Thursday, June 17, 2010

The Missing Link between the Individual and the State: By Moshe Feiglin

1 Tamuz, 5770
June 13, '10

We spent Shabbat at Avnei Eitan in the Golan Heights. Childhood friends who were driven out of Gush Katif now live there in a neighborhood of trailer homes. They have not yet received authorization to build a permanent home, but with no help from anyone, they did build three small guest cabins in their back yard. We packed up our extended family and set out to the north for some R&R in the small slice of heaven-on-earth that G-d has given our friends in the Golan Heights.

From the looks of things up north, tourism has become the main source of income for the farmers there. The state of Tel Aviv is in desperate search of some open countryside and clean air and farms that were once dangerously close to bankruptcy have a generous supply of both those commodities. Thank G-d, the tourism business up north is a success story. I pray that some of this prosperity will rub off on the Gush Katif refugees who I met in Avnei Eitan.

Where do these people, aged 50 plus, get the strength to start all over again, and in the Golan Heights, no less, which has been teetering on the edge of Israeli retreat for the past forty years? I did not ask them. Shabbat is not the time to open unhealed wounds. But clearly, a good part of the answer is that the Gush Katif refugees have an asset that most of the Nation of Israel lacks: Community.

Historically, Jews have always lived in structured communities. When we returned to our Land - and even more so, when we established our state - someone decided that the community was extraneous and its power and authority should be transferred to the centralized state of the Labor party (then called Mapai). The traditional communities were scratched and the Zionist melting pot boiled us all into one big "Mother of all Communities."

The lyrics to a popular song by the Dudaim Duo from about thirty years ago artfully depict the outcome: (freely translated)

Pushed and shoved into small cans of tin
Waiting for a bit of air
The people stuck inside knock and knock
They want to get out
The people outside want to get back in

We don't see the blue skies
We don't see the rainbow in the clouds
There are no more holidays, just ordinary days
The entire world is black and white.

The individual bereft of community is a very lonely and hopeless person. Somewhere out there, in the government offices, there are faceless people who have been hired to run his life. But these clerks, even if they have good intentions, have no real ability to understand the individual's needs and no convincing reason to really help him. Modern technology has exacerbated the problem; who dares dream today of calling a large office and talking to a real person? It is impossible to reach the heads of the Mother of all Communities. The government offices have websites and you, Mr. Cohen, can talk to the wall - or to the computer screen.

In almost every democracy in the world, elections are district-based. District-based elections encourage the development of local leadership and motivate that leadership to take responsibility. In the US, every citizen has his congressman, alderman or precinct captain. Even the local police chief and the local judge are elected by the community. An elected public official presumably wants to be re-elected, so he will make sure to answer phone calls and to do his best to attend to the needs of his constituents.

In Israel, the political parties are more like large corporations. The individual does not vote for people. Instead he must vote for labels, who sit on high with one hundred percent power and zero responsibility.

Israel is becoming a wealthy state. Nevertheless, it is not able to properly care for its weak and underprivileged. State social workers routinely direct the needy to charity NGOs. The centralized government has no way to know who really needs help and who has learned to cynically take advantage of the system. As a result, over half of Israel's social security budget is allocated to Israel's Arab population - which is working and living well - while truly needy people are forced to turn to charity organizations.

Israel must re-invent itself as a community-based country. It must encourage the formation of small communities, allowing them to retain a large portion of the local taxes collected from its members. If that were the case, we could be sure that the local needy would not be abandoned; their problem would become the community's problem and responsibility - not the state's.

Those people who have had the privilege to live in active communities, like the settlers, for instance, know just how well the community model works. When a person in the community hits a tough spot, the neighbors know and enter the picture with genuine care. Together with their local leadership, they find the ways to help.

Welfare is the first responsibility that must be returned to the community. But it is certainly not the last. In principle, the only responsibilities of the state are security, justice and national infrastructure. "The king makes wars and metes out justice," Maimonides writes in The Laws of Kings. Today, the state does just the opposite. It interferes in virtually every aspect of the citizens' lives while ignoring its main responsibilities - security and justice.

