Year End Reflections, Part VIII (Happy New Year?)

Erin Aubry Kaplan is a regular Op-Ed contributor to the Los Angeles Times.  Her 12/29/23 year-end column is titled "Why I'm not wishing you happy holidays."  She explains:  "We need every bit of our attention focused on what's going on - Israel's merciless war on Gaza, the dangerously stagnated international effort to combat climate change, our frighteningly partisan judicial system...and we cannot avoid what's shaping up to be a terrifying 2024..."  

So, basically, many of the leftwing talking points.  Nothing about the millions entering illegally.  Nothing about crime.  Nothing about people's concerns over "Bidenomics."  Nothing about trying to eliminate fossil fuels, with apparently no understanding of the thousands of products made with petroleum.  And nothing about the Biden family corruption, or the very anti-democratic efforts to keep Trump off the ballot.

No, after telling us the leftwing talking points, she, of course, turns to Trump, and "the realization that Donald Trump could win a second presidency."  She then suggests that evangelical Christians push racism and xenophobia and a belief in racial superiority.  We can thank Biden for being the most divisive President in history for pushing this racial division and DEI nonsense.  

Kaplan:  "...this is troubling.  That 30% to 40% of my fellow Americans actively support or are willing to accept such a dark vision of this country - our country - is colossally depressing."  I agree.  How can so many people still support the Democrats, who are doing everything possible to undermine our democracy and eliminate the idea of national sovereignty for the USA.  Imagine the Secretary of State of Maine, leftwing Democrat Biden supporter that she is, thinks it is somehow supporting democracy, by taking Trump off the ballot.  I guess the Left is proving to us "if you can't beat 'em, cheat."

After acknowledging that she will be criticized for not realizing the greeting is about family and love and affirmation and "nothing to do with Trump," she still can't bring herself to extend New Year's greetings.  Here's why:  "The long campaign to dismantle pluralistic America isn't taking a holiday and I can't either."   

I don't know how much longer our country can exist if it continues to be governed by the progressive/Marxist people running the Democrat party.  Nevertheless, I have happily wished many a "Happy and Healthy New Year."  Even in the darkest times, we need to be beacons of light.

So a Happy and Healthy New Year to all my friends and readers of the blog!

Year End Reflections, Part VII (What a Surprise)

Just as I was already preparing a post in my head about how the D-MSMC is so focused non-stop on Gaza, with far less concern about Israel and the hostages, I picked up today's New York Times.  On the front page, the lead article was "'Screams Without Words':  Sexual Violence on Oct. 7."  I'll let the article speak for itself, other than a few sentences by me at the end.  The Times says they conducted a two-month investigation "relying on video footage, photographs, GPS data from mobile phones and interviews with more than 150 people, including witnesses, medical personnel, soldiers and rape counselors."

One witness saw a woman forcibly bent over while she raped from behind.  "Every time she flinched, he (a Hamas terrorist) plunged a knife into her back."  

The witness saw another woman "shredded into pieces."  As the Times recounts it:  "While one terrorist raped her...another pulled out a box cutter and sliced off her breast."  "One continues to rape her, and the other throws her breast to someone else, and they play with it, throw it, and it falls on the road."  Then they sliced her face.  

Another witness tells of seeing a group of five terrorists raping a woman, and she screams.  "I still remember her voice, screams without words."  "Then one of them raises a knife and they just slaughtered her."  

Others tell of terrorists "talking, giggling and shouting" while taking a knife and "literally butchering her."  Others tell of a woman's vagina sliced open.

Still other described women and girls found "naked or half naked, some mutilated..."  

Another described having "seen several bodies with cuts in their vaginas and underwear soaked in blood, and one whose fingernails had been pulled out."

These atrocities were committed by Hamas, a terrorist group that not only finds support around the world: but also, incredibly, finds support for their involvement in a future Palestinian state in Gaza.  It should be mandatory for every protester in this country to be arrested when violating the law (such as blocking traffic), and the sentence should be a requirement that they view all the photos and the videos documenting these unspeakable, abominable and atrocious acts.  And preferably with their hands bound behind their backs, like many of the victims were found.  And, sorry to say, but let the protesters have some sense of what these victims experienced, by having to also watch while naked.  

Year End Reflections, Part VI (My Beef With Tucker Carlson)

I've known for sometime that Tucker Carlson is an isolationist.  I happen to disagree with that philosophy, because I think it is dangerously naive.  Still, he is not alone in holding that viewpoint, as is his right.  But recently, it appears that he crossed over into antisemitism - and that is not acceptable.  In speaking with Saagar Enjeti on "Breaking Points," Carlson attacked fellow conservative Ben Shapiro and others on the right for something he either does not understand (which I doubt, because Carlson is not stupid) or willfully ignores.

Carlson:  "...there are people on the 'right' who have spent the last two months every single day focused on a conflict in a foreign country as our own country becomes dangerously unstable, on the brink of financial collapse, with tens of millions of people who shouldn't be here in the country, we don't know the identities or the purpose of their being here."  He then expresses his concern for those things making it impossible "for my kids to live here."

Then he makes this incredible assertion:  "I'm shocked by how little they care about the country (including Ben Shapiro).  And I can't imagine how someone like that could get an audience of people who claim to care about America, because he doesn't, obviously."  Carlson, that is just reprehensible!

Let me give you a little background, Carlson.  I know you are not Jewish.  Shapiro is an observant Jew.  All Jews who pray know that Jerusalem and Israel are mentioned in our prayers.  You may have felt bad for the people who were brutally murdered on October 7, but myself, like many, many Jews, felt it to our core.  This was the worst attack on the Jewish people since the Holocaust.  And whether you like it or not (I don't give a damn if you don't), we Jews understand that Israel is not only our Biblical homeland, but since 1949 it has been a safe haven for Jews suffering from oppression around the world. 

The first two weeks after October 7, I had a difficult time sleeping.  When I would get up during the night to go the bathroom, I would go to the family room and turn on the TV and watch i24News, out of Israel, for an hour or two.  Maybe you understand that, maybe you don't.  If you don't, I don't give a damn.  And, apparently you are not terribly concerned about the worst antisemitism since the Holocaust, as you believe Jews are behind the "white replacement" theory.

So, let's clarify a few things.  Ben Shapiro is a strong conservative and a strong defender of America.  But you are willing to take this relatively brief window of time, when Shapiro and many Jews, have been focused on Israel and the growing antisemitism, and conclude that Shapiro does not care about America.  I have written this blog since 2009.  Over 640 posts.  But since October 7, 12 of my last 15 posts have been about Israel and antisemitism.  I assume you would conclude from that number that I don't care about America either.

I guess my other 630 posts over 15 years would not mean anything to you.  My constant defense of American values would not mean anything to you.  My repeatedly saying that the USA is the best country in the history of the world, would not mean anything to you.  If you were a man, Tucker, you would give a very public apology to Ben Shapiro and all the other Jews on the right who you claim do not care for America, simply because you willfully ignore the history of the Jewish people.  

I'll finish with this, Carlson.  Jews will continue to focus on Israel, given the very existential threat to the country from Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah and Iran.  And I will do so in my blog.  And Jews will also focus on the growing antisemitism/outright Jew-hatred in this country, making us wonder if America will continue to be the best country in the world for the Jewish people (outside of Israel).  I will also continue to focus on that.  So, good for you being a Christian in a Christian country, with none of these concerns.  Instead of attacking us, why not try to be grateful for the fact that you have two less things to worry about than we do.       

Year End Reflections, Part V (More Politics)

First, some interesting information.  Where did people move from 2022 to 2023?  Texas ranked first with 473,000 more people.  And, no surprise, Florida was second with 365,000 more people.  The California minimum wage goes up to $16 per hour as of January 1.  Unfortunately, the ADL (Anti-Defamation League) reported an increase in antisemitic incidents from 465 in 2022 to 2031 in 2023.

Fox reported that a 10th grade Seattle High School had a class on "Ethnic Studies World History."  The class was given an exam of True-False and multiple choice questions.  Here was one question:  All men have penises.  True or False?  Here was another:  Only women can get pregnant.  True or False?  A student who answered True to these questions was told those answers were incorrect.  Does anyone really need any further proof of the sickness of leftwing ideology?  MEN CANNOT GET PREGNANT!  MEN, AND ONLY MEN, HAVE PENISES!  But the truth is not a value for the left.  All lies in support of their agenda are deemed worthy.

Los Angeles County District Attorney, far left George Gascon, recently appointed one of the assistant DAs to be his chief of staff.  Nothing unusual there.  Until we find out that this woman, following the death of George Floyd, called the LAPD "barbarians."  And she referred to them as "an occupying army."  No surprise that she called for defunding the police.  And it was reported that she has a T-shirt that reads "the police are trained to kill us."  Exactly how is the DA's office supposed to work with the police to prosecute criminals, given those attitudes?  Oh, that's right.  Gascon is one of those DAs who does not believe in prosecuting criminals.

Boston Mayor, Michelle Wu, decided to have a holiday party for the members of the City Council.  But not all the members were supposed to be invited.  However, her assistant inadvertently sent the invitation out to the entire Council.  The invitation read:  "Electeds of Color Holiday Party."  Said Wu, in defending this nonsense:  "It is not at all divisive, it is creating spaces for people and communities and identities with shared experiences to come together."  This is yet another example of the evil of "identity politics."  But if that is deemed to be acceptable, then I would not object to an "Electeds White People Holiday Party."  

Of course, I object to all of it.  I believe, as MLK said, that people are to be judged based on the content of their character.  Why is skin color important?  Another way to look at it is what Dennis Prager often says.  The world is divided into only two groups - the decent and the indecent.  

