The option no one wants to think about

Published in the Jerusalem Post, December 2, 2009. you can find it at http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1259243055252&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull


Israel at one time was the world leader in combating terrorism. Military colleges studied how it performed the Entebbe raid of 1976. People marveled everywhere at their courage at storming a children’s house on Kibbutz Misgav Am in 1980 and killed all five terrorists before they could kill the remaining children. They launched a successful commando raid against a particular terrorist in Lebanon where they stole into the night, killed him and then went back out again, without losing a man, a perfect surgical strike. Israel is responsible for mandating that terror can never be negotiated with, knowing that once you go down that path it is slippery slope to surrender and defeat.

But, Israel has been languishing in recent years, consumed with the same political correctness that is politically drowning the rest of the Western world facing a terrorist threat. They just don’t seem to have what it takes to deal the proper blow to the terror in its midst. The debacle in Lebanon in 2006 and again missing the golden opportunity to cut the head off of one of these snakes in Gaza last year, Israel appears like the rest of us, doomed to live with terror until it either destroys us or burns itself out in a hundred years or so. Of course, waiting it out means that a lacerated nation will be scarred for who knows how long after that.

Enter the Sri Lankans. I think they have an answer. And, I think Israel should listen to what they have to say. Sri Lanka used to be just like Israel. They had a perennial terrorist problem with their Tamil minority. For almost thirty years, organized bands in that community terrorized the Sri Lankan nation to the point where the country could not evolve. Navin Dissanayake, Sri Lankan Minister of investment Promotion claims that they “could have been another Singapore if it had not been for that war.” Terrorism, in Sri Lanka, as it did in Israel, held that country from progressing forward which would have been good for Sri Lanka and good for the world.

The Tamil Tigers , sometimes referred to by its long name, The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) resemble Middle East terror groups. Actually, it is more correct to say that Middle East terror groups resemble the Tamil Tigers as they are the innovators of many of the terrorist techniques that have been utilize by Israel’s enemies. They invented the suicide belt and perfected the suicide bombing attack, turning it into a tactical device. They were the first to use women and children in these attacks. And, they have been accused of using their own innocent civilians, as human shields in their confrontation with Sri Lankan government forces. They are a vicious crowd and were implicated in the assassination of Ragiv Ghandi of India in 1991. As we all know, Palestinians have imitated these tactics with a devastating brutality against innocent Jews.


The Sri Lankans more or less lived with this horror since 1983. Then 9-11 happened and a new dynamic promoted by President Bush and the United States gave the Sri Lankans a new outlook. With a new administration elected on the promise of stopping the LTTE permanently, they embarked on a full scale military assault on Tamil positions which by 2007 held almost one fourth of the country, mostly in the north. They sent their army, a much stronger army than the Tamil tigers, into Tamil occupied territory and began to take back town by town, going street to street in some cases from their enemies. While doing this they killed anyone who resisted against them.

Jehan Perera of the Sri Lankan Peace Council said that “This government has taken the position that virtually any price is worth paying to rid the country of terrorism.” The price paid was indeed a heavy one. Many innocent people died. The Sri Lankan government regrets in the strongest terms the killing of innocent civilians but most government officials believe that they made a conscious choice of that “price” and that the alternative status quo was just not acceptable any more.

It was bloody and dirty, and they took a lot of criticism for it, “The U.N. Estimates that during the final months of fighting in Sri Lanka at least 7,000 Tamil civilians were killed and at least 13,000 were injured.” But, they also wiped out the scourge of terror that was choking the life out of their country. They did not stop until total victory was declared last May. Today, Sri Lankans can once again walk the streets of their cities, visit the marketplace, and conduct business without the threat of being murdered in such a way that not even their loved ones can identify their bodies. It is a new dawn and a new day for Sri Lanka.

Israel can take a real lesson from this experience. The threat facing the Jewish State from the West Bank, Gaza and Lebanon is no different than the north of Sri Lanka and coastline into the south that the Tamils occupied before the Sri Lankan army began their elimination war against them.

The time has come to admit there might not be a solution to the Palestinian problem. But, there is a way to end it. The next time that terror forces Israel to take a military stand this option should be considered. Israel must realize that there will be no peace with an intransigent enemy that refuses to act in good faith. Palestinian rejectionist actions, and Iranian backed Hezbollah threats to their existence will never be placated, and they will never stop until Israel is destroyed. Once the population of Israel realizes this unfortunate reality, there is only one way to end it. Israel must take the Sri Lankan initiative and move into these areas one by one, corner, and envelop all armed resistance, and then kill it off.

Bending over backwards to make peace with the Palestinians has proved fruitless without Israel submitting to national weakening measures. It’s time to make the choice of a better life for all. More than sixty years of living with this is enough. When they have completely wiped out the enemy, a new dynamic will rise. Without the Muslim thuggery of holding their own people back, there will be nothing to stop them from negotiating a genuine peace with Israel. There might be a Palestinian, a Lebanese, a Syrian, maybe even an Iranian partner to draw up a peace which will transform the Middle East from a place of hatred and bloodshed to a prosperous community of nations which will work together making the daily lives of their individual citizens better.

No more Gilad Shalit's

The Parting of the Red Sea

Thanks to a very passionate letter by Jon Voight urging liberal Jews to stand up for themselves I was inspired to write the following piece. Now that it is written I don't know why I waited so long to do it.

As a conservative Jew I have been trying to figure out for a long time why the Jewish Left continues to serve in great numbers in the Democratic Party. I use to think that it was foolish for these Jews to place such high value on liberal causes since they long ago stopped having any advantage to our people. I left the Democratic Party myself in the 80s, disgusted by the reluctance of liberal Jews to speak out on their own behalf while the rest of the Democratic Party honed its Palestinian platform and condemned Israel for defending itself.

Until recently Jewish participation in the party was more or less irresponsible. Now, in a post 9-11 world that stubbornness to see only a moral equivalence in the Middle East conflict and not condone the right of Jews to defend themselves against a murderous enemy, has become more dangerous than foolhardy. Politics has changed and our interests in the 21st century reside on a different political plane than it did for our fathers and grandfathers. Old enemies have become friends and long standing political allies have become our enemies. Left wing Jews need to calculate the difference, swallow hard and make the move to insure our own survival.

As the Democratic Party moves further away from protecting Jewish rights whether here or in Israel, the Jews in that movement do little to counter the growing hostility. Left unchecked at the beginning of the 21st century, it’s as though the Left has finally uncovered its European anti-Semitic roots and is reveling in it. With Israel as a focus, Left wing Jews have largely ignored these signs. it is disturbing that they think as long as they leave their Jewish concerns at the door they will continue to be accepted as part of the perceived great liberal democracy experiment of 20th century America.

Jews who are troubled by what they see in their own camp on the Left remain silent. One of the professions where this problem is so prevalent and so influential is in the University. Scholars are respected, esteemed, almost anointed with the task of giving us the proper view of looking at the world around us. We count on them to get it right. For decades that institution has been overwhelmed with Left wing thinking and published positions. Liberal Jewish professors are afraid to say anything to their colleagues who talk of a weakened Israel as the first step to forcing that country into oblivion as the only means for peace. They eat lunch, socialize and have to work with these people every day. It is easier to remain silent than to defend Jews whenever or where ever they are being maligned. The fear of being ostracized as a scholar is so strong that they will allow their own people to be characterized as evil no different than the blood libels in Europe centuries ago. Their silence is despicable.

At present too many Jews are repulsed and slightly confused by right wing thinking, the Republican Party, conservative support for Israel, and the non Jewish right’s standing with the Jewish people’s struggle against Islamic terror, juxtaposed by their own political allies on the left who seem exactly the opposite. Consider this: Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, former President Bush and Sara Palin are four of the most despised people on the democratic heavily Jewish left. All four of these individuals are conservative, ideologues for the Republican platform, and are also staunch supporters of the state of Israel and condemn without question Hamas terror. I defy you to name even one American non Jewish leftist who will categorically support Israel and unequivocally condemn terrorism against innocent Jews. You can’t. You can’t because I don’t think there is one leftist thinker or politician in this country today who will do that. Some pay lip service to it but none will unequivocally state it.

What must be so confusing to Jews on the left is that while their own non Jewish allies are moving increasingly to accept and advocate terror as a means of resistance against Israel and re-establishing old anti-Semitic canards reflecting “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion,” the two most hated institutions on the left, the political Right, and the Christian Church are moving in the opposite direction with an intolerance toward anti-Semitism and recognition of the Jewish struggle to survive in Israel.

There is no ambiguity on the right of center in American politics. Its purpose concerning the Middle East is clear. Israel has a right to expect to remain free and is obligated to defend itself against any entity that seeks to undermine that freedom. Israel might just be our most important ally in the war on terror. Most right wing thinkers hold that opinion and realize that Israel is on the front line of this fight and we need to support its actions in protecting itself and its citizens.

