The Democrats, Israel and the Jews

A confession.  After the last six posts, I was feeling pretty alone out there.  The posts discussed Israel's war with Hamas, and the surging antisemitism here in the US.  But the only complaints I got were from left-wing fellow Jews.  Here are some of the comments.  "Israel started the war."  "It's Israel's fault that there is no peace."  "I never liked Netanyahu."  "If you love Israel so much you should move there."  "Who cares" about the antisemites in Congress."  "The New York Times isn't antisemitic, just anti-Israel."  As if that wasn't bad enough, here are a couple more I heard through some friends.  

A Jewish woman told her daughter, who said she want to go to Israel through the Birthright Israel program, that she should not go.  Why?  Because the Palestinian young adults don't get to go.  (See my 9/10/17 post for a discussion of Birthright Israel.)  Briefly, the program is a way for young Jews in the Diaspora (the lands outside of Israel), who are ages 18 to 26, to have an all expenses paid trip to Israel.  They visit the holy sites and historical sites and hopefully have some fun along the way.  The idea is to create a bond between young Diaspora Jews and the Land of Israel.  

Yet here was a Jewish mother telling her adult child not to go.  "It's not fair."  So the daughter did not go.  I wonder if this mother would think it's not fair for her family to live in a nice house (I'm told that they do) when poor people cannot afford the same living conditions.  Or, as with many, their left-wing politics is fine - as long as it does not affect them personally.  As if that was not bad enough, another Jewish friend was asked by a fellow Jew of the left:  "What's your connection to Israel anyway?"  What is the Jewish people's connection to the Land of Israel?  It's just very hard to take.

So, I had not planned to have yet another post discussing Israel or antisemitism.  I felt like "what's the point?"  But then I read this.  Ihan Omar Tweeted:  "We have seen some unthinkable atrocities committed by the US, Hamas, Israel, Afghanistan, and the Taliban.  I asked @SecBlinken where people are supposed to go for justice."  I took heart that 12 Jewish Democratic members of Congress called the comparison "as offensive as it is misguided," adding "false equivalencies give cover to terrorist groups."  Yet, some Jewish members of Congress came to Omar's defense.  Kentucky Rep. John Yarmouth said this:  "People are ready to parse every word that she says.  And I just think that's unfair."

Yarmouth added:  "The idea  that you can't mention the US, Israel and Hamas in the same sentence without being accused of being antisemitic?  That's just stupid."  Really?  Here they are in the same sentence:  "Hamas is a terrorist organization seeking the destruction of a country; Israel and the US are not terrorist organizations, and do not seek the destruction of other countries."  Here's Michigan Rep. Andy Levin, explaining that Omar was just defending "human rights."  But Omar clearly was not defending the right of Israel to defend itself from thousands of rockets aimed at its cities.  

Then I read this story.  One-third of the entire Democratic caucus in the House, 73 members, sent a letter to President Biden.  To what end?  They asked that Biden reverse Trump's "abandonment of longstanding, bipartisan United States policy" on Israeli-Palestinian relations.  The letter requests that Biden consider Israeli "settlements" to be illegal.  They want Biden to say that the West Bank and Gaza are "occupied" by Israel.  They want Biden to reopen a Palestinian consulate in Jerusalem, Israel's capital city.  They want Biden to stop Israel from evicting Palestinians in the disputed area of "East" Jerusalem.  They want a withdrawal from the Trump peace plan.  And they want aid restored to the Palestinians, which Biden has already done.

Oh yes.  They also want Biden to insist that Hamas stop sending rockets into Israel.  What a bunch of duplicitous fools.  First of all, Hamas does not give a damn about being told to stop rocket attacks.  They have not stopped since Israel vacated Gaza in 2005, nor will they stop.  Second, notice that Biden is to give a meaningless tongue lashing to Hamas, but is told to take affirmative ACTION against our ally Israel.  I can hardly wait to hear from left-wing Jews on that.  

Seven Democratic Jewish members signed off on the letter:  John Yarmouth, KY; Jan Schakowsky, Ill (one of the initiators of the letter, no less); Alan Lowenthal, CA; Andy Levin, Mich; Sara Jacobs, CA; Steve Cohen, TN; and Jamie Rashkin, MD.  I was reminded of being at a dinner party years ago when yet another left-wing Jew said to me something to this effect:  "The US should do everything in its power to make Israel create a Palestinian state."  The dinner party was not at my house.  So I kept my mouth shut.

The letter to Biden was also signed, not surprisingly, by Ilhan Omar.  It was not signed by Rashida Tlaib.  Tlaib does not believe Israel should even exist.  I do not know if Omar believes Israel should exist; she may have signed the letter as a tactical move to put pressure on Israel.  The question I have is this - do these Jewish members of Congress also believe Israel should not exist?  Or, do they do not give a damn one way or the other?           

The Coronavirus 65 Weeks Later - Anti-Semitism in Academia

Recently, on May 26, 2021,the Chancellor and Provost of the New Brunswick campus of Rutgers University (my alma mater) issued a statement condemning antisemitism.  "We are saddened by and greatly concerned about the sharp rise in hostile sentiments and anti-Semitic violence in the United States.  Recent incidents of hate directed toward Jewish members of our community again remind us of what history has to teach us."  The statement went on to mention George Floyd, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, as well as Hindus and Muslims.  Reference was also made to the latest war between Israel and Hamas, with sympathy being expressed for the loss of lives on both sides, and the displacement of Arabs in Gaza.  