On the good news front...California enacted a law banning concealed carry in 26 different public places, making it all but impossible to actually carry a gun outside of the home.  No, that's not the good news.  The good news, as reported by the AP, is that a Federal Judge blocked enforcement of that law.  As the AP reported it, the Judge felt "that would have banned carrying firearms in most public places, ruling that it violates the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and deprives people of their ability to defend themselves and their loved ones."

As readers know, I always like to read the "Letters to the Editor" in the newspapers.  One letter in the 12/20/23 New York Times was by a Jewish man described by the paper as a "distinguished emeritus professor of anthropology at the State University of New York."  The writer says he is "a Jew by culture and ancestry, albeit a secular one."  He tells us he "abhors contemporary violence by both Hamas and Israel."  Typical leftwing view that all violence is the same and is bad.  Violence in the defeat of evil is not bad.  It may be unfortunately necessary, but it is definitely not bad.  

The letter writer continued and said his father bought Israel bonds for him and his siblings when they were younger.  But, "in the late 1960's and early '70's, when I had my own children and when Israel had become an expansionist power, I asked him to stop."  More leftwing lies; this time lies of omission.  Israel was able to gain more territory by defending themselves in war and winning.  That does not make them an expansionist power.  Good to know that a "distinguished emeritus professor" lacks all common sense and reason.  Which is what happens when leftwing ideology defines your world view.  Or, as I like to say, letting your beliefs dictate your reality.   

Year End Reflections, Part IV (Back To Politics)

(Note.  I'm sure my readers are well aware that since the attack on Israel on October7, virtually all my posts have been about that and the increasing antisemitism.  The atrocities of October 7, followed by the increasing Jew hatred, have really gotten to me in a way that few stories have.  Obviously 9/11 is another example.  Let's pray for no more 9/11's or 10/7's.)

The Colorado Supreme Court decided that Donald Trump should not be on their state's primary ballot  because he is guilty of insurrection, as defined in Section 3 of the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution.  This post will not go into a detailed legal analysis of that Amendment.  But the case was brought by a group of never Trumpers against the Colorado Secretary of State, alleging that the Secretary must not allow Trump to be on the ballot because of insurrection.

The trial court found that Trump was guilty of insurrection, but that Section 3 of the 14th Amendment did not apply to the office of President.  Therefore, he could be on the ballot.  The Colorado Supreme Court disagreed, by a 4 to 3 vote.  The Majority:  "President Trump incited and encouraged the use of violence and lawless action to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power."  And this:  "President Trump's speech on January 6 was not protected by the First Amendment."  

I admit to not having read this lengthy decision.  However, I am very curious to know exactly what words in the speech were deemed by the Court to not be protected speech; what words were deemed to create an imminent threat of violence or lawless action.  I also thought it was interesting that the Court found Trump guilty of insurrection without him being a party to the case.  I guess I should not be surprised, as the second House impeachment vote on Trump was conducted with no Judiciary Committee hearings first.  No evidence was presented prior to that vote.  

So I decided to ask another attorney, very leftwing, exactly how the decision would play out.  After all, other states have similar cases pending.  Do we now have a situation where each of the 50 states gets to decide who can be on the ballot?  Obviously, there would not be uniformity among all 50 states.  What if Trump were to win a sufficient number of electoral votes where he was on the ballot.  Would he only be the president over those states?  Would those states where Trump was disqualified from the ballot have a different president?

Back to that leftwing attorney.  Having no answer for the possible chaos created by the Colorado decision, he simply said the US Supreme Court will decide.  Then, as often happens, he reverted to Trump is bad, and therefore should not be on the ballot.  Explaining how that would work with 50 states was of no apparent concern to him.    

Is this how the Court is protecting our democracy?  Trump has never been convicted of "insurrection."  Trump was not involved in the Colorado case.  Four unelected judges decided to remove from the ballot the main opponent to the sitting President, and not let the voting public decide.  And, again, thinking forward, might we end up with a country having one president for some of the states, and another president for the rest of the states?  Is this what the Democrats call protecting our democracy?  Because none of it looks the least bit democratic to me.

The Court Majority:  "We do not reach these conclusions lightly.  We are mindful of the magnitude and weight of the questions before us."  I don't think so.  The office of the President of the United States is the one and only office that the entire country votes on.  (The VP is essentially a tag along.)  So I would ask the Court just how mindful they were of creating different qualifications for being on the ballot, qualifications that surely will not be required in many of the other states.

Let's think back to the 2016 election.  There were dire predictions about what would happen if Trump won.  The most serious was that Trump would start a nuclear war.  None of the awful predictions came about.  And Trump won.  So we had the Russian collusion hoax.  That didn't succeed in getting Trump out of office.  We had the first impeachment over a telephone call with Ukraine.  That didn't work.  We had the second impeachment.  None of these actions taken by the Democrats succeeded in removing Trump from office.  In 4 years in office Trump started no wars.  No one lost any rights.  

Biden won in 2020, but looks to be easily beatable in 2024.  So now we have 4 different politically motivated prosecutions.  But they don't seem to be working either, as Trump's poll numbers keep going up.  So here is the next idea - keep Trump off the ballot.  I honestly do not know how it could be any clearer - the Democrats do not believe in our democracy.  Or in any democracy.  

 (Afterword.  I have my own issues with Trump.  The silly name calling.  The unnecessary commenting on everything.  Costing the Republicans the 2 Georgia Senate seats.  Having a meal with antisemites like Nick Fuentes and Kanye West.  And personally calling state and local officials about the 2020 election results.  But don't tell me the Colorado Court cared about democracy.)

Year End Reflections - Part III (Is This The True Face Of Islam In America?)

We already know that the group "Students for Justice in Palestine" celebrated the atrocities of October 7, by calling it "a historic win for Palestinian resistance."  But the "Council on American-Islamic Relations" (CAIR)  bills itself as a moderate group, reflecting the interests of Muslims in America.  Therefore, it may surprise some to learn (although it shouldn't) what the executive director of CAIR, Nihad Awad, was found to have said.  As reported in an editorial in the 12/9-12/10/23 weekend edition of the Wall Street Journal, Mr. Awad claimed that his comments were selectively chosen to, essentially, make him look bad.

But The Journal said they were able to get a copy of Awad's speech before it was taken off line.  Here are some of his comments as reported by The Journal.  "The people of Gaza only decided to break the siege, the walls of the concentration camp, on October 7.  And yes, I was happy to see people breaking the siege and throwing down the shackles of their own land, and walk free into their land, that they were not allowed to walk in.  And yes, the people of Gaza have the right to self-defense, have the right to defend themselves.  And yes, Israel as an occupying power, does not have that right to self-defense."    

Clearly, there was no concern for the men, women, children and even babies who were brutally murdered by Hamas.  Awad said that Israel does not have the right to self-defense because he clearly does not believe that Israel has the right to exist at all.  He made that clear when he referred to the people of Gaza "walk(ing) free into their land."  What they did was break into land that is considered part of the territory of Israel.  By referring to that land as "their (the people of Gaza's) land," Awad is telling us that Israel should not exist.  This is no different from the chant "from the river to the sea Palestine will be free."  It would appear that the only rights that Jews have are to either be killed or leave Israel.    

Then, Awad attacks AIPAC (the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee) and "corrupt members of Congress."  Awad:  "We have to free so many people from the shackles of AIPAC and its affiliates who have sold the soul of America."  In an apparent attack on Biden's support for Israel, Awad goes on:  "For how much?  It is for how much AIPAC and its affiliates have been controlling the U.S. Congress...Unless we free Congress, we will not be able to free Palestine."

This is not much different from one of Ilhan Omar's many antisemitic comments, when she said "it's all about the Benjamins."  It couldn't be that Congress and the American people support Israel because of shared values, with Israel being the only democracy, and Western style country, in the Middle East.  

Awad:  "When we say 'if there is no cease-fire, there will be no votes for you in 2024 elections, we started to see the tone changing - and the position changing."  Also speaking with Awad was the director of American Muslims for Palestine, Osama Abuirshaid.  The Journal reports that at a rally on December 1, Abuirshaid said this:  "What they alleged that happened on October 7 turned out to be a lie.  Most of the (Israeli) civilians were killed by their own army."  Talk about a lie - disgusting!

And, proving that these people remain quite adept at propaganda, Awad said this:  "I ask young people:  be wise.  You are not in Palestine.  You are not in Gaza.  The language there doesn't work here."  It is the kind of language that we hear from the Muslim members of Congress.  They speak of the "human rights" of Palestinians, not of the atrocities committed against the Jews.  And, of course, they never say that it is Hamas that violates the human rights of the people of Gaza.  (Although, recent polling suggests that as much as 75% of the people of Gaza supported the atrocities committed by Hamas.)

Year End Reflections - Part II (The Evil of DEI)

The New York Times is not a fan of either Christmas or Chanukah.  Nevertheless, a front page article in the December 7 edition, is quite instructive.  The headline of the article is "A Divide Over Israel Frays American Families."  The discussion, not surprisingly, centers around Jewish American families.  And, while they have interviewed a number of young people, the focus is mostly on one family.  

The parents (boomers) moved from Madison, Wisconsin to Israel.  The divide over Israel between the parents and their daughter seemed to begin when the daughter became a grad student at UC Berkeley.  Big surprise.  At Berkeley, the daughter found her attitudes about Israel being challenged by "classmates and friends."  One friend pulled away from her over her ties to Israel.  Another criticized her for not being "vocally pro-Palestine," saying that she was on "the wrong side of history."  

