Tag Archives: United Nations

January 8, 2016

Open Letter to Bethany Koval, anti-Israel Jersey teen

By davidgroen1

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Dear Benny,

As a 54 year old man it is my responsibility to address you, a 16 year old girl in an appropriate, not combatant fashion.  Although I strongly disagree with your viewpoints on Israel, I start by recognizing a few very important and pertinent facts.  Firstly, to the best of my knowledge you are not a criminal. You are a young lady, apparently a Jewish-Israeli young lady, expressing your views in a democratic society that has rules in place to protect your right to do so.  Secondly, as much as I disagree with you, I do not believe that you are, in any way part of the problem.  On the contrary. Responding to you correctly can actually work towards helping the problem.  Calling you names or attacking you for speaking up is not only wrong, it digs us all into a deeper moral hole.  So with that said I would like to bring some points to your attention and hope that it opens your eyes to factors you may not have considered.

I recently saw a video on the wall separating the Palestinians in the territories from the rest of Israel.  Since it was an anti-Israel video it naturally portrayed the wall in a totally negative light. When I thought about it later I realized the tactic being used, not only in that video but in so much of the anti-Israel propaganda being put out today.  It is a tactic that almost automatically has to be one of the driving forces in you feeling as you do today.  The tactic is, portraying history as starting from a later date.

Let me explain.  If you go to Israel today and see a wall separating 2 people who technically live in the same country I can understand how it can be a difficult thing to wrap your head around.  By itself the whole concept of a wall for that purpose is not something anyone decent would want or approve of.  But that’s only if you look at it today out of the context of why it was put up in the first place.  If history starts from the construction of the wall, Israel seems wrong.  But it does not. If history starts from the current living conditions of the Palestinians, Israel seems wrong. But it does not. If history starts from the Israeli bombs dropping in Gaza, Israel seems wrong.  But it does not.  If history starts from Israeli occupation of the West Bank, Israel might be wrong.  But it does not. You see Bethany, rather than get mad at you for exercising your First Amendment right to Free Speech, it is my responsibility to explain to you that which you may be intentionally or unintentionally be ignoring when stating your opinion.

The United Nations, the very same United Nations that at every turn attacks Israel for its “occupation”, out of the ashes of the genocide of 6 million Jewish men, women and children, sanctioned and supported the creation of the Jewish State in 1948.  Almost immediately after doing so, every neighboring country in the region ganged up on Israel and attacked her.  Israel fought them off in 1948, again in 1956, in 1967, and in 1973 the Yom Kippur War in which Israel’s enemies waited till the holiest day of the Jewish year to attack.   The war in 1967, also known as the 6 day war was the war in which Israel, finally having enough of the threat it incurred from its neighbors, captured territories as a buffer from future attacks. The Sinai, Gaza, the Golan and the West Bank were all captured in this war.  The Sinai Desert, land controlled by Egypt prior to the 6 Day War, was returned to Egypt in the very successful peace accord of 1979.  The Golan still remains in Israel as there has never been a true partner in which to discuss peace over this land captured from Syria.  Syria’s leadership which murders its own people is certainly not a willing partner in peace for Israel to negotiate with.

Here is where the problem, and the true history really starts.  Starting from Yasser Arafat to Mahmoud Abbas and later the more brazen and direct Hamas and Hezbollah, Israel has been surrounded at almost every border by terrorist organizations seeking its destruction.  Israel has made attempts to negotiate peace settlements, but even when it has offered territories, the controlling forces have found a way to crush the agreements.   These same controlling forces have received countless billions to improve the living conditions of the Palestinian people, but rather than doing so they’ve either pocketed the money or used it to fund terrorist activities in Israel.  They’ve kept the population down because let’s face it, a satisfied population is not an angry one, and they need angry people to do their bidding.  They’ve blown up entire families in one moment.  They’ve murdered little children, pregnant women and elderly citizens, not because of collateral damage but with intent.  Is it a tragedy when Palestinian children get killed in Israeli attacks?  Of course it is. But the Israeli government makes it very clear that its targets are terrorist bases of operation, not innocent civilians. When innocent people die Israel shows regret.  When innocent Jewish people get killed in terrorist attacks by members of Palestinian terror groups the attackers are glorified by far too many as heroes achieving a great success and certainly with no regret.