The community is the missing link between the individual family and the state. We must urgently rehabilitate it. It should be the privilege and right of every citizen of Israel.

Sunday, June 13, 2010

End U.S. military grants to Israel NOW!!!!!!!

Why the Security and Well-Being of the United States Depends Very Much on Israel
- Prof. Paul Eidelberg

Joseph Sisco, a former Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern and South Asian affairs, once told Israeli author Shmuel Katz, “I want to assure you, Mr. Katz, that if we were not getting full value for our money, you would not get a cent from us.”  In fact, Israel has long been America’s biggest strategic bargain. Let’s examine some facts.

For FY2009, U.S. military grants to Israel was $2.55 billion (= $2.55B).

Since Israel’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2009 was $199B, total U.S. aid to Israel was merely 1.28 percent of its GDP—a sum easily obtained by closing tax loop holes.

Viewed over the five year period of 2005–2009—total U.S. military aid was approximately $12B.


What has the U.S. received from Israel in return?

Total exports from the U.S. to Israel between 2005 and 2009 amounted to $57.6B—almost five times the $12B Israel received in U.S. aid during this period. The annual average of U.S. exports to Israel during this period was $11.7B, more than five times the average American aid package!

Israel must spend about 74 percent of U.S. military aid in the United States, where it provides jobs for an estimated fifty thousand American workers.

Unknown to many observers, U.S. military aid to Israel creates a demand for, and the purchase of, tens of billions of dollars worth of U.S. weaponry by Saudi Arabia and other Arab states. U.S. grants to Israel—far from imposing a burdenon the American tax payer—actually enriches the American economy. (American arms manufacturers know this. So do congressmen who represent the various States in which corporations such as Boeing, Lockheed, and General Dynamics are located. These elected officials, along with these corporations, have vested interests in opposing any sanctions against Israel if its government were to take a more independent and vigorous stand against the Palestinian Authority and Hamas.

According to Gen. George Keegan, a former chief of U.S. Air Force Intelligence, between 1974 and 1990, Israeli aid to America was worth between $50–80B in intelligence, research, development savings, and Soviet weapons systems captured and transferred to the Pentagon, and testing Soviet military doctrines up to 1990 when the USSR collapsed. Senator Daniel Inouye put it this way: “The contribution made by Israeli intelligence to America is greater than that provided by all NATO countries combined.”

In view of these facts, why doesn’t Israel’s ruling elites resist U.S. pressure? In fact, they have done soon many occasions in the past and with salutary results.

Ettinger provides compelling evidence in his article “U.S. Pressure—A Guide for the Perplexed,” September 9, 2009:

In 1950, the U.S. Administration pressured Israel to refrain from Jewish construction in Jerusalem and from declaring Jerusalem the capital of Israel. Prime Minister Ben-Gurion built, relocated government agencies and thousands of immigrants to Jerusalem and declared Jerusalem the capital of the Jewish state.

In 1961, President Kennedy pressured Ben-Gurion to stop the construction of Israel’s nuclear reactor. Ben-Gurion ignored Kennedy.

In 1967, the U.S. Administration pressured against annexation of East Jerusalem. Prime Minister Eshkol annexed, reunited Jerusalem, and built the formidable Ramat Eshkol neighborhood.

In 1967, President Johnson pressured Prime Minister Eshkol against preempting the Egypt-Syria-Jordan military offensive. Eshkol acted independently.

In 1970, the U.S. Administration pressured Israel to relinquish control over parts of Jerusalem. Prime Minister Golda Meir constructed the neighborhoods of Gilo, Ramot and Neveh Yaakov (current population over 100,000!).

In 1977, President Jimmy Carter pressured Prime Minister Begin to abstain from direct negotiation with President Sadat and participate—instead—in an international conference, focusingon the Palestinian issue and Jerusalem. Begin acted independently.

In 1981, President Reagan pressured Prime Minister Begin against bombing Iraq’s nuclear reactor. Begin ordered the bombing operation.