As this Berkeley grad student  started reading materials by black feminist authors, it motivated her to think about "questions around power, privilege and whiteness."  Ultimately, she became pro-Palestinian.  And she reached this conclusion:  "I don't think the state of Israel should ever have been established.  It's based on this idea of Jewish supremacy.  And I'm not on board with that."  Clearly, she is on board with Arab Muslim supremacy.  I can't imagine a better example of the evil that has been taught and perpetrated by schools, universities, administrators, professors and college presidents (witness the 3 presidents of the most "elite" universities telling Congress that speech calling for the genocide of Jews might be within school policy - depending on the context).  That evil being taught is DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion).  

When her father asked this Berkeley grad student why she did not condemn Hamas' brutal attacks on her social media, the reply was quite telling.  She wanted to know why her father did not "emphasize the historical context - the occupation and Palestinian displacement - that shaped the current war."  There's that word again - context.  As noted in Part I of Year End Reflections, the context is the fact that Israel exists.  That, in turn, apparently justifies the atrocities committed by Hamas.  

The article cites a poll by what is described as the "Democratic pollster GBAO Strategies."  The poll was just taken this November, of American Jews.  It found that 82% of those age 36 or older were in favor of Biden's support for Israel.  But only 53% of those age 18 to 35 supported Biden on his approach to Israel.

The authors of the article made this interesting admission:  "Most of the people interviewed for this article did not identify as Orthodox, a small segment of the American Jewish population who tend to have a stronger attachment to Israel than others do."  A shame that they did not interview any people from Chabad, an orthodox segment which also happens to be the fastest growing segment within Judaism.  They would gotten a much different take, as Chabad is very strongly pro-Israel.

Heather MacDonald had a very important Op-Ed in the December 7 edition of the Wall Street Journal.  It is titled "DEI Drives Campus Antisemitism."  MacDonald:  "The real issue on campuses isn't antisemitism but the anti-Western ethos that has colonized large swaths of the curriculum."  And, given the belief that "the West is built on white supremacism and oppression...Israel is cast as the Western settler-colonialist oppressor par excellence."  I would categorize these ideas as just another form of Marxism.  The oppressed working class proletariat (dark skinned) vs the bourgeoisie (whites).  

But here is the interesting thing.  With the ideas of DEI and intersectionality, MacDonald mentioned a discussion given at Cornell by a professor of Judeo-Islamic Studies.  The title of the lecture was "The Intersectionality of Antisemitism, Islamophobia and Racism."  MacDonald then tells us that the usual suspects at that intersection are "white supremacists, former Trump administration officials, evangelical Christians and white opponents of mass immigration from Muslim countries."  In other words, right wing "deplorables."  

MacDonald:  "None of these supposed oppressors play a significant role in pro-Hamas campus protests.  The actual protesters - Muslims, Black Lives Matter activists, Queers for Palestine, socialist groups and proponents of the anti-Israel boycott, divest and sanctions movement - went unmentioned in the lecture" at Cornell.  

Starting in 2010 and going through 2016, I wrote a six part post called "Are We At War With Islam."  If one looks around the Muslim world it is immediately obvious that Islamic rule of a country is contrary to Western notions of freedom and liberty.  And in this country, it is the Left that holds the same anti-Western views.  Views that lead them to be anti-American and anti-Israel.  Which is why you will see these leftwing groups marching with Palestinians in support of Hamas.  But none of these groups, Queers for Palestine for example, would actually want to live in a Palestinian controlled state.  There is one gay pride parade every year in the Middle East, and it is in Tel Aviv, Israel.  Good luck being openly gay in the Arab countries or Gaza.      

Year End Reflections - Part I

Hard to believe, but it's that time of year again.  One of the biggest stories of the year was, of course, the war started by Hamas against the Jewish people.  As more stories come out from some of the hostages, the atrocities that were committed makes it clear that Hamas is ISIS, and Hamas is the new Nazi Party.  The concomitant rise in antisemitism, on college campuses and in our city streets, has been quite disheartening.  

But tonight, this first night of Chanukah, my wife and I attended a community Menorah lighting put on by Chabad.  There was a large turnout - seniors, young people and all ages in between.  All to show that the Jewish people will not be cowed by the supporters of evil.  And how good to read about so many non-Jews saying they will be lighting a Menorah in a show of solidarity with the Jewish people.

In other news this year, former President Trump was indicted four times; indictments that were politically motivated.  Meanwhile the Democrat-Mainstream Media Complex (which I'll now refer to as D-MSMC) avoids, or excuses, the actual corruption allegations that involve the Biden family.  And the televised January 6 hearings, put on during prime time, had the sole purpose of destroying the Republican Party.

While Trump remains the frontrunner for the Republican nomination, Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis remain strong contenders.  But they have a lot of catching up to do if they hope to beat Trump.  The early primaries may give us a clue as to who may be favored.  Will Biden run?  He says he is running because Trump is.  But who knows.  Kamala Harris is weak.  California Governor Gavin Newsom says he's not running, but seems to be doing everything to demonstrate he is.  And why not?  He wrecked San Francisco as Mayor, and got promoted to Governor of the State.  He wrecked the State, so maybe he gets promoted to President.

I had occasion to speak with two California Highway Patrol officers in Court today.  The State Police used to be responsible for security at state offices, but they merged with the Highway Patrol a long time ago.  We were discussing how the CHP is down by maybe 1000 officers, not good for the most populous state in the country.  I asked what the problem was - Sacramento?  No.  

I was told that far fewer people want to be law enforcement officers.  Who can blame them.  In many places there is little or no support from local or state political leaders.  Everything they do is second guessed, and may result in being sued or even incarcerated.  Besides, think what young kids are taught about cops.  The same problem exists for our Army.  Who wants to fight for a country that is racist, sexist, etc. etc. etc.  That's what many young kids and college students are taught.  

It is no accident that college students are often pro-Palestinian.  Arab money has funded Middle East Study Centers at schools across the country.  The Saudis have a long history of funding and publishing public school books.  But the Left in this country has the same perception of America and Israel and Western societies as do the Islamic countries and the Communist Chinese.  It is up to conservatives and classical liberals to gain back control of our education system.

There is clearly a long way to go, when the presidents of 3 of the most "elite" universities in the country, Harvard, MIT and UPenn, were unable to categorically state that calling for the genocide of the Jewish people would be a violation of school policy.  Each one said it would depend on the "context."  Really?  So, if someone called for the genocide of black people, they would say that might be acceptable, depending on the "context."  How about calling for the genocide of the LGBTQ community?  Would that depend on the "context?" 

Obviously neither would be acceptable to these university presidents.  So what's the "context" for Jews?  That the State of Israel exists, and calling for the destruction of that state and the killing of all the Jews there, a la Hamas, might make the "context" acceptable?  These 3 university presidents are despicable.  But there can be no clearer demonstration of the immoral and evil beliefs of the Left.  (I am not speaking of Classical Liberals.)    

In other news this year, the war against Ukraine by Putin continues.  As support for Ukraine diminishes in this country, I do hope that the Europeans step up.  Putin must not be allowed to win.  We have a new Speaker of the House.  I was not happy with the Republican infighting, and the display put on by Matt Gaetz.  Let's hope that new Speaker Mike Johnson, currently the top Republican in Congress, can unite the party, and lead us to success next November.  

Some Things Every American Should Know

It has been quite distressing to see all the pro-Palestinian and even pro-Hamas demonstrations on college campuses.  But it is not always an accident.  Arab countries, especially Saudi Arabia and Qatar, have contributed billions to our universities.  As has the Chinese Communist Party.  Anybody think they have an interest in instilling American or Western values.  Anybody think they are sending all this money our way just to be nice?  The CCP has established Confucius Institutes.  At Georgetown University they have the Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian understanding.  Funded by the Saudis.  

The Department of Education reported that Arab sources donated about $8.5 billion to US colleges and universities between 1986 and 2021.  At least, that is what was reported by US schools.  And one site reports that "donors from Arab states have quietly made contributions to American universities to create centers and chairs to propagate their views.  The Arab lobby succeeded in hijacking the field of Middle East Studies and now has faculty across the country who use their positions to advance political agendas that are typically pro-Arab (often specifically related to the Palestinians), anti-Israel, and uncritical of radical Islam."  So guess what America's youth are being taught?  Nothing positive about Israel, the only Western style democracy in the Middle East.

Cornell, Stanford, UC Berkeley and University of Texas (Austin) all have relationships with the King Abdullah (former leader of Saudi Arabia) University of Science and Technology, with each getting $25 million or more over a five year period.  MIT, Harvard and Carnegie Mellon are also recipients of Arab largesse.  Qatar, a country that openly supports Hamas, has contributed billions to our academies.  

Let us not forget the professor at Cornell who referred to the atrocities committed by Hamas on October 7 as "exhilarating" and "energizing."  The brutal murder of unarmed civilians, even children and babies, was exhilarating and energizing for this professor.  Just how sick can it get.  

And we know that Leftist thinking which has infected the media and Hollywood and the Democrat Party, tends to support the anti-Israel narrative.  Here is former President Obama:  "What Hamas did was horrific, and there's no justification for it.  And what is also true is that the occupation and what's happening to Palestinians is unbearable."  After saying there was no justification for the atrocities committed by Hamas, Obama gave them a justification.  

Meanwhile, these young people, who likely know nothing about the history of the Middle East, who seem to not know what the Holocaust was, are getting increasingly brazen and threatening in their attacks on Jews.  The President of AIPAC (the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee) has a home in the Brentwood section of Los Angeles.  AIPAC is the largest pro-Israel lobbying group in the country.  Pro-Palestinian demonstrators vandalized his driveway, threw smoke bombs at his home, and carried a banner reading "Fuck UR holiday!  Baby Killer!"  