Yes the plight of the Palestinian people is a tragedy, just not one created by Israel.  I do not sit here saying Israel does nothing wrong Benny, all I am trying to make you understand is that the history of this conflict is a lot older than the years which you as a young lady have witnessed.  They are older than the years I have witnessed.  You are clearly intelligent and caring. If you were not you would never have bothered tweeting in the first place.  As opposed as I am to your views, in some ways I am equally opposed to you being attacked for them.  In fact, many of my open letters are scathing attacks against people expressing what I see as unfair and dishonest opinions against Israel and the Jewish people.  Seeing as you are Jewish, Israeli, and 16, I believe a harsh approach to you is not only inappropriate, it’s damaging to all those who want the same thing.  Peace. I just ask one very important thing of you. Use your intelligence and compassion to research the whole history, do so with an open and honest mind and I hope and believe you will come to a significantly different conclusion than you do today.

Sincerely,

David Groen

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November 3, 2014

Open Letter to Hypocrites Everywhere

By davidgroen1

hypoDear Hypocrite,

You know who you are.  You’re the person who screams and shouts against injustice when it’s fashionable.  You take a stand against those you know won’t hurt you.  You somehow manage to miss the obvious, stay quiet through the worst atrocities, and pick on the people you don’t like, not the people who actually do something wrong.

I admit I will never be completely objective.  I am a Jew and a Zionist.  I am also an American born of Dutch parents.  This means that I will always hope to find the positive when assessing the behaviors of anyone Jewish, Israeli, American and Dutch.  I also have a particular fondness for Canadians and I feel a strong connection to the British.  I actually like a lot of people.  What I don’t like are manipulators, thieves, imperialists, and most of all murderers.   I admit there are many grey areas in the first 3 categories and therefore some of it could be left open for interpretation, but a murderer is a murderer and I therefore won’t ever defend one.  What is important here is that this is the category in which you specialize.  You don’t look at the facts and determine who really is a murderer, you use your personal biases to change the terminology and manipulate the narrative.

Case in point, “the militant” or “freedom fighter”.  You somehow establish a moral equivalency between the Israeli soldier and the Palestinian terrorist. You try to make the case that the fight is equally justified on both sides, when in reality Israel’s fight is not against an established army of a credible nation, it it is a war against terror.  You may or may not work for the United Nations.  If you do, and I’ll be fair and not make any assumptions, you may be in favor of investigating Israel for war crimes or you may not.   If you are, do you realize that your hypocrisy is contributing to the destruction of the planet?  Your agenda is one that attacks the one democracy in the Middle East and ignores the wrongdoings of those committing acts of murder.  You speak of human rights yet you give a pass to those most guilty of human rights violations.  It makes no sense to the unbiased person, but makes all the sense in the world to those with a certain very dangerous and cynical agenda.

Then there’s the hypocritical Liberal.  I personally hold some viewpoints that would only be described as liberal and subsequently  am not blanketing all Liberals in this letter by any means.  The one’s I am referring to are those who claim to fight for tolerance and understanding and then turn around and attack and defend the wrong people.  Case in point, the academic that puts all their focus on boycotting Israel because they claim Israel has apartheid views and is persecuting the Palestinians, but says nothing about those nations openly and aggressively persecuting certain groups within their citizenry.

It’s always easy to distinguish between the sincere defender of the innocent and those who are tainted by personal bias.  The most objective statement a genuine person would have said about the war in Gaza if all they cared about was human life and not the political aspects and causes would have been, “I wish they would stop fighting so innocent people no longer get killed.”  I’ve never criticized one person who said they wanted peace for both Jews and Palestinians.  There truly is nothing wrong or hypocritical in wanting that. What is wrong is to claim you want this and put the blame on Israel.  You make excuses for the bad behavior of terrorists causing the conflict and concern yourself more with their rights than you do for the rights of not only the Israelis fighting it, but the Palestinian people being used as pawns by their very people.  Your behavior is not unlike the activist that focuses more on the treatment of a criminal in jail than on the rights of the victims they hurt.  You may define it as Liberal, but to me it is at best the epitome of misplaced Liberalism, and at worse devious hypocrisy.

