Even the most blatant liar portraying Israel as the brutal aggressor is aware that Israel is showing tremendous amounts of restraint. They just won’t say that publicly. It doesn’t fit with the Public Relations smear campaign so central in their war strategy. But let’s face it. They know that if Israel really was targeting civilians and committing Genocide as they’re accused of doing, tens of thousands, maybe even hundreds of thousands of Palestinians would be dead by now. So why does Israel show the restraint that it does?
Let’s examine what might happen if Israel took off the gloves and waged this current war without concern for civilian casualties. World opinion would be overwhelmingly against it, the United Nations would condemn it, enemies like Iran and Turkey would try to rally nations to destroy it, the United States administration would be shaky in its support, Israeli Soldiers would die, missiles would be fired at cities, anti-Semitic crimes and demonstrations would increase worldwide , and violent protests would increase in the West Bank. That’s what would happen if Israel took the gloves off, right?. But wait just one second. That is what is happening now. So realistically we can conclude that the situation wouldn’t be much worse for Israel if it used the full extent of its force and wiped out significant portions of Gaza to achieve its objectives quicker and with a greater degree of success. So why don’t they? The answer lies in one word, morality.
It is the most infuriating irony of the past month that terms like “War Crimes” and titles like “Nazis” are being thrown around to describe Israel when the very facts being used to justify those terms are the very facts that destroy that argument. Israel isn’t holding back for fear of consequences or for concern of world opinion. What you would think Israel would endure if they weren’t showing restraint, is indeed what it is enduring while showing restraint. That means that if put in a position where it has no choice but to take off the gloves, the blood of the civilians in Gaza won’t be on Israel’s hands, but on a world ignoring the truth that exists today. Instead of lauding and supporting Israel for showing respect for human life, too many people with power are attacking it and obstructing it, behaviors that may at one point force Israel to intensify the operation to a point where tens of thousands do get killed. If that happens, the hypocrites and the corrupt of today will be able to look back and see that they were the cause of the increasingly higher death toll, not Israel. But that’s not what will happen. Instead they will say what they are saying now, just with more passion and conviction. Even if it isn’t genuine and honest.
The United Nations Human Rights Council(UNHRC) is preparing an investigation as to whether or not Israel has committed war crimes during the recent operation in Gaza, questioning whether or not enough has been done to protect civilians. Once again corruption stands in the way of what could otherwise be a righteous mission. They do not destroy their credibility by investigating Israel, they destroy it by only investigating Israel. By conveniently leaving Hamas out of the investigation, the UNHRC is transparent in its anti-Israel stance. An investigation that would be acceptable if it was in conjunction with an investigation of whether or not Hamas is doing enough to protect Israeli civilians, has now become another example of the UN’s hypocrisy. The inconsistency is so glaring it is bizarre that it is not ridiculed and attacked outside the Jewish world. Israel targets Hamas military locations, Hamas targets Israel’s population centers, yet only one side gets investigated. And it’s not the side you would expect if you would read the previous sentence without bias. The hypocrisy is glaring and disgusting.
Any human rights organization has the responsibility of being objective and thorough. If 2 acts of violence occur on a local level, the police are required, and justifiably so, to investigate both actions, even if one was clearly a crime and the other an act of self-defense. A conclusion must be drawn that if you have done the right thing, an investigation will identify that. If you were in the wrong, an investigation will show that as well.
In only investigating Israel the United Nations is once again showing why it is the most corrupt organization in world history. If the goal was for justice and world peace, they would search for the truth rather than for a way to justify their bias. It is not the first time Israel has been targeted by the UN and it most certainly won’t be the last. It is time that people woke up to the hypocrisy of an organization that is taking civilization down a tragic path. Unfortunately there is no sign that people will want to wake up to that reality that any time soon.