Meanwhile, a teacher at the Hillcrest High School in Jamaica Hills, Queens, NYC, had to hide inside a locked office for two hours.  Why?  After posting that she stands with Israel, "hundreds of teens stormed the hallways, where they chanted, waved Palestinian flags and screamed that the teacher needs to go."  (As reported by Fox News.)  The teacher has worked in the NYC schools for 23 years, and said she "was shaken to my core."  

But these threats and disruptions are not isolated incidents.  Pro-Palestinian protesters have taken over bridges in order to disrupt traffic.  They attempted to disrupt the 97th Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.  They defaced the White House gate.  They interfered with the operations at Grand Central Station in NYC.  The list goes on and on.  How soon before we see serious injuries and deaths.  (Of course, there was already the death of a Jewish man in Thousand Oaks, California, at the hands of a pro-Palestinian protester - a professor at a local college no less.)

Meanwhile, in a poll out this month, 37% of Jewish college students said they feel a need to hide their identity.  54% said they felt scared.  This is America in 2023.  But it made me think of the meme sent to me by my younger daughter the first weekend of this month, with the end of daylight saving time:  "Don't forget to turn your clocks back to 1938 Germany time this weekend."  November, 1938, was when the Nazis organized a series of what have been described as pogroms, resulting in the vandalism and destruction of Jewish homes, businesses and synagogues.  It came to be known as "Kristallnacht," the night of broken glass.  

I have often said that, outside of Israel, the United States has been the best country in the world for the Jewish people.  I don't want to think that we have set our clocks back to 1938 Germany time.  But it behooves all of us as Americans, Jews and non-Jews alike, to pay attention and to speak up and against the rise in antisemitism and outright Jew hatred. 

Progressive Thinking is a Threat to Israel, America and the World

Nicholas Kristof is a self-described progressive, and a regular Op-Ed writer for the New York Times.  He has even won two Pulitzer Prizes.  Unfortunately, he lacks moral clarity.  In the Sunday, November 12th edition of the paper's Opinion section, he had this article:  "President Biden, Please Do More to Build Peace."  So far, so good.  Everyone wants peace.  But at what cost?

Kristof:  "I'm fine with Israel taking out Hamas's military leaders or destroying tunnels in a surgical way, but not with it leveling large sections of Gaza..."  First of all, Israel does not give a damn about what you are "fine" with, Mr. Kristof.  Secondly, Hamas needs to be completely eradicated.  It is not enough to only take out their military leaders.  Their political structure cannot be allowed to continue to exist.  Otherwise, they will rebuild their military and Israel will be facing the same problems over and over and over again.  Nothing short of complete victory or an unconditional surrender by Hamas will solve the problem.

Kristof:  "Israel has a responsibility to value Palestinian lives even if Hamas doesn't."  Israel does more than any other country to protect civilians.  They make phone calls into Gaza to warn people.  They drop dud bombs on the roofs of building to warn people.  They drop leaflets out of airplanes to warn people.  Your premise is utter nonsense, Mr. Kristof.

Kristof:  "The Biden administration has already encouraged Israel to rachet its assault on Gaza several notches toward the surgical end by using smaller bombs and allowing humanitarian pauses."  This reminds me of a skit on Saturday Night Live years ago when a "reporter" was asking the "defense secretary" (may have been a Dick Cheney player) why smart bombs sometimes kill innocent people.  To which the Cheney player merely slapped the top of his head in disbelief.  But that "reporter" is Kristof.  

And just what does Kristof think happens with these "humanitarian" pauses?  Here is what I think happens.  Hamas regroups and rearms.  Hamas takes the humanitarian aid for themselves and their fighters.  They have already announced publicly that they are not responsible for the people of Gaza.  They believe the UN has that responsibility.  We know they use the people of Gaza as human shields, and then someone like Kristof falls for it and blames Israel when civilians die.  And just how "humanitarian" does Kristof think Hamas is?  They murdered civilians of all ages.  They raped women.  They took as hostages people of all ages.  

 Kristof:  "I'm skeptical that the Israeli Army can actually eradicate extremist forces from Gaza, so it seems to me that what's unfolding there now - with American complicity as we supply Israel with bombs and artillery shells - is neither militarily nor morally sustainable."  You're skeptical, Mr. Kristof?  I bet the leaders of the newly formed state of Israel, in 1948, were skeptical that they could defeat the five Arab armies that attacked them.  Israel was outgunned and outmanned.  But Israel won.  I bet Eisenhower had a healthy dose of skepticism about the chances of success on D-Day.  Maybe Kristof thinks the US should supply Hamas with an equal number of bombs and artillery shells in order to satisfy his mistaken sense of fairness.    

Kristof:  "Looking ahead, the next initiative must be a major push by Biden for an Israeli-Palestinian peace"... but "both sides lack credible leaders to get there."  What nonsense.  The Arabs of Palestine have been offered their own state numerous times,  Starting in 1947 when the UN voted to partition the British Mandate in Palestine into a Jewish state and an Arab state.  They refused.  They have been offered a state numerous times since.  They refused.  They don't want a state as long as Israel exists.  They want all the land "from the river to the sea."  And you, a two time Pulitzer Prize winner, fall for all their propaganda.  

Here's Kristof's hope in the meantime.  The State Department should again declare the "settlements" to be in violation of international law.  And this gem:  "The United States could also abstain at the United Nations Security Council on a resolution calling for humanitarian pauses, instead of vetoing it as happened last time."  After all, "How many dead Gazan children are too many," Kristof asks.

So what are the common themes in all of Kristof's comments?  First, Israel is at fault, or at least equally at fault with Hamas.  Second, as is typical of leftwing "progressive" thinking, no demands are to made of the bad guys.  No, appeasement is the answer.  Appease them with more and more of these "humanitarian" pauses - because this Pulitzer Prize winner does not understand that such pauses are for the benefit of a terrorist organization.  

Third, these progressive leftists do not believe in winning wars.  Just imagine if Kristof had the ear of Roosevelt or Truman or Eisenhower?  Just take out the Nazis' military leaders, but allow their political structure to remain.  Allow the Nazis to remain in power?  What could go wrong there?  Well, Hamas has revealed themselves to be the new Nazis, slaughtering men, women and children and even babies for the sole reason that they are Jewish.  Hamas can no longer be allowed to exist.  Unfortunately, there will be civilian deaths in the meantime.  

And wouldn't it be nice if Kristof had any concern for the devasting impact October 7 had on the people of Israel.  1200 murdered.  240 taken hostage.  200,000 having to leave their homes in the south and the north as well, because Hezbollah joined in the fight.  The economic and psychological consequences of October 7 are of no apparent concern to Kristof, because "how many dead Gazan children are too many."  Here is the answer, Mr. Kristof - one is too many.  But that cannot deter Israel from doing what it must to defeat Hamas.  Were it otherwise, Israel would have to sit back and just accept attack after attack after attack.

In Memoriam

I shouldn't have to be doing this.  Not when I already did one earlier this year (see 3/4/23 post) about my friend Bob.  Bob was 72.  And Eliot was only 71.  Yes, Eliot had some health problems over the years, but he got them taken care of ...at The Mayo Clinic!  And he went for checkups regularly, always telling me that his lab numbers and blood pressure readings were excellent.  So when I arrived home yesterday at 4:30 pm, and my wife was waiting for me and said "sit down, I have some bad news - Eliot died," I was shocked.  I blurted out - "my Eliot?"  It couldn't be.  We just had breakfast together on November 4 at one of the local delis.  It couldn't be.  His health was good, too good for a presumed cardiac arrest.  Why would G-d take my dear friend, Eliot?  The tears started flowing, and have continued to flow on and off since.

We met 28 years ago when my family moved across the street from where Eliot and his family lived.  It was a wonderful cul-de-sac street with an endless supply of kids.  My wife and I contributed three kids to the street, but Eliot and his wife contributed five.  All boys.  The middle one of the five was the same age as our twins, and they all became fast friends, just as Eliot and I did.  He and I would stand out on the street and talk for hours and hours.  

Their youngest son would often knock on our door on a Saturday morning, asking if our twins were awake yet.  If I said "no," he'd say "that's okay" and then march right into our house.  He always assured me that his Mom knew he was coming over to our house.  She never did, and would eventually call asking if he was at our house.  Sometimes, the four adults would go out to dinner.  And we were soon invited to their annual New Year's Eve get together, with other friends of theirs.  I don't like driving late on New Year's Eve, but there wasn't much traffic walking across the street.  

Eliot was a sabra.  He was born in Israel.  But he grew up in New York.  He would tell me how he always worked.  As a young guy he would plow snow for people.  He always took the initiative to do something.  Later on, he took over the food flavor business that his father started.  He greatly expanded the business, working long hours in order to do so.  And he traveled...and traveled...and traveled.  He had millions of miles of air travel under his belt.  He flew nationally and internationally.  While the company headquarters was local, he opened other locations in North America.  And he went to trade shows in the US and around the world.  He would tell me "you can't expand the business without making the personal connections."  

Over the years as the business expanded, he would get offers from some of the large regional or national brands to buy his business.  But he never sold, hoping that one day one of his sons would take it over.  I don't know how much money Eliot had accumulated from his success, and I would never ask.  But if I were to guess, it would be well into the millions.  But you would never know it from talking to him.  He was never pretentious.  He dressed just like an average guy.  He was as down to earth as could be.  He and I shared the same values.

I don't know all the reasons he and his wife separated five years ago.  I know that my wife and I were quite upset over it.  They stopped hosting the annual New Year's Eve get togethers.  No more going out with the four of us.  He told me some things.  His wife told me some things.  But the reality is, as the saying goes, we don't know what might be happening behind closed doors in someone else's home.  As my Mom always told me if I was having a disagreement with someone, "there are three sides to every story.  There's your side, there's the other person's side, and there's the truth."   