If you are someone who claims to be a fighter for women’s issues and gay rights why are you not fighting against those governments or terrorist organizations that abuse both women and gays?  Why are you more focused on Israel building houses in areas most of you can’t even find on the map? And if you care so much about dead babies, why do I never hear your loud voice when it comes to Jewish or Christian babies?

You may also be that wealthy celebrity that speaks out against capitalism and inequality in western society while living off of the success you achieved from the very structure you so vehemently criticize.  Personally I’d rather you just shut up and give a huge donation to people who need help.  Otherwise all you’re doing is attempting to make yourself look like someone who cares.

Hypocrisy isn’t a Conservative or Liberal thing, it’s not a Republican or Liberal thing, and it certainly isn’t only an American thing.  It’s a self-serving cowards thing, and it’s becoming rampant.

I could go on and on because we live in a world overflowing with hypocrisy, but you get my point and most importantly, you know who you are.  You may pretend to care about right and wrong but in the end you just want to make an impression or push an agenda, and you are causing irreparable damage.

Sincerely,

David Groen

 

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October 22, 2014

A Shaken World needs to Wake up Fast

By davidgroen1

ap_canada_shooting_1_kb_141021_4x3_992As someone who has recently experienced his first case of writer’s block in almost 4 months, it would stand to reason that today’s tragic events would have gotten my creative juices flowing. However, maybe it is because a terrorist attack in Jerusalem killing a 3 month old baby and a shooting spree by gunmen in Ottawa is so overwhelming that I found myself unsure where I should even begin.  After all, you start to ask yourself if the people who can make a difference are even listening. Or even worse, they’re listening but don’t care.

We know that Israel and the rest of the Western World wants to stop terrorism.  There is little doubt about that.  But while the world crumbles around it, the United Nations makes settlements in the West Bank its priority.  While bombs explode in Iraq, women get raped and murdered in ISIS controlled territory, babies get run over by terrorists in Israel, and the Canadian parliament gets attacked, people make excuses for all of this bad behavior.  Secretary of State John Kerry implies that Israel’s behavior somehow fuels Islamic extremism and when a woman gets beheaded in Oklahoma by a radicalized Muslim, U.S. government officials prefer to call it workplace violence.

We are either headed towards or already in the midst of a global catastrophe. It all depends on your perspective.  But one things is certain, we are headed in the wrong direction fast.  I hesitated to write something that could be construed as negative and pessimistic, but I believe I would be doing a far bigger injustice if I ignored the reality.  That reality is that the world is in big trouble, and as long as those in power refuse to openly face the facts that Islamic extremism is destroying the planet, it will only get worse.

It’s time the world woke up before it is too late.  Keep in mind that the fact that I am willing to consider the possibility that it might not be too late already is the only optimism I am willing to provide on what has been another very tragic day in a very dangerous world.

 

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September 21, 2014

Open Letter to UNWRA Executive Director Abby Smardon

By davidgroen1

Palestine board 1 (2)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dear Ms. Smardon,

Thanks to information forwarded to me by a friend who recently attended a Confab at the United Nations on Global Anti-Semitism, I was able to once again see the disproportionate and biased focus the United Nations puts on the Palestinian people at the expense of the State of Israel. While attending this Confab my friend took notice of the UNWRA message boards displayed on the tour provided. These boards lead to me ask some very direct questions to the powers that be.  Let it be noted that when I use the word “you” in asking these questions I am referring to the organization of which you are Executive Director.

First question is, do you work directly for the Palestinians?