The other most feared icon of the Jewish Left, the Church, has moved continually and directly to an acceptance of Jewish life as equals. Both the Catholic Church and non Catholic Christians have over the last 50-60 years changed their attitude 180 degrees concerning Jews and their relationship to Christians. The Jewish State and other Jewish causes are at the forefront of their political demands. It is in fact, the 70 million strong Christian evangelical movement in this country which has single handedly backed American support for Israel. The Christian community, the very backbone of America , has taken it upon itself to make sure that Israel remains safe with American power.

The Left insists that it is the “right wing” Jewish lobby which creates America’s seemingly unbreakable ties with the Jewish State. But logic dictates that cannot be true. Jews are not numerous enough to influence anything concerning Israel. The Left argues that Jewish money behind AIPAC, twists the arms of congress people to vote in favor of Israel on any number of issues. In fact, money used for that purpose plays a much smaller role than the religious Christian constituency that stands behind their representatives and insists that Israel receives our help. Left wing Jews must find it in their hearts to accept what is true. Christianity might have been our enemy in the past but that is not the case anymore. We have a powerful ally in those groups. We all should accept their apologies for passed transgressions and join them in their campaign to insure Israel stays strong. They deserve our loyalty and our thanks.

It is not the Left that holds the secret to our success anymore, it is the Right. We can no longer count on the strategy and political legacy of our fathers and grandfathers. The time has come to leave that part of our heritage behind. As hard it is may seem liberal Jews need to take a deep breadth, open their eyes wide and recognize who our enemies and friends really are. We need to join with those who will stand with us in our hour of need, who will be there to back us up as we move further into an uncertain future.

We Jews need to reassess our own political history. Ask yourself this question. Do we want to continue to snuggle up to those who will destroy us? The Left in the 21st century is no different than the right in the 20th. Left unchecked it will continue to move toward more vicious attacks on Israel, on Jews, on the Jewish religion and on all of us. We need to put our faith in those who have proven that they are our friends and allies in all matters political. Not to do this will continue to choke our culture, intimidate us to see Israel at fault, and tempt us with universal acceptance if we just leave that Jewish/Zionist world behind. No longer can Jews protect themselves as our fathers did by siding with the left of center philosophy. Our future and our safety has shifted to the right and we need to recognize and embrace it.

The Red Sea has been parted; all we have to do is cross it.

The Problem with Hybrid Cars

The love affair with hybrid cars because they are so economical and use so much less gas is not a cure all for our energy problems. In fact, if we become lulled into believing that it is we could be spelling our own doom. I wrote this after the "New" General Motors announced they have broken through with an engine that will get literally hundreds of miles to a gallon of gas. Written August 2009.

General motors leaked recently that the Chevrolet Volt will spearhead their new line of cars in 2010. Rising up from the ashes like a Phoenix, the leaner, meaner General Motors has taken a cue from the Obama administration putting its hopes of success in green technology. The Chevy Volt, an experimental model for many years has been dusted off, reengineered and is now ready for mass production. Bragging that it will leave Toyota’s Prius behind and will produce an unbelievable 230 miles to a gallon of gas, it will cost around $40,000. Well, even with that price tag getting 230 miles to a gallon, the car will pay for itself in no time. This has to be good news.

Has the technology finally come to a point where we can start to wean ourselves off foreign oil? I mean after all, if Americans can actually build cars that will now give hundreds of miles to a gallon of gas our troubles are over. Happy days are here again. But, let’s look at this a little closer. What happens three, five, ten, twelve years down the road when virtually 90% or more of the cars on the road are getting at least 100 to 200 miles to a gallon of gas?

When we start to buy less crude, the oil producers will be forced to adjust. If they continue to pump at the present volume the price will fall. If they pump less volume to keep pace with the new demands their revenues will still fall. Under this new reality how will countries like Iran be able to maintain their present growth in their weapons procurement program, including nuclear? My guess is that new prices will have to be set for the volume they are pumping. The alternative is to return to second class status, one that is not threatening, cannot destroy Israel or finance terror against Americans around the world. And, it’s not just Iran. Our so called friends in the region will face the same problem. Saudi Arabia is not going to allow its country to turn back into the sand dune it was in the 1950s. The gulf states will do everything they can to retain the wealth they have accumulated during the last three or four decades.

If the world reduces its need for their oil they will adjust both volume and price to meet present geo economic conditions. In other words they are going to raise the price commensurate with cars getting 200 miles to a gallon of gas. We have a history of this strategy. Past fuel efficiency programs have not produced lower prices at the pump. The oil producers historically responded by controlling the volume and thereby raised the demand to keep the price high. We are paying more now in 2009 and using less gas than in 1970 and with this coming spike in technology it will only get worse, much worse.

Hybrid technology creates a potentially explosive problem for us and our oil consuming allies. In five to ten years time we could be looking at $500 a barrel for crude. Cars will require smaller gas tanks because we will not be able to afford to fill them up. But since they get over 200 miles to a gallon they will still be able to travel more than a thousand miles on a single tank of gas even though gas tanks will only hold four or five gallons . Hybrid technology will not solve our problem of lowering prices at the pump and using less fuel to go farther.

We need another approach. Here’s an idea. Let’s take the Kennedy inspiration about going to the moon and develop an entirely new technology not dependent on fossil fuels at all. I don’t know how long that will take, but for the sake of argument let’s say Obama really gets with the Kennedy spirit and sets the goal that by the close of the next decade, before 2020 we will have something in place that will take us off foreign crude for good. Americans have lots of ideas about alternative forms of energy, we hear about them everyday, fusion technology, liquid hydrogen, and all kinds of schemes to convert water to gasoline. All right maybe some of these are hair brain but among the American entrepreneurial spirit is a new technology waiting to supplant a crude based world. The automobile, incandescent light, radio, T.V. computers, motion pictures, penicillin, vaccines for some of our most dreadful diseases, and within 66 years of the invention of flight putting a man on the moon are all American inventions. If you had said to the average person in 1900 that within a few decades people will be flying as their most common form of traveling long distances you would have been laughed at. There is no reason why we cannot find an alternative for fossil fuels, and in a reasonable period of time.

Think of it. No more dependence on foreign oil. We won’t need their stinking oil. Without the money to finance it, Muslim terror will cease to exist. They can hate us but if they can’t reach us they can’t hurt us. Europe will no longer be looking down the barrel of ultimate destruction from a nuclear Iran. Israel will become safe for the first time in its history. Maybe without this growing emergence of Muslim power peace will be attainable between Jews and Arabs. We can stop the flow of economic power from the west going to our enemies, and potential enemies. With a cheaper, cleaner, more efficient fuel we will regain our industrial strength because it will be more economical to produce our industry here rather than China or other overseas ports. And that will mean jobs and lots of them.

We live in a dangerous time and we might not have ten or eleven years to work on a new technology to bring us out of this decline. We have enemies in the world that relish our decline and do not want to see a re emergence of American power. Therefore, we should not wait to reach our goal to end this exchange of economic power from us to the Middle East. In addition to launching the search for an alternative to a crude driven economy, I suggest we immediately reopen our oil industry here in the southwest United States as a part time measure to regain the edge we had after World War II. Rebuild those oil wells across Texas, California and Alaska and wherever else modern oil drilling technology can take us. Let the wildcatters loose on the North American continent. Pump as much oil as we possibly can. That will drive down the price and stop dead in its tracks the rising power of oil rich states. Those who remember when gasoline was .40 a gallon, it can be again through the next decade. Reopening the domestic oil industry would create jobs, real jobs that people can once again feel good about themselves. The Obama administration would all but insure itself a second four years. It’s just a win, win, win situation for everyone concerned, except our enemies.

But, that is not to be. Both Obama and General Motors are toasting each other on their somewhat instant success. The Chevrolet volt gets 230 miles to a gallon of gas and the existence of America remains uncertain for the future.

Deir Yassin remembered

When discussing the Israeli Palestinian dispute, some Palestinian supporters who like to point to a history of Jewish abuses against innocent Arabs over the last six decades sometimes refer to a particularly infamous battle during the War of 1948 that took place in a small town on the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem Hwy called Deir Yassin. For many reasons, not the least of which concerns political infighting between the major factions of the Israeli body politic, Deir Yassin has taken on a life of its own over the last 61 years.


Deir Yassin has been called a “massacre” by Palestinian and Arab groups as well as Leftist commentators in the West. It might be considered a “massacre” but no more than the Haifa Refinery massacre on December 30, 1947, and the doctors and nurses massacre on the road to Hadassa hospital on Mount Scopus, on April 13, 1948, or any of the other massacres that became part of the fighting history of Israel’s War of Independence. These other “massacres” have long been forgotten by most people accept for the few historians that deal with the course of this eighteen month war. This is not the case with Deir Yassin.