The statement went to "denounce acts of hate and prejudice against members of the Jewish community and any other targeted and oppressed groups on our campus and in our community."  I get it; it can never just be about the Jews.  And, in fairness, Asian Americans have also been recent targets of hate and violence.  

The very next day, May 27, 2021, a new statement issued, and was titled "An Apology."  Why an apology?  "In hindsight, it is clear to us that the message failed to communicate support for our Palestinian community members.  We sincerely apologize for the hurt that this message has caused."  What?  Much of the recent surge in attacks on Jews across the country was done by Palestinians and/or their supporters.  And Rutgers is apologizing to them?! 

I was incensed.  After hearing of the apology, and not yet knowing that the group demanding it was the campus chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP, an anti-Israel hate group), I fired off an email to the Chancellor and Provost.  "I just read that you apologized for sending an email condemning anti-Semitism.  Jews are not only the biggest targets of religious hate crimes in our country, but the anti-Semitism and hatred toward Jews has grown to alarming numbers.  And you apologize for condemning that?  You know very well that if I dared to say 'all lives matter' I would be deemed  a racist.  Because it's about black lives.  But it can't just be about Jews because, as history has taught, Jewish lives do not matter very much."

I continued:  There is NO equivalency - FBI statistics regularly show that over 50% of the religious hate crimes target Jews.  And with a dangerous rise in antisemitism you can't condemn that without having to make a false equivalency and apologizing?  I am now ashamed to tell anyone that I am a Rutgers grad.  And I'm disgusted by your cowering to the woke mob."  Again, at the time I sent that I was unaware that it was the campus chapter of SJP that demanded the apology.

On June 9, 2021, I received a reply from the office of the President of Rutgers University.  I was advised that the President issued a statement which replaced the prior statements of the Chancellor and Provost.  It read as follows:  "Rutgers deplores hatred and bigotry in all forms.  We have not, nor would we ever, apologize for standing against antisemitism."  The rest of the brief statement went on to condemn "anti-Hinduism, Islamophobia, and all forms of racism, intolerance, and xenophobia."

That was not the end of the matter.  The SJP was outraged and did not accept the original apology.  They demanded a new apology, acknowledging the recent "violence (in Gaza) as white supremacist efforts and a Zionist political agenda."  They called for cutting off all ties to "the apartheid state of Israel."  It's all lies.  If it were true, Israel is the only "apartheid" state to have Arabs in all the professions and serving as judges and in the Knesset, the Israeli parliament.  White supremacist?  The Jews in Israel are of many different backgrounds.  Many come from Arab countries, some are blacks from Ethiopia.  But that is the current left-wing/Marxist talking point.  Whoever has greater power is an oppressor and must be identified as white. 

This antisemitism in academia is hardly isolated to Rutgers.  It is widespread.  At the University of Chicago, the Undergraduate Student Government (USG) issued a statement jointly with that campus chapter of SJP, on May 21, 2021.  In it, they said that they "stand against the ideology of Zionism that has been used as a justification for the murder displacement and traumatization of the Palestinian people."  They went on to state the usual phrase seeking the end of Israel:  "From the river to the sea USG supports a Palestine that is free."  More lies.  More ignoring history.  More ignoring that there never was a country of Palestine - ever.  And obviously being completely uncaring of the one Jewish state in the world, as Israel sits on much of the land between the (Jordan) river and the (Mediterranean) sea.  

The UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs invited none other than Patrisse Cullors, co-founder of Black Lives Matter, to give the commencement address.  Why is that a problem?  In 2015, Ms. Cullors spoke at Harvard Law School, and she said this:  "Palestine is our generation's South Africa.  If we don't step up boldly and courageously to end the imperialist project that's called Israel, we're doomed."  She calls for the end of Israel, and she gets invited to speak at Harvard and UCLA.  

The teachers' union in Los Angeles (UTLA) as well as the teachers' union in San Francisco (United Educators of SF) issued similar, if not identical statements, expressing "solidarity with the Palestinian people and call for Israel to end bombardment of Gaza and stop displacement of Sheikh Jarrah."  (See the May 16, 2021 post "Israel at War - Again," for a further discussion of that issue.)  The statements by the teachers' unions went on to assert that US tax dollars to Israel "fund apartheid and war crimes."

I am trying to explain that antisemitism exists throughout academia.  Worse, the Palestinian propaganda is accepted at the finest academic institutions in the country.  Have any of you ever wondered what happened in Germany in the 1930's?  Did the Jews not see what was going on?  Did they speak up?  Or did they think that nothing bad could happen to them - they were citizens of a modern industrialized country, a leader in the arts and sciences.  

Here is the son of Elie Wiesel, Elisha Wiesel:  "And now, once again, too many of us have shamefully become the Jews of Silence.  We have spoken up for every cause but our own."  I am proposing that NOW is the time for all good Americans to speak out against antisemitism.  It is especially incumbent on all Jews to speak out against the rising tide of antisemitism.  Write to your school districts and to your universities.  Send letters to the editor of your local papers.  Make your voices heard.  As a dear friend wrote:  "we all have to speak up or Never Again will happen again."         

