1938 all over again...
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
I am not predicting that American Jewry is immanently in danger from the imposition of the Nurenberg Laws or that the U.S. foreign policy toward Israel is destined to become overtly hostile overnight. We are, however, faced with foreboding winds of change. Let us not blind ourselves to that possible reality. In my opinion American Jewry may be living in a fool's paradise, much like the German Jews before the rise of Hitler.Dr. Irving Kett
I do urgently believe that the Government of Israel should assiduously be investing great capital on planning the future of the Jewish State without U.S. military and diplomatic support. Do I believe that is possible? I absolutely do which is why my children and grandchildren are living in Israel.
Colonel, U.S. Army, Retired
Professor of Civil Engineering
California State University, L. A.
from his essay:
HOW SECURE ARE JEWS IN THE CONTEMPORARY WORLD?
Baruch haShem. Kett spends a great deal of time in his introduction exploring the destructive power of Jewish self-hatred. He cites Melanie Phillips's The Jewish Enemy Within, which discusses the far-left anti-Zionist Jews, those about whom Kett writes, "To these so-called liberal Israel haters, Jewish victim-hood is the only authentic moral Jewish existence. To them the most spiritually elevated moral Jew is the dead Jew. The real crime of Israel in their eyes is that Israel represents Jewish power."
Kett also cites a book titled Jews and Power by Ruth Wisse, which discusses the ambivalence, and even dislike of power and self-governance exhibited within Jewish culture. This "moral solipsism," as Wisse terms it, has an extremely negative impact on the psyche and survival of the State of Israel, as Bret Stephens notes in his review of the book in Commentary magazine, "Even so, as this salutary book insistently warns, misgivings about the exercise of power in self-defense retain a neurotic and damaging grip on the Jewish imagination."
Kett argues that Israel must become totally and completely self-reliant, and stop nursing at its now (or, at least, soon to be) dead American pacifier. He's right. If the sudden "peace agreement" drawn up by America and France to end the War in Lebanon FOR Israel in 2006 wasn't clue enough, if Annapolis wasn't clue enough, if Bush's declarations of a "palestinian" state by the end of '08 aren't enough... Kett argues that we are in the same place Europe was in 1938. You be the judge.
Israpundit linked up to an article by Israel National Radio correspondent Yehudah HaKohen, The Zionist Revolution. He concludes with:
Instead of downplaying Zionism’s radical essence, we must employ it and direct it towards reigniting the fire that once drove Jewish teenagers to drain malaria-filled swamps, fight wars of liberation and make the desert bloom. The revolutionary spark that stirred our youth to become builders and farmers and fighters in our land can surely lead them to take up the cause of Jewish liberation in our own times. By utilizing the full scope and immeasurable beauty of the Zionist Revolution, we can educate our children to see themselves as participants in the great historic drama unfolding in our days.To me, "the full scope and immeasurable beauty of the Zionist Revolution" is found in Ezekiel 36:24-27
For I will take you from among the nations,And Ezekiel 37:11-14
gather you from all the countries,
and return you to your own soil.
Then, I will sprinkle clean water on you,
and you will be clean;
I will cleanse you from all your uncleanness
and from all your idols.
I will give you a new heart
and put a new spirit inside you;
I will take the stony heart out of your flesh
and give you a heart of flesh.
I will put my Spirit inside you
and cause you to live by my laws,
respect my rulings and obey them.
Then he said to me, "Human being! These bones are the whole House of Israel; and they are saying, 'Our bones have dried up, our hope is gone, and we are completely cut off.' Therefore prophesy; say to them that Adonai Elohim says, 'My people! I will open your graves and make you get up out of your graves, and I will bring you into the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am Adonai-- when I have opened your graves and make you get up out of your graves, my people! I will put my Spirit in you; and you will be alive. Then I will place you in your own land; and you will know that I, Adonai, have spoken and that I have done it,' says Adonai."Back in the 1880s, young Jews from Europe and Russia travelled to Zion to clean out swamps because they had to-- they were being persecuted in pogroms and simply had nowhere else to go. Now, however, the majority of the diaspora population is in America, and as Kett testifies to in his article, American Jews have, by and large, convinced themselves that America is their own promised land. We are not being beaten on the streets; American synagogues are not being burned down like the ones in France. In short, life is good, and because life is good, most Jewish Americans don't see the need for G-d, let alone Israel in their lives. Most American Jews do not even attend synagogue, and if they do, the majority do so for social reasons. Jewish America has buried itself in a spiritual grave.
No, for Zionism to succeed, it must be motivated by more than desperation. It must be motivated by passion-- a passion for and from HaShem. And this spiritual awakening has already been written about! Many correlate the prophesy of the Dry Bones with the horrors of the Shoah--and I don't doubt this to be true. But, I also acknowledge that history is cyclical. If we are, indeed, in the 21st century's own '1938' I pray that, this time, we heed the prophesy of our G-d before yet another six million of us perish.
