opposed to lifting the critical Naval blockade of Gaza as Israel is, at least as long as Hamas is in power.  Egypt’s current government, which seems to represent a large portion of its population, is very strongly opposed to the Islamic extremism sweeping across parts of the region.  Together with Israel, the nation most threatened by the extremists, Egypt is determined to see a more moderate Middle East.

The concern here is the potential power this gives Egypt, specifically over Israel.  The Israeli government finds itself in a situation in which it must be aware of Egypt’s standing in the region and on the global stage.  Prime Minister Netanyahu will of course continue to make decisions that first and foremost address Israel’s best interests and security, but he is also aware that a strong and credible Egypt not only helps Israel, but contributes to the stability of the entire region. If presented with a questionable proposal, but one that allows Egypt to broker a peace deal, Israel may find itself between a rock and a hard place.  On one side any deal that represents compromise may hurt Israel, but on the other hand undermining Egypt’s attempt to assert itself will hurt Israel, not only in the short-term but in the long-term as well.  It’s a very delicate diplomatic situation and one to be watched closely.

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What We Don’t do when Children Die

kids-three-fingers (1)Unlike the festivities that took place in the Arab world when the 3 Yeshiva Students were reported as kidnapped and subsequently murdered, there is no joy in the Jewish world over the deaths of 4 Palestinian children.  There are no Jewish children being put in front of a camera and told to hold up 4 fingers.  There is no social media blitz with a 4 fingered salute celebrating their deaths.  In fact, the Jewish way of thinking can be summed up with one finger, the pinky finger.

At the Passover Seder, the dinner celebrating the freeing of Jews from slavery in Egypt, when we recount the 10 plagues we dip out pinky finger into the wine and acknowledge the suffering of innocent Egyptians during each of the plagues.  Our respect is so great that we dip twice when we get to the last plague, the killing of the first-born.  The Egyptians were our oppressors and we were freed from this oppression.  We celebrate our freedom.  We thank God.  But at no time do we celebrate the death and suffering of Egyptians.  Next time you see a 3 fingered salute celebrating the death of innocent Jewish children take a moment to acknowledge a people who value life and despise murder, instead of the other way around.


How Ariel Sharon’s life tells the truth about Israel

sharon_arielWhen I think of Ariel Sharon and what kind of leader he was and the person he appeared to be, I realize that his legacy tells the real truth about Israel, its leadership and its approach towards its enemies.

Let me begin by saying that I have always lived by the basic premise that when a man or woman who has devoted their life to the betterment or safety of the Jewish people passes on, I as a Jew will mourn their loss.  With our history, both ancient and modern filled with persecution and murder, we as a people need to appreciate those whose lives were focused around what at least appeared to be, the protection of the Jewish people and or the security of the modern Jewish State of Israel.  With that in mind I speak from my heart when I say Rest in Peace Ariel Sharon.

When one examines Ariel Sharon’s life, it is clear that this was a man who was strong and forceful, unafraid, and at times one might say brutal.  If we look at the list of Israeli Prime Ministers starting with David ben Gurion in 1948, it is very clear that the two most militant were Menachem Begin and Ariel Sharon.  It should therefore come as no surprise that Ariel Sharon served under Begin as Secretary of Defense.   To me however there is a very clear difference between the two men.  Menachem Begin, my personal political hero, was so militant leading up to the establishment of the State of Israel that some described him as a terrorist.  However as Prime Minister, an argument could be made that Begin was more moderate than Sharon.  To someone without a vested interest in Israel and the Jewish people, Menachem Begin’s greatest legacy was the peace treaty with Anwar Sadat and Egypt.  Ariel Sharon on the other hand was seen as far more controversial, even to the point of being called a war criminal by his enemies.  As someone who tries to be fair and equitable in my opinions I contemplated his legacy and in doing so realized that Ariel Sharon’s behavior as a leader in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Prime Minister of Israel, actually tells the truth about Israeli leadership and its approach towards Arabs and the Palestinian issue.