The Coronavirus 65 Weeks Later - Anti-Semitism in the Media

In the May 28, 2021 edition of the New York Times, on the first page above the fold, were pictures of the faces of 64 children.  The caption above it read:  "They Were Just Children."  Underneath it said:  "At least 69 people under 18 were killed in the Israeli-Hamas war this month.  Nearly all were Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.  They had wanted to be doctors, artists and leaders.  Read their stories, Pages A10-11."  Those inside pages had larger pictures, with their names and ages, along with a short bio.  Underneath the pictures was an article, "Buried With Their Dreams and Nightmares."  

Now, some of you may be wondering how the NY Times was able to get all this information from inside the tightly Hamas controlled Gaza Strip.  If you are like I am, then you understand that the Times is a willing propagandist for Hamas.  Hamas would not have given them access otherwise.  As I said in a recent post, for Hamas the more dead the better, because they know the leftists in the Western world will always assist them in blaming Israel.  So, let's take a look at some of the "highlights" in the accompanying article.  

After noting that the Israeli military says it takes precautions to protect civilians, they tell us this:  "Many people in Gaza, however, say that the number of civilians killed proves that whatever precautions Israel may be taking are tragically insufficient."  Then the Times makes its own assertion:  "The low toll on the Israeli side also reflected an imbalance in defensive capabilities."

Let's examine these comments.  First, we have to trust that Hamas was not lying about the number of children who were killed in the war.  Would a terrorist organization, that uses Western media to promote their propaganda, not lie?  Second (yes, the deaths of all children and innocents is tragic), we know that the Times would make the same assertions about Israel not taking sufficient precautions if the death toll was 100.  Or 50.  Or 10.  

Third, note the Times concern about the low death toll on the Israeli side.  For the Times it is always the same - a numbers game, with not enough Jews dying.  With over 4300 rockets having been fired by Hamas at Israeli cities (targeting civilians), the primary reason for the low death toll is Israel's missile defense system, Iron Dome.  The secondary reason is that there are numerous bomb shelters throughout Israel - out of necessity given the repeated wars Israel has had to fight.  Of course, the Times would not discuss the thousands (millions?) of Israelis who had to flee to, and temporarily live in, the bomb shelters for safety.  Question:  given that Hamas is able to get tons and tons of concrete which they use to build tunnels into Israel to aid in killing Jews, why don't they use that concrete to build bomb shelters for their own people?  It is not a question that the Times would ask.

Here is another question:  without the Iron Dome, what would Israel have had to do to halt the non-stop rocket attacks?  They likely would have needed a ground invasion of Gaza; and that type of war would probably have resulted in far more deaths on both sides.  It turns out, therefore, that the Iron Dome actually saved lives on both sides.    

Fourth, the Times does not bother to tell us that Israel would not have needed to have their warplanes bomb any part of Gaza had Hamas not started to lob thousands of rockets at Israel.  Again, all aimed at Israeli cities.  But the targeting of Israeli civilians isnot a concern for the Times.  And the Times would not blame Hamas for starting the war.  Nor would they bring up the numerous times the Palestinians have rejected having their own state.  The state that they want is on the land of Israel.    

And the Times says this:  "Israel's critics cite the death toll as evidence that Israel's strikes were indiscriminate and disproportionate."  Let's examine that.  First, the technique of citing "critics" is one often used by the media, even Fox.  It is a way of saying:  "This is what we think, but we'll hide behind "critics" saying so."  It's nonsense.  Second, the death toll proves neither indiscriminate attacks nor the use of disproportionate force.  There is an underlying assumption that Israel should have done nothing.  They should have absorbed the attacks.  What other country on earth would not respond militarily to incessant rocket attacks?  What other country on earth takes extreme precautions to protect the enemy's civilians?  Only Israel does that.  Where appropriate, they drop leaflets warning of an attack.  They make phone calls.  And they drop "dud" bombs onto the roofs of buildings as a warning for people to evacuate. 

So, why do I say this is anti-Semitic as opposed to just criticizing Israeli policy?  Simple.  When Israel, the sole Jewish country in the world, is held to a standard that no other country is held to, there can be only one explanation:  Anti-Semitism.  

  

 

Some More Observations About the Current Conflict

The New York Times, the leading mainstream/left-wing newspaper in the country, spent this past week telling of the destruction in Gaza.  On May 22 was a typical online headline for the paper:  "The Everyday Misery of Life Under Israeli Occupation."  Israel does not occupy Gaza.  If life is miserable for the Palestinians they have only their leaders to blame, their leaders who have refused time after time after time every peace deal offered.  The Times did manage to have a daily Op-Ed by a Palestinian or a Palestinian supporter. 

I kept looking in the New York Times for reporting on the attacks on Jews across the country, and in New York City, home of the Times, and home to more Jews than any other city in the country.  Never found it.  It reminded me of an article in the Times years ago discussing riots in various cities in Europe.  They said the riots were carried out by immigrants.  But the "paper of record" did not see fit to tell their readers that all the rioters were Muslim immigrants.  Nothing bad about Muslims, and nothing good about the Jews.  That's the New York Times.