Second question, and certainly connected to the first one, is why in all your mentions of the wars Israel has had to fight do you subtly leave out the threats Israel was facing, particularly in being attacked almost immediately following the declaration of an independent state in 1948.

I ask these question as direct reaction to the information posted on these boards.  I will address them as they appeared.

In 1948, as a result of the war between Israel and neighbouring Arab states.

Let me make this clear since the United Nations/Palestinian propaganda machine refuses to do so, that entire sentence is an attempt at misdirection regarding what took place after Israel became an independent country.  “As a result of the war between Israel and neighbouring Arab states”, if written by an honest and objective party, would have read, “After Israel was attacked by neighbouring Arab states.”  This subtle way of diverting the attention from what started this war allows the UN to blame Israel for the fact that…

almost 750,000 Palestinians were uprooted, dispossessed and became refugees.

In reality, had the neighbouring Arab states allowed Israel to begin building its country in peace, this “question” as the United Nations likes to call it, would never have been asked.

The plight of Palestine refugees remains unresolved to the present day.

Another clever UN/Palestinian media subtlety, maybe lost on some but not on me.  There was no such thing as “Palestine” in 1948 or before 1948, so the term Palestine refugees is in itself a falsehood.  You even, most likely unwillingly, show that in the next statement.

An Arab State-Palestine-did not come into being.

The boards go on to mention the 6 Day War, and subsequently what took place by indicating how when the war was over, Israel occupied the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, East Jerusalem, Sinai and the Golan.  As a result of this “occupation”, the boards read as follows:

At least 500,000 Palestinians were displaced from their homes; about half of them for a second time since 1948.

Misleading, since most of them left on their own and were invited back in by the Israeli government about a month after the war.  And as long as language such as  “half of them for a second time since 1948″ is being used, an unbiased and balanced introduction to that statement would have been,  “After Israel was drawn into conflict for the second time  since establishing its independence”.  That’s assuming we don’t address the events surrounding the 1956 conflict and time leading up to it.  But that would not go along with the pro-Palestinian theme your organization consistently perpetuates.

And then the boards say:

Since 1967, successive Israeli governments have established settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

I believe the capital O is also no coincidence, rather another clever method of branding.  It represents the official name your organization has chosen to give the West Bank and Gaza despite Israel not occupying Gaza and successive Israeli governments showing a willingness towards a 2 State Solution consistently sabotaged by Palestinian leadership.

The posters go on to state:

An estimated 1.26 million Palestinians, about 30% of the population in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, are food-insecure

I think it is more likely that comes from the monies provided being misappropriated than mistreatment by the “occupying force.”

Now that I know that the UNWRA was established to provide emergency relief to Palestinians, I can’t help but wonder if that means allowing missile launchers to be stashed away in schools in Gaza.  You might want to look into that, if of course it’s considered important enough. I am confident if Israel was accused of doing that an investigation would be swiftly forthcoming.

I also highly suggest you retrain your tour guides, as the one present on the day of my friend’s visit made a point, after he mentioned what a wonderful organization UNWRA is and how much it does for Palestinians, of muttering under his breath something along the lines of, unfortunately they are under attack now.  He might as well have said, those damn Jews and Zionists. They’re just never happy are they?

We Jews will no longer be silenced when we witness such blatant prejudice against our people and the State of Israel.  I am sure that some reading this will accuse me of calling everything anti-Semitic, or even worse, saying my criticism of the boards indicates lack of compassion for the innocent people who are suffering.  However, I am fully aware that those arguments are just 2 more forms of intimidation being used against Jews and Zionists to allow organizations such as yours to take liberties and openly display bias against Israel.  It is so openly cynical that it makes me wonder if it is not about improper monitoring of funds but corruption on a most grand and cynical scale.  It’s very disturbing and most ironically does more to harm the Palestinians than to help them, since its focus is more on vilifying Israel than on impacting positively to the needs of the Palestinian people.

It’s not that a few message boards and an unprofessional and biased tour guide are the worst things in this world, but in this particular case they represent something that is quite heinous and damaging to truth, justice and the betterment of all mankind.

