The Lie Lives - Vote "no"!
TIME.com: Inside the Battle of Jenin is about as even-handed as Captain Hook. The text is not too terrible - but in conjunction with the photo essay, the net effect is to show the "poor Palestinian" victims. No picture of Israelis accompanies the text. And as far as I know--though I generally avoid Time--they've not shown the inhumanity of the Arabs toward Israelis or toward themselves, this way. There is a poll on the page, and ostensibly 4 million people have taken it, of whom - as of today - two-thirds believe that Israel committed human rights violations in Jenin.
For what it's worth, go there and vote "no."
Saturday, May 11, 2002
The U.N.'s Israel Obsession
David Tell in "The Weekly Standard": "Maybe the U.N. picks on Israel simply because it can. Or maybe, just maybe, there is a darker impulse at play." Ya think?
David Tell in "The Weekly Standard": "Maybe the U.N. picks on Israel simply because it can. Or maybe, just maybe, there is a darker impulse at play." Ya think?
A Nation Like Ours: Why Americans stand with Israel
David Gelernter is both smart and wise. I know him from the world of virtual reality, whose depths he plumbed as nobody else had in his book, Mirror Worlds. His father, Herbert, taught a seminar at Stony Brook (SUNY) in 1972 that was my introduction to artificial intelligence (much needed today, since the real stuff is in such short supply).
But the full power and flowering of David's writing only came after he was almost killed by the Unibomber. He recorded in Reader's Digest, beautifully, the coming together of his awareness of his duties as a family man, a Jew, and a citizen. This Weekly Standard piece reflects his lucid thinking and his love for all people.
David Gelernter is both smart and wise. I know him from the world of virtual reality, whose depths he plumbed as nobody else had in his book, Mirror Worlds. His father, Herbert, taught a seminar at Stony Brook (SUNY) in 1972 that was my introduction to artificial intelligence (much needed today, since the real stuff is in such short supply).
But the full power and flowering of David's writing only came after he was almost killed by the Unibomber. He recorded in Reader's Digest, beautifully, the coming together of his awareness of his duties as a family man, a Jew, and a citizen. This Weekly Standard piece reflects his lucid thinking and his love for all people.
Bravo, John Derbyshire!
By golly, that emporer is naked! This is the very first non-projective view of the "Palestinians" I have seen.
By golly, that emporer is naked! This is the very first non-projective view of the "Palestinians" I have seen.
What you support, bright-eyed girl in the kafeeyah
From: Naomi Ragen
Sometimes I watch them, those bright eyed Western college girls marching in pro-Palestinian demonstrations, the kafeeyah wrapped scarf-like around their necks. And I think: Do you know what you are supporting with your passion? Do you understand when you wave the PLO flag that you are becoming one with them, these Islamofascists who mistreat their women, deny them rights, and send them off to blow themselves and others up? I'd like this letter to reach that girl in the kafeeyah. Perhaps it might change her mind, if she has one and is using it.
Naomi Ragen
From: Naomi Ragen
Sometimes I watch them, those bright eyed Western college girls marching in pro-Palestinian demonstrations, the kafeeyah wrapped scarf-like around their necks. And I think: Do you know what you are supporting with your passion? Do you understand when you wave the PLO flag that you are becoming one with them, these Islamofascists who mistreat their women, deny them rights, and send them off to blow themselves and others up? I'd like this letter to reach that girl in the kafeeyah. Perhaps it might change her mind, if she has one and is using it.
Naomi Ragen
Why does NPR hate Israel?
A few years ago, my wife noticed that whenever I'd listen to public radio in the car, I'd come into the house sneering and negative. I realized that it was true, and performed a self-NPR-ectomy. Been a lot happier since!
But I'm not the only one to notice how anti-Israel this network is. Read this article: CAMERA Calls on NPR to Fire Foreign Editor Loren Jenkins
A few years ago, my wife noticed that whenever I'd listen to public radio in the car, I'd come into the house sneering and negative. I realized that it was true, and performed a self-NPR-ectomy. Been a lot happier since!
But I'm not the only one to notice how anti-Israel this network is. Read this article: CAMERA Calls on NPR to Fire Foreign Editor Loren Jenkins
I Love Naomi Ragen!
I love how she expresses so well just what I am thinking about Israel and the current situation.Here are some recent wonderful email messages she sent out. Each is worth reading.
I love how she expresses so well just what I am thinking about Israel and the current situation.Here are some recent wonderful email messages she sent out. Each is worth reading.
Friday, May 10, 2002
An Incredible Slide Show: The Solution to the Problem
Click here and watch. (To get the full effect, click "slide show" on the lower right of the window when it comes up. "Escape" stops the slide show.)
Click here and watch. (To get the full effect, click "slide show" on the lower right of the window when it comes up. "Escape" stops the slide show.)
Politics: A Special Type of Insanity
Barry Rubin writes sense in the Jerusalem Post. I wish someone would answer his questions; I certainly can't.