In comparison to previous crises involving Israel, the United Nations has behaved in a somewhat less one-sided way over the past few weeks. The same can be said for the American President Barack Obama. The support of the administration has been there as has the support of Congress and the American people. However, at the end of the day the government of the State of Israel is committed to a specific result. That result is the establishment of a peaceful life for all residents of Israel free of Hamas missiles and terror attacks. Heroic soldiers of the Israeli Defense Forces have made the ultimate sacrifice in the early stages of Operation Protective Edge and I am certain that the leaders of Israel’s government have no intention of allowing their lives to be lost for nothing. In making demands that the fighting stops, the United Nations and President Obama are making demands that have no substance. If we were to assume that the motivation was purely to put a stop to the deaths of innocent people, the demands contradict the motive. The only way innocent people in Gaza and Israel will live in peace is by destroying, or at the very least incapacitating Hamas.
Furthermore, by what authority does anyone makes demands from Israel when it comes to protecting their people? If your best friend demanded you not protect your family so as to not harm others, would you listen? No. You would protect your family. You would also realize that any true friend, or at least a friend with good judgment would never ask that of you in the first place. The reaction you must have in such an instance is a simple one. You continue to do what is best for your family.
This for all intents and purposes is what I suspect will be Israel’s response to what I see as nothing more than hollow demands.
The publishing of Ulysses by James Joyce; The first swimmer crossed the English Channel; Calvin Coolidge became president; the first Winter Olympics took place; Charles Lindbergh crossed the Atlantic Ocean; Walt Disney created Mickey Mouse; Herbert Hoover became president; the Stock Market crashed;Penicillin was discovered; the planet Pluto was discovered; Empire State Building was completed; Amelia Earhart crossed the Atlantic; Adolph Hitler’s Nazi Party became ruling party in Germany; Social security was established; Golden Gate Bridge was opened; Japan invaded China; Germany annexed Austria; World War II; Japan attacked Pearl Harbor; Atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki; 60 million people killed in World War II; 6 million Jews were killed by the Nazis in the Holocaust; Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier; the State of Israel was founded; United Nations was formed; NATO was formed; Korean War; Elvis Presley; Polio vaccine created; Disneyland Opened; JFK became President; I was born; Cuban Missile Crisis; JFK assassinated; The Beatles; Vietnam War; Star Trek series; first Super Bowl; Apollo 11 landed on the moon; Terrorists Killed Israeli Athletes at Munich Olympics; Watergate scandal forced President Richard Nixon’s resignation; the movie Star Wars; John Paul II became Pope; Iranian Muslim revolution; CNN was formed; AIDS discovered; Personal Computers were invented; Soviet Union collapsed; Apartheid ended; Nelson Mandela became president of South Africa; 2 different Bush’s became Presidents; Bill Clinton became president; the Euro currency was formed; 3,000 killed in 9/11 attack in New York; Iraq War; the Internet was created; Holland lost 3 World cup finals; Justin and Kim got married.
These things happened, in the 92 years between the birth of these 2 people, my mother Sipora Groen and my youngest family member and great-niece Jara.
On occasion as I sit in front of a computer opining, I stop and consider the fact that there are friends and even family members who ask themselves, what is David doing? Shouldn’t he be spending more time working? Is he just looking for attention? Does he really believe he is making a difference?
I have answers to all those questions, and I am comfortable with my choices, but I am more than aware that those questions are in the minds of some and need to addressed. I do so however not so much for my personal satisfaction but to make the point of how getting involved is something we all need to do.
A few days ago I sent an email to the Secretary General of the United Nations concerning the United Nations traditional and existing anti-Israel stance and lack of concern for the well-being of the Jewish people worldwide. That very sentence could be misinterpreted as delusional self-importance. However, I did not write the letter with some any degree of expectation. I would not be surprised if no one reads it, let alone the Secretary General, and if by some miracle someone does, I doubt they will care. So why did I bother?
I will share with you some comments I received when I posted the letter on Facebook. The comments will remain anonymous in this post, but will of course be recognizable to anyone who is in that particular group.