In 1990, President Bush (the elder) and his Secretary of State James Baker attempted to cut 5 percent of the foreign aid to Israel,on account of Israel’s settlement activity. Congress opposed and the initiative was rescinded. (The legislature and the executive are equal in power and fully independent of each other. The U.S. Congress has been a systematic bastion of support of the Jewish state since before 1948.)

Following the 1991 Gulf War, Israel asked for emergency assistance, which Bush/Baker rejected. Congress supported and Israel received $650M in cash and $700M in military systems.

U.S. public and Congressional support of Israel is robust. “The Rasmussen Report” documents a 70 percent support (August 10, 2009) and “Gallup” ranks Israel as the fourth-favored ally (March 3, 2009). Seventy-one senators signed an August 10, 2009, letter calling upon President Obama to shift pressure from Israel to Arab countries. The Democratic Chairman of the House Foreign Relations Committee, Howard Berman, called upon Obama to end his preoccupation with settlements. The Democratic Majority Leader, Steny Hoyer, resents Obama’s opposition to Jewish construction in East Jerusalem. The strongest (Democratic) senator, Daniel Inouye, Chairman of the Appropriations Committee, is the most effective supporter of the U.S.-Israel connection since 1948.

Ettinger concludes: “Defiance of pressure entails short-term cost but enhances long-term national security. Submission to pressure exacerbates pressure. Fending off pressure is required, in order to attain strategic goals. Avoiding pressure—through concessions—leads to departure from strategic goals.”
The lesson is clear: Courage, fortified by Jewish faith, is theone thing needed in Israel's Government—for the sake of both Israel and the United States.

Friday, June 11, 2010

Obama Admin To Support Anti-Israel Resolution at UN Next Week

The Weekly Standard has learned that senior Obama administration officials have been telling foreign governments that the administration intends to support an effort next week at the United Nations to set up an independent commission, under UN auspices, to investigate Israel’s behavior in the Gaza flotilla incident. The White House has apparently shrugged off concerns from elsewhere in the U.S. government that a) this is an extraordinary singling out of Israel, since all kinds of much worse incidents happen around the world without spurring UN investigations; b) that the investigation will be one-sided, focusing entirely on Israeli behavior and not on Turkey or on Hamas; and c) that this sets a terrible precedent for outside investigations of incidents involving U.S. troops or intelligence operatives as we conduct our own war on terror.
While UN Ambassador Susan Rice is reported to have played an important role in pushing for U.S. support of a UN investigation, the decision is, one official stressed, of course the president’s. The government of Israel has been consulting with the U.S. government on its own Israeli investigative panel, to be led by a retired supreme court justice, that would include respected international participants, including one from the U.S. But the Obama administration is reportedly saying that such a “kosher panel” is not good enough to satisfy the international community, or the Obama White House.
(Source: The Weekly Standard)

IHH Premeditated Violence - Video Statements of Marmara Crew

The Chief Officer of the Mavi Marmara describes how members of the pro-terror IHH took control of the ship and prepared for soldiers' arrival by creating weapons.

Video - http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/138008

Monday, June 7, 2010

Prophecy - Prof. Paul Eidelberg

Many Jews talk about the need to make Israel an authentic Jewish state, a state based on the Torah, on the Sinai Covenant.  The ultimate purpose of such a state is to sanctify the Name of God by revealing His infinite Wisdom, Power and Graciousness in every domain of existence. 

But if we understand what an authentic Jewish state is, why don’t we have a road map to such state?  A basic reason is because Israelis have focused their attention and energies on the “Arab problem,” more precisely the “Palestinian problem.”   This is a self-fulfilling prophecy.  Not only is the entire world focused on the Palestinian problem, but Israel's Government is committed to establishing an Arab-Islamic state on Israel's own territory! Let's try to get to the bottom of this bizarre situation.

(1) Israeli governments have focused the world’s attention on the Palestinian problem because they have failed to address Israel's most fundamental problem the Jewish problem!

(2) Stated another way, every Israeli government has been focused on the territorial-cum-security issue.  So lo and behold, Israel is losing territory and has never been more insecure!

Want more?  Okay.