The USA Today "reported" (I use that word loosely for the mainstream media, as their reporting is propaganda) that last weekend thousands protested the "uprooting of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in 1948 after the creation of the state of Israel and the initial Arab-Israeli war.  The event is referred to as the Nakba, or catastrophe."  A brief history.  The Ottoman Empire controlled much of the Middle East for 400 years.  But in WWI, the Ottomans lost and the allies won.  The geographic area of Palestine was given to the British, with the area being referred to as the British Mandate.  After the UN was formed following WWII, the British turned over the Mandate to the UN.  In 1947 the UN voted "partition," dividing the land into a Jewish state and an Arab state.  Up until then, "Palestine" was just as much the home of the Jews as it was of the Arabs.  

In May, 1948, the Jews announced the independence of the country of Israel, on the small piece of land given by the UN partition.  The very next day five Arab countries attacked - the first of many efforts to wipe Israel off the map.  Were hundreds of thousands of Arabs displaced?  Yes, but that is far from the whole story.  Many left out of fear over the impending war.  Many left because the invading Arab countries told them to leave, that Israel would be destroyed, and that they could return to their homes afterwards.  Except that did not turn out to be the case.  The tiny country of Israel, out manned and out gunned, won that war.

The war ended in 1949 with no peace agreement.  The 1949 borders existed until the Arabs tried to destroy Israel again in 1967, when Israel won a decisive victory in the "Six Day War."  In that war, Israel captured the area known as the West Bank (historic Judea and Samaria), the eastern part of Jerusalem holding the Old City, the Golan Heights, Gaza, and the Sinai.  Following the Yom Kippur war in 1973, when Egypt had recaptured part of the Sinai, Israel mad a peace agreement with Egypt which returned the Sinai to the Egyptians.  But let's be clear.  From 1949 to 1967 Jordan controlled the West Bank and Egypt controlled Gaza.  There was no call for a Palestinian state during that time.  Not until the Jews got control. 

Just like left-wing ideology has taken over the mainstream media, so too for academia.  It was reported that over 700 Harvard faculty members signed a letter in support of the "Palestinian liberation struggle," and their right to fight the Jews.  Here is part of the letter, filled with the same lies and half-truths as the USA Today article.  "Since its establishment, Israel has implemented several forms of hegemonic rule imposed over Palestinian lives, starting in 1948 with the military rule imposed on Palestinian areas in Historical Palestine."

In 1948 Israel was fighting for its very life.  It is unclear what the letter writers mean by "Historical Palestine."  There has never been a country of Palestine.  There was a country of Israel 2000 years ago, and again since 1948.  Otherwise, the area known as Palestine, a name generally affiliated with the Philistines, was an area of land on the eastern Mediterranean that was controlled by various foreign invaders.  The last such invaders, as noted above, were the Ottomans.  Yet, I have seen on social media a belief by many (and by many with Arabic and Muslim names) that the Jews have had no connection to the land of Israel before WWII.  

It has been reported that 230 Palestinians were killed in this latest fighting, including 65 children and 39 women.  (Per the USA Today.  Not that I trust Hamas to accurately report their casualties.)  That was too much for Biden, who forced Israel into a cease-fire.  It has also been reported that in 2003 alone, in the war in Iraq, 12,133 civilians were killed.  In 2006 that number rose to 29,517; and overall to over two hundred thousand.  No, I am not celebrating anyone's death.  We Jews do not do that.  But I am showing the degree to which Biden, who claims to be a strong supporter of Israel, was cowed by the likes of Rashida Tlaib and the left-wing of his party.

I believe Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (hated by the left) had it right:  "I think at least half the Democrats are hostile to Israel, the rest of them are afraid of those who are hostile to Israel."  Probably explains why we've heard so little from Chuck Schumer, the Senate Majority Leader, who used to be a strong supporter of Israel; but now apparently fears the consequences of speaking openly in support of Israel.   

So let me be clear.  The conflict going on between Israel and the Arabs from 1948 to today is not about land.  Arabs were killing Jews in the area in the 1920's.  The Grand Mufti of Jerusalem sided with Hitler during WWII.  The fighting is about exactly what Hamas tells us it is about - the desire to destroy Israel and kill all the Jews.  

The Coronavirus 62 Weeks Later - Jews Are Under Attack - Blame the Jews!

I'm angry.  And I'm sick of it.  Before I explain, let's look at some of the facts.  Jews are being attacked across America and internationally.  In public spaces and in broad daylight.  

In Englewood, New Jersey, a family of five, including 3 kids aged 7, 8, and 9, were walking home from their synagogue.  A car pulled up next to them and people inside yelled "free Palestine," and "fuck the Jews you motherfuckers," and "go back to where you came from, get out of here."  

In Bal Harbour, Florida, a family of three, including a 16 year old daughter, was walking home from synagogue, when a car driving by threw garbage at them, with the occupants of the car shouting "free Palestine," "die Jew," "fuck you Jew," and "I'm gonna rape your wife."  Seeing the danger to this family, another driver got out of his car and showed the pro-Palestinian vehicle that he was armed, and scared the terrorists away.  (A good guy with a gun; not that I expect it to change anyone's mind about guns.)