I do not expect a response since the United Nations does not generally show that kind of respect to Jews and Zionists, but that doesn’t mean there is not a growing number of people disgusted by this continuing pattern.  Maybe for once some modicum of respect will be displayed to us and your organization will respond.  Then again, I suspect the response would be far from satisfactory even if we did get one.

Sincerely,

David Groen

Global Coalition for Israel

 

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September 1, 2014

Dear Mr. Secretary General

By davidgroen1

Dear Mr. Secretary General,

United_nations_flagI’ve written a number of Open Letters since the beginning of the most recent attempt at the destruction of the State of Israel.  These letters have primarily been to entertainers who believe they serve a purpose beyond their God-given talents, be it their musical gifts or partial and fleeting good looks and charisma.  You on the other hand hold a position where your very job is to discuss and make some sort of policy declaration regarding events taking place in the international community.  So neither myself nor anyone else should ever state that you are dealing with issues that are none of your concern.  Therefore the tone of this letter will be somewhat different.  Also, since I am sure that there is little to nothing I can actually educate you on regarding the situation in Israel and the Middle East, if anything it may be the other way around, this letter will be far shorter than the others.  Especially since it will focus primarily on one major point. The problem isn’t that you are dealing with issues out of your realm, the problem is that you repeatedly appear to be blind to the truth.

The truth I speak of was made apparent these past few days.  When I sat down to write this I was originally intending to write an editorial rather than a letter.  The original title of the editorial, longer than most titles and I admit somewhat whimsical in nature, makes the point I am hoping you have the fairness and clarity of thought to not only admit to yourself, but to proclaim to the world. The title was going to be, “Protecting the People Accusing them of Crimes against Humanity from the People committing Crimes against Humanity”.  As ISIS or ISIL continue their vicious efforts in the region, and UN peacekeeping troops became threatened, where was it they went to for safety?  The very country your organization spends so much time vilifying.  It has become abundantly clear to anyone who wants to see the truth that ISIS and Hamas are 2 peas in a pod.  Their tactics and intentions are almost identical in nature.  So please explain to me and all those other peace-loving people of the world how you continue to pursue Israel on what you call “crimes against humanity” when they were merely defending themselves against those truly committing “crimes against humanity.  And then ask yourself this one very important and more self-serving question.  If you and your kangaroo court would actually be successful at bringing Israel to its knees, where would your people go then?  I dare say they would either be dead or in captivity by now.

So I propose the following.  Rather than continuing this so-called pursuit of justice against the one true democracy and free society in the region, why don’t you just say thank you and leave Israel alone, regardless of whether or not rich nations like Qatar like it or not.

Sincerely,

David Groen

 

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August 29, 2014

For the Ignorant and Complicit history only Started on July 8, 2014

By davidgroen1

Operation-Protective-Edge-square-564x400July 8, 2014 was the day Israel began Operation Protective Edge.  After countless missile attacks with no end in sight and the kidnapping and murder of 3 Yeshiva students by Hamas, Israel finally had enough.  It began with airstrikes and turned into a ground operation.  Once Israel discovered the terror tunnels, they were committed to staying in Gaza till each and every one was destroyed.  Over 2,000 people died during the operation, a large percentage of which were Palestinian civilians.  Awful.  Just awful.  Especially if the first day of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was July 8, 2014.

However, despite what Palestinian leadership, the Turkish President, Russell Brand, Bryan Adams and millions of Muslims everywhere want you to believe, this conflict did not begin this past July 8th.  If you are  to look at the events that took place from July 8, 2014 without going back further, you may see Israel as being a lopsided aggressor.  Even then you need to choose to ignore how Hamas uses its people as human shields.  If however you look at the months, years and decades leading up to this operation you see a completely different story.  The true story.