(3) Israel’s (paranoid) prime ministers are always preoccupied with Israel’s image among the nations.  This is precisely why Israel has never had a more horrible image.

Are you getting the message? You all know that the Zionist enterprise had two basic goals: to provide for the security and restore the dignity of the Jewish people by establishing a Jewish state in Eretz Israel.  Right? 

But where was God in this Zionist scenario?  Do you find God mentioned in Theodor Herzl’s The Jewish State—Herzl, the only name mentioned in the document now called Israel’s Declaration of Independence? 

So, instead of God, what does Israel look up to—because if a people have nothing to look up to, they will be looking down on their feet.  Instead of looking up to God they will look up to man.  This is called "humanism."  But inasmuch as biologists such as Richard Dawkins have shown that man is descended from apes, an awful lot of Israelis have discovered they have no statesman at the helm—only apes!


Let me put it another way. What do Israel’s decision-makers and opinion-makers exalt? What else but DEMOCRACY?  Everyone knows this.  Everyone knows that the paramount concern of Israel’s ruling elites—politicians and judges, academics and journalists—their paramount concern is to secure Israel’s reputation as a Democracy.  This is what gives Israel's Government Legitimacy and Israel's elites with Respectability. Right?  But notice that the nations are now seeking to delegitimize Israel despite its vaunted Democracy!  Sort of ironic, no?

But where is the Torah in this Israeli scenario?   Wasn’t it the Torah that preserved the Jewish people and endowed them with dignity? 

Will someone tell me what would have happened to the Jewish people after the destruction of the Second Temple without the Torah?  Why they would have become as extinct as the dodo.  This means that had Israel been led by the likes of Yitzhak Rabin, Ehud Barak, Ariel Sharon, Ehud Olmert, and Binyamin Netanyahu, the Jews would have suffered the fate of the Mesopotamians.

Poor Israelis! Having abandoned the Jewish God and the Torah, we now we now see that some Jewish politicians are so desperate that they solicit the political support of Christians!  Christians may think this is the fulfillment of prophecy. 

But the Jewish sages knew that in the end of days, Israel would be ruled by paltry governments.  Like the foolish governments of Europe and the United States, Israel's government succumbing to barbarians.  But don't despair.  The same Jewish sages saw Israel's current state of affairs as a preliminary to a renaissance of Hebraic civilization.

Sunday, June 6, 2010

The Kurdish Flotilla

It has been learned that the Kurds are sending a Flotilla against Turkish occupation.  Before continuing, a few words about the Kurds.



No firm statistics exist for the Kurdish population. Estimates range between 16 and 25 million, divided as follows: 8 - 13m in Turkey, 4-5m in Iraq,

4-5m in Iran, 1m in Syria and another million scattered between Lebanon, Armenia and other neighboring states. A majority of Kurds are Sunni Muslim, not ethnically Arab.



Note that the Kurds constitute a significant portion of Turkey. Unlike the Turks, however, they speak an Indo-European language. They live across all of Turkey (mainly in the south), but Turkey's treatment of the Kurds has been a frequent subject of international criticism.[1] 



Now, since the Kurds are seeking national self-determination, Israel—which has supported them in the past—should portray them as would-be Zionists and call upon the democratic world to support them, especially in view of the fact that the Kurds, unlike most Muslims, are friends of democracy!

 

Islam is not a religion nor is it a cult. It is a complete system.

by John Larsen on Wed May 14, 2008 5:48 pm


Islam is not a religion nor is it a cult. It is a complete system.

Islam has religious, legal, political, economic and military components. The religious component is a beard for all the other components.

Islamization occurs when there are sufficient Muslims in a country to agitate for their so-called 'religious rights.'

When politically correct and culturally diverse societies agree to 'the reasonable' Muslim demands for their 'religious rights,' they also get the other components under the table. Here's how it works (percentages source CIA: The World Fact Book (2007)).