Deir Yassin was one of many towns and villages that had to be cleared during Operation Nachshon, the overall operation to open the road to besieged Jerusalem in April, 1948. Not to take action on this road would mean giving up on Jewish Jerusalem, which was as unthinkable then as it is now. The Jews of Jerusalem had been besieged since January, with no electricity, food, water, or any of the other vital necessities of life. People in the Jewish quarter of the city were literally starving to death. Without the opening of the road to allow convoys of supplies to enter the city, it was almost a certainty that Jewish Jerusalem would fall to the enemy. For this reason, Ben Gurion ordered 1500 Haganna troops to take part in the operation, the largest of its kind up to that time in the battle for Palestine in 1947 and 1948.


The Israeli military has long been the dominant force in the Middle East. No Arab army has been able to defeat it. A foregone conclusion for so long, that it’s hard to believe that the history was ever anything but total Israeli domination over its neighbors. But, this was not always the case. Before the start of the 1948 war it was very tenable on whether the Jews could defeat the Arab enemy and established their state by the time the British would leave in May. The belief that the Jews were in a dire strait and faced the very sobering possibility of defeat began to take shape almost immediately after the partition vote on November 29, 1947 and did not abate itself until June of 1948 when it became clear that by the end of the war a Jewish State of some kind would emerge intact. Operation Nachshon was part of the push to change this dynamic and many towns, including Deir Yassin along that stretch of road were fought over and won by Jewish forces. In discussing the beginning of this realization in March of 1948 Benny Morris, a prominent historian on the expulsion of the Arabs during Israel’s war of Independence wrote:


“The toll on Jewish life and security in the battle of the roads and dire prospect of pan-Arab invasion had left the Yishuv (community) with very narrow margins of safety. It could not afford to leave pockets of actively or potentially hostile Arabs behind its line. This was certainly true regarding vital roads and areas such as the Jerusalem Corridor…when the Yishuv faced, and it knew it faced, a life and death struggle. “ (p.236, The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisited, Cambridge, 2004.)


Depending on the source any where between 300 to 600 Arab towns and villages were destroyed during the eighteen months of war in 1947-1948. Why does Deir Yassin stand out among all of the others? Why is this remembered and the other villages are not, at least from the Israeli Left? The answer to this is simple. Although massacres were common during that war the Left in Israel, politically signified at that time as the Mapam party had a stake in making an issue out of the Deir Yassin battle. As independence approached, their influence over the Yishuv began to wane. Their reactions were to lash out at the now growing middle of the road leadership, led by David Ben Gurion, and attempted to subvert it by making accusations of improper and immoral acts against the enemy. Deir Yassin was the perfect model to make this stand for several reasons. First, this town was singled out to be fought with primarily LEHI (Sternists) and ETZEL (Begin’s Urgun) forces in a Haganna sanctioned attack. LEHI and ETZEL were the ideological enemies of the Mapam. Second, by indicting the Haganna as sanctioning the operation and allowing these “barbarian” groups to “murder, rape, pillage and steal,” they believed that they could make criminal any political belief to the right of the extreme Left in Israel. Third, they saw this whole incident as an opportunity to oppose the Yishuv’s shift toward American and British democracy and away from Stalinist Russia.


The Palmach, the armed wing of the Mapam, was, like ETZEL and LEHI not opposed to establishing a state by force, and indeed took part in many militant operations before May 14,1948. But, Mapam never indicted Palmach, only those groups that were their ideological opposites and only because they lost favor and support from the people as a political force. Although Mapam has long been disbanded and the Palmach like ETZEL, LEHI and Haganna have all been melded into the IDF, the extreme political Left still uses this tactic today. Deir Yassin, according to the Left, is one of a long line of accused abuses by the Zionist movement.


Today, it is mostly forgotten that Deir Yassin was an ugly battle among many ugly battles of that war which were fought hard by both sides and perpetuated the deaths of many innocent people both Jewish and Arab. But, as this story lingers now into the 21st century, it is apparent that Deir Yassin is a cause celeb against Israel’s motives during the War of Independence, and that the Arabs for whatever reasons needed to be defeated, did not deserve to be tortured and massacred in such a manner. Through propaganda and emphasizing Israeli brutality it is mostly lost on history that the Jews with their proverbial backs up against the wall fought hard to survive and won their state motivated by liberty rather than motivated by domination over a lesser equipped Arab minority.


After the War of Independence Deir Yassin was so touted by the Left it was of course picked up by the Arab propaganda machine sometime in the late 1950s and the two groups joined in an unholy alliance against a common enemy that exists until this very day. It is one of the rallying cries to show the “barbarous” nature of the Israeli occupation forces. It is still taught in universities across the English and Arab speaking world as the proof that Israel needs to be punished for its actions. The calls for this punishment range from a much weaker diminished Israel to its complete annihilation and in its place an Arab Muslim state from the Jordan to the Mediterranean.


If we are going to be fair, when considering the place of the Deir Yassin battle it must be looked at in the context of the time, the desperation of one people to quite literally survive the conflict and the total incompetence of the other side in trying to explain why they lost that war so badly. The fact is that Israel’s war of Independence was a war not unlike most wars in that the human tragedy factor was very high on both sides. Probably more on the Jewish side simply because the Arabs had the opportunity to flee to the safety of bordering Arab governments and the Jews didn’t. The Jews, unlike their Arab counterparts, had to make their stand in Palestine and no where else. Consequently, many innocent Jews, without guns in their hands died in this endeavor. However, this is never indicated by the Left or for the obvious reasons by the Arab side. As Morris explained in the above quote in April of 1948, with the survival of the coming Jewish State, the very lives of hundreds of thousands of Jewish men, women and children hung in the balance. And, it did not become clear that the Jews would survive at all until the first truce went into effect on June 9th, 1948.


Deir Yassin was awful. But, so were many of the battles fought during that time. We should be cognizant of that and urge our leaders, professors, journalists and historians to reflect that fairness in their reports on this history. It is time we set the record straight.

Democracy in the Crosshairs

The recent spate of poor sportsmanship on the part of the gay agenda and the politicians that support them in the view of overturning the passage of Proposition 8 cannot stand. The following is a thought piece exposing the radical Left in California politics and their attack on American democracy.

Since the passage of prop 8 a number of prominent California politicians have called for the California supreme court to overturn the voters at the ballot box and rule Prop 8 unconstitutional and re install gay marriage as legal in the State of California. The issue here is no longer about whether you support the right of gay people to marry or not. This has gone way beyond that. The issue now is the protection of our democracy.

Governor Arnold Swarzenegger, Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, Attorney General Jerry Brown, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsome, Los Angeles Mayor Anthony Villaraigosa among others have supported this call. These politicians argue that how can we accept the will of the people if the will of the people is wrong. The only problem is who is deciding who’s right and who’s wrong. That is why we have elections to make these decisions. But, apparently some of our most prominent and powerful politicians think otherwise. This subverts the whole meaning of democracy, and dangerously puts us on a road toward totalitarianism. Have California’s leaders lost their minds? I would argue that a democracy only works if the will of the people can be supported.

It should be remembered that this has already happened once. In 2000 the voters voted by a huge margin the definition of marriage between a man and a woman. The California State Supreme Court then overturned the will of the people and ruled Prop 22 unconstitutional. Now the voters have once again spoken and these activist judges want to do the same thing again. And, the same court, back by a minority constituency and these influential sympathetic politicians are planning to stretch our liberty beyond acceptable limits. Yaroslovsky, Newsome and the rest are saying that the voters of California are not entitled to decide their own fate.

It is not as if they don’t know what they are doing either. They bring historical perspectives to the argument trying to convinced constituents that there is nothing to fear from subverting a democratic majority vote. If they truly believe gay marriage is a civil right and not and not necessarily a social acceptance, then they should support an initiative to put the issue on the next ballot. That would support the democratic process, and once again support the will of the people, at the proper place, the ballot box. If democratic forces do not stand up to this insidious aversion to our freedom, we will lose little by little that which makes us the greatest experiment in individual liberty the world has ever known.

What will be next, the right to be able to practice only “some” religions? The Mormon people might have a thing or two to say about that one. The right to express yourself as long as it doesn’t oppose the prevailing left wing view, like taking your life in your hands because you are an outspoken religious Jew or Christian in West Hollywood? How about speaking against acts of lewdness during the annual gay pride parades in the various cities across the United States? Is this the world that you want to create? Where will all this lead us?

In 1933, a minority government subverted the will of the people in Germany and this led the world into one of the darkest moments in the history of Western civilization. I doubt that our venerable California politicians would support what the Nazis did during the 1930s and 1940s however, there are some striking similarities between the actions of both groups. The manhandling, vandalism and violent acts perpetrated by those who can’t accept defeat, the gay agenda and their supporters, smacks of brown shirts rampaging down the streets of Berlin busting windows and rousting innocent defenseless Jews. The Nazis started off as a small splinter group of the German Freecorp after World War I and it took many years of agitation before they gained national prominence. The rise of Hitler, and National Socialism eventually catapulted them into the position of removing all opposition and taking their revolution beyond their borders.