Consider this fact.  Mohammed Abbas, President of the Palestinian National Authority,  by most accounts a moderate, was quoted as saying,  “We have frankly said, and always will say: If there is an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital, we won’t agree to the presence of one Israeli in it.”  Abbas  was the leader of the element within the PLO responsible for the hijacking of the Achille Lauro cruise ship in October 1985.  It was during this hijacking that Abbas’s people, shot a 69 year old Jewish wheelchair bound man named Leon Klinghoffer in the head and threw his body overboard.  I use Abbas as an example to compare the Palestinian’s most “moderate” leader to Israel’s most extreme leader, Sharon.

The incident that causes some people to brand Sharon as a war criminal was the massacre in Sabra and Shatila.  Under his command as Secretary of Defense for the IDF, Sharon did nothing to prevent the massacres of Palestinians in these southern Lebanon refugee camps.  The massacres were perpetuated by Lebanese militants with connections to the Syrian government, which incidentally was then run by the father of Syria’s existing dictator, Bashar al-Assad.  Therefore, if we choose to look at this with brutal and objective honesty, we might say that Sharon was guilty of being complicit in someone else’s crime.   

Sharon also would lead the charge for more settlements in what the world likes to refer to as the “Occupied Territories”.  For the sake of this discussion I will go along with the term.  Subsequently, if we are to accept this logic, Ariel Sharon, the Israeli “war criminal” was primarily most notorious for two things, not preventing the citizens of another country from murdering each other, and for accelerating the building of homes for his residents in the occupied territories.  

If we were to take the side against Ariel Sharon we would say that he was cold and callous with no consideration for the well-being of Arabs, particularly Palestinians within Israel and its surrounding nations.  As a Jew and a Zionist I can confidently make this statement.  We would dance in the streets of every city we reside in worldwide if the most militant of our enemies would be most guilty of not caring if we kill each other and for building homes on the land they occupy.  What Ariel Sharon’s life shows us is that even the “worst” of Israel’s leaders still live by a higher moral and ethical standard and are less likely to murder their enemy in cold blood than the majority, if not all of the most moderate of Arab leaders.  The world will likely not see it this way because anti-Israel sentiment is becoming a popular fad, but for those who analyze this honestly the truth will be glaringly apparent.  Ariel Sharon’s life as an Israeli leader proves this better than anything else ever could.

 


The Manufacturing of Terrorists: The Real Human Rights Violation

MummyBomberL_468x468As everyone tries to make sense of the Boston Marathon bombings, I sit and wonder why people refuse to accept the reality of the situation.  I maintain that the refusal is based in fear.  Maybe it is fear of the bad guys and the perception of what they will do if you openly hold them responsible for the destruction they are bringing to our planet.  Or maybe it is fear of coming across as too radical.  After all, everyone cares what their friends think about them.  Don’t believe me?  Just check Facebook or Twitter.  Maybe it’s the fear that the truth is just too hard to swallow.  What truth do I speak of?  The fact that that there are modern day Nazi-style regimes either in place or springing up all over the world.  Except this time they are masquerading as so-called religious, more specifically Muslim nations and organizations.

First I will explain the legitimacy and importance of the comparison to Nazi Germany.   The best way to understand the comparison is to look at today’s Germany.  Although no nation is perfect, the Germany of today is a civilized, tolerant, peace-loving society.  Germany did not import new people into their populous after 1945.  However, after the Allies defeated Hitler’s regime, Germany rebuilt, and the basic decency that exists in most human beings became more prevalent than the morally corrupt, evil principals of Nazi Germany.  It is hard for some to believe that Germany could ever have become a good country after 1945, but the fact is that it has.  The point I am making is that in general, it is not the people who are bad, it is their leaders.  And although it was not only justified, but necessary to kill Germans before Hitler’s government fell, many of those killed could in fact be deemed victims as well; as is the case with a large percentage of the world’s Muslim population today.

Hitler rose to power by feeding off the discontent of the people.  After Germany’s defeat in World War I, the Treaty of Versailles was instituted as a means to control and punish Germany for their aggression.  With no desire to make their lives better, Hitler used the people’s subsequent hunger, bitterness, and desperation as a way to not only gain power, but to control their actions.  Anyone Hitler hated, most notably the Jews, was responsible for the plight of the German people, and by making the people believe that not only was their misfortune their fault, but that by eliminating them things would improve, he successfully created a power source that was responsible for mass murder unlike the world had ever seen.  The same formula is being used today.  Except today’s governments and leaders are going one step further.  They are actually creating the misfortune.  I am by no means saying that Hitler was a better man.  I am merely stating that he did not have to crush the morale of his people.  That had already been done prior to his ascent to power, and arguably with justification.  These Muslim regimes have drained the life from the very people they claim to care for the most. 