While he was still living in the house locally, he also got an apartment in a suburb of Dallas.  But he would always let me know when he was back in town so that we could go to breakfast together.  At those breakfasts we would sit and talk for two to three hours or more.  There was never a lull in the conversation.  I will miss that so, so much.  I just don't understand why G-d had to take my friend Eliot.  May G-d bless his soul, and may his family be comforted among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.  

#$@%&#%!!!

No, that title is not a typo.  But I'm angry, and as I do not use curse words in the blog, that is the closest I can come to expressing my feelings.  Why am I so angry?  Other than the obvious...the leaders of Hamas tell us what they think and what they want to do.  Yet, the morons on the Left ignore all of that, repeat all the Islamist propaganda, and blame Israel for everything.  Let's take a look.

This is some of what I heard from the Hamas leadership.  They plan on repeating the atrocities of October 7 over and over and over again.  They want to kill all the Jews!  When the innocent people of Gaza die (the ones who do not support Hamas or cheer the deaths of Jews), Hamas tells us they are martyrs.  People die in every war anyway, they say.  And they claim that the people of Gaza are not their responsibility!  Hamas is the governing authority in Gaza, but the people are not their problem?  Those people are the responsibility of the UN, they say.  Everybody clear where Hamas stands?  I know my regular readers are, but what about people you know?  

So, following the atrocities committed on October 7, and given all the pro-Hamas protests around the country and the world, and given all the pro-Hamas protests and threats against Jewish students on college campuses, and especially given the actual statements of the Hamas leadership, we now have this.  An open letter was written by over 1800 "Jewish writers, artists and activists."  

"We are Jewish writers, artists, and activists who wish to disavow the widespread narrative that any criticism of Israel is inherently antisemitic."  That is stating the obvious - that any country may be subject to fair criticism.  But criticism of Israel after the events of October 7 has been mostly antisemitic.  But let's read on in this open letter to see what they really believe.  "Israel and its defenders have long used this rhetorical tactic to shield Israel from accountability, dignify the US's multibillion-dollar investment in Israel's military, obscure the deadly reality of occupation, and deny Palestinian sovereignty."  Wow!  So much to dissect there.  (To be clear, I selected this letter to comment upon because it is so indicative of Leftist thinking.  I could have just as easily taken almost any article or Op-Ed in the D-MSM.)

"Israel and its defenders" clearly does not include this group.  Jews who cannot bring themselves to support Israel, even at a time like this?  I am disgusted by these people.  "Dignify the US's multibillion dollar investment in Israel's military"...what morons!  The United States supports the ONLY democracy in the Middle East - Israel.  Israel has had to fight war after war for its very existence.  After the UN voted in November, 1947 to partition the British Mandate into a Jewish state and an Arab state, the tiny country of Israel declared its independence in May, 1948.  The next day the Arab world made war on the new country in an effort to wipe Israel off the map.  Was that Israel's fault also?  The Arabs were given a state!  Why didn't they accept it?  Who should the US support?  Iran?  Syria?  Do I have to name them all?  Where is the democracy in the Middle East outside of Israel?

Let's go on with this open letter.  "Obscure the deadly reality of occupation."  In 2005 Israel vacated Gaza, and at times had to forcibly remove some of the 9000 Israelis living there.  They left behind industrial greenhouses, which the people of Gaza promptly destroyed, because Jews made them.  Instead of building, they immediately started launching rockets into southern Israel.  Eventually they were able to smuggle in more advanced missiles, all aimed at Israel.  I wonder how these idiots would like to live under a constant barrage of rockets and missiles.  And what about Egypt?  The southern border of Gaza is with Egypt, an Arab state.  No questions about why the Egyptians aren't helping their fellow Arabs, other than allowing the passage of ever more missiles into Gaza?

The letter continues.  "Deny Palestinian sovereignty."  When Israel ended its war for independence, fought from 1948 to 1949, Israel won.  The tiny country survived.  Jews around the world celebrated the existence of the first Jewish state in 2000 years, and the only Jewish state in the world.  Israel did not control Gaza after the war ended in 1949 - Egypt did.  Israel did not control the West Bank (Judea and Samaria) after the war ended in 1949 - Jordan did.  In fact, Egypt and Jordan controlled those areas for nearly two decades - right up to the next war, the 1967 Six Day War.  Israel at that time captured Gaza, the West Bank and the Golan Heights.  But why wasn't a Palestinian state created when Egypt and Jordan had total control of the land?  

Again, let's discuss the idea of Palestinian sovereignty.  How many times have they been offered a state, only to refuse.  We'll just skip over the Arab attacks on Jewish businesses and people in the mid to late 1930's in Mandatory Palestine, before Israel even existed.  The idea of Jews living in the Jewish homeland was something the Arabs never tolerated.  That should be a clue for the Leftists - they will not agree to a Palestinian state as long as Israel exists.  Got it?  But let's go forward in time.  In 1947, the UN voted partition of the Mandate into a Jewish state and an Arab state,  The Jews established the State of Israel.  What did the Arabs establish?  Anybody?  They declared war on Israel.  

Remember when Bill Clinton hosted Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Barak, and PA leader Yasser Arafat.  After Clinton got Barak to offer the Palestinians a state, Arafat walked out on the President of the United States and returned to Ramallah to start the Second Intifada - when so-called suicide bombers blew up/murdered Jews on buses, in cafes, in malls and even at a Passover Seder.  

Remember in 2008 when George Bush hosted Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and PA President Mahmoud Abbas?  Again, the US President assisted (pressured?) the Israelis to return land to the Palestinians for a state.  Once again, like his predecessor, Abbas left without agreeing to anything.  At what point in time will people believe this is NOT about land.  It is about a desire to kill all the Jews!  Hamas even says so!  (See the second paragraph of this post.)  And that, my friends, is a key difference (often stated in this blog) between liberals and conservatives - liberals let their beliefs dictate their reality, conservatives let reality dictate their beliefs.  (Although, I should change that to replace "liberals" who have remained classical liberals, with "Leftists.")

But, I need to be fair to the writers of this open letter.  They do condemn the attacks on the Jews in their open letter.  They do condemn antisemitism.  And, make no mistake, they are well educated people.  Just like the intellectuals in this country who supported Stalin in the 1930's.  Well educated people.  I also want to be clear that there were abuses carried out by Israel against Palestinians.  Sadly, that is what happens with wars.  And people tend to ignore the estimated 700-800,000 or more Jews who were displaced from Arab and Muslim countries after the founding of Israel.  Yes, some left voluntarily, but many were persecuted and expelled from those countries. 

What really bothers me the most is the timing of this "open letter."  I know there are leftwing Jews, and that some do not even believe that Israel should exist.  I understand that, like all Leftists, they will always categorize Israel as the "oppressor" and the Palestinians as the "oppressed."  After that, no further questions are asked.  But to draft such a letter after the worst mass murder of Jews since the Holocaust?  It makes me so angry - hence the title of this post.    

(An afterword.  I have attended religious services at Chabad for years.  I have a great deal of respect for the five Chabad Rabbis that I know.  Following the teachings of the Rebbe, all the Chabad Rabbis teach that the Jewish people are one, and that Jews are commanded to love their fellow Jews.  So, I guess my question is - can I love them without liking them?  Can I love them and still think that they are leftwing morons?  Otherwise, I offer my apologies to these Rabbis, for whom I truly do have the greatest respect.)    

  

Some Voices From The Conservative Media

Michael Oren was the former Israeli Ambassador to the United States.  His 10/23/23 Op-Ed in the Wall Street Journal is titled "Hamas Mortally Threatens Israel's Existence."  Contrary to the way Professor Myers minimized the threat to Israel from the Palestinians (Hamas), Oren asserts "if the conflict ends in stalemate or cease-fire, the terrorists will have gotten away with mass atrocities on Israeli soil.  We will never be secure from future onslaughts.  Tourism and foreign investment will vanish, and many Israelis will raise their children elsewhere." 

By the way, everyone notice how the D-MSM and others on the left and in the Democratic Party have been fretting about the displacement of the people in Gaza, because Israel warned them to get out of the way of their bombing.  I haven't seen the same concern about all the Israelis displaced from both southern Israel (because of the Hamas attacks) and northern Israel (from the attacks by Hezbollah).  Myers also ignored how Israelis in the much of the country are afraid of leaving their homes.  And, of course, he ignored the blow to the Israeli economy as a result of so much of the country being effectively shut down, or having to leave their jobs to serve in the IDF.

Walter Russell Mead is a regular commentator in the WSJ.  In his 10/10/23 Op-Ed, he wrote this:  "Hamas has done all it could to keep Gaza wretched while inculcating an ideology of genocidal rage."  And:  "...there is no doubt that Iran trained, supported, advised and equipped the killers."  How nice to see an Op-Ed with such clarity.  This opinion, of course, is directly to the contrary of the Biden Administration saying Iran was not directly responsible for the current attack by Hamas.  I get it.  Biden does not want to see a wider war.  But that statement was so obviously farcical, it was of no help whatsoever.  

Mead:  "As Winston Churchill said to Neville Chamberlain after Munich, 'You were given the choice between war and dishonor.  You chose dishonor, and you will have war."  (Recall Chamberlain agreed to concede the Sudetenland to Nazi Germany, in exchange for Germany not pursuing further territorial objectives.  Chamberlain announced "peace for our time."  Of course, that was short lived, with the Nazis next invading Poland.)  And here is, perhaps, the key point made by Mead, a point that is missed by the D-MSM Op-Ed writers:  "...the war must be won before peace can be built."  In just those few words, Mead spoke with the moral clarity so lacking in the leftwing commentators.  