“Good you take what action you can! I hope we all follow your lead and write, email, call, express, encourage, confront, support ourselves and the nation of Israel. Silence is inappropriate our people need us.”
“Bravo David Groen! We Need More People like you, that speak up!”
“Thank you for sharing. Heartfelt and really an important thing we can all do and should.”
People generally like compliments and accolades, and although I am no exception, my motivation is less personally motivated than probably anything I have ever done in my lifetime. I do what I do for me, but the fact is, and this is what makes this so important, I do not do it only for me. I do it for the Jewish people. I am aware that I am merely one drop of water in a huge ocean, but resistance to evil needs to be fought on many fronts and with a cohesive understanding of the ultimate goal. I am just one small person fighting on one of the fronts.
So what is it that I am doing? Nothing compared to what others did before me. Giving up time from work? Hardly the ultimate sacrifice. If I am making less money so that I can somehow give some extra encouragement and strength to others than what sacrifice am I making? If my work motivates others to speak up and build a resistance against evil then what I do does matter.
The ripple effect matters more than we may realize because in many ways it is what we are actually up against. The evil forces within Islam, and I said within Islam not of Islam, that want to take over the world and will kill anyone in their way, are attempting a worldwide revolution. Part of this revolution is through ripple effect. I support Israel 100% in doing anything that needs to be done to protect the Jewish people, but I also know that the ultimate battle extends far beyond its borders.
As a student of the Holocaust I have come to a very sobering conclusion. The lessons I have learned from my parents and from others regarding that devastating time not only in Jewish but in World history are lessons that need to be given practical application today. We are no longer dealing with theory of what if a group once again wants to see our destruction? We are once again up against an enemy that wants us wiped off the face of the planet. If any of us who know the history turn a blind eye to what is happening or try to wait it out patiently, we will be making a tragic mistake. I respect those who hold out hope that the world can be a peaceful utopia. I too hope that it can be. But we are not living in a world leaning in that direction and to allow our hope to overshadow our realism will only hasten our demise.
There is a time to hope and there is a time to fight. Right now is the time to fight, any way we know how.
Despite my understanding that it is not only a one in a million shot that you will ever read this, but equally unlikely that you will care what I have to say, as a Jewish man, an American citizen, and as a supporter of true human rights all over the planet, I feel compelled to write to you.
I am increasingly perplexed by the approach taken by the organization you lead. It may be that since the organization is called the United Nations, and not the ‘United Nations of Morality and Fairness’, that all that truly matters is that there is an understanding and agreement among the representatives. Therefore it would not matter if the statements and inquiries made would be fair and equitable, merely that they would be convenient to those encouraging or enforcing them. My point being that fair treatment of Jews all over the world is not something many of your member nations concern themselves with as evident in continuing UN policies.
I try to be objective and see it differently but then I hear about another brutal attack in France and the world is silent. I hear about a Swedish man become the latest supporter of Israel to be attacked in Malmo, Sweden, merely for putting out an Israeli flag and once again the world remains silent. You are unquestionably intellectually superior to me, so I am sure you know this, but the number of Jews in Malmo is less than 1,000, probably closer to 500, while the number of Muslims in Malmo is about one-third of its population which would put it in the 100,000 range. And yet I never hear a statement of how there is a disproportionate act of aggression being committed against the Jewish people in European cities like Malmo and Paris.
What I do hear from you is a comparison of the kidnapping of 3 Jewish teenage students, far away from any frontline, kidnappings we later learned were almost immediate murders, to targeted attacks by Israel on Hamas locations in the Gaza Strip. With all your intellect and understanding Mr. Secretary General, how do you justify comparing the attack on terrorists to the kidnapping and murder of 3 innocent children? As I indicated in the beginning of this letter, I realize the unlikelihood of you even seeing this question, let alone caring, but despite that I feel it to be an important question and one that really does need to be asked.