Barry Rubin writes sense in the Jerusalem Post. I wish someone would answer his questions; I certainly can't.
Hope He Can Survive
From The CJN: Sheikh Abdul Hadi Palazzi said in an interview with The CJN that the Qu'uran recognizes the Land of Israel as the heritage of the Jews and that the modern State of Israel is the fulfillment of the prophecy that, before the Last Judgment, the Jewish people will return to dwell there.
Those who rise up against Israel in the name of Islam are committing "fitnah," meaning apostasy and sedition, Palazzi said, and those who encourage the ignorant to do so are "terrorist criminals."
He is a harsh critic of Palestinian suicide bombers and what he sees as the sacrifice of children in the current intifadah. No "paradise" awaits those who die this way, Palazzi said. "Islam forbids suicide for any reason."
He accuses "pseudo-Islamic" organizations, like Hamas, of cruelly exploiting the impoverished in refugee camps. "Unfortunately, it is true that their only opportunity for a better future lies in sacrificing their children as suicide bombers, for which they will be paid by these organizations."
From The CJN: Sheikh Abdul Hadi Palazzi said in an interview with The CJN that the Qu'uran recognizes the Land of Israel as the heritage of the Jews and that the modern State of Israel is the fulfillment of the prophecy that, before the Last Judgment, the Jewish people will return to dwell there.
Those who rise up against Israel in the name of Islam are committing "fitnah," meaning apostasy and sedition, Palazzi said, and those who encourage the ignorant to do so are "terrorist criminals."
He is a harsh critic of Palestinian suicide bombers and what he sees as the sacrifice of children in the current intifadah. No "paradise" awaits those who die this way, Palazzi said. "Islam forbids suicide for any reason."
He accuses "pseudo-Islamic" organizations, like Hamas, of cruelly exploiting the impoverished in refugee camps. "Unfortunately, it is true that their only opportunity for a better future lies in sacrificing their children as suicide bombers, for which they will be paid by these organizations."
Thursday, May 09, 2002
Jerusalem 1967
The day we took Jerusalem stands out in my life as an epochal moment. I wasn't there; I was in the north, not far from my kibbutz (at the time), Rosh HaNikra. We got the news that the Kotel - the "Wailing Wall" - was in our hands. And all of us religion-rejecting Zionist youngters were stunned. We knew that Something Very Important had happened.
In the days that followed, I learned that several of my friends had been killed in the battles. Numbness lasted for weeks; eventually, it gave way to grief, and to healing. In the years since, my sense of the greatness of the event has only increased. "Our feet shall stand within your gates, Yerushalayim, which is built as a city that is joined together," it says in Psalms 122:3 (my own translation). When had this city ever been split before? Could the Psalmist be referring to that day in 1967?
Yes.
The day we took Jerusalem stands out in my life as an epochal moment. I wasn't there; I was in the north, not far from my kibbutz (at the time), Rosh HaNikra. We got the news that the Kotel - the "Wailing Wall" - was in our hands. And all of us religion-rejecting Zionist youngters were stunned. We knew that Something Very Important had happened.
In the days that followed, I learned that several of my friends had been killed in the battles. Numbness lasted for weeks; eventually, it gave way to grief, and to healing. In the years since, my sense of the greatness of the event has only increased. "Our feet shall stand within your gates, Yerushalayim, which is built as a city that is joined together," it says in Psalms 122:3 (my own translation). When had this city ever been split before? Could the Psalmist be referring to that day in 1967?
Yes.
Jerusalem Day
Tal G. in Jerusalem reports:
It's Yom Yerushalayim, which is the anniversary of the reunification of Jerusalem in 1967. Last night traffic was rerouted thru downtown, which was quite aesthetically lit with white lights above all the streets (a nice touch that I don't remember from previous years). There was also a parade and a concert that I could hear from my apartment.
Obviously, the conquest of the eastern parts of Jerusalem coincides with the beginning of the "occupation" ... so here's a few things worth knowing: In 1948 the Israelis were largely victorious against the combined Arab forces; but 2 regions that fell were the eastern parts of Jerusalem(including the Western Wall, the Jewish quarter of the walled city, the Hebrew University campus) and the Gush Ezyon region, which were essentially annexed by Jordan. The Jewish communities of those regions were forced to flee, but were resettled rather than forced to languish in refugee camps.
The 1949 ceasefire lines were just that - ceasefire lines. They never constituted an internationally recognized border. The period of 1948-1967 was (I think) probably the first time since antiquity that the walled city of Jerusalem was fully off-limits to Jewish presence and worship. Most Israelis feel little connection to the Arab neighborhoods of Eastern Jerusalem: Abu Dis, Wadi Joz etc. but I think I can say that the walled city, and the ancient city of David are central to our collective memory.
