Mark Madoff

How could he?

How could a man even in the greatest of distress leave his 2 year old son alone and deny him a father?

What kind of a selfish monster could do that to a little boy. Even most animals will never leave their young till they can fend for themselves. He had an upbringing that looked at money as the ultimate goal, people were not important. His father the most famous swindler that may of ever walked the face of the earth destroyed peoples lives. This is all true but the father may have had a plan to extricate himself from his giant mess but things just got out of hand. What the son did was worse than the father! The son knowingly abandoned his baby son and as the coward that he was took his own life.
He of course could not and should not be blamed for the deeds of his father but he certainly can be blamed for being so selfish to his own children.
The Bernie Madoff story started out a little funny in the beginning then turned sour. It then became a nightmare and has turned into a monstrous tragedy.

Bernie destroyed his own life even more than he destroyed other lives.

For some it’s really all about money.

Argentina and Palestine

Now there is nothing to worry about. Argentina has announced it recognizes Palestine as an independent country ( Brazil did this a few days ago ) based on the pre 1967 borders.
How wonderful!

This laconic seemingly simple statement has more meaning that one may think. It ostensibly says that Israel needs to unilaterally expel 500,000 people from different parts of Israel including about 200,000 form its own capital Jerusalem. This of course cannot and will not happen under any constellation no matter what. That being the case what does this really mean?

The fact that this third world country with a very deep history of hatred to Jews and deep- history of embracing Nazis after WW2 is practicing Jew hatred again. The fact that the foreign minister of Argentina is Jewish is completely irrelevant to all this. He is a fig leaf as Argentina’s government is backing the slow destruction of the Jewish state.

As I have visited in the country of late and see the immense poverty there it is astounding that this is what is on the agenda of the Argentinean government. Israel bashing.

This backword corrupt country who could not even defend itself when attacked by Britain a few years ago is a joke. A bad joke.

Israel should reassess its diplomatic ties with this third world country.

Helen Thomas

just another anti-semite
What’s everybody so upset about?. An old broken down Arab Journalist has been espousing anti-semitic rhetoric , so what else is new?
There are very many who detest completely her latest and previous comments but sadly there are very many who may sympathize or agree with her. Let’s face it there are those that like us a lot and those that hate us a lot. Those that hate seem less vocal in the United States than those who like us but make no mistake there are still very many who seek our harm. Helen Thomas is the tip of a very large sick iceberg that may get worse if the world economy does not improve.
We need to worry less about Thomas and more about the silent minority that believes what she says and would act on those beliefs.

Shabbat in the Once

Spending my second Shabbat here in Argentina will be another very interesting experience. The mixture of Sephardic Jews and Lubavitz out reach Chaseedeem in this rather bustling non- stop Beunos Aires is amazing. The Sephardic Jews mainly of Jewish Syrian descent have numerous shuls in Argentina and seem to be the dominant Jewish group here. The Lubavitcher Chaseedeem sent by their leader Rabbi Menachem Mendel Scneerson are here for outreach to Jews. It seems every shul is either lubavitch or Sefaradi and they seem packed.
Most outsiders do not really want to live in Argentina, that seems abundantly clear. Its fragile economy and history of political upheaval makes life rather unpredictable. The two extreme terrorist attacks on the Israeli embssy and Jewish community building gives a backdrop to the all Jewish happenings in Beunos Aires. The Jews were and seem to be a soft target and Police can be seen at most Jewish sites especially Lubavitz Chassidic sites in the Once.

My Grandparents are buried here and I accompanied my mother to see those graves for a last time. It was a very moving experience.


Its an experience that I will not forget.

Beunos Aires, Argentina

My whirlwind trip to South America is winding down as I am going home in a few days. The noisy hustle and bustle of this enormous city is incredible as it is unnerving. Will be glad to say goodbye to this place.

A few days ago we visted the Igazu Falls on the border of Argentina and Brazil in an amazing incredible show of beauty.

The main purpose of coming here was to visit my grandparents graves and make sure both my uncles were buried like Jews. The first was accomplished, the second remains to be seen. The Amia Building after it was destroyed is a small fortress amd looks nothing like it did before its destruction.

Thai place is ok for a few days, two weeks is a bit much though.

It’s been a year

It’s been a year

No one really can know how it will feel when you need to say goodbye to someone who is irreplaceable. It’s a searing aching longing pain that goes to the bottom of your soul and seems to rise and fall depending on what you do and where you are.
A particular difficult day is the YORTZIET or yearly comeration day. That is today as I write thse words. In many ways those very difficult moments of parting which happened a year ago come back again with all that entails.
There are those that say that no one is ever really ready for a passing of a parent, no matter how old or sick. I feel how true this saying is today.
I remember very well my own father lighting his Yartziet light for his parents twice a year and going to shul to say Kaddish on their souls. He was after all the only surviving son of those parents as the others were murdered by the Nazis. I would accompany him on occasion to these shul visits and remember always reusing the Yartziet lights as glasses to drink out of later.
The stark reality that time has transformed us from children to adults is somehow difficult to grasp and comprehend. We will always be our parents children and saying goodbye may be natural by very painful.
A year has gone by and the tears have been flowing.