I could go back to 1929 and speak of the Hebron massacre when Jews were slaughtered by Muslims prior to any establishment of a Jewish state.  We could talk about how after the United Nations in 1948 partitioned land for the new Jewish State of Israel, of which the West Bank and Gaza was not included, and how all the surrounding Arab nations attacked it in am attempt to wipe out the Jews and finish Hitler’s work.  We could talk about how the West Bank belonged to Jordan but Jordan didn’t want it back because they didn’t want to deal with the residents.  We could also talk about how Egypt controlled Gaza and never wanted it back for the same reason or how Israel withdrew from Gaza and gave it every opportunity to develop into something special, but instead allowed Hamas to take over and drive it into the ground.

We could  talk about the civilians Israel killed while aiming at missile launchers or we could talk about the thousands of Israelis killed in terrorist attacks.  We could talk about a blockade or bombing of a hospital shielding Hamas missiles, or we could talk about how entire families were blown up in Pizza places and malls by people who were proud to kill as many Jews as possible.  I could go back to Yasser Arafat, the Godfather of terrorism and hijacked planes, murdered passengers and the murder of Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics.  I could go back to 3 murdered Yeshiva boys.

But none of the matters if you want Israel to look like the aggressor, because when you do you only go back as far as July 8, 2014.  If you go back any further you might have to admit that Israel has every right to defend itself. Something it has always been forced to do and has become so good at doing it now gets criticized for it.  It’s the greatest lie of omission you will ever see.  It pretends nothing ever happened before July 8, 2014.  And too many people are believing it.

 

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August 26, 2014

My Summer of Gaza

By davidgroen1

img65649The summer of 2014 was set to be a great one.  I had slimmed down from the year before, had recently moved into a better home closer to the beach, the World Cup had started and I was all set to enjoy the next few months. Although life always presents its challenges, nothing had come up that was so important that it would change my priorities significantly.  Then something happened that changed everything.  3 Yeshiva boys were kidnapped.

I still remember that ray of hope we had that Naftali, Gilad, and Eyal would somehow make it back safely.  The motto “Bring Back our Boys” was everywhere as we all prayed that somehow God would see them back to their homes unharmed.  I have seen many bad actions taken against Jews and decent people everywhere, but somehow I found myself more involved now than I had been for at least 13 years since 9/11.  I related to these boys.  I remember being a Yeshiva student myself in my late teens, in Israel, and knew that even if I wasn’t like these boys, I knew guys who were.  So it hit home and I found myself caring more than usual.  It wasn’t till they were found dead, murdered brutally at what we all knew immediately was the hands of Hamas terrorists, that something truly snapped in me.  That was when I, David, had finally had enough.

When tragedy strikes one never knows exactly how they will react.  Although I related so significantly to these three boys, I did not know them personally. Had I known them personally, maybe I would have been so distraught that I would have had trouble functioning.  So when I say I had finally had enough and I snapped, I felt an anger I had rarely felt in my life and I turned to my weapon of choice, the written word.  And my position as a moderate was now a thing of the past as well, as I realized that moderation is something that needs to be saved for the reasonable and fair, not the racially bigoted and brutally violent.

When the Israeli cabinet met on how to react to the boys’ deaths, I knew one thing.  As a Jew and a Zionist living in New York, unless they did nothing, I would support the Israeli government.  I committed myself to not only stating my feelings, but in rallying as many people as possible to the cause.  Not my cause, not merely the Jewish people’s cause, but in truth what should be seen as the entire world’s cause.   Before this would happen I would call someone a piece of garbage for being anti-Semitic, and occasionally even write something about it, but now it felt more personal than before.  It became so clear to me as it is to almost anyone with an unbiased desire for a peaceful world.  So now I decided to go further than I had ever gone before.  As I state on my Twitter profile, “no longer am I happy not being part of the problem. Now I want to be part of the solution.”

When Israel first went after Hamas with airstrikes in Gaza, no one really knew how serious the situation would turn out to be.  The terror tunnels they discovered were designed to carry out mass murders of Jews, and the intelligence they gathered indicated that it was going to be as soon as this Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year which falls towards the end of September. Israel’s incursion by ground troops into Gaza was used to uncover and destroy these tunnels.  However, while this was happening the situation took an ominous term.