Similarly, Jerome Marcus wrote in the 10/24/23 WSJ:  "Israel Needs Unconditional Surrender."  Marcus tells us that an unconditional surrender was exactly what the Allies demanded of Nazi Germany.  As Hamas shares the Nazi's goal of extermination of the Jewish people, the only acceptable outcome is an unconditional surrender.  Marcus:  "At the Potsdam Conference in the summer of 1945, the Allies agreed on a complete disarmament and demilitarization of Germany, the transfer of land from Germany to Poland and the Soviet Union, and the expulsion of German populations from the countries Germany had attacked.  The Allies also provided for 'de-Nazification - removing Nazis from positions of authority, eliminating Nazi political organizations, and the arrest and trial of war criminals."

Here is a question I would like to ask all of the leftwing, D-MSM commentators:  Why do you not believe in winning?  Does it somehow offend your sense of "fairness?"  Do you not want to make a judgment as to which side is "right?"  Whatever is going on with these leftwing opinion writers, one thing is clear - they are lacking in moral clarity.  Something that can only be found in conservative circles.  

Eugene Kontorovich writes in the 10/17/23 WSJ:  "The Siege of Hamas Is No War Crime."  While acknowledging that having civilian victims of war is a tragedy, he says:  "But if even unintentional harm to civilians constitutes illegal 'collective punishment,' as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has called Israel's operations in Gaza, even defensive war is effectively precluded."  The result would be that Israel has to just sit back and take it.  Absurd.  Quoting the U.S. Defense Department law-of-war manual, Kontorovich says siege is a "legitimate" part of a lawful war.  

"Only starvation directed at civilians is prohibited," per the manual.  Kontorovich:  "This should be obvious:  An army need not help its enemy obtain provisions during a conflict."  Should be obvious, but it's not to the Left.  I believe Biden made a huge error in announcing that humanitarian aid would be sent to Gaza, without asking anything in return.  Here is what I would have said to Hamas, while simultaneously announcing it to the entire world:  "No one wants to see the civilians in Gaza suffer.  You, Hamas, are the governing authority in Gaza.  Aid will flow as soon as you release all the hostages.  Please tell the world what is more important to you - the welfare of your people or the holding of innocent hostages." 

Kontorovich:  "The evacuation of civilians is a standard measure to avoid humanitarian crises.  Israel has moved tens of thousands of its own citizens away from the area of the Gaza border.  (And, I would again add, from northern communities given the firing of rockets and missiles by Hezbollah.)  Hamas, by contrast, has ordered its civilians to stay put, presumably to increase the tally of civilian deaths for propaganda purposes."  That latter point is one that I have often stated, as the point needs to made repeatedly, because the D-MSM falls for the Hamas propaganda all the time.

As an example, Hamas said Israel targeted a hospital, killing 500 people, so the D-MSM dutifully reported that as fact.  (The story was false.)  But that is the leftwing media, taking the word of a terrorist organization, an organization that excels at propaganda.  The reality is that Hamas places their missile launchers and military facilities in or under hospitals, schools, mosques and the like.  They do so knowing that Israel will have to respond, resulting in civilian deaths.  I want to know why Arab and Palestinian Americans are not out protesting Hamas.  Why aren't they protesting the atrocities committed by Hamas?  Why aren't they out protesting the way Hamas has mistreated the people of Gaza 17 years?  And why aren't they protesting the way Hamas uses the citizens of Gaza as "human shields?" 

As one letter to the editor in the WSJ said:  "If the Palestinians want peace, they must have the courage to denounce terrorist activities.  It isn't Israel's fault that their entire infrastructure is being sacrificed in the defense of Hamas.  If they are going to embrace a group that calls for death to Israel, expect there to be painful consequences."  Got that everyone?   

Some Voices From The D-MSM (Democratic Mainstream Media Complex)

 Here is David Myers' (Professor of Jewish history at UCLA) Op-Ed in the 10/9/23 Los Angeles Times.  "The Palestinians do not pose a serious threat to the existence of Israel, but they can inflict grave damage on the Israeli body and psyche.  They are not going to disappear.  Nor are they going to surrender their claims to self-determination.  And they are not going to give up the fight against Israel's dehumanizing occupation of 56 years."  He goes on to state that Israel "cannot batter Palestinians into submission."

Notice the deft sleight of hand by subtly interchanging "Palestinians" for "Hamas."  Hamas does need to disappear.  There can be no peace when they have only one goal - the killing of all the Jews and thus the elimination of Israel.  This attack by Hamas was different from all prior ones.  Israel must make Hamas disappear, for the good of Israel, for the good of the people of Gaza, and for the overall good of the Middle East.  

Allow me to remind Professor Myers that Israel vacated Gaza in 2005.  Hamas then won the election in 2006.  Hamas has allowed no further elections.  Hamas could have built a thriving civil society, with the assistance of Israel and the US and some of the Arab countries.  Instead, since 2006 they have non-stop sent missiles and rockets flying into Israel.  

Here is a news article in the 10/26/23 New York Times, on page 8.  In the first paragraph we are told:  "Fuel shortages in the Gaza Strip have grown so dire that the U.N. agency that has helped feed, school and shelter Palestinians there for decades said Wednesday that it might have to start shutting down operations."  The U.N. agency referred to is UNRWA, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.  

Do not expect anyone at the New York Times to ask why, of the millions of displaced persons (refugees) from around the world following WWII, only the Arabs of Palestine are still referred to as "refugees."  Do not expect anyone at the New York Times to ask why the UN has a special agency just for the Arabs who were displaced.  And definitely do not expect anyone at that paper to ask why the duly elected government (Hamas) has not been taking care of their people - the people of Gaza - since they were elected in 2006.  (Answer:  they spend all their money on armaments and cement and wiring in order to build miles and miles of tunnels into Israel, all with the goal of killing as many Jews as possible.  Much of the food and electrical power goes to Hamas fighters.)

In the 10/22/23 New York Times is this Op-Ed by Thomas Friedman:  "Israel Is About to Make a Terrible Mistake."  Here is Friedman's plan:  "We can help, we can even insist, that our Arab and European allies work to create a more effective, less corrupt and more legitimate Palestinian Authority in the West Bank that, after some transition in Gaza, could help govern there as well.  But not without a fundamental change in Israeli policy toward the authority and the Jewish settlers."  Notice the burden of doing something is always put on Israel.

Mahmoud Abbas was elected President of the PA in 2005, for a four year term.  But his term got extended "indefinitely."  Clearly, there is a problem with both Hamas and the PA.  What "transition" in Gaza?  Friedman talks about getting rid of the Hamas leadership.  It requires more than that.  All of their military infrastructure must be destroyed.  All of the Hamas armaments - missiles, rockets, mortars, machine guns, etc. - must be destroyed or confiscated.  Friedman says the US "can even insist" that our Arab and European allies work to create a better government for the Palestinians.  Yes, because the Arab governments all have such a positive record of creating free and democratic societies.  And the Europeans?  They probably think that Hamas can be persuaded to be a reliably peaceful entity.

Here is Nicholas Kristof in the 10/12/23 New York Times:  "...I'm appalled by the sympathy that some Americans and Europeans have shown for a misogynist and repressive terror organization like Hamas.  If you care about human rights, you want to see Hamas eliminated."  Yes!  He got that right.  But then he followed up with:  "Yet dismantling terrorist organizations can be harder than it looks, and can raise troubling moral questions about collateral damage."  And this is where Kristof is completely wrong.  

Turn to the next post for some voices from the conservative media, and a further discussion as to how these D-MSM commentators are getting it wrong. 

   

Today's Los Angeles Times: Jews Feel The Left "Let Us Down," After Hamas Attack

There could not be a more instructive article for my fellow Jews who are on the Left.  Per the Times, one Jewish person (age 31) said he was active in J Street in college.  J Street is a left-wing Jewish organization which, in this writer's opinion, does not seem to favor the existence of Israel.  Says the Times of this individual:  "He was shocked by how quickly friends mobilized for the Palestinian cause while failing to condemn the attack (that slaughtered over 1400 people)."  And this:  good people he never considered antisemitic suddenly seemed "supportive of Jewish genocide."

The article states that, in parts of the "far left" "significant air-time has been given to the view that Israel is a colonizing force and therefore violence against it is justified."  And we are told:  "Some have adopted the Hamas position that all Israelis are legitimate targets by virtue of being on land where Palestinians lived before Israeli statehood in 1948."  (The article also refers to Hamas "militants" rather than "terrorists," as much of the D-MSM also does.  But that's a topic for another day.)

Allow me to pause here for a few comments.  The article does not explain how modern day Israel came about; how the United Nations voted to partition the land of the British Mandate into a Jewish state and an Arab state.  The article does not mention that Jews have always lived on that land, for thousands of years, notwithstanding the fact that foreign conquerors often expelled large numbers of the Jewish people.  The implication is that all the land was Palestinian land, and the Jewish state only came about because of the Holocaust.  Never mind the Balfour Declaration of 1917, contained in a letter by UK Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour to Lord Rothschild.  It was the British who controlled the land after the defeat of the of the Ottoman Empire in WWI.  And the Ottomans controlled the land before WWI for nearly 400 years.

The 1917 Balfour Declaration says, in pertinent part:  "His Majesty's Government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people..."  Do not be misled by the name "Palestine," often considered a derivative of Philistine.  Yasser Arafat popularized the term "Palestinian" as a way to refer to the Arabs of Palestine.  Of course, Jews have long known the area as Israel, and Judea and Samaria.  Jews lived throughout the area known as "Mandatory Palestine," during the period of British control following the end of WWI up until the founding of modern day Israel in 1948.