Mayor Villaraigosa and the rest of the California political left wing cabal would serve the people much better if they would use their position to quell some of this growing tidal wave of hatred.

In 1917 with the overthrow of the Kaiser the Russian people opted for a democratic form of government to lead them out of the war with Germany and to a brighter future. However, plagued by constant agitating violent and committed Marxist minority, with tactics not that much different than we have seen in the days and weeks since the passage of Prop 8, the provisional government of Alexander Kerensky failed within six months time. What replaced it were 75 years of totalitarianism and the murder of millions of innocent people and the enslavement of millions and millions of others. The Communists did not start out with that kind of power in Russia. They began many years before as a handful of idealists who pictured a “workers paradise” by overthrowing the Russian czarist system.

Granted these are extreme measures that come at the end of the fight rather than at the beginning as the Prop 8 anger has shown us. But, that is what we have to look forward to if we allow this crowd to continue this fascist attack on the democratic process. The writing is on the wall people. No matter how they sugar coat it, we now have elected officials calling for the end of democracy and the beginning of elitist rule, by insisting that the will of the people sometimes needs to be subverted in order to get what “they” think is right.

If politicians think that the people are not smart enough to make informed decisions at the ballot box then those politicians need to be removed from power. What they should be doing, they are not. They should be educating the people better on these issues. They should be doing a better job at legislating laws that protect us in the first place. And, they should be taking stock in themselves because they are failing on these first two counts so miserably. I repeat. Remove them because our democracy is at stake if we don’t. All who love liberty and want to stand up for the ideals that this country and all other democratic countries need to petition their leaders not to take the road of aberrant politicians.

To the gay agenda that supports these politicians I can only say the following. This is not the way to freedom. This will only bring disaster upon our lives and the lives of our children. Stop vandalizing Morman Temples. As long as freedom of religion is still a right in this country, allow those religions to practice without harassment. Stop manhandling little old ladies who cannot poke you in the nose when you push them around because…well…because they are little old ladies. That is so cowardly. And you need to halt this ugly dirty business of taking us back to the time of Macarthyism, blackballing pro prop 8 people out of Hollywood. These actions put a really ugly tinge on your organizations.

Will the opposition to the passage of Prop 8 drop this fascist identity and begin to use the system as the system is designed, or will we just have anarchy in the streets? I don’t know maybe Thomas Hobbs was right. Maybe life is meant to be “nasty, brutish and short.” That is, if these politicians and their supporters have anything to say about it.

A Few Laughs But a Lot of Tears

[[[[[[[[[[[[The following is my rebuttal to Rob Eshman’s attempt at satire, but failed to disclaim that when he published in the Jewish Journal during the week of November 14-20^th. Satire or not, this still validates my argument that we are spending far too much time on this issue at the expense of some very serious, complex problems in our world today. For the text of Eshman's op ed go to http://www.jewishjournal.com/opinion/article/it_cant_happen_here_20081111/]]]]]]]]]]]]]]

I always seem to come away from Rob Eshman’s editorials asking more questions than getting answers. I guess I should be thankful that at least he isn’t a teacher in LAUSD. You would think with all the serious problems we have in this world, and moving ever closer to a collapse of Western civilization either through enemies seeking to destroy us or through our own devises financially, or maybe a combination of both, that even the hardest to convince would let the lesser issues go, but it is just not to be.

Somewhere in the world while you are reading these words someone is planning your demise. There is a malevolent entity scheming ,preparing, rubbing its hands together, waiting for the right moment to strike, just when we would be the most off guard.

It is quite possible, that Rob Eshman and his Left wing collaborators have provided that spark to light the fuse. (“It Can’t Happen Here,” November 14-20.) Gay marriage is a small insignificant issue. We are spending an inordinate amount of time discussing it. Gay people have already been given the same rights as heterosexual people through a series of passed laws that define their co habitation with one another, namely civil unions. But, Eshman as inane as it was, used his bully pulpit this week to strike fear into Jews saying that the passage of Prop 8 will bring on an Anti-Semitism never before experienced in our society.

Stratfor reported this week that Mexican drug cartels are now stockpiling large caches of advanced weaponry and they are using them against us. The warning signs are clear. The open southern border policy of the United States continues to deteriorate and now the drug cartels seem to have the intention of taking over that border by force.

Eshman’s convoluted logic draws some warped juxtaposed analogies. I couldn’t help thinking as I struggled to get through this embarrassing attempt at sounding an alarm that he was trying to compare and contrast the Right’s genuine fear that legalized gay marriage will lead to the legalization of currently considered aberrant behaviors, like incest, or NAMBLA. Eshman’s laughable contra-action, a movement in 2012 to make illegal, marriages between Jewish men and Jewish women.

This week Iran said it successfully tested a two-stage solid-fuel missile with a 1200 mile range, fully capable of hitting Tel Aviv. That is bad enough conventionally but how much longer until it can carry a nuclear payload?

Of course, he doesn’t name the source that’s giving this information. I wonder if Eshman or his staff that interviewed this nameless, faceless, unknown threat to the Jews he refers to only as “the organizer”, made a point of telling him that a ballot initiative preventing Jews from marrying other Jews is not necessary because Jews already are marrying outside their faith on their own at alarming numbers.

Israel just spent the week in bloody exchanges with the Gazans over…well… over nothing, probably just hatred of Jews and Israel.

Eshman instead reaches deep into the recesses of Jewish fears that the remnant of anti-Semitic Christian Europe will once again rise up to prevent Jews from practicing their religion by not allowing them to marry each other because “the organizer” believes this violates his rights and forces him to honor the Jewish choice of marrying each other. What?

The real anti-Semitism in this country has already begun its drive to force Rahm Emanuel to step down from his job with the unfortunate comments made by his revisionist father in Israel this passed week. That didn’t take long.

Eshman claims that the Prop 8 support coalition “feels the wind at their backs” and the momentum is building to move on to get the Jews. That is utter nonsense. Yes on Prop 8 people are under attack and are in no position to go on any offensive, whether it’s the Eshman argument in this article or any other. They are too busy hunkering down to protect themselves in the face of the most fascist inspired display of post election disregard for democracy that I ever seen in my lifetime in this country. I expect that kind of thing coming from the West Bank, not from West Hollywood. This is what we really should be fearing, not the passage of prop 8, but the totalitarianism of the elitist minority not to accept the will of the people. Rob Eshman and his allies on the Left should do the right thing and call off those dogs while there is still a chance to do so before somebody gets killed over it.

The election is over. It’s time to return to the business at hand, insuring the ushering in of the smooth transition of power of one administration for another. A foundational underpinning of the democracy we all cherish is where we should be focused at this moment. The next administration is going to have a full plate on January 21^st and we all need to be ready for it. I really hope that Rob Eshman returns to that mindset next week. He can choose any of the topics I mentioned here or go to another one of his choice. There is no shortage of important issues to be dealt with in this dangerously changing world of ours.

The Obama Khalidi Connection

A letter to the editors at Jewish Journal bringing out the shameful omission of Obama's connection with an enemy of the State of Israel.

I was shocked and disturbed that the Khalidi controversy was not covered in the Los Angeles Jewish Journal this passed week. Khalidi, the somewhat infamous but mostly unknown self described enemy of the State of Israel, is a very distinguished and admired professor, first at the University of Chicago and more recently of Colombia University in New York. He has an articulate manner of anti Israel bias that has wooed Jewish intellectuals, professors, and apparently journalists in the English speaking world to his way of seeing things. Could that be what is going on with the Jewish Journal?

Not a mention in this week’s Journal. But, that is not surprising, as the paper that broke the story The L.A. Times, is mum about what else they know about an infamous dinner engagement in 2003 when Obama broke bread with some of the worst terrorist sympathizers this country has to offer. The guest list probably read more like the hounds of Hell rather than a distinguish list of intellectuals, democratic politicians, college professors, and of course our future president. The Times has become part of the story since they will not release a tape of the dinner. Anyone who is familiar with the murderous tendencies of Israel’s enemies can guess what is probably on it. No wonder they will not release it. Can any clear thinking person who understands the simplicity of right and wrong sit while that was going on? One can only wonder how a future president of the United States can sit through so much hate and not walk out. Yet he did. And, he is about to become our commander and chief and the Jewish Journal can say nothing? Both The Times and the Jewish Journal of Los Angeles has enthusiastically endorsed Barack Obama for president.

Since the Journal has more interest in satisfying a political agenda than protecting its own, I have a few more questions. What will this portend for us as a people in an Obama administration? Can we expect Khalidi and others like Farrakhan, Reverend Wright, Bill Ayers, et al., to be invited to state dinners at the White House? Would the Journal be silent about that also? Could we be possibly looking at an end to the “Special” relationship between Israel and the United States begun 50 years ago by John F. Kennedy. Can we expect from the Obama “change” mantra the rape of Israel and its bloody violent death? If that happens in an Obama administration who do we blame? Obama? Khalidi? the Reprublicans?