In Arizona, in Utah, in Skokie, Illinois, synagogues and Chabad Houses were damaged and vandalized with swastikas and a "Free Palestine" poster.  And in Borough Park, Brooklyn, men yelled at Jews "fuck the Jews," "kill the Jews," and "free Palestine."  Seeing a trend here?  Elsewhere in New York City, an older man wearing his yarmulke was beaten by a group of pro-Palestinians.  Two other men were beaten bloody on their way to a bagel shop.

In the Beverly Grove area of Los Angeles, some Jewish men were dining outside at a sushi restaurant.  A caravan of pro-Palestinians waving Palestinian flags, stopped and men got out and started physically assaulting the Jewish diners.  Here is how an article in the USA Today described it:  "In Los Angeles, a brawl broke out outside a sushi restaurant Tuesday between sidewalk diners and a group of men passing by waving Palestinian flags."  Lying Bastards!  The sidewalk diners were Jews.  The men instigating the "brawl" were Palestinians and/or their supporters.  And "brawls" do not just "break out."  Brawls do not have a mind of their own, deciding when they should "break out."  (See the May 16, 2021 post discussing the New York Times lie that "violence erupted," and my subsequent conversation with "Violence.")   

I could easily fill this entire post with more examples of attacks on Jews here and elsewhere.  But allow me to shift focus for a moment.  This rise in anti-Semitism has been going on for some time.  We have seen it on college campuses for years.  We have seen it in the mainstream media.  And for some time now we have seen it in the Democratic Party.  Remember when Trump was criticized for not speaking out quickly enough to condemn the Neo-Nazi white supremacists in Charlottesville?  Well, where is Biden?  

I'll tell you where Biden is.  This past week at the Ford plant in Dearborn, Michigan, he was busy praising Rashida Tlaib, one of the biggest anti-Semites in the US Congress.  Biden to Tlaib:  "I admire your intellect, I admire your passion, and I admire your concern for so many other people.  From my heart, I pray that your grandmom and family are well.  I promise you that I'm to do everything to see that they are...you're a fighter, and G-d, thank you for being a fighter."  Yes, thank you for being a BDS supporting, Hamas supporting fighter."  Biden made his remarks after Tlaib confronted him on the tarmac at the airport, upon his arrival in Michigan.  

For defending his country, Tlaib wants Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "Held acoountable for war crimes."  If you are expecting Tlaib to criticize Hamas, don't.  She accuses Israel of being an apartheid state.  She is a liar!  Arab Israelis take part in every aspect of Israeli society.  They are doctors and lawyers and politicians.  Here is one of Tlaib's many partners in anti-Semitism, Ilhan Omar:  "Israeli air strikes killing civilians in Gaza is an act of terrorism."  Liar!  Let's be clear.  Hamas fires their rockets at Israeli cities.  They do not seek to limit civilian casualties - they aim for civilians.  Hamas does not give a damn about their own civilian population even.  They put their offices and rocket launchers in crowded civilian areas.  Israel cares more about protecting Palestinian civilians than does Hamas.  For Hamas, the more Palestinian casualties, the better.  Because much of the Western world then buys into their propaganda.  

Hamas claimed a great victory over Israel.  The deaths of Palestinian civilians and the destruction of property is part of that victory - a victory in the propaganda war.  Biden praising Tlaib is no different than Pelosi praising Ilhan Omar, and calling Omar a "valuable member" of the Democratic caucus.  So why are Democrats letting fellow Democrats get away with their anti-Semitism?  Why aren't the anti-Semites in Congress stripped of their committee assignments, the way that Marjorie Taylor Greene was?  Why aren't more leading Democrats speaking out against the nationwide attack on Jews?  The answer is simple.  There is no down side to avoiding punishment of the anti-Semites.  There is no downside to even praising them.  Why?  Because there is no chance of these Democrats losing the support of Jews.  My fellow Jews will continue to vote (70 to 75%) for the Jew hating Democrats because Republicans are...well, they're Republicans. 

As one pro-Israel commentator put it:  "A favorable attitude toward the Jewish state has been replaced by a determination to encourage and bankroll the Palestinians.  Newly emboldened, the Palestinians looked at US actions and concluded that they are free to promote violence against Jews, and use their media propaganda to blame Israel...and the Biden administration will continue to fund them and even endorse their anti-Israel narrative."  I don't give a damn about the nice words Biden has said about Israel having a right to defend itself.  Shortly after Tlaib confronted him he told Israel he was asking them to stand down.  And he announced funding to help rebuild Gaza.  He even announced funding again for UNRWA - the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees.  What a fool!  An evil fool!  UNRWA works hand in glove with Hamas.  By helping to rebuild Gaza, Biden is telling Hamas that there is no downside to attacking Israel again and again.  Biden is funding the killing of more Jews.  And he is putting himself on the same side as Iran, the terror supporting and Hamas supporting state that promises to wipe Israel off the map.  