The Times article goes on:  "But as a minority group that is by and large white, American Jews...have also struggled to find their place in the new hierarchy of identity politics, where racial categories have become short-hand for the oppressed and the oppressor."

Allow me a further comment.  Could there be a better example of the evil of "identity politics" than that expressed in the above paragraph?  Jews are white, therefore they must be oppressors, and therefore they must be dealt with by violence.  This focus on one's "identity," whether racial, ethnic or religious, ignores the most important characteristic of all - good values and morals.  Where is the morality of those who celebrate the deaths of innocent civilians, even little babies.

The article goes on to quote a young 22 year old Jewish graduate of NYU, who describes himself as a "socialist, progressive leftist."  Said this young man:  "The Palestinian people have exhausted all other options except for violence."  While not explicitly supporting Hamas, he does say "I do support violence as an answer to settler colonialism against oppressed people."  

My comment.  I would guarantee that this young man knows absolutely nothing about the history of the Middle East.  What he does know is the left-wing propaganda that his professors drilled into him.  Here is a question I would ask him:  Imagine, with all your left-wing and pro-Palestinian beliefs, that you found yourself in one of the border towns of Israel adjacent to Gaza.  Maybe visiting a grandparent.  As Hamas terrorists come into their home and start spraying bullets, what are your final thoughts?  Are you thinking:  "I'm so glad that my grandparents and I are about to be slaughtered?"  Are you wondering why they did not ask you if you sided with them before murdering you?  

You see, young man, you are no different from me - a conservative, pro-Israel Zionist.  No different because we are both Jews, which makes us worthy of being murdered.  Said one "progressive" Rabbi who often criticizes the Israeli government:  Antisemitism is so "embedded" in society, that "people cannot even see it."  And she said this telling comment:  "Our human ask is that people give a damn when we die."  Well, Rabbi, as we have seen with the pro-Palestinian rallies on our college campuses, and in cities throughout our country and throughout the world, many do NOT give a damn when Jews die.  How many gave a damn during the Holocaust?  And in case anyone needed a reminder, Jew haters in Sydney, Australia were heard shouting "gas the Jews."

My final comments.  I honestly do not know if any of these left-wing Jews understand that their party has become a leftist party.  It is not a liberal party.  It adheres to leftist ideas of identity politics, with one's identity telling us everything we need to know about someone.  It adheres to the idea of "intersectionality," as if every cause of the Left has equal merit.  But worst of all, it has removed one's ability to think, to reason, and to see right from wrong.  Many young Jews (as the man in the first paragraph) are now struggling with people they considered to be friends, but who have come out strongly for the Palestinians, with no condemnation of the atrocities committed by Hamas.

If you know me, I would always try to explain to people why they are wrong, why they have lost their humanity if they refuse to condemn even the murder of babies.  But if they persisted in their evil beliefs, they would never be friends with me again.          

This Is Now Our America, Part II

As readers know, I now refer to the mainstream media as the Democratic Party-Mainstream Media Complex, or D-MSM for short.  It pays to see what they are saying in today's America.  On the front page of today's Los Angeles Times, above the fold, is this story:  "Mideast war has campuses on edge."  The story continues on page 8, occupying the entire page.  It is not described as opinion or analysis.  Therefore, we are to take it as "news."  On the front page under the fold is this:  "Palestinians in Gaza scramble to evacuate."  It is continued on page 4.  On page one is also a picture of a young Palestinian said to be injured by an Israeli airstrike.  Let's talk about the main article, atop the fold.

We are told that over 1300 Israelis were massacred by Hamas "militants."  Many D-MSM news outlets refuse to refer to Hamas as terrorists.  But what do you call people who murder babies and children and unarmed civilians?  It is certainly not military conflict.  It is intended to terrorize the civilian population.  Earlier in the week, I was astounded by this front page headline in the LA Times:  "Israel, Hamas toll rises over 1100."  What?  Innocent and unarmed Israeli civilians are lumped together with Hamas terrorists?  The D-MSM does this quite often.  Such as when a bad guy shoots and kills two people for example, but then the police shoot him dead.  The headline will be "Three killed in shootout."  No!  It's two killed by a murderer, who was then shot dead by the police.  The criminals should never be equated with the innocent victims.  The same goes for terrorists.  But this is now America. 

Inside, we ae told that student groups across the country either criticized university administrators for not issuing sufficiently harsh statements condemning Hamas, or not condemning Hamas at all.  Palestinian students and groups wanted expressions of support for Hamas' actions.  I am reminded of when Representative Ilhan Omar made one antisemitic comment after the next, and the Republicans in the House tried to get a resolution passed condemning antisemitism.  But then Speaker Nancy Pelosi would only allow a generic type of resolution, condemning all discrimination and all hate.  Whereas many members of Congress knelt in the Capitol rotunda on behalf of George Floyd and black lives, no such special consideration could be given for Jewish lives.  

Here's something by the La F.U.E.R.Z.A. Student Association at Cal State Long Beach:  "WHEN PEOPLE ARE COLONIZED RESISTANCE IS JUSTIFIED."  How is it possible that so many young people are insensitive to the murder of babies even?  This is now America.  The National Chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine (which, by the way, just like Hamas, is an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood) said the Hamas attack was a "historic win for the Palestinian resistance."  "Bears for Palestine," a Berkeley student group, called Israel an "apartheid regime," and per the paper claimed that Israel "has occupied Palestinian lands for decades, depriving more than 2 million Gazans of their human rights and basic necessities for the last 16 years."  Here's an idea.  Tell Hamas to lay down their weapons, accept Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state, use all the money they get to build a civil society, and let's see what happens.  We don't need to see what happens if Israel lays down its weapons...we saw that firsthand on October 7.  A day when more Jews were murdered than at any time since the Holocaust.  

I certainly would have preferred if the article quoted more Jewish professors and Jewish organizations.  But the article ended with a very telling quote from a 22 year-old Jewish student who did not want to walk alone on campus, because she did not want interactions with students supporting the recent actions by Hamas.  "It's a lonely feeling for I think a lot of us, where you see people that you thought you were friends with and they're blatantly promoting what's happening."  

That is a question for all of America.  That is a question raised in "Are We At War With Islam?"  I am sure most have us have seen Rashida Tlaib, a member of Congress, refuse to condemn the murder of even Jewish babies.  Yes, some in the "Squad" have.  But what if people like Tlaib become so numerous in the country and in Congress, that all support for Israel would end.  Can you imagine funding Hamas?  Oh wait, we do fund UNRWA (The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East), which operates in Gaza.  And Hamas controls Gaza.  It is past time to cease funding for UNRWA.  Why, 75 years later, after so many people were displaced from so many countries following the end of WWII (including hundreds of thousands of Jews from Arab countries) do we have a UN agency devoted to one group of "refugees."  Stop calling them refugees.  Stop saying "refugee camps."  It is nonsense.

I cannot end this post without discussing Iran.  Iran is frequently called the leading state sponsor of terrorism.  Hamas and Hezbollah would not be able to operate without Iran supplying both money and weaponry.  Why should Iran be able to walk away from this conflict unscathed?  

This Is Now Our America, Part I

A few preliminary comments.  Early on in the blog, I wrote a post called "Are We at War with Islam?  Part I."  It was posted August 29, 2010.  Another five parts followed.  I do suggest a reading of that post, which can easily be found on the web version by typing the title (without the Part I) into the search bar.  Also, before I get to the bad/sad news, I want to thank President Biden for continuing to support Israel.  (Yes, I am aware of the critics who say he should have gone much further.  But for now, as I always say, give credit where credit is due.)  The President has sent two aircraft carrier groups to the eastern Mediterranean.  He has been sending necessary war materiel to resupply Israel.  And, according to a former Israeli special forces operator, the Navy's Seal Team Six and the Army's Delta Force are already on the ground, assisting the Sayeret Natkal, Israel's premier special forces outfit, in order to assist in finding and extracting the hostages.  The search for hostages has delayed the ground invasion of Gaza.

It is beyond sad that here in America it has become difficult to call what Hamas did terrorism.  What other purpose could there be when they target civilians, including babies.  I saw online a picture of a little baby riddled with bullets.  I do not know how I will ever get that image out of my head.  Are we at war with Islam?  Just look at what is happening at college campuses across the country.  Just look at what is happening in major cities across the country, with so many rallying in support, not just for the Palestinians, but for Hamas.  (No one needs to email to tell that there are Muslims who support America and even Israel.  I know.  But their voices do not seem to be in the majority.)

At Harvard University, over two dozen student organizations signed off on this statement:  "We the undersigned student organizations, hold the Israeli regime entirely responsible for all the unfolding violence...today's events did not occur in a vacuum.  For the last two decades, millions of Palestinians in Gaza have been forced to live in an open-air prison...Israeli violence has structured every aspect of Palestinian existence for 75 years."  Nothing like blaming the victim.

But let's break that down.  "The Israeli regime."  No, Israel has regular elections, like all democracies.  On the other hand, although Hamas won the election in Gaza in 2006, they have allowed no further elections.  Calling Gaza "an open-air prison."  This is how the radical Muslims and the Left use language as propaganda.  Somehow, in this "prison" Hamas has managed to build a huge military arsenal.  Money and weapons come from Iran.  Hamas has used tons of cement to reinforce their underground tunnels.  But this is a "prison."  Let me be clear, to the extent Gaza is a prison it is because of Hamas, not Israel.  Hamas rules with an iron fist.  Imagine using all that cement (and the accompanying electrical wiring and lights) to build infrastructure where businesses could thrive.  But, again, Hamas does not give a damn about the people of Gaza.  Their one and only goal is the destruction of Israel.