Now, for the answers. We can blame ourselves because we have seen fit to keep silent from the warning signs. I hate to be so cheesy as to make Holocaust references but the last time we ignored signs like this was during Hitler’s rise to power. As the powerful and influential in the German Jewish community took out full page adds in the papers siding with Hitler’s National Socialism and writing off his threats to do away with Jews by saying “he would never do that, Germany cannot survive without its Jews.” Once again we are going like lambs to the slaughter. Does this silence mean the Journal believes that an Obama administration will live up to its campaign promises concerning Israel even though the writing on the wall is somewhat different. The State of Israel is in danger in an Obama administration. And, the Jewish Journal will not print the information.

I would call this cowardly but somehow that just doesn’t seem right. It is treasonous that a newspaper, with an almost exclusive Jewish readership, would choose to turn its back on a growing threat to Israel. In other words the Journal has now cross the line and no longer considers itself a Jewish community newspaper but a Democratic Party rag. Where is the courage in that?

An Open Letter to Mona Eltahawy

A response to Mona Eltahawy regarding “ Fear of an Obama Planet Grips Some Americans,” From the Jewish Journal, July 16, 2008. For the original Eltahawy article go to http://www.jewishjournal.com/opinion/article/fear_of_an_obama_planet_grips_
some_americans_20080716/

Mona,

Let me qualify myself so you don’t write me off as some online right wing kook. Well, you might but you should know anyway that I, like Obama, and you, have traveled. I have also lived abroad. And, I have family in several countries. I might add, in case you want to use it against me under your breadth also have numerous friends all over the globe. The difference is that I do not share your vision of your so called “Obama world.” Here’s why.

I would strongly disagree with your friend and dinner partner during that mystical night in Mumbai a few weeks ago when he “turned to (you) and proclaimed ‘Americans are inherently stupid.’” For someone whose country was torn apart because Hindu and Muslim could not find common ground to live together, I think he should hold his tongue. As far as Egypt is concern, that is certainly no bastion of freedom and equality either. I’ve been to Cairo, Mona, I’ve seen it with my own eyes. Americans are not perfect but at least we struggle with the questions of modern humanity, and because of that strive to solve some of those perplexing problems that face us as a world community. As far as I can see Egyptians and Indians have done none of that.

It is people like Sanjay and that Sri Lankan woman, who because of her noisy eavesdropping couldn’t help but join in, that creates all the hate in the world. You and your friends Mona, are small minded people who cannot see the bigger picture of all the good that America has done and the sacrifice that Americans have made on your behalf. It appears that you had a real good laugh over the ignorant questions whether Egypt had fresh fruit or Sri Lanka had bread. Mona, while your dad was growing up did he think that the streets of America were lined with gold?

You may be an expert on Arab and Muslim issues but you don’t know Americans very well. Ignorance of one’s people I guess works both ways. Americans who oppose Obama do not fear him because he is black. That is so typical of the bigoted, intolerant narrow thinking that regards us as “stupid.” First, You might just get that “Obama world” you seek, as he has an excellent chance of becoming the next President of the United States. If that happens that means that many of the same people who voted for George Bush in 2004 will have to vote for Obama in order for him to win. How do you explain that? I look forward to you answering that question in November in these pages. Second, the problem that some Americans have with Obama is not because he is black, it’s because of his politics. I know this is something that you and Sanjay might not understand but the vast majority of us do vote for people on that basis, not because of who they are, the color of their skin, the religion they believe in, or where they come from. I will remind you that this is America and are we are a free people. Free to vote for and choose the government we wish. I don’t think that exists in the Egyptian state system, does it?

Instead of asking your high browed, stuck up architect friend about Americans why don’t you ask the Africans whose lives have been saved because of the simple Mosquito net which was set up and mass produced American style, with the direct help of the Bush administration and has saved hundreds of thousands of lives because of its success. Or, why you are at it, ask them about that peanut butter substance, profiled on 60 minutes several times, the most recent a couple of weeks ago, that is literally saving lives of countless children who otherwise would die of malnutrition and starvation. Or, how about the Americans that sacrificed their lives in trying to help the Somalis during the now famous “Black Hawk Down” incident? Have the Indians or Egyptians done anything like that lately?

Americans do a lot of good in the world. They feed the hungry, clothe the naked and medicate the sick. Trillions of hard earned American dollars, the same Americans you think are so “stupid,” go into providing these programs. Americans give and give and give some more. Forget about Egypt and India, have any non white European countries practiced that kind of humanitarian effort lately? The Saudis? The Kuwatis? They certainly have the money, what have they done?

Frankly, I don’t know why the Jewish Journal puts up with your kind of hatred. You don’t have to be a “right winger” to love this country. Especially, for us Jews who after centuries of wandering have finally found a home that treats us as equals. And, without America and the clear righteous thinking of American, white, European descended Christians, it is questionable whether Israel would be celebrating its 60^th birthday this year. Again, these are the same Americans you had such a good time laughing about at your little dinner party in Mumbai. You might just get that “Obama world” that you are not able to vote for. But, remember this, this is not Egypt, a president must answer to his people, and even the radical principles of leftists like Obama will not bring this country down.

Just another Stupid American

Jihad in America

A response to Brad A. Greenberg's article in the Jewish Journal of Los Angeles in May of 2007. Greenberg's article can be found at www.jewishjournal.com/home/preview.php?id=17734

The Pew research center recently published a survey on Muslims in America with some startling results. Some I have spoken with looked at this poll and decided that American Muslims are for the most part well adjusted and committed to the American dream. While the survey indicated this might indeed be the case for many, maybe even a majority, the disturbing fact is that it also showed that along with the positive Muslim contribution to American society comes with it an evil which hides beneath the surface of that community, waiting like a jackal, watching, calculating, looking for just the right moment to strike.

It is paramount that Americans do not ignore the dangers that the survey clearly outlines.

No one really knows how many Muslims live in America. Estimates range from two to eight million. But, the statistics from this poll were all based on that low figure. So for our purposes we will use the low end of the estimate.

26% of American Muslims under the age of thirty think suicide bombing is justified in some situations. Let me re-write that so we can all be clear. One in four American Muslims under the age of thirty think that suicide bombing is OK. If you take the time to do the math 26% roughly works out to a bare minimum of 200,000 individuals in America who would potentially support, advocate and might even carry out suicide attacks inside our own country.

Ahmed Billoo is a twenty two year old American Muslim student, who looks about as normal as any other twenty-two year old American. He grew up in an upper middle class home, is respectful to his parents and plays soccer with his friends on weekends. Just like your kid or mine, right? Wrong. Ahmed Billoo supports Jihadi movements around the world. And, while he stops short of advocating using Jihadi techniques himself, he supports others who use it to obtain their objectives. He says depending on the situation, taking one’s life in the name of Jihad while murdering innocent people at the same time is the ultimate sacrifice for Islam and it is a blessing to take innocent people with you when doing it.

Billoo was the focus of an article in the Los Angeles Jewish Journal in which the author Brad A. Greenberg chose to smooth over Billoo’s unsettling comments. Since Billoo hasn’t actually killed anybody himself that we know of, his comments might be taken with a grain of salt. Nevertheless Billoo’s philosophy is apparently a growing trend among Muslims here in the United States. Greenberg asked Islamic expert Daniel Pipes to explain the phenomenon. "What you have is a low-wage jihad taking place, but people are not paying attention to it. These sentiments are seething, and at any time might erupt." Are we in danger? Dr. Pipes thinks we are.

Billoo, probably sensing the discomfort Americans might have reading his words, softened his position of excusing suicide bombing. "Muslim or not Muslim, we all fear death. Blowing yourself up is not something everyone can do or something that everyone has the courage to do. I'm not saying we should all go around America doing that;” and then qualifies the admission by saying that “Palestine is a different situation.” In other words it’s not Ok to kill Americans, yet, but at this time it is perfectly acceptable to kill Jews. Aside from the fact that killing Jews smacks of twentieth century brutalities we don’t need to go into here, how long I would ask will it be until Billoo’s type will think it is in the American Jihadist’s interest to start murdering Americans on the same scale it now indiscriminately murders men, women and children inside the State of Israel?

I contacted Daniel Pipes and asked him to elaborate on the comments he made in the article as to how the Billoo archetype could happen in a free, affluent America, whether Muslim or not. Pipes did not think that lifestyle had anything to do with the commitment to Jihad which makes it all the more dangerous. “It’s no surprise, given the power of radical Islam and the statistics we have from the UK ; that this rage and bellicosity is unrelated to sociology (poverty, age, etc.).” After all, we now know that the 9-11 killers were not driven through politics but through religion. The obvious conclusion to Dr. Pipes assertions is that Ahmed Billoo, and all like him are exactly the kinds of Muslims we should be taking a hard look at. Why are we not doing that?