Hamas fired approximately 4,340 rockets at Israel.  About 640 rockets fell within Gaza, causing destruction and casualties.  Israel was successful in hitting 1,600 military targets of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, including 340 rocket launchers and over 60 miles of underground tunnels - tunnels that Hamas uses to sneak into Israel in order to kill Jews.  With the tens of millions of dollars in aid received by the Palestinians, I have yet to see a mainstream media "reporter" ask Palestinian leaders:  "Why aren't you building infrastructure for your people with all the money you get?  Schools, hospitals, and funding businesses?  Why is it that you have so much concrete that you are able to build sophisticated tunnels, miles and miles of tunnels, but won't use that concrete to build infrastructure for your people?  Or, at least bomb shelters?"     

The Hamas charter calls for the destruction of Israel, and the killing of Jews.  As discussed above, the Palestinians and their supporters here in the US are also calling for "Death to the Jews."  You left-wing Jews, you think these Palestinians here are saying: "If you are a left-wing supporter of the Palestinian people, you are free to go.  We only want to harm and kill the Jews who oppose us."  They don't care!  If you are a Jew, they want you dead.  In an article in the 5/20/21 New York Times, a Jewish woman was quoted as feeling a "sense of betrayal" by the Black Lives Matter movement.  After all, she supported them.  She marched with them.  But then she read some of their posts online, including comparing Israel to Nazis.  I am not the least bit surprised by BLM support for Jew killers.  If this woman had her eyes open she would not be surprised either.   

I said at the beginning of this post that I am angry.  There is a lot to be angry about.  The increasing attacks on Jews in this country and around the world.  The increasing support for Hamas and the Palestinians against Israel.  The Democratic Party's increasing support for the terrorists of Hamas over Israel.  The leading Democrats turning a blind eye to the anti-Semites in their party.  And many of my fellow Jews being completely brainwashed by the Palestinian propaganda, reinforced by the mainstream media.  And I'm sick of it.  

    

The Democrats and Their Allies Chime In

Sure, President Biden said that Israel has the right to defend itself.  But if that is the best he can do, it is weak and disappointing.  It is merely stating the obvious - what country does not have the right to defend itself?  I would have liked to have heard harsh condemnations of Hamas.  I would have liked to have heard the threat of withholding aid from the Palestinians.

Here is Democrat Palestinian Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib:  "American taxpayer money is being used to commit human rights violations.  Congress must condition the aid we send to Israel, and end it altogether if those conditions are not followed."  Hamas sends thousands of rockets into Israeli cities.  They have even caused the deaths of Arab Israeli citizens.  But that is of no consequence to Tlaib.  Israel does its best to avoid human casualties.  But Hamas places its rockets in populated areas.  All wars have human casualties.  As a Jew, I do not celebrate the deaths of innocents - be they Palestinians or others.  I wish I could say the same for others.  

Here is Democrat Congresswoman Cori Bush:  "The fight for Black Lives and the fight for Palestinian liberation are interconnected.  We oppose our money going to fund militarized policing, occupation, and systems of violent oppression and trauma."  My guess is that she sees Israelis as white oppressors of brown Palestinians.  But we Jews are a people.  We are white, black, brown and even Asian.  

Here's one branch of Black Lives Matter:  "Black Lives Matter Paterson (NJ) condemns the ongoing violence against Palestinians in East Jerusalem by the state of Israel and stands in solidarity with those fighting occupation."  I doubt that BLM has any clue as to the history of the Middle East.  It is clear, however, that their condemnation of "violence" does not apply to the terrorist group Hamas.  One really needs to take a step back in order to realize that US Members of Congress support a terror group against our ally Israel.  

Here is Democrat Jewish Senator Bernie Sanders:  "The devastation in Gaza is unconscionable.  We must urge an immediate ceasefire."  And:  "My solution is to say to Israel:  'You get $3.8 billion every year.  If you want military aid, you're going to have to fundamentally change your relationship to the people of Gaza."  And this gem:  "We must change course and adopt an evenhanded approach."  The people of Gaza voted in Hamas, a terrorist organization, as their government.  So Israel must change, but Hamas can continue to be a terrorist organization?  An evenhanded approach?  The fact that a US Senator can make such a preposterous comment is well beyond disturbing.  I can only imagine Sanders during WWII:  "I know that Germany is attacking our allies England and France, and has taken over parts of France, but the US should take an evenhanded approach to this war."  

Here is one CNN host to former Israeli Defense Minister Naftali Bennett:  "How can any strikes on Gaza, which is such a densely populated area, be targeted at military sites only?"  The question, of course, answers itself.  But Bennett had to explain it to this CNN host:  "Perhaps you suggest we just lay back, let them shoot rockets at us, not shoot back, because they are hiding the rockets behind women and children.  Would you do that?"  

Here is Democrat Congresswoman Ilhan Omar:  "Israeli air strikes killing civilians in Gaza is an act of terrorism.  Palestinians deserve protection.  Unlike Israel, missile defense programs, such as Iron Dome, don't exist to protect Palestinian civilians.  It's unconscionable to not condemn these attacks on the week of Eid."  What's unconscionable is the fact that Omar and others like her actually serve in the US Congress.  Omar is upset that the attacks are occurring during the week of Eid, but instead of blaming Hamas for launching rockets during that week, she blames Israel for fighting back and defending itself.  And, of course, the implication is that it is unfair for Israel to have the Iron Dome missile defense system when the Palestinians do not.