"Israeli violence has structured every aspect of Palestinian existence for 75 years."  Just like the phrase "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free," this is where these student groups tipped their hand and demonstrated their true beliefs.  Modern Israel has existed for 75 years.  When the United Nations voted partition of the British Mandate in 1947, the Jews were given a tiny piece of land.  But even that was too much for the Arabs, as 5 Arab nations attacked Israel in May, 1948, the day after the Jewish people announced the establishment of Eretz Israel, their historic homeland.  The fact that Israel still exists today is something that these pro-Palestinian groups cannot accept.  They still refer to the establishment of Israel as the "Nakba," which means catastrophe.  "From the river (the Jordan River) to the sea (the Mediterranean) Palestine will be free" means there is no Israel.  Keep in mind that Harvard is considered the premier university in the country.  But this is America now. 

Here is a professor from Yale, another one of the top universities in the country.  "Settlers are not civilians.  This is not hard," so said Zareena Grewal.  Calling Israelis settlers, people who live in Israeli towns outside of Gaza and outside of the West Bank (in what is considered Israel proper) again shows their true belief - all of Israel is land occupied by "settlers."  In other words, Israel has no right to exist.  You know what is "hard" professor?  It is hard to imagine that anyone who considers themselves a civilized person is unable to condemn the murder of babies, children and unarmed civilians.  Here is more from this professor:  "Israel is a murderous, genocidal settler state and Palestinians have every right to resist through armed struggle, solidarity."  Yes, Palestinians have every right to pump a dozen or more bullets into a baby.  This is beyond sick - it is pure evil.  I could give plenty of additional examples of what goes on our universities.  But this is America now.  

For those of you who may have supported Black Lives Matter (which I never understood as they are racist and antisemitic), here is what Mediaite reported:  "Black Lives Matter chapters across the country are celebrating the terrorist attacks that have claimed hundreds of innocent lives in Israel."  At last count, over 1300 hundred were murdered by Hamas terrorists.  Here is the LA Chapter of Black Lives Matter:  "...resistance must not be condemned, but understood as a desperate act of self-defense."  When did the murder of babies and children come to be called "resistance?"

I don't want to make this post overly political. but facts are facts, and these are important facts.  According to a Gallup poll conducted in February of this year, Democrats were asked where their sympathies lie in the Middle East.  In the January, 2013, poll, only 19% (bad enough) said their sympathies lie with the Palestinians over Israel, whereas 55% chose Israel.  Fast forward 10 years to February, 2023, and 49% of Democrats said their sympathies lie with the Palestinians, with only 38% favoring Israel.  How did this happen?  It happened because many "liberal" Democrats simply went along with their party even after it was dominated by "leftists," who are decidedly not "liberal" in any way.  It happened because these leftists now dominate in our colleges and universities, and even in our public schools.  

My wife and I attended two stand with Israel events this past week, both sponsored by Chabad.  I was pleased to see the turnout.  I also saw large turnouts at synagogues, as seen on the nightly news.  I saw young people and old people.  I saw Reform Jews, Conservative Jews and Orthodox Jews.  I saw/spoke with politically liberal and politically conservative Jews.  And I saw Christians at these rallies.  All standing together, united, in support of Israel.  

I'll end with this.  Many of you may have seen scenes at airports around the country and around the world, where young Jews are trying to get flights back to Israel in order to fight for their country.  The only social media I am on is LinkedIn.  I saw a post (I do not recall the country) where an El Al (the Israeli airlines) plane was about to take off.  Every seat was filled, but there were more young people in the airport who wanted to fly back to Israel.  The Captain told the flight attendants to give up their seats.  Then, with even more wanting to get on the flight, the Captain ordered they may be permitted on the plane and be allowed to sit or lay down on the floor.  This brought tears to my eyes.  

The Jewish people, acting as one in support of Israel.  Am Yisrael Chai!  The people of Israel live!          

"We are at war!"

So said Prime Minister Benjamin (Bibi) Netanyahu to the people of Israel, after a surprise attack on the Israeli homeland by the terrorist organization Hamas.  The attack came by land, sea and even air (apparently with paragliders).  The attack came on the 50th anniversary (plus one day) of the 1973 Yom Kippur war, when Israel was also caught off guard.  Then, President Nixon made it clear that Russian interference would not be tolerated when he supplied necessary war materiel to insure Israel's survival.  The attack today came on the Jewish sabbath, Shabbat, and at the end of Sukkot (the festival of the booths) and on Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah (a celebration of the completion of the reading of the Torah in synagogues worldwide, and immediately beginning anew from the beginning of Genesis).

Make no mistake, Hamas targeted civilians.  They murdered them in their homes.  They took some as hostages.  Yes, they were also able to infiltrate an Israeli military base.  The last estimates that I saw (these numbers are all rapidly changing) was that over 250 Israelis were killed, and over 1000 were injured.  Hundreds of Hamas terrorists infiltrated Israel, even taking over some small towns and villages and kibbutzim.  This was a massive failure of the vaunted Israeli intelligence community, as well as of the defense establishment.  Hundreds of Palestinian terrorists were able to breech the barrier fence between Israel and Gaza.  

Here was President Biden:  "The United States unequivocally condemns this appalling assault against Israel by Hamas terrorists from Gaza, and I made clear to Prime Minister Netanyahu that we stand ready to offer all appropriate means of support to the Government and people of Israel.  Terrorism is never justified.  Israel has a right to defend itself and its people.  The United States warns against any other party hostile to Israel seeking advantage in this situation.  My Administration's support for Israel's security is rock solid and unwavering."  While I appreciate the President's words of support, I have a question:  "appropriate means of support" according to whom?

Here is what Biden's U.S. Office of Palestinian Affairs Tweeted (or X'd):  "We unequivocally condemn the attack of Hamas terrorists and the loss of life that has incurred.  We urge all sides to refrain from violence and retaliatory attacks.  Terror and violence solve nothing."  What a moron!  Clearly a leftwing moron.  The attack "of" Hamas terrorists, or "by" Hamas terrorists?  Refrain from retaliatory attacks?  So Israel should just let their people be annihilated?  Violence solves nothing?  Really?  Did Hitler stop WWII and the Holocaust because Roosevelt said "pretty please" to him?  

Here is the reply by Senator Ted Cruz to the above Tweet:  "This is disgraceful and every single person involved in drafting and approving this tweet should be immediately expelled from the U.S. government."  Much better.  Compare Senator Tom Cotton's comment with that of President Biden.  Cotton:  "This war is a transparent attempt by Iran to derail the peace talks between and Israel and Saudi Arabia.  The United States should provide Israel the military and diplomatic support it needs to destroy Hamas.  And the Biden administration should cease all engagement with Iran."

Cotton says supply Israel with what Israel needs, not what the US deems appropriate.  Yes.  Cotton says supply diplomatic support.  Yes, as the UN and others will shortly be condemning Israel for their alleged "aggression."  Cotton says cease all engagement with Iran.  Yes.  And Cotton states the obvious, for those missing the point.  Iran and the Palestinians have no interest in seeing any kind of peace deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia.  And this war has undoubtedly delayed any such deal.  

You think that Hamas gives a damn about the people of Gaza?  They don't.  They have one goal - the destruction of Israel.  Here was the military chief of Hamas:  "This is your day to make the enemy understand that his time has ended.  Everyone who has a gun should take it out.  The time has come."  If Hamas really cared about the people of Gaza, they would not be spending money on armaments, but on bolstering their economy.  Supporting businesses.  Helping to create jobs.  Building infrastructure.  And not risking it all with yet another war.  Yet, 75 years later, 75 years after the establishment of modern day Israel, the sole focus of Hamas remains on the destruction of Israel.  

A few closing comments by me.  Will the Arab citizens of Israel take up the call of Hamas' military chief?  Will they pick up guns and attack their fellow Israelis?  It has happened before.  Will Hezbollah, in Lebanon, on Israel's northern border, get involved?  Hezbollah is said to have a stockpile of 150,000 missiles, capable of reaching every square inch of Israel.  What would Israel's response have to be if that happened?  And what about Iran.  Iran supplies Hamas and Hezbollah.  Iran has, on multiple occasions, called for the destruction of Israel.  I have no doubt that Iran has been supplying the funds necessary for Hamas to carry out this attack.  

What about the US?  The US has designated Hamas a terrorist organization.  The US has sought to destroy other overseas terrorist organizations.  Think Al Qaeda and ISIS.  Why not send the Sixth Fleet directly to the border of Gaza?  Why not even target various Hamas strongholds and weapons factories?  Israel never asks for the direct military involvement of foreign forces.  But Biden could order it.  And think about the message it would send to Hezbollah and Iran.  You try to destroy our ally Israel and you just picked a battle with the US.  

A final comment.  According to Fox, the Israeli military issued this statement:  "The Israeli Defence Forces will defend Israeli civilians and the Hamas terrorist organization will pay (a) heavy price for its action."  Really?  Bull crap!  Stop with the "paying a heavy price."  Stop with the the tit for tat, back and forth.  It is past time for Israel to obliterate Hamas.  They are a terrorist organization.  They cause needless wars.  They do little for the people of Gaza.  Get rid of them already!  And I'll say this to President Biden:  do not tell Israel to stop their attacks after two weeks or a month.  There should be no time limit on eradicating Hamas.  And, as noted above, a little help from the Sixth Fleet wouldn't hurt.  

(Postscript.  The latest numbers are over 300 Israelis dead and over 1500 wounded.)