I also need to address the bizarre inconsistency in an organization such as yours, taking votes, many that result in condemnation of Israel, a democratic country, by representatives of countries that are actually non-democratic, totalitarian dictatorships. It is the most cynical twist on the democratic process I’ve ever encountered, yet somehow it seems to work if it means the demonization of Israel.
In conclusion I would like to say that I am an open-minded man who understands that the government of Israel does not do everything correctly when it comes to the Palestinian issue. However, on what basis does the United Nations demand fairness from Israel when they insist on not giving Israel any unbiased fairness in return? Or is it just that the member nations are indeed “United”, united against Israel.
This is what we are dealing with. This is why we can not apply normal standards of thinking to this growing problem. A true United Nations, one that truly care about Human Rights would be all over this. But it won’t be.
The number of Jews in Malmo, Sweden is probably at around 500-800. The Muslim population in Malmo is around 100,000. Earlier today a 38 year old Jewish man was beaten for hanging an Israeli flag outside his home. The man was rushed to the hospital with serious injuries.
This is our world. A world where this type of behavior acceptable. To those dumb enough to think Jews are the only targets or just too scared to say or do something, I urge you to read up about what happens to Christians in Nigeria. You might see it differently. You might even see this as the earlier stages of World War III. Terrifying thought, but one I would love to be convinced is not the case.
In the meantime I ask those who are quick to judging and attacking the behavior of the Jewish people in Israel and throughout the world to pretend this was happening in the reverse and say what you would say then. Come on Roger Waters, you hypocritical anti-Semitic pond scum, where is your outrage now? Where are the United Nations voices now? Or is human rights a pick and choose issue.
I’ll say something I do not say often. I am sure Israel is guilty of doing some things wrong when it comes to the handling of the Palestinians. However, as long as this ridiculously lopsided double standard exists it holds significantly less importance, because to demand fairness from one group while denying fairness to the ones you are demanding it from, destroys the credibility of the cause.
Welcome to the world of the cliché. For starters, let me admit that I am on occasion as guilty as anyone else of using clichés, but when serious events take place such as has been the case recently in Israel, social media goes crazy recycling the same sentiments over and over again. To be fair, some of these sentiments are obvious ones that any normal human being would have. Case in point, the devastation everyone felt over the murder of Naftali Frenkel, Gilad Shaar, and Eyal Yifrach, and the subsequent comments that followed based in sadness and mourning. Those commonly felt sentiments are not the ones I speak of. The ones I am addressing are the different statements regarding the world’s reaction and what is oft referred to as “the way Jews act”.
I am in no position to criticize anyone, especially those who care enough to give their opinion in this difficult time. I realize that whether you make the statement that you do not care about the murder of Mohammed Abu Khdeir or you are as outraged by it as you are about the murder of the 3 Israeli teens, your heart is still probably in the right place. Your against murder, which makes you at least in basic terms, a good person. Here’s where I personally run into a problem. In attacking a Jew who is rightfully fed up with the treatment of our people for thousands of years, you may become part of the problem. Yes, you are entitled to an opinion, but those who have come to their own unbiased and logical conclusion, are pretty much clear on the double standard that exists when judging Jewish behavior and reaction.
“Jews don’t do that”. Don’t do what? Get angry, fight for survival, strike back? I sit here writing this today because before the Nazis ever entered Holland, my father Rabbi Nardus Groen of Blessed Memory did something Jews “didn’t do” in 1930’s Holland. He joined what was then the equivalent of the National Guard and learned how to use a gun. I go back to the phrase “Never Again” often because it is not so much a cliché as it is an approach the Jewish people need to have if they are to survive. Do we feel that mass murder of Jews can never happen again? I would like nothing more than to say there are no indications of that, but sadly we live in a world where genocidal maniacs still live and even gain popularity, putting not only Jews but other people in similar danger.