Comedian Trevor Noah has a similar idea of fairness.  "If you were in a fight where the other person cannot beat you, how hard should you retaliate when they try to hurt you?"  Noah is expressing one of the left's favored talking points - the issue of "proportionality."  Is Israel's response proportionate to the attack on Israel.  Without the Iron Dome system, the 3000+ rockets launched by Hamas into Israel would likely have killed hundreds, if not thousands, of Israelis.  But it's always a numbers game for the left - enough Jews are not dying compared to the number of Palestinians dying.  Here is how you can have zero Palestinians dying - stop launching rockets into Israel.  Problem solved.  I wonder how people like Noah and Sanders would feel if a violent extremist group moved in next door to them and started firing bullets indiscriminately into their houses.  Would they call the police?  If so, would they ask the police not to use disproportionate force to stop the shooting, or would they insist on the police putting an immediate end to the threat by all means necessary?  Is Noah is fine with millions of Israelis having to live in bomb shelters and not being able to go about their normal lives?  

Here is Kamala Harris' niece, Meena Harris:  "One cannot advocate for racial equality, LGBT and women's rights, condemn corrupt and abusive regimes and other injustices yet choose to ignore the Palestinian oppression.  It does not add up.  You cannot pick and choose whose human rights matter more."  Really?  She clearly does.  Where does she think that the LGBT community has greater protection - Israel or Gaza?  There are gay pride parades in Israel.  Try being openly gay in Gaza.  And women?  It should be easy enough for Harris to research the multiple ways women are discriminated against in Gaza.  But that would not comport with her, and the left's, talking points.  Better to ignore the truth. 

In a March, 2021 Gallup poll, the results clearly show the differences between the two parties and their views on the Middle East.  An overwhelming 80% of Republicans say their sympathies lie more with Israel, with only 10% saying with the Palestinians.  For Democrats, less than a majority (43%) say their sympathies lie more with Israel, as compared to 38% who sympathize more with the Palestinians.  

There are other Democrats in Congress who have spoken out against Israel.. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has.  Jamaal Bowman has.  Others have more gently expressed their "concern" about Israel's actions.  Meanwhile, within Israel itself, there have been attacks by Arabs on Jews and Jewish property in certain cities, with the most reported being in the city of Lod.  It is bad enough for Israel to have to fight an external enemy, but for Israeli Arabs to attack fellow Israelis who are Jews?  Those Arab citizens who are attacking Jews in Israel are doing so in order to demonstrate their support for an enemy of the state.  I would give them a choice - move to Gaza or we will deport you to Gaza.

My support for Israel is not contingent on which party is running the government, or who sits in the Prime Minister's office.  I know that left-wing American Jews  view Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as simply being another Republican.  Well, guess what?  When Israel comes under attack like this, the people of Israel stand united, left and right.  American Jews should do the same.  Am Yisrael Chai!  The people of Israel live!  The Jewish nation lives!     

The Coronavirus 61 Weeks Later - Israel at War - Again

The lead headline in the May 11, 2021 New York Times was this:  "VIOLENCE ERUPTS BETWEEN ISRAELIS AND PALESTINIANS."  Coincidentally, I ran into Violence the other day at the local coffee shop.  Working up my courage, I went up to him and asked:  "Violence, how come you erupted again?"  He asked if I was from the press; I said that I was not but that I do write a blog.  He agreed to talk to me as long as I did not convey his comments to the press.  Violence:  "Look, I really did not want to erupt again.  But, and this is off the record, I was getting a lot of pressure from the Palestinians."  I asked what pressure.  Violence:  "C'mon, man.  You must know that under Trump, the Palestinians were ignored.  This was a way to reassert themselves back into the international dialogue."  How so, I asked?

Violence:  "Remember when Trump said he was going to move the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Israel's capital city of Jerusalem?  Many people predicted that I would erupt then.  They were nuts.  You think I was going to erupt with a guy like Trump in the White House?"  Me:  "What changed?"  Violence:  "Trump lost.  Biden returned to Obama's policy of appeasing bad guys.  Biden reestablished relations with the Palestinians, and he reinstated aid to them.  And the Palestinians did not have to promise anything - not to stop killing Jews, and no need to recognize Israel as a Jewish state."  Me:  "And so?"  Violence:  "C'mon, man!  Trump helped establish normalized relations between Israel and 4 Arab states.  Unheard of.  Arab leaders were openly stating their frustration with the Palestinians refusal to make peace."

Me:  "I see.  So what is the goal of the Palestinians?"  Violence:  "It's already a done deal.  The Palestinians are now the front and center story in the Middle East.  They're relevant again.  And those 4 Arab countries that normalized relations with Israel?  They now had to openly condemn Israel.  Those 'Abraham Accords' are at risk of being pulled apart."  Me:  "What about the claim that this is about the houses in Sheikh Jarrah, and the clashes at the Al Aqsa Mosque?"  Violence:  "Seriously, man?  We both know that was all a pretext for my erupting now."  Me:  "Why won't you discuss this on the record?"  Violence:  "Listen, man.  The media, the UN, the Europeans, the Arabs, and even Democrats in your country are already blaming the Jews.  Sorry to tell you, but that will always be the easiest narrative.  I gotta run."  Me:  "One more thing.  What would happen if you told the truth?"  Violence:  "I'm Violence, man.  I always have to be seen as siding with the perceived underdog.  Besides, there is no upside to me going against the tide and siding with the Jews.  Later, dude."   