I almost typed unexpected as well, but as a Jew paying attention, anti-Semitism is never completely unexpected.  I’ve been accused of being slightly over-sensitive to comments, but no one has ever accused me of having a persecution complex.  At least not to my face.  So when I say I was not totally shocked by the global spike in anti-Jewish words and behavior, this is not coming from someone who makes declarations that “everyone hates the Jews”.  I know better.  What we’ve seen this summer however has been epic.  Even by the usual standards of hatred.  Gone is the requirement of logic and fact.  Merely wanting to hate the Jews became enough.  Telling half of the story so that the part that exonerated Israel was conveniently missing became the strategy of the vocal and clever anti-Zionist/anti-Semite.  And gone forever is the notion that anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism are not two in the same.  When  you have two signs at a protest that say “Free Gaza” and ” Hitler was right”, you have lost the argument that they are different.  When pogrom style attacks took place on French synagogues by people claiming to do things in support of Palestinians it was made abundantly clear that this was about hating the Jew at least as much as it was about opposing Israel.

The more Jews were attacked, whether in Israel or outside of Israel, the more committed I became, expressing my commitment through articles and letters to those expressing damaging sentiments towards the Jewish people, while also writing articles acknowledging our supporters.  Every time I heard “Free Gaza” I felt more and more compelled to shout to the world that the people of Gaza needed to be freed from Hamas not from Israel.  Every time the United Nations revealed its bizarrely obvious bias against Israel I wanted to write something to expose it.  Why?  Partially because it was cathartic, but even more because I wanted to make sure everyone I could reach would know the truth, and once I began to do that, there was no turning back.  With every missile fired at Israel, with every fatality including the 64 members of the IDF fighting to preserve Israel’s survivor, my commitment grew stronger.

Recognizing the need for unity with more than just the Jewish community, I created the Global Coalition for Israel on Facebook as a means of showing a cohesive support for the State of Israel. One month later the group is at 1300 and growing daily.  When the summer began I was worried about when I was going to get to the beach, lay in the sun and get to barbecues.  I’m not saying that I didn’t do those things to some extent during the summer of 2014, but they all took a back seat to something more important.  My new activism.  Watching CNN and FOX on a daily basis to get the news coming from the region, researching websites and news sources online, and meeting people with stories to tell from Israel and Europe, the summer of 2014 became something I never expected it would become, it became my Summer of Gaza.

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August 11, 2014

UNacceptable as usual

By davidgroen1

UNHRC OHCHR_CIWhile people are literally getting beheaded and buried alive in Iraq, and a terrorist organization makes no attempt to hide its intentions, the United Nations Human Rights Council has decided to spend its time, and I am guessing Qatari money, on establishing a totally biased committee to investigate what they so happily refer to as Israeli War Crimes.  The United Nations is, for lack of a better term, hiding in plain sight.  They have been given so much free rein to act with impunity that it is a disgrace to modern-day civilization.  Their concern is not with right and wrong, it is with pushing an agenda, one that is clearly anti-Israel.  When will the world take measures to stop this corrupt group of people using funds  on biased witch hunts instead of on helping nations and people truly in need?  As of now there is no sign it will be any time soon.

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August 6, 2014

Investigate the U.N. for Crimes Against Humanity

By davidgroen1

United_nations_flagFor consistently supporting terrorist organizations and for colluding with fascist regimes I propose that the International Criminal Court in the Hague open up an investigation of the United Nations.  The United Nations has put its support behind terrorist groups such as the Palestinian Liberation Organization and Hamas for decades.  It has worked closely with dictatorial regimes in Syria and Libya, to name only a few.  It has provided funding to areas knowingly using those funds in corrupt manners.  It has to this day not been held accountable.

I urge everyone to share this.  It may seem as some to be futile, but we must no longer remain silent as one the most corrupt organizations in world history continues its criminal activities.

Investigate the United Nations!

