"Harris, Gaza and the Voters She Leaves Behind"

Such was the headline of an Op-Ed in the Sunday, September 1, 2024, New York Times.  A mere six days before the 11 month anniversary of the worst attack on the Jewish people since the Holocaust.  It is safe to assume that when an Op-Ed appears in the NY Times, the paper agrees with the contents.  This particular Op-Ed was written by Hala Alyan, who describes herself as a Palestinian American.  Ms. Alyan tells us that she was "raised on stories of the nakba (Arabic for catastrophe, and used to describe the founding of Israel), land theft, a boy burned alive, a young American woman mangled by an Israeli bulldozer (see Rachel Corrie), the searing image of a man trying to protect his son from flying bullets."  She then adds:  "Palestinian Americans and their allies are bringing a context to this election."  

Unfortunately, she gives no context to the events she described.  And one, the nakba, can explain everything that has happened between and the Arabs since Israel's founding in 1948.  It can explain all the attacks on Israel. the intifadas, the suicide bombers, the nonstop rockets and missiles sent into Israel.  The nakba.  The refusal to accept the existence of the State of Israel.  76 years later still living in denial. 

Ms. Alyan expressed her appreciation for Kamala Harris at the DNC, when Harris spoke of Palestinians right to "freedom" and "self-determination," and saying "the scale of suffering is heartbreaking."  But she wanted more.  She wanted Harris to give a "direct naming of who is killing and starving Palestinians."  She wanted Harris to name the perpetrator.  If she did not, allow me:  Hamas!  Along with every Arab who refuses to accept the existence, on a tiny strip of land, of the one Jewish country in the world.  Those are your perpetrators, Ms. Alyan.

However, in her Op-Ed, Ms. Alyan never mentions Hamas.  She never mentions October 7.  She does manage to throw in the usual falsehoods, such as Israel being an apartheid state, and Israel committing genocide.  And she speaks favorably of those who voted "uncommitted" during the Democratic primary, hoping to send a message to party leaders to reverse course on their support for Israel.  Ms. Alyan not only seeks to have a ceasefire, she wants sanctions placed on Israel, and she wants an arms embargo.

I would love to ask Ms. Alyan if she would like to see the United States supply arms to Hamas.  The same Hamas that our country has defined as a terrorist organization.  I would like to ask her why she did not mention the October 7 massacre.  And, if she didn't care about the brutal murder of so many innocents, including children, and the rape and mutilation of women.  I would like to ask her why she did not mention Hamas.  Does she think Hamas bears any responsibility for the events that occurred on October 7 and thereafter?  

As she continues to refer to the "nakba," does that mean Ms. Alyan does not believe Israel has the right to exist?  I'd like to ask her.  Does she support all the wars against Israel?  Does she want to see the Jewish people eliminated?  What does she stand for?  I'd like to ask her.  If she was to ask me my opinion on the killing of innocents in Gaza, I would refer her to my 11/26/23 post about an Op-Ed written by New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof.  Mr. Kristof repeatedly asked "how many dead Gazan children are too many?"  

My reply was:  "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."  

Ms. Alyan writes:  "Ultimately, nobody is owed constituents.  Nobody is owed votes.  They must be earned."  Her conclusion:  "A democratic system that doesn't represent the wishes of its constituents is either malfunctioning or misnamed."  If that is truly what Ms. Alyan believes, then she does not understand what a democracy is.  I'd like her to explain how her policy towards Israel would represent  Jewish American constituents, and the majority of Americans, who believe the United States should support Israel.  It appears that. for Ms. Alyan. the United States can only be called a democracy, when and if it supports Hamas.

I have so many questions for Ms. Alyan.  Does she think that Hamas, as the governing body of Gaza, operates as a democracy?  Does she support the taking of hostages, including babies?  Does she support Hamas using the people of Gaza as human shields, placing their weapons and arms in people's homes, in hospitals and in mosques?  And, of course, I'd like to ask her what she thinks about the harassment of Jewish students in this country?  And, what place does she see for the Jewish people in America, and in the world?   

Odds & Ends

(Note.  Over the years I have written various posts about "Odds and Ends."  When it's a busy news cycle, there are many things to cover, but I can't write 7 different posts.  So, I put all the issues together in a single post, with a short commentary on each.)

A brief remark about the third comment written on the post titled "Never Mind."  (One of the 8/25/24 posts.)  The commentator says I am willing to give my country away and allow Trump to be a dictator on day one.  The reference is clearly to an interview Trump gave to Sean Hannity.  When Trump made that remark, Hannity asked him to explain.  Hannity knew Trump made a poor choice of words with "dictator", and that the Democrat Party-Mainstream Media Complex would lie about it, just as they had done with Charlottesville.  So Hannity asked Trump to explain what he meant.  "I want to close the border, and I want to drill, drill, drill...After that, I'm not a dictator."  Except, that is not being a dictator at all.  Those are policy decisions.  Closing the wide-open border that the Biden-Harris administration has allowed.  And reversing the non-stop attacks on the oil and gas industry.  An industry that has fostered our modern civilization.  Unfortunately, a poor choice of words by Trump has allowed the DP-MSMC to run with it, and those such as the commentator on the blog buy into it.