Now fast forward to the 1960s and the formation of the PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization).  The PLO was a group that portrayed itself as freedom fighters, fighting for the rights of the displaced Palestinians with the sole purpose of creating a homeland for its people and destroying the State of Israel.  It’s weapon of choice, terrorism against Jews worldwide.  Although tragically successful in murdering people, the PLO accomplished one thing over everything else it claimed to want to accomplish.  It made Yasser Arafat a very rich and powerful man.  And rich he became, owning Hotels in the Swiss Alps and amassing a fortune while his people suffered under the misconception that it was the fault of guess who?  The Jews.  I wonder how many people took the time to facetiously thank Yasser Arafat, the founding father of modern terrorism for the bombing in Boston.  He not only set the stage, but he was complicit in the creation of the new blueprint.

The attacks on September 11, 2001, or as we now refer to it, 9/11, were attacks organized by Osama bin-Laden, but perpetrated by Saudi Arabian nationals.  Saudi Arabia, a nation so wealthy that the royal family recently gifted its people $36 billion in the hope of placating the  population enough to avoid uprisings similar to so many other Arab nations since the start of the “Arab Spring”.  Like so many other corrupt governments, the Saudi royal family has managed to keep its people down, creating a segment of the population that feels its only future and purpose is to destroy those responsible for their life’s deficiencies.  What was once only Israel’s fault is now also the fault of the entire western world, mainly the United States.  They convince their people that the reason things are so bad is the dominance of the corrupt, non-Muslim infidels of Israel and the United States.  By doing this they believe they strengthen their power base and maintain control of the government and yes, more importantly the money.  After all, happy people tend to gravitate towards Democracy, a dangerous concept for these people.

As other nations and organizations use this same model, they teach their children that murdering people is OK, as long as you do it with a purpose.  If the Jews and Americans are evil, anything you do to hurt them makes your life worthwhile.  The fact is that these children are victims as well.  They are victims of a violation of Human Rights unprecedented in history. They are being made into terrorists.   If Hamas and Hezbollah truly value the lives of their people, would they teach their young to blow themselves up?  If these children were given a chance for a life do you truly believe they would want to be part of this despicable behavior?  Of course not.  As some would like to believe that the reason the Palestinians and Israelis do not live in peace is the creation of Jewish settlements, the real reason there is no peace is because the beginning of peace marks the end of Hamas, Hezbollah, and ultimately even  regimes such as the current Iranian government and the Saudi monarchy.  I find it ironic how I once loved Pink Floyd because the music was so intelligent only to find myself now having trouble listening to their music because their front man Roger Waters has shown such ignorance and stupidity in calling for boycotts against Israel.   Is he really that stupid?  Or is he too afraid of the truth.  The truth that in order to maintain their power over their people, these leaders manufacture terrorists, and do so at such remarkable efficiency that they have now begun to do what so many other successful manufacturers do, export their product, as seen last week in Boston.  You see now they have found a new method.  Target young Muslims anywhere in the world and if they are fortunate enough to be malcontents, teach them how their life can have meaning by killing innocent people.

I know that seeing the United States give financial aid to Egypt’s new government is a hard pill to swallow seeing how the Muslim Brotherhood’s rhetoric is as bad as the other’s, but the truth is that supporting the governments that arise out of the Arab Spring may just be the last peaceful option.  If somehow these new governments would provide their people with real purpose and a hope at a decent life, the hope would be, albeit it unlikely, terrorists would no longer have such a significant breeding ground.  If however it does not work, the only way to eliminate it will be by powerful force, force that will most likely cause loss of life we have not seen since World War II.  The problem is, using the analogy of cancer, when force conquered Nazi Germany and their allies in World War II the cancer was a series of highly recognizable cancers in specific parts of the world body.  Today’s cancer has spread so intricately worldwide it will be much harder to eliminate.  And don’t look to the United Nations for help.  The reason the UN has not only recognized, but supported terror groups and evil regimes over the years is because of one thing, money.