As long as the Muslim population remains around 1% of any given country they will be regarded as a peace-loving minority and not as a threat to anyone. In fact, they may be featured in articles and films, stereotyped for their colorful uniqueness:

United States -- Muslim 1.0%
Australia -- Muslim 1.5%
Canada -- Muslim 1.9%
China -- Muslim 1%-2%
Italy -- Muslim 1.5%
Norway -- Muslim 1.8%

At 2% and 3% they begin to proselytize from other ethnic minorities and disaffected groups with major recruiting from the jails and among street gangs:

Denmark -- Muslim 2%
Germany -- Muslim 3.7%
United Kingdom -- Muslim 2.7%
Spain -- Muslim 4%
Thailand -- Muslim 4.6%

From 5% on they exercise an inordinate influence in proportion to their percentage of the population.

They will push for the introduction of halal (clean by Islamic standards) food, thereby securing food preparation jobs for Muslims. They will increase pressure on supermarket chains to feature it on their shelves -- along with threats for failure to comply. ( United States ).

France -- Muslim 8%
Philippines -- Muslim 5%
Sweden -- Muslim 5%
Switzerland-- Muslim 4.3%
The Netherlands -- Muslim 5.5%
Trinidad &Tobago -- Muslim 5.8%

At this point, they will work to get the ruling government to allow them to rule themselves under Sharia, the Islamic Law. The ultimate goal of Islam is not to convert the world but to establish Sharia law over the entire world.

When Muslims reach 10% of the population, they will increase lawlessness as a means of complaint about their conditions ( Paris -- car-burnings). Any non-Muslim action that offends Islam will result in uprisings and threats ( Amsterdam -- Mohammed cartoons).

Guyana -- Muslim 10%
India -- Muslim 13.4%
Israel -- Muslim 16%
Kenya -- Muslim 10%
Russia -- Muslim 10-15%

After reaching 20% expect hair-trigger rioting, jihad militia formations, sporadic killings and church and synagogue burning:

Ethiopia -- Muslim 32.8%

At 40% you will find widespread massacres, chronic terror attacks and ongoing militia warfare:

Bosnia -- Muslim 40%
Chad -- Muslim 53.1%
Lebanon -- Muslim 59.7%

From 60% you may expect unfettered persecution of non-believers and other religions, sporadic ethnic cleansing (genocide), use of Sharia Law as a weapon and Jizya, the tax placed on infidels:

Albania -- Muslim 70%
Malaysia -- Muslim 60.4%
Qatar -- Muslim 77.5%
Sudan -- Muslim 70%

After 80% expect State run ethnic cleansing and genocide:

Bangladesh -- Muslim 83%
Egypt -- Muslim 90%
Gaza -- Muslim 98.7%
Indonesia -- Muslim 86.1%
Iran -- Muslim 98%
Iraq -- Muslim 97%
Jordan -- Muslim 92%
Morocco -- Muslim 98.7%
Pakistan -- Muslim 97%
Palestine -- Muslim 99%
Syria -- Muslim 90%
Tajikistan -- Muslim 90%
Turkey -- Muslim 99.8%
United Arab Emirates -- Muslim 96%

100% will usher in the peace of 'Dar-es-Salaam' -- the Islamic House of Peace -- there's supposed to be peace because everybody is a Muslim:

Afghanistan -- Muslim 100%
Saudi Arabia -- Muslim 100%
Somalia -- Muslim 100%
Yemen -- Muslim 99.9%

Of course, that's not the case. To satisfy their blood lust, Muslims then start killing each other for a variety of reasons.

'Before I was nine I had learned the basic canon of Arab life. It was me against my brother; me and my brother against our father; my family against my cousins and the clan; the clan against the tribe; and the tribe against the world and all of us against the infidel' -- Leon Uris, 'The Haj'

It is good to remember that in many, many countries, such as France , the Muslim populations are centered around ghettos based on their ethnicity. Muslims do not integrate into the community at large. Therefore, they exercise more power than their national average would indicate.

And we continue to cater and negotiate in a politically correct way so as not to 'offend' our Muslim 'brothers.'


Time to wake up!



DISCLAIMER: Nothing in this post is to be construed as a call to violence, just my opinion as a citizen of the United States of America