Some have argued moral equivalencies while discussing the merits of this poll. Moral equivalency always seems to make an appearance in discussing the rights and wrongs of the Muslim world. We who live under the Christian Judeo concept which has brought democracy and freedom to all who are willing to struggle for it need to send a statement to those who make such equivalencies, that it is not acceptable to plan, target or execute acts of war which deliberately murder innocent women and children. The Achmad Billoo’s of the world need to be condemned, not tolerated.

I shudder at the day when America and the rest of the West rejoices with the Muslim world dancing and throwing candy in the streets at the brutality that has become to be known as Jihad. The beheading of journalists on the Internet, the blood sport of blowing up pizza parlors, indeed the wholesale slaughter of 3000 Americans while innocently sipping their morning Java must never be accepted as "just warfare." Taking a glass-half-full approach to the Pew Research findings dangerously flirts with such notions. This survey is a wakeup call. We must turn this around before it is too late. Not to will be end of history as we know it.

The World According to Yitzhak Rosenstein

A fictional story about an Israeli father and son. With homage to James Michener, the historical references are true but the people in the story are completely fictitious. Those familiar with the history of the State of Israel will appreciate the candor of the story. I hope you enjoy it.

By Ya'cov Rosenne

Yitzhak had survived Hitler's ovens and in 1943 was one of the survivors of the Sorbibor breakout. He spent the rest of the war fighting with partisans, confounding the Nazis, hurting and killing them whenever he could. All the time he spent in this situation he began to think about Palestine. He had wanted to go there since he was a child. He had decided that if he survives the war he would make his way to and help build the Jewish homeland. In 1945 the war ended and he found his way to a Haganna headquarters in Warsaw. They told him of an underground railroad that was sneaking Jews into Palestine under British noses. Code name: Bricha. That is how Yitzhak got into Palestine.

When he arrived he settled in the Carmel section of Haifa. There were so many Polish Jews there. He was able to survive with his Yiddish until he learned enough Hebrew. The Bricha system outfitted him with papers and a new name. He went to work at the oil refinery, the only refinery in Palestine. While he worked there he got interested in politics. He rose to be the representative of the refinery for the Haifa Workers Council, the arm of the Histadrut in Haifa. Yitzhak made many friends there. He was very likable. Both Arabs and Jews grew to respect Yitzhak’s leadership. There was harmony among the workers of Haifa. Everyone pulled together. It was a good thing.

Then the partition vote in November of 1947 gave the Jews a legitimate right to a small piece of the Palestine Mandate. The partition designated two states out of Palestine one Arab and one Jewish. The Jews accepted. After 2000 years there was going to be a sovereign Jewish homeland in Palestine. The Arabs did not accept and began immediately attacking Jews in the streets and in the country side. Overnight people who were friendly now were enemies. During the month of December 1947 things were very bad for the Jews. They did not expect such a violent reaction from their Arab neighbors. They had miscalculated. This cost the Jews dearly during that month. On a cold morning at the end of December, the Arab military contingent in Haifa led by Mohammed Hamad al-Huneiti, attacked the refinery. Yitzhak and his friends fought bravely but did not have many weapons. Yitzhak was one of the few survivors. Forty-one Jews died that day. It was an ugly scene after it was over. Bodies and body parts were strewn all over the refinery floor where the battle took place. After they killed the Jews, the Arabs took large knives and mutilated the bodies. It was awful.

Yitzhak, undaunted by this display of barbarism by Haifa's Arabs knew deeply in his heart that they could live together as they had been, side by side after the Jewish State would be declared. Even though partition had included Haifa as part of the Jewish State the Arabs were not going to go quietly. The Jews then decided to take the city by force. For two months, fighting raged in the streets between the Haganna and the Arab forces. Yitzhak took up his old partisan stance and did his fair share of heroics. But at meetings he always emphasized the importance of relaying to the Arabs after they were defeated, to stay. To continue working along side their Jewish neighbors. The Haifa Workers Council responded to Yitzhak in positive terms. Out of 12 men only one was insistent on letting the Arabs go.

In mid April Yitzhak accompanied Moshe Carmel and Mordachai Makleff, the Haganna commanders of the Haifa forces, to the offices of General Stockwell, the British mandating authority over Haifa. Stockwell had called a meeting between the Jewish and Arab leaders to see if he could stop the fighting. Now that the Jews were taking the upper hand he knew he may have a chance for a cease fire. The Arabs rejected the terms. Stockwell, was beside himself. He felt the terms were fair. He pleaded with the Arabs to change their minds. They refused. Once again Yitzhak was not deterred by this intransigent reaction from the Arab leaders.

Yitzhak's call to keep Arab integrity intact in Haifa spread through the community. Haifa's Jewish mayor called out to the Arab residents that if they accept the terms of surrender they would be welcomed to stay and help build the city together. They received only negative responses. The Jews continued to take the city by force. Arabs fled in terror from Jewish reprisals for the brutal attack on the refinery back in December. Yitzhak, called an emergency meeting of the Haifa Workers Council. Even as Arabs poured out of the city the council delivered pamphlets. One last ditch effort to try to persuade the Arab population to stay. Most of them unfortunately did not.

For years afterwards Yitzhak blamed himself for not trying harder to persuade the Arabs not to leave. He lied awake at nights running the events over and over again in his mind. What could he have done differently? He was always an advocate of trying to reconcile with the Arab states. To work for peace now was the only answer to Yitzhak's guilt.

In 1952 he befriended an Arab leader from Abu Ganeim on the eastern side of Lake Kinneret. He worked with this man for six months in hopes that they could together once again bring peace to their two peoples. Then Arab hooligans murdered the man. They carved into his chest a Magan David to show the man was a traitor. Yitzhak could not believe that the Arabs had once again destroyed their own hopes for regaining their self respect. Over the years other individual Arabs were killed the same way for the same reasons. In 1962 while Yitzhak was visiting some friends in the North during Tubish'vat, he was downed by a terrorist's bullet.

His life was ended by the people he had worked for the last twenty years to save. It was an ironic end to such a giving life. He loved Israel. Saw it as the redemption of the Jewish people.

He was a good man
He was my father.

I love you Abba,
Ya'cov

Who Will Be For Me?

A depressing explanation on the state of illegal immigration during the 2008 presidential campaign. With the field of candidates it appeared that saving the sovereignty of this country was in definite jeopardy. Written in May of 2007.

In a recent exchange with a friend he told me that he was supporting politicians like Joe Lieberman, Rudy Juliani and John McCain because of their tough stance on the Jihadi threat. The following is how I answered him:

There is another major issue confronting us as Americans that needs to be addressed and that is the border issue. Next to the coming clash with Islam this is probably the single most important issue on the table for Americans. At least two of the three mentioned above are full on "open borders" guys. I am not sure what Lieberman's position is on illegal immigration but the other two are clearly not seeing the danger to our sovereignty. And since both of them are presidential candidates it is important that they understand what is at stake if they continue to count on the present Gerorge Bush coarse if one of them are elected.

Recently though I've begun to see some chinks in the armor of their positions. Traveling around the country, especially in Iowa where they will kick off the primary campaign, people have been clamoring for a clarification on this issue. Clearly, Americans, not just here in southern California, are beginning to demand that something constructive be done with this situation before it is too late. And, the politicians are beginning to listen. McCain has backed away from joining Ted Kennedy this year in an amnesty bill. I read Juliani is also beginning to soften his stance on blanket amnesty now that he is getting a taste of the frustration that Americans are feeling on the problem.

If you are waffling on the issue and really don't think it is as important as the jihadist issue I would urge you to consider the following. Open borders to the south will mean that anyone can come into this country undetected. For all we know they are already here from the Bush policy since 9-11. There are reports that Hizbollah and al Queda are setting up safe houses and underground railroad routes to enter their scumbag soldiers into our country with the help of the Mexican Mafia, and other like underworld gangs. Furthermore, if the rest of the country becomes like Southern California south of Santa Barbara to the border we will become a different country. Have you been to Maywood, Cudahy or Anaheim lately? We will quickly lose our ability to defend ourselves. And, leave ourselves open to attack from the bigger enemy, Jihadist Islam. Can you imagine Mexico as the world's protector of Western Judeo Christian values?

It is imperative to look for and support candidates who have clear cut policy positions on these two issues. It doesn't matter what party you are affiliated with, there are open and close border advocates in both parties. I believe that this is going to be a two issue presidential election, terror and the wide open southern border. Terror has to be first that much is clear, but I would urge you to seek out candidates who are strong on fighting both terror and illegal immigration before backing any candidate for any office in 2008.

Larry

The American Nazi Party 1970

A true story of an experience I had as a young man. Some of this is embellished to make the story more interesting because my life was so pitifully boring during that time, but most of it is true. Originally written in the early 1980s, I hope you like it.