Tal G. in Jerusalem reports:
It's Yom Yerushalayim, which is the anniversary of the reunification of Jerusalem in 1967. Last night traffic was rerouted thru downtown, which was quite aesthetically lit with white lights above all the streets (a nice touch that I don't remember from previous years). There was also a parade and a concert that I could hear from my apartment.
Obviously, the conquest of the eastern parts of Jerusalem coincides with the beginning of the "occupation" ... so here's a few things worth knowing: In 1948 the Israelis were largely victorious against the combined Arab forces; but 2 regions that fell were the eastern parts of Jerusalem(including the Western Wall, the Jewish quarter of the walled city, the Hebrew University campus) and the Gush Ezyon region, which were essentially annexed by Jordan. The Jewish communities of those regions were forced to flee, but were resettled rather than forced to languish in refugee camps.
The 1949 ceasefire lines were just that - ceasefire lines. They never constituted an internationally recognized border. The period of 1948-1967 was (I think) probably the first time since antiquity that the walled city of Jerusalem was fully off-limits to Jewish presence and worship. Most Israelis feel little connection to the Arab neighborhoods of Eastern Jerusalem: Abu Dis, Wadi Joz etc. but I think I can say that the walled city, and the ancient city of David are central to our collective memory.
How Far We've Slipped!
Steven Plaut nails it. Read this and - well, if you don't weep, find out what's wrong with you.
Steven Plaut nails it. Read this and - well, if you don't weep, find out what's wrong with you.
Wednesday, May 08, 2002
Tuesday, May 07, 2002
Who Said This?
"Terrorism is against our religion and culture and we have been the victims of it for the past four decades..." Click here to learn the macabre and funny truth. (Update: The original link was to a May 6 Newsweek story, which quoted this piece...and mysteriously disappeared a few days later!)
"Terrorism is against our religion and culture and we have been the victims of it for the past four decades..." Click here to learn the macabre and funny truth. (Update: The original link was to a May 6 Newsweek story, which quoted this piece...and mysteriously disappeared a few days later!)
Monday, May 06, 2002
The Key to Understanding the Arabs (sez Joel)
Call it, "the Moslem hypothesis." Let's try to understand the Arabs' behavior, which seems utterly illogical and self-destructive, on the basis of the Koran.
Granted, most nominal Moslems, like most nominal Jews and Christians, don't necessarily know their own religion's teachings very well. However, if we postulate that all Arab behavior should be looked at first in the context of "What would Mohammed do?" - we find a remarkably consistent picture.
And it's simple: The Koran says that the earth belongs to Allah (not to be confused with the God of the Jews and Christians), but not everyone knows it. The part that knows it is called, "Dar al Islam" - the house of Islam. The other part is called, "Dar al harb" - the house of war or destruction.
It is the duty of every Moslem to conquer, violently, Dar al harb and turn it into Dar al Islam. This duty can only be suspended for the purpose of regrouping to gather strength, and even then never for more than ten years.
While it is fruitful to explore the cultural issues--eg, Arabs are much less reluctant to lie than Westerners, for any reason--the Big Reason that NO mediator or peace proposal can bring peace about is simple: The Arabs do not want it.
We Jews and Israelis--and our Christian friends--have a hard time believing that. Many of us know Arabs who want peace.
Perhaps they just don't want it enough.
Call it, "the Moslem hypothesis." Let's try to understand the Arabs' behavior, which seems utterly illogical and self-destructive, on the basis of the Koran.
Granted, most nominal Moslems, like most nominal Jews and Christians, don't necessarily know their own religion's teachings very well. However, if we postulate that all Arab behavior should be looked at first in the context of "What would Mohammed do?" - we find a remarkably consistent picture.
And it's simple: The Koran says that the earth belongs to Allah (not to be confused with the God of the Jews and Christians), but not everyone knows it. The part that knows it is called, "Dar al Islam" - the house of Islam. The other part is called, "Dar al harb" - the house of war or destruction.
It is the duty of every Moslem to conquer, violently, Dar al harb and turn it into Dar al Islam. This duty can only be suspended for the purpose of regrouping to gather strength, and even then never for more than ten years.
While it is fruitful to explore the cultural issues--eg, Arabs are much less reluctant to lie than Westerners, for any reason--the Big Reason that NO mediator or peace proposal can bring peace about is simple: The Arabs do not want it.
We Jews and Israelis--and our Christian friends--have a hard time believing that. Many of us know Arabs who want peace.
Perhaps they just don't want it enough.
The Newspaper of (broken) Record
The Idler has a very plain and thorough examination of the NY Times' anti-Israel bias.
The Idler has a very plain and thorough examination of the NY Times' anti-Israel bias.
Jerusalem Day Simulcast
OneJerusalem.org: has the details for this event, to be held 5/9, 12:30 - 2 pm EDT.
OneJerusalem.org: has the details for this event, to be held 5/9, 12:30 - 2 pm EDT.
Hey, Amnesty! Red Cross! Why don't you check THIS out?
This is how Arabs are treated by their own people.
This is how Arabs are treated by their own people.
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