I agree that murder for the sake of murder is not the Jewish way, but I also feel passionately that is not what has taken place in Israel. Assuming the culprits of Khdeir’s murder were Jews, they are a group of people who were brought down to a tragic and horrible level by the enemies who have done everything in their power till now to get them there. Do those of you speaking of how Jews act really think that any clearheaded citizen of Israel or any Jew in the world for that matter wants to spend their time hunting down and murdering Palestinians? They do not. Unlike the enemy, we are not taught that murder is an act of holiness and honor. But these same Jewish people we speak of do have feelings and fears. Jews don’t do what? Act human? Seek justice, even if through the wrong avenues? Working on the assumption of their guilt, the behavior of some, albeit wrong and even deplorable, and of course requiring punishment, is still based in an understandably sad but human reaction. This is not an attempt to justify it, merely to address the most popular cliché of the day, “Jews don’t do that.”
The other issue has to do with how the world feels and how the world reacts. Let’s drop all the clichés and just tell it like it is. As a unit, the world does not stand behind Israel and the Jewish people. Please harbor no illusions. Yes there are many good and some great people who put themselves out there and defend us, but they are individuals who ultimately may be at risk just as we are. And when looking at how the world body really see the situation let’s just take a look at the United Nations reaction over the past few weeks. When 3 Jewish boys get kidnapped and murdered the United Nations makes a statement declaring there is no evidence it was done by Hamas. When 1 Palestinian boy gets murdered, allegedly by Jewish settlers, there is talk of a special investigation of the behavior of the settlers. And we are back to where we started. How Jews act. The world has never shown signs of favoring the Jewish position so I can’t say I am surprised by the overall reaction. But if you are Jewish, and one who supports the State of Israel and its inhabitants, I urge you to try a different cliché, like “Never Again”. It might just end of saving your life one day.
The reality is that Israel needs to do what is right for Israel and the Jewish people without concerning itself with what the world thinks. It’s hardly ever good anyway.
In light of recent events, I went back to my personal archives to find something I once put together regarding what I believe is the most corrupt organization in world history, the United Nations. This is the original UN Charter with my personal additions in bold and in parentheses. I wrote this in 2006 making it even more remarkable and sad that it still applies today.
The True UN Charter
We the Peoples of the United Nations Determined to save succeeding generations(if we like them) from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind(and Jews), and to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights(if it’s big enough news), in the dignity and worth of the human person(if someone is watching), in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small(particularly wealthy influential rogue states), and to establish conditions under which justice and respect for the obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international law can be maintained(even if these treaties are illogical and hypocritical), and to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom(at least for a month or two, as long as it takes for people to stop caring),
And for these Ends to practice tolerance(except towards Israel) and live together in peace with one another as good neighbors(especially nasty ones), and to unite our strength to maintain international peace and security(and New York City penthouse apartments), and
to ensure by the acceptance of principles and the institution of methods, that armed force shall not be used, save in the common interest, and to employ international machinery(Katyusha rockets) for the promotion of the economic and social advancement of all (Palestinian)peoples,
Have Resolved to Combine our Efforts to Accomplish these Aims.
Accordingly, our respective Governments(the ones willing to suck up to us), through representatives assembled in the city of San Francisco, who have exhibited their full powers found to be in good and due form, have agreed to the present Charter of the United Nations and do hereby establish an international organization to be known as the United Nations(ultimately to have the same fate as the League of Nations).
Even the most blatant liar portraying Israel as the brutal aggressor is aware that Israel is showing tremendous amounts of restraint. They just won’t say that publicly. It doesn’t fit with the Public Relations smear campaign so central in their war strategy. But let’s face it. They know that if Israel really was targeting civilians and committing Genocide as they’re accused of doing, tens of thousands, maybe even hundreds of thousands of Palestinians would be dead by now. So why does Israel show the restraint that it does?
Holland's Heroes 