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August 3, 2014

Open Letter to Ban Ki-moon:Regarding the term “moral outrage”

By davidgroen1

UN-Secretary-General-Ban-Ki-moonDear Mr. Secretary-General,

I write to you today out of concern for your reaction to a recent attack in Gaza you referred to as a “moral outrage and criminal act.” I will not address your outrage since that is a feeling one has and it is pointless to debate one’s feelings, but what can be, and in this case needs to be clarified is your definition of morality.

The outrage you speak of is caused by Israel’s attack on a United Nations school in which 10 people were killed.  It is without question another tragedy in a very tragic war.  However, if you are to use the term moral outrage now, I believe it prudent to ask you what exactly you deem moral and immoral.

Is it moral for “militants”, as your organization now refers to the terrorists of Hamas, to hide in hospitals and schools?  Is it moral to consistently fire missiles at Israeli population centers with one intent, to kill civilians?  You have moral outrage for Israel’s attack, an attack whose purpose was to target terrorists and sadly killed civilians, but you do not express similar outrage when Hamas targets Tel-Aviv with the sole intent of murdering civilians.  I understand Israel is a stronger force and that it’s ability to defend itself has prevented the amount of casualties Hamas has hoped for, but is the action itself not one deserving of your outrage?

Is it moral to agree to a cease-fire and shortly after ambush the opposing force’s soldiers killing three of them?  Hamas has had numerous opportunities to stop the fighting but has rejected each cease-fire.  If you truly feel so strongly about human life where is your moral outrage for the fact that Hamas insists on continuing the fighting?  Where is the moral outrage with an organization using billions of dollars in financial aid on weapons and terror tunnels while the people it pretends to care for live in squalor?  Is it moral that the leaders of Hamas travel in private jets and hide in luxury hotels in Qatar while it uses its citizens as pawns in its effort to wipe Israel off the face of the earth?  If your outrage was truly sincere you would hear that while one side calls for the other’s destruction, the one you and your organization consistently oppose calls for peace.

Myself, and many like me might listen to your organization more if it were not for the one-sided approach consistently exhibited when it comes to matters regarding Israel.  I took some time to look up some of the resolutions and condemnations over the years and one in particular made me feel moral outrage.  Just before Israel destroyed Iraq’s nuclear capabilities the United Nations passed a resolution calling for a nuclear-free Middle East, and soon after the attack passed a resolution condemning the attack despite the fact that Israel’s actions kept nuclear weapons out of the hands of a crazy and dangerous dictator.  I also look back at the warm welcome received by PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat and to this day question the credibility your organization gave to someone who waged his war by murdering innocent civilians.  There was no moral outrage then.  The UN then proceeded to provide the PLO support laying the groundwork for future terrorist organizations to gain acceptance on the world stage.  That fact alone puts a lot of blood on the collective hands of the United Nations even though it is something it will never openly accept accountability for.  It did however very efficiently proceed to pass the resolution equating Zionism with racism.  This treatment towards Israel has gone on for quite some time and is no surprise to anyone, but with all the facts so readily available today, your comments and the reaction of the United Nations as an institution are even more absurd than they were in the past.

I could speak of other atrocities such as having Syria, Libya and China on Human Rights councils over the years and the lack of action against Syria and ISIS today, but that would take too long.  The amount of criticism given to Israel while so many people are being murdered by brutal regimes and organizations all over the world, mostly Muslims I might add, is, and I use the phrase many like to use when criticizing Israel’s actions, a disproportionate response.

Quite frankly, and I say this without apology, the organization you lead has shown itself to be anti-Semitic beyond compare, and has functioned as though it is clearly in the pocket of the corrupt and the criminal.  While you call for investigations of Israel’s actions I call for an investigation of your actions and the actions of the organization you are running.  However, no one, myself included, is naive enough to believe there will ever be full disclosure of what takes place behind the scenes.  At the end of the day it is not about right and wrong, it is about money and power, something the United Nations has a lot of and therefore is bulletproof and untouchable.  When you have the degree of responsibility for funding and influence that you possess, to abuse it as you are doing Mr. Secretary General is a true moral outrage and criminal act of enormous proportions.

Sincerely,

David Groen

 

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