That was quite an illuminating conversation that I had with Violence.  But what about the Arabs being evicted from their homes in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah?  Turns out that  Jews owned those properties since 1875.  But during Israel's war of independence beginning in 1948, Jordan succeeded in capturing the half of Jerusalem later known as East Jerusalem.  The Jews were evicted from their homes, because Jews were not permitted to remain in the territory captured by Jordan; ethnic cleansing of Jews always being permissible.  Jordan then transferred title to some of those properties to Arabs,  Others remained under Jewish ownership.  Then Israel retook the area in the 1967 Six Day War.  As to those properties that remained under Jewish ownership, litigation has been ongoing in Israeli courts for years.  Some of the Arabs living in those homes have been treated as tenants.  The courts were reluctant to evict them as long as they paid rent.  But they refuse to pay rent.  And some are mere squatters, with no rights at all.  In the areas of the West Bank controlled by the Palestinian Authority, it is illegal for Arab owners to sell their property to Jews.  The punishment for doing can be extreme.  Just don't expect any condemnation of that policy from the mainstream media, the left, the UN or the Europeans.

But what about the clashes between Israeli police and Arabs at the Al Aqsa Mosque.  The Mosque sits on the site of what the Arabs refer to as the Noble Sanctuary, often described as the third holiest place in Islam.  For Jews, it is The Temple Mount, the site of  Abraham's binding of Issac, and the site where the two Great Temples stood.  It is the holiest place in Judaism.  For reasons hard to comprehend for this writer, and after recapturing Jerusalem in the 1967 war, the Israelis turned over control of the Temple Mount to the Waqf, which is under Jordanian authority.  However, Israel annexed the eastern area of Jerusalem after the 1967 war, and is therefore responsible for security in all of Jerusalem.  I think the question to ask about the clashes between Arab worshippers and Israeli police on the Mount, is why were the Arabs stockpiling large rocks in their holy mosque?  Why were those rocks thrown at Jewish worshippers at the Western Wall below?  Here is another question:  why are Jews forbidden from praying on the Mount?

The reaction in the mainstream media was predictable.  Nicholas Kristof, one of the chief columnists at the New York Times, made this less than astute observation:  "It's also true that Hamas not only attacks Israeli civilians but also oppresses its own people.  But as American taxpayers, we don't have much influence over Hamas, while we do have influence over Israel and we provide several billion dollars a year in military assistance to a rich country and thus subsidize bombings of Palestinians."  Let me start with this.  Israel is our greatest ally in the Middle East, perhaps in the world.  Hamas has been designated a terrorist organization by our State Department.  So according to Kristof, let's punish our ally Israel in order to reward terrorists?   And what does he mean we have no influence over Hamas?  Of course we do, if we choose to exercise it.  Trump knew how to, Biden has no clue.  Unless, you disagree with Violence, and believe it is all coincidental that Violence did not erupt during Trump's term in office, but has erupted mere months into Biden's term?  

Here is Tracy Wilkinson's analysis in the Los Angeles Times.  (As an aside, Wilkinson was single-handedly responsible for my dropping my subscription to the LA Times with her constant anti-Israel reporting during an earlier war between Israel and the Palestinians.)  Wilkinson:  "Trump gave cart blanche to the Israeli government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and its right-wing nationalist supporters while sidelining and punishing the Palestinians."  As with so many on the left, Wilkinson does not see a difference between Hamas and Israel.  And she clearly does not understand how the withholding of aid can be just as influential as the providing of aid.  Kristof suggested that US aid to Israel could be better spent on providing Covid-19 vaccinations around the world or pre-K at home.  (I will not debate here whether or not the US should ever provide foreign aid.  That is a topic for another time.)

While Iran supplies rockets to Hamas, the US has assisted Israel with financing its Iron Dome missile defense system.  The system was developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries.  As reported by the WSJ, "In 2020 the American firm Raytheon announced partnership with Rafael to build Iron Dome in the U.S."  The US relationship with Israel is far from being one way.  The US benefits greatly from Israeli technology and intelligence.  As I recall, during one of our past wars in the Middle East, a US general praised Israeli intelligence as being worth five CIAs.    

In case readers have any doubt about where much of the mainstream media stands, the New York Times is always pleased to make it clear.  You see, it is not sufficient for Israel to be declared the guilty party in the current war with Hamas.  No, Israel should not even exist.  So says Peter Beinart in a May 13,2021 Op-Ed in the Times.  Beinart is a Jew, and apparently has a great deal of guilt over the fact that Israel exists.  I will not address his points here.  (If somebody wishes to debate those, let me know.)  But, his approach sounds no different than that of the Palestinians: "From the river to the sea, all of Palestine will be free."  From the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea will be Palestine.  Israel will be gone.  Exactly what Hamas and Fatah call for in their charters - the destruction of Israel.  So if you want to know what this current war, and all the wars, have been about, that's it.  The Palestinians desire to wipe Israel off the map.  As Violence told us, there is always a pretext for the fighting, but the pretext is not the truth.