And finally, before anyone reads this and thinks this is an anti-Islam rant, know that the motivation for writing this is the very pleasant interaction I regularly have with an Egyptian street vendor.  I look at him and realize the people are not the problem, their leadership is.  Sadly, should anyone rise up from within their ranks and attempt to lead the people in a better direction, a direction of peace and at least the potential for prosperity, that person’s life would be in immediate and grave danger.  After all, anything that stands in the way of their manufacturing process, the one that manufactures terrorists, would be something they would need to eliminate.   If you are frightened or saddened by this harsh reality remember this.  Not facing it will ultimately lead to a worse one.  One that should be unacceptable to any civilized human being, whether or not that human being is a Jew, Christian, Muslim, or any other believer or non-believer.

 

 

 

 


“Never Again”: More than a slogan

When I was a 14 year old boy my parents took me and my sister on a vacation to Copenhagen, Denmark.  Part of the trip was a short hovercraft ride over to the small Swedish city of Malmo.  I remembered this trip because of how nice the people were, how good the food was, and how pretty the cities were.  So when I read reports of anti-Semitic attacks on the rise in Malmo, it saddens me, scares me, and angers me.  With an estimated 600 Jews living in Malmo, and a Muslim population of 6,000, the question that needs to be put out there is what is the motivation for the anti-Jewish sentiment?  In France, a nation of over 60 million people, the Muslim population is an estimated 6 million strong, with a Jewish population that has shrunk to under a half a million.  The situation in France has reached a point where Jews are being murdered by terrorists, people randomly attacked, and vandalism of Jewish institutions is on such a rise that the French police are finding it more and more difficult to provide any form of protection, assuming they wish to.  The same question needs to be asked here.  What is the reason for this anti-Jewish sentiment?

It is not fear.  It may be marketed as fear, but the numbers speak for themselves.  Is it political?  Is it a protest against Israeli policy towards the Palestinians?  No more so than the Nazis reason for murdering Jews was based on the so-called Jewish control of the banks.  Sheikh Mohammed Badie, the Supreme Guide of Egypt’s Muslim brotherhood said that the Jews   “spread corruption on earth, spilled the blood of believers and in their actions defile holy places, including their own”.

There may be political motivations in all these instances, but at best these political motivations are the use of hate in order to rally the mob and keep control.  But make no mistake, the hate is very real.  The attacks, the vandalism, and the anti-Jewish statements all have their origin in hatred of the Jewish people.  Sadly, these regimes and communities have such control and influence over their people that the average person who, in their heart does want a peaceful world, has no realistic voice.  As a Jew and a son of Holocaust survivors, I cannot in good conscience say “Never Again” in one breath and be quiet about this growing wave of danger in another. I haven’t even mentioned Iran, a nation that has made it quite clear its willingness to murder Jews in numbers comparable to the actions of Nazi Germany.

Many believe that both FDR and Churchill had enough information about the mechanics of the Nazi killing machine to stop the murder of the Jews long before the war was over.  Nevertheless, these 2 leaders were the most important people in putting an end to the horror, which they did upon the defeat of Germany.  And no one ever accused them of being complicit with the Nazis, rather focused on their strategy and not making Jewish lives a priority.  The point being, they may have not had the level of morality to put a true value on Jewish life, but they were the best we had, and they made the difference in the end.

So it is with this I make this plea to the electorate of nations such as England, Israel, and most immediately, the United States.  Continue to use your democratic rights to fight for your candidate.  Criticize, chastise, dig up dirt if that is your style, I don’t care.  But when then election is over support your democratically elected leader. You can fight to influence your president and hold him accountable, but don’t fight or obstruct him.   We can spend all day discussing and debating how much anyone who is not Jewish genuinely cares about the Jewish people, and we can easily take the discussion back to the days of FDR and Churchill.  But at the end of the day the reason some form of decency and Jewish life survived was because there was true focus on who the true enemy was.  And I have no hesitation when I say that the true enemy today is neither a Democratic or Republican nominee for President.  The true enemies, Muslim extremists, have their sights on democracy everywhere and ultimately will be the enemy of the people whose help we need the most.  At the end of the day, love or hate your leader, they may end up being our best shot at assuring that “Never Again” is not just an empty statement.