Tim Walz was at a State Fair in St. Paul, Minnesota the other day.  Someone (a reporter?) could be heard asking him:  "What's your reaction to the six hostages being found dead in Gaza?"  Walz then waved goodbye as he said "All right, thanks everybody," and walked away.  Newsweek suggested that perhaps Walz did not hear the question.  Of course, Trump would never get any such benefit of the doubt.  My guess is, he feared saying anything that might interfere with the messaging of the Harris campaign, trying to play both sides in the Israel-Hamas war.  And trying not to offend the Arab Muslim population in Minnesota.  Walz later issued a statement condemning Hamas as a "brutal terrorist organization."  Fine, but why couldn't he just say that in front of all the people at the fair, instead of releasing a statement that probably few saw.  

Having watched the video, I don't buy Newsweek's explanation for one second.  Plus, here is what Walz said when speaking to WCMU radio in Michigan, also with a large Arab Muslim population.  Speaking about the protesters, Walz said:  "Those folks who are speaking out loudly are speaking out for all the right reasons.  It's a humanitarian crisis.  It can't stand the way it is."  All the right reasons?  Such as calling for the end of Israel with "From the river to the sea Palestine will be free."  Such as claiming Israel is committing genocide?  Such as saying Zionists are...fill in the blank...racists, Nazis, genocide supporters.

I don't know about you, but I'm getting tired of Democrats saying Israel has the right to defend itself, as if that is somehow an issue.  Of course Israel has the right to defend itself.  Why must that pointed out about the sole Jewish country in the world?  Why not just say:  "Hamas started this war, with a brutal massacre of 1200 people, which was the worst attack on the Jewish people since the Holocaust.  Hamas needs to be eliminated...permanently!"

This was a shocker.  Lifelong Democrat, 86 year-old Alan Dershowitz, announced that he has left the party and become an independent.  Most telling was his explanation:  "I was disgusted at the Democratic National Convention.  Absolutely disgusted."  Why?  "It was the most anti-Jewish, anti-Israel, anti-Zionist convention I've experienced."  While he likely will not be voting for Harris, he has not said that he will for Trump.  Nevertheless, I would love it if my fellow Jews would wake up to the fact of what the Democrat party has become.

The Democrats keep calling for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.  And I understand that many in Israel are asking for the same thing, in order to get the hostages home.  So let's think about it for a minute.  I have heard some pro-Israel commentators say there was already a ceasefire before October 7, when Hamas started this latest war.  That's simply not accurate.  During this period of a ceasefire/peace, Hamas has continually fired rockets into Israel.  Hamas has fired nearly 20,000 rockets into Israel since 2005, when Israel vacated Gaza.  That's no ceasefire!  Now, Hamas has promised to conduct another operation like the one on October 7 over and over and over again.  So, my only question to those calling for this ceasefire, is:  "What is your plan for when Hamas rearms and carries out the repeated attacks again and again, and takes more hostages?"  What is the plan?

Here is another shocker.  After the SCOTUS decision regarding presidential immunity, special counsel Jack Smith refiled the same charges against Trump.  Trump asked US District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan to delay further proceedings until 2025 - after the election, and after his inauguration should he win.  She refused, agreeing to the timeline suggested by Smith for the filing of motions regarding immunity and other issues.  This timeline - before the election - gives Smith an opportunity to air whatever dirty laundry he has about Trump, in his continued efforts at election interference.  But here is what Judge Chutkan had to say:  "The electoral process...is not relevant here.  This court is not concerned with the electoral schedule."  Excuse me?  It only happens every 4 years, when the country gets to decide who they want to hold the highest office office in the land, and the most important office in the world.  How is that not far more important than the any case before the court?  Oh, that's right.  Judge Chutkan presides over the election interference case.  I think the voting public is well aware of all the claims on both sides.  Why not step back and let the voters decide?  Besides, I thought Justice Department policy was to avoid this type of situation, which clearly has the appearance of election interference.  But, like everything else when it comes to Trump, the usual rules do not apply.

The executive director (Ilya Bratman) of the Hillel at Baruch College, held a welcome dinner for incoming students at the Mr. Broadway kosher deli in midtown Manhattan.  Baruch College is part of CUNY - the City University of New York.  There are an estimated 800 different chapters of Hillel at colleges and universities throughout North America.  Hillel provides not only a meeting place for Jewish students on campus, but religious services and learning as well.  No doubt on some of the more leftwing campuses, they support "social action."  At the welcome dinner, the Jewish students were harassed by pro-Hamas protesters, their faces covered by keffiyehs.  Here is some of what the students heard.  "Where's Hersh, you ugly ass bitch?  Go bring them home."  (Hersh Goldberg-Polin was the American among the six recently murdered hostages.)  The students also reported hearing:  "You ain't going home tonight," "All Zionists are terrorists," and "Ilya Bratman you can't hide, you're committing genocide."  Apparently sponsored by the Muslim Brotherhood affiliated Students for Justice in Palestine, the SJP wants CUNY to cut all ties with Hillel International.  How nice that these are the people the Democrats are trying to placate in order to get their votes.  And for those on the Left, voting with people who want to kill all the Jews, is somehow better than voting for Trump.