Recently I was reminded of some memories of a personal experience with the "American Nazi Party" I would like to share with all of you. The year was 1970. I was working while in college at a record and music store in downtown Los Angeles. Growing up in that city I never really came into contact with real live "Nazis" before. But it was no secret to the Jewish community and others that they had their Southern California headquarters located in Glendale. For those of you who are not familiar with the Los Angeles area, Glendale is a small incorporated city adjacent to L.A.

Anyway there was very little warning, not like what you have today. Around lunch time the street became buzzing with the fact that the Nazis were going to march right down Broadway and past my store. I have to point out here that this area was heavily traveled by immigrant groups. The most prevalent being, even for 1970, were the Mexicans. That part of downtown catered to the people of East L.A. Every where you walked you heard the blaring of Mariachi Music (indigenous folk music to Mexico). The smell of Mexican food wafted down the street and attacked your senses, sending images of Mexican culture, surrounding you at every turn. Spanish was heard frequently. I myself had to be bilingual to work in the store that employed me. It was a bit unusual as most of the employees of this area were from the "Barrios." How a nice Jewish boy from Pico/Robertson ended up working there is another story. But I digress. There were all the other minority groups there too. Asians, Blacks and of course our own people who usually were the proprietors of most of these shops that lined the blvd.

Upon hearing this news my skin began to crawl, I became tense, I had a feeling that trouble was looming ahead. When I was young, I was volatile, passionate and always ready for a fight if the cause was just. I had the feeling that I always get, just before the pugilist inside gets the better of me. I was scared that something awful was going to happen. Around 1:30 PM the little Armenian kid from the cigar stand next door came running in yelling "Larry, here they come. There coming down the street, come on, come on!" The owner of the store, who was a Holocaust survivor, was standing at the counter opposite me. I dropped what I was doing and started to walk to the front of the store. Our eyes met and locked. He did not say anything and never spoke about it afterward but I felt as if he was giving me his blessing to go and do what was necessary. He knew I was a Jew. He knew I could handle myself, as on more than one occasion I had bodily thrown out the local riffraff that was making trouble in the store. For that split second I felt a connection, a kinship, with our people who too late, fell into the Nazi grasp and were not able to do enough about it to make a difference. The ghosts of that past were urging me on through this one man's eyes who I am sure if he had been younger and healthier would have joined me on that walk out to the front of store.

When I came out the door, I looked down the block which was filled with people as it always was. About a block away rising over the sea of humanity several red flags were bobbing slightly up and down in a standard rhythm. As they came closer the "Swastika" was plainly in view. A familiar lump appeared in my throat. They were closer now, I could see them clearly. The were all dressed up in Brown shirted uniforms complete with the "Swastika" armband. They looked authentic all right. Right down to their spit and polish Jack boots which they were strutting in the goose step that was a trademark of the German Army. What was coming down the street in color I had seen many times before in black and white in the newsreels as they would bully there way down busy German streets before they came to power. It was Kafka-esque to be sure. As they came closer I could see their faces. The front of the line was where they strategically put the biggest guys. If there was violence they wanted these big, ugly looking red necks up there where they could hopefully crack enough heads to get them through any trouble that might arise. This one guy I remember was marching down the street with a smile on his face like he was enjoying the whole thing. He was just waiting for someone to make a move. That's what he was there for.

They were now about three or four doors away. I would say there was probably between 25 or 30 of them marching two by two. They carried placards with the usual racist stuff that you would expect the Nazis to incite with. Most of it was against Mexicans and other Spanish speaking people. Since this was an area that catered to Latin culture they thought it would be a good idea to have lots of insulting stuff about Mexicans. Oh, and of course I saw at least two signs about us in there. They couldn't have a march anywhere without saying something about the Jews.

They were close enough now that I could see the pimples on their faces. The scars of previous fights and the beads of sweat that were beginning to show on some of them. As they approached my muscles tightened and my fists clenched. I had decided that if trouble started I was going to go after "Smily" in the front of the line. The laws of the street say to always go after the biggest ones first. You always better your odds that way. Usually when things would get to this point, I would be concentrating too hard for me to hear anything else other than my own breathing. But something stopped me.

I heard the crowd shouting back at them. There was a groundswell of anger being directed right at them. It suddenly dawned on me that I was not alone. There were many people out there that hated what I hated. And they were expressing it in a way that only Latin tempers can do. It was beautiful. I fell back and relaxed. I let them pass because I knew they were going to have to end their little exhibition soon or they would be terribly outnumbered from the people on the street. With each step they took the crowd seemed to get louder and moved closer to them. They passed me without incident but as they were going by I saw real fear from the guys who were pulling up the rear. One young man in his early twenties seemed genuinely scared as his eyes kept darting back and forth as if an attempt to watch every move the crowd made. That was quite a contrast from that big, ugly smiling redneck they had in front. The irony of how fast the scene went from something the Nazis could control and remain confident to one where they looked intimidated and scared, is something that sticks in my mind to this day. That guy on the end looked like he would have rather been anywhere else at that moment other than in that line.

About twenty yards past my store bedlam broke. I saw the flags with the "Swastikas" go down first. Fists were flying every where and people were screaming. Non combatants were running from the scene to avoid possibly getting hurt. Every single one of the Nazis went down. None of them escaped at least minor injury. I did not partake in those activities as I was content to be a spectator. I was just too amazed that so many people could get so pissed off at one time at the people who were my mortal enemies. There were old ladies and people in wheel chairs getting into it. It was really a sight. The LAPD had their work cut out for them in breaking it up. The Nazis were taught a lesson that day. They were sent back to Glendale licking their wounds, like the dogs that they are. Its too bad some of them didn't die.

I learned something that day too. The Nazis will never be able to gain any kind of foothold here in America. Americans are just too smart for that. I believe that as long as we keep our democratic principals, groups like the KKK, the Nazis, and the Aryan Brotherhood will always remain small and at the very outskirts of our society, lest they get their butts kicked.

Amy Klein's Passover Message

A rebuttal to an article published around Passover time in the Jewish Journal, April, 2007. For the complete text of Ms. Klein's article "Freeing the Slaves-in Los Angeles" go to:
http://www.jewishjournal.com/articles/item/freeing_the_slaves_in_
los_angeles_20070330/

Her picture shines at the top of the page, unassuming, kind, gentle completely unthreatening. The article begins by explaining the horrible conditions of how this deserving young woman was forced to endure an undeserving living condition when she first came to the United States. She told of the loss of a child back in Mexico because she “didn’t have the money to save her.” She promised herself that would never happen again and that her three surviving children’s lives would be different from now on. With typical unwavering rugged individualism that is so admired in American culture, she came determined to make that change. Unfortunately her plans didn’t work out. She hooked up with some ner-do-well who outfitted her in a sweatshop in some dingy unsafe factory setting in downtown Los Angeles. She was not allowed to go and come as she pleased. She was at the complete mercy of her handler. She earned pennies on the dollar to what others earned doing relatively the same work. A faceless coworker took pity on her and slipped here a phone number one day. This was the beginning of her way out. With the cunning of a natural human soul yearning to be free she eventually convinced her overseer to allow her to go to church. Instead, she went directly to a phone booth and called the still nameless, faceless hero. She was out, and she never looked back!

This is a paraphrased account of Amy Klein’s “Freeing the Slaves-in Los Angeles,” published in the Jewish Journal of Los Angeles in March, 2007. It is during Passover time when Jews remember how it was to live as slaves in Egypt. Ms. Klein’s portrait of modern day slavery was meant to bring the feeling home for Jews remembering the humbleness of their origins. If any one isn’t free, are any of us free? That is pretty heady stuff for Jews to assimilate, especially during Passover time.

The young woman showcased in the article was commended for her determination, strength of character, and the ability to endure against, what was apparently, all odds. Her name was Flor and Ms. Klein labeled this a story of modern slavery. Americans in general are particularly sensitive about slavery in their country since they fought a war over it 150 years ago with ramifications that still reverberate through American life. Flor made it out, but how many remain? That is the question that Ms. Klein wanted to convey to the Jewish community during the Passover holiday.

Those are good questions and they should be looked into but there are so many problems with the tenor and direction of this story I hardly know where to begin with this critique. Let me start by asking some questions. Is this really slavery as we have come to know the word? Flor was not taken from her home forcibly, she came of her own free will. In other places where slavery is a confirmed problem, like the Sudan for example, slavery is a brutal, vicious condition that cannot be denied. Iabolish.org writes that in the Sudan,

--------militiamen destroy villages and take their pay in human booty. Grown men are shot, but women and children are the marauders' most prized reward. Forced labor without pay, severe beatings, acute hunger, forced religious and cultural conversion, rape, and ritual female genital mutilation are grim realities for the tens of thousands of children and young mothers now in bondage.-----------


Yes, Flor was treated unfairly but her experience doesn’t reflect the inhumanity described above. She was forced to work long hours, and I’m sure her treatment was a crime but, again is this slavery? Slaves aren’t generally paid for their work but Ms. Klein indicated Flor received pay, even though she was cheated out of some of that money which only adds to the crime already committed. “Her trafficker wrote up her pay stub for only a few hours' work and made Flor sign it.” Slaves in the Arab world , as they were historically here in the United States and elsewhere, are never paid for their work.