I dislike people who grandstand before audiences and tell them what to pray for and how to pray for it. I am not the writer of a Siddur. But, I do know that now is the time for us to turn to our G-d and cry out to Him in prayer for the things we lack as a nation: strength; courage; passion; conviction. A nurse once told me that there are 613 bones, muscles, and ligaments within the human body--exactly the number of the mitzvot in Torah. Torah, the document that guarantees forever our tenancy in the land of Israel, is what we need to live by. But, as the prophesy says, to do so we must cry out for the Spirit of G-d, the Ruach haKodesh, to cancel out all of that fear and self-hatred that plague us as Jews.
Zionism began with Torah: Israel began with HaShem. Just as the prophet writes, to live in Zion, we need Torah, and to live Torah, we need HaShem.
Bevakasha, HaShem, hear our cry...
Labels: aliyah, Diaspora, Israel, Jewish, Jewish American, Jewry, Judaism, Messianic Judaism, Torah, United States, Zionism
posted by Shoshana @ 7:04 PM
Turning the Tide
Monday, January 14, 2008
I read posts like this one over at Israpundit that make pretty clear points about the way the world really works and I wonder how long it will be until this tick pops and the entire population is forced to face reality.
In the above-linked post, Ted Belman points out, "For that matter, one wonders why US is the chief sponsor of Fatah? Oh, we know that they also have Nazis roots. For that matter so does the CIA." Belman's far from the first to draw attention to the sad, but true fact that the United States government hasn't always fought on the side of truth and righteousness. Political conservatives, Christians (especially the Evangelical ones), members of the Greatest Generation, and even older Jewish Americans have a tendency to view America through rose-coloured glasses.
A few years ago, I attended a Pesach seder that was punctuated not with the classic "L'Shanah Haba B'Yerushalayim" toast, but with a chorus of "G-d Bless America" instigated by one elderly lady who said, "Jerusalem is lovely, but America is our home." I attended the seder with a few fellow Hillel members. At the time, we were establishing a watchdog group to monitor increasing levels of Muslim anti-Jewish and anti-Israelness on campus. The group was renegade at best, unable to even count on Jewish support after an explosive Parents' Weekend Hillel meeting at which more than one 50-something professional Jewish American declared, "I don't want my child involved in anything controversial on campus! They should just keep their mouths shut!" We kept our mouths shut, alright: we could conquer the hatred espoused by Muslim exchange students at on-campus events, but how could we respond to the American patriotism expressed by our Jewish elders?
Liking America isn't a bad thing. Using your appreciation of the nation as a whitewash to cover over the many faults and poor choices of American political officials can, however, be quite a dangerous thing. Especially when you're Jewish. How do you reckon your love for America with the actions taken by the American government (actions dating back to 1947 and before-- to FDR's Administration and their response to the Holocaust) to purposefully ensure the destruction of the people and the State of Israel?
The other night I was flipping the channels and came across a rebroadcast of The 700 Club. Pat Robertson's son, who apparently now hosts the show, was remarking on Bush's visit to Israel and his statements about "ending the occupation that began in 1967" by saying that he wasn't sure why the President was doing what he was doing, and saying what he was saying, but he hoped that Bush would rethink things, because his actions certainly didn't bode well for America, given the truth of the Biblical prophecies about Israel. His comments were benign, but they also carried with them a great deal of confusion. After all, how could the President of the Evangelicals go to the Holy Land and tell the Jewish people that they had to give up Jerusalem? It just doesn't make sense. And it certainly doesn't bode well for the pro-Israel Evangelicals, especially not the rapture-ready crowd.
What will be the event that tips the scales, that pops the tick, that forces people to wake up and face facts for what they truly are and not what they seem to be based on history, or politcal platforms, or sermons, or popular opinion? Or will it be like the days preceeding the last century's world wars, when current events forced chaos and panic to overrule logical thinking?
Labels: America, Bush, Evangelical Christians, Israel, Jewish, United States, Zionism
posted by Shoshana @ 7:15 PM
Vote '08: Analysis of Iowa's Winners
Friday, January 04, 2008
I haven't yet commented on the 2008 Presidential election, but with the Iowa Caucus coming to a close, it's time to remark on the front-runners of both parties.