Were any black people interviewed for this story? I think the black community might have a problem calling this “slavery” the same way Jews might have a problem with the ease of how the word “Holocaust” is used in today’s lexicon. “The Israelis are committing a holocaust against our people (The Palestinians).” Yasser Arafat, 2003.

Ms. Klein seems to be selective in her condemnation of the problem. “Traffickers sell slaves to Europe, Israel and, increasingly, to North America.” It is entirely suspect that the Arab world is left out of this equation. I only used the Sudan as an example above, but a relatively easy Internet search will reveal that slavery in the Arab world is wide spread and strong. And it exists in its most barbaric forms. Almost every international human rights group lists slavery in the Arab world as a huge problem. I can’t believe that this was just some editorial oversight. It is noteworthy that only the west is mentioned as a proponent of modern day slavery. We here in the free world allow the worst form of human bondage imaginable. And, that according to Ms. Klein is embodied in Flor’s story. Outrageous!

But, Ms. Klein, in her mind set wanted to draw attention to the problem, but the solutions she gave naively will not solve it. She does not identify the real source. Instead she by passes it and blames the problem on Western values. If we want to eliminate American slavery as exposed by the Flors of the world then we must attack the problem at its source. That is the runaway, chaotic, anarchy that exists on the Southern open border of the United States. There are so many serious cultural and legal issues arising out of our de facto open border policy that Flor’s predicament is only the tip of the iceberg. The increase in crime across the board and our inability to combat it is seriously eroding the quality of life in this country. America, in certain microcosmic areas is beginning to show signs of disintegrating. Southern California is one of those examples that the rest of the country can look to if they want to understand exactly how serious this problem has become. One only has to study the siphoning off of revenue to other social services to take care of people who can’t take care of themselves to understand the desperate situation in education, health care, police and fire, road building and repair. All social, political and economic services are affected by this problem. Illegals coming from south of the border just like Flor cover a large portion of that population.

I wondered, as I was reading, why there was no mention of racism. Surely in an anti Western accusation such as this there has to be room for racism. It just wouldn't be complete without it. Did Ms. Klein forget to include it? I fully expected to see it sometime before I finished the article. And, then I come across this, “Flor's trafficker is a cousin of the mayor of her hometown.” One can only imagine the field day that Ms. Klein would have had if Flor’s trafficker would have been white. It would have increased the length of the piece at least three paragraphs.

Ms. Klein points to several Los Angeles politicians who are working hard to see that Flor and all others like her are to be set free. “On Jan. 11, (Councilman Eric) Garcetti, Councilman Tony Cardenas and LAPD Chief William Bratton gathered with other officials to announce the declaration of National Human Trafficking Awareness Day.” What a pompous gathering that must have been. Those three gentlemen are part of Ms Klein’s America that says we do not need to be concerned about illegal immigration. They support special order no. 40 which forbids police from investigating a criminal’s immigration status. They support legislation which promotes and continues to strengthen an already out of control sanctuary policy for L.A. They refuse to do anything about the problem usually citing it as federal government responsibility. That’s the George Bush government that claims "they only do the jobs that Americans won’t do." I wrote to all three cited in the article asking for clarification and none would respond to my query. I don’t know if they are just plain cowards or they actually share some hidden delight in watching American sovereignty disintegrate with each passing year.

There was more than one crime committed in this story. First, and foremost, the innocent young woman named Flor should have never gone through this kind of treatment. The people involved on both sides of the border should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Second, and maybe the more insidious of the two, is the continuing denial of the political left in this country that refuses to acknowledge where these kinds of problems originate and their hijacking of the political process to keep them hidden.

This article has less to do with slavery than it does an unwilling population to have the courage to stand up and say that is enough. It certainly holds no positive reflection for Jews at Passover. We should not be proud as Klein’s article is meant to make us feel, we should be ashamed that we have allowed this to happen. We should be slightly fearful that it is getting worse, not better. Amy Klein’s article has a maligning seditious ring to it. It confirms a continuing slide into chaos and cultural disorder. Remove the possibility of open southern borders and you will clear up at least 95% of this problem almost immediately.

Ms. Klein could have chosen to write about the real horrors of slavery in the Islamic world, the brutal capture of human beings treated no better than animals, the death and the stench of oppression. That would have been a real Passover message. All would have benefited from such an article. Instead she chose to write something that would satisfy left wing thinking, filled with progressive psychobabble with politically correct distortions and revised truths. Only a few misguided people who have lost their sense of freedom somewhere along the way, can read Ms. Klein's article and shake their heads yes and say to themselves, “now I can have meaning to my Passover Seder.”

Some are Willing…Some are Not

A review of a lecture I attended which was of interest to all Americans. I submitted this as a freelanced piece to the Jewish Journal in February, 2007.

Monday night (Feb 5, 2007) marked the beginning of the sixth annual Public Lecture Series at the Gibson Auditorium in Universal City, Los Angeles, sponsored by the University of Judaism. The theme of the evening was the role of America in the 21st. century as viewed by three of America’s most reliable allies. A panel of past presidents and prime ministers expressed their views for the future with America leading the free world. Ehud Barak of Israel, John Major of England and Jose Maria Aznar of Spain, spoke individually at first and then in a panel discussion conducted by a moderator. .

The emergence of China, the world economy, and the spread of democracy was discussed. But, judging from applauses the most important topics to the audience was how the United States would lead Western Civilization in the War on Terror. Barak and Major were predictable in their assessments of terrorism and its spreading influences like the Islamization of Europe. This is a little disconcerting about Major since he identifies himself as part of the conservative party in England. Barak, since he is Israeli no matter what his political leanings are you wouldn’t think he would be so willing to take such a chance on his own country’s survival by desiring to enter into a peace treaty with people who are sworn to destroy it.

In fairness they both expressed concern about the state of world affairs but held out for a bright future, emphasizing diplomacy and conciliation. Major was insistent that Europe could face a crisis later because of Muslim integration, but for right now” it is ok.” I was beginning to squirm in my seat. This is in light of recent reports that Mohammad is now the number one baby naming choice in Major’s own country. (I wrote this before the exposure that week of a Jidhadi plot to kill a British soldier home on leave from Iraq). The protégé of Maggie Thatcher, the former Prime Minister remarked that when the time became right, European leaders would somehow stop the Islamic "Anschluss." And, assuming they could do that at some point in the future, then what? Could they reverse it? When, I thought, would John Major believe that the Muslim presence in Europe would be at that point when politicians would have to intervene and do something.

Barak kind of echoed for the Middle East what Major saw for the immediate future of Europe. He still believes that peace on some level is possible with Israel’s surrounding neighbors within the near future. He sidestepped the question of grading the Israeli government’s performance in the Lebanon war last summer, refusing to comment on the basis that he was personal friends with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. I get the impression that Barak is one of many Jews who are perfectly willing, however naively, to hand our enemies the rope so they can hang us with it.

Aznar was different. He remained the one bright light during the evening. He held that the Islamist threat must be confronted now. The fight against terror should never be backed away from. He was very supportive of Israel not only with its struggle against terror but its ability to survive in a climate of so many seeking to destroy it. He was full of sound bites but that's ok I like what he had to say. He said, "If America is the best hope, then Israel is the last hope." He told the Israelis in the audience that they are not the problem, "the problem is elsewhere."
You may remember Aznar. As president of Spain he was one of the more enthusiastic supporters of the Bush coalition in Iraq. He was in office the day of the Madrid bombing that killed 191 people in 2004. Three days later, and some say because of it, he lost reelection to the Socialist Zapatero, who promptly withdrew the Spanish troops from Iraq. An embarrassment to Spain and a huge victory for the terrorists, the Madrid bombings was further proof to the enemy that the West has no will to fight. Aznar stands in the doorway of that notion. He believes that the United States will have to take the lead if Western Civilization has a chance to win the War on Terror.

I felt like I was watching Churchill in 1936 demanding that England and France go in and disarm Hitler’s rearmament. Almost everyone alive during that time whether in government or not, had vivid memories of the World War I catastrophe and wanted to avoid war at all costs. Churchill took a lot of ridicule for this stand. But, as we know from history a few years later he was the sole world leader protecting Western Democracy from a totalitarian abyss. I hope Aznar returns to government in his country. It gives me hope that there are still world leaders that realize what we are up against. I thought the Spanish were cowards after the Madrid bombing controversy. Now I know that is not true. There is at least one man who is not, Jose Maria Aznar certainly has my support.