Let's start with Barack Hussein Obama. First off, the idea of an American President with the middle name "Hussein" should send shivers up any logical voter's spine. If that doesn't, check out his spheres of influence, starting with his formative years spent living and learning in Jakarta, Indonesia. about which he said,
"For a while, I lived in Indonesia because my mother was teaching there. And that’s a Muslim country. And I went to school. But I didn’t practice. But what I do think it does is it gives me insight into how these folks think, and part of how I think we can create a better relationship with the Middle East and that would help make us safer is if we can understand how they think about issues."Obama's "Muslim-Not a Muslim" game, while a fantastic throw-up to Saturday Night Live's infamous "Jew, Not a Jew" sketch, pretty much leaves any voter thinking that Obama has pretty much locked himself in the Islamic closet- at least until January 2009. Despite his claims to the contrary, Daniel Pipes cites witnesses, friends, and the muslim rule book to establish a clear case for Obama's Muslim identity. For example, while I don't know what Muslims think about Obama's platform, Pipes does point out that Barack would be considered a fellow member of the tribe by muslims, who interpret one's degree of "muslimness" by their parentage, not their current or chosen religious affiliation.
Despite his Jewish political connections, Obama is a member of the anti-Israel, pro-divestment United Church of Christ. He also likes playing "Muslim- Not a Muslim" with his supporters: "'My support within in the Jewish community has been much more significant than my support within the Muslim community,' Obama said at the April forum, adding: 'I welcome and seek the support of the Muslim and Arab communities.'"
Most recently, Israpundit questioned the Barack campaign about their candidate's active support of the racist, anti-Semitic Al Sharpton, who refers to Jewish Americans as "Bloodsucking Jews". They were, of course, placated and patronized with a response that included the statement: "One of Senator Obama's mentors was the late Senator Paul Simon, a man of great ability and integrity. He believed that people could disagree without being disagreeable, and Senator Obama has taken that guiding principle as his own." To which Israpundit responded with:
In other words, “We’re sorry you feel that way about our candidate’s public and ongoing promotion of a racist and anti-Semitic hate monger, but we don’t care because we own the Jewish vote anyway.” It is therefore vital for us to spread the word as widely as possible that Barack Obama has so little respect for common decency that he consorts openly with the Negro counterpart of the Ku Klux Klan and the Stormfront White Nationalist Community. We encourage our readers to write letters to their local papers to let their communities know that Barack Obama is promoting racism and anti-Semitism while he claims to be the candidate of hope (or whatever). The truth is that Barack Obama is a phony smile on top of an empty suit, a media and George Soros creation who stands for absolutely nothing whatsoever.Apparently, Obama scored big in Iowa thanks to "young voters" under 30. I suppose that proves...what? The corruption of American academia is complete? Or has Hollywood just claimed that headscarves and full-body covering for women is totally "hot"?
Mike Huckabee, former Southern Baptist minister and Governor of Arkansas (like that shouldn't set off an alarm bell or two-- I wonder if he had any secretaries named "Flowers" or, possibly, a predeliction for Yehudiyot?) is believed to have won the Iowa vote thanks to the Evangelicals in the crowd. They could've gone for the Mormon Romney, or the war veteran McCain, but instead, the Iowa Christians chose the guy who allgedly "pushed" for the "early parole of a convicted rapist who went on to rape and kill two other women." Somehow, I just don't think that's what Jesus Would Do.
Not much has been written about Huckabee, yet. A Powerline post, quoted at Israel Matzav, cites a Des Moines Register interview with Huckabee where the Presidential candidate summarizes his foreign policy down to, "Do Unto Others as they Do Unto You", to which the author comments, "So there you have it; treat Iran, Syria, and North Korea with the same respect with which we want to be treated and experience the joys of international fellowship and good will. I don't recall even President Carter being that naive." I think Carl in Jerusalem is right when it comes to Huckabee: "Somehow, I think that Huckabee may have stolen to the front of the pack because he was shielded from media scrutiny, and now that he's at the front, he's not going to last there very long."
Right, well, that's who's winning so far. The real question is, would they win in the minds of any true, pro-Israel, Torah observant, Messiah believing voter?
Labels: Huckabee, Iowa Caucus, Israel, Jewish, Messianic Judaism, Obama, Presidential Election, United States, vote
posted by Shoshana @ 7:59 PM
The truth behind Israel-U.S. Relations
Wednesday, January 02, 2008
Omri at Mere Rhetoric has an awesome post detailing the intelligence battle between U.S. and Israeli governments leading up to the fantastic Israeli bombing raid on a Syrian weapons factory last September. In the excerpt below, Omri begins by citing an ABC news report, and then adds his own commentary:
I couldn't have said it better myself....A senior U.S. official said the Israelis planned to strike during the week of July 14 and in secret high-level meetings American officials argued over how to respond to the intelligence. Some in the administration supported the Israeli action, but others, notably Sect. of State Condoleeza Rice did not. One senior official said the U.S. convinced the Israelis to "confront Syria before attacking."The awesome thing is that Israel probably had a mole in the facility, which means that the State Department's request for Israel to "confront" would have outed an intelligence asset and given the Syrians the heads up to start preparing for an IAF attack. These people should be fired. All of them.
Labels: Intelligence, Israel, Military, Relations, Syria, United States, Zionism
posted by Shoshana @ 8:51 PM