I was taught by my Father never to give up, no matter what.
He continues to live through his children and his grandchildren.
Our love for him will not stop but get greater as time goes on.
His memory should be a blessing for all who knew him.
His loving Son
David

Stalled peace talks

What a surprise.

Negotiations between the Israelis and the PLO have been halted and are looking worse all the time. The new idea being banded about is that the Arab side will ask the United Nations and other world bodies for recognition of their state on the borders of the pre 1967 six-day war. No one is completely sure what that means as there is no real precedent to declare statehood and sovereignty on land being governed by another country. That is to stay there are approximately 500,000 people who are living in the area the PLO claims.

The likely scenario if the PLO does go in this direction is the end of the discussion of a two state solution. If the US does not veto this in the UN then Israel is likely to annex certain parts of Judea and Samaria and give the option for citizenship to local Arabs. In these areas there will be a massive building frenzy as there will be little reason not to build ( aside from international condemnation ). Then the one state solution will be the new show in town. With demographics being the star player .
With Israels incredible population explosion many are sure that the partial annexation will not alter the population ratio of Arabs and Jews. Well something else may happen.
War.
The Hamas Jihad and all other Arab groups will likely try to start another Intifada. This will likely be combined with a war in the north. That means theHizbullah Syria and Iran in the North and the Hamas /Jihad in the south. The PLO will take up the fight in the center of the country. If Israel is lucky Egypt will not join in this.

It won’t be pretty.

The German Pope and the chosen people

The Vatican came out with a statement that seemed strange and troublesome at the same time. It said that the Jewish people were not the chosen people and that verses from scripture could not justify occupying someone else’s land .
Well that’s terrific .
Basic Catholic belief took a hit when Israel came into existence as this could not be happening according to Christianity. But it did and it has and continues to be. This Christian aberration continues to clash with whatever principle doctrines that are left in the church. Now we can understand the background to the latest statement coming from the Vatican.
It is also interesting to note that of all institutions in the world one might expect the Vatican to lend credence to verses in the old testament. The ever evolving church apparently lends credence to very little other than some vague rules on celibacy homosexuality and some church rites.
The fact is that many more devout do lend credence to those verses that proclaim the holy land belongs to the descendents of Abraham and that in fact the Jews belong in the land of Israel. The growing irrelevancy of statements from the Vatican should worry the church more than Israel.

I told you so

Everybody hates it when you say to them I told you so.

But... I told you so. This can never work.

I wonder what odds Jimmy the Greek would give for the current peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians to succeed. 100 to 1, 1000 to 1. The house would win on this one. There is no chance that anything good will come out of these talks, only frustration and violence. The Arabs is being asked for very little right now just some symbolic statements that they find difficult to implement. When I say difficult I mean impossible. Israel’s Prime Minister wants a simple statement from a weak leader of part of the national Palestinian movement that recognizes Israel as the national homeland of the Jewish people.
He cannot bring himself to make this statement.
This is before discussions on the other seemingly insurmountable issues that the Arab side does not seem to budge on even one millimeter.
Benjamin Netanyahu who was elected by a constituency that is against overtures to the Arab side is being pushed to extend a building freeze that none of his voters want. Even if he does extend somewhat this freeze it won’t make any real difference in the success of the negotiations.

They will fail.

Not complicated.

Get ready for war.

Here we go again.

Theater of the absurd
Here we go again.
Peace talks are underway again between Israel and Arabs of Israel ( they call themselves Palestinians )
This has been talked about for the last 25 years and will probably be talked about in another 25 years. Is it cynical to say that there is no chance for this to happen? It might be but does that change the reality? It does not. They are talking peace or so they say. Benjiman Netanyahu is demanding a recognition of Israel as the nation State of the Jewish people. They have steadfastly refused to do this or even compromise on one inch of territory that they claim. Why will he change now? The answer is that he won’t change. The most extreme concessions thinkable by any Israeli is far less than the minimal concessions the Arab side is ready to accept.
Some simple examples.
The Demand a complete withdrawal of Israel form all territories captured in 1967 including east Jerusalem. Israel is ready to withdraw from some areas in the west bank and will not even talk about east Jerusalem. There are another 4 similar insurmountable issues that just do not have a solution. No matter how you slice it.
As these talks crumble as they most certainly will things will get worse before they get better.

It won’t be pretty.

Rabbis comments

Who cares what the Rabbi says? Everybody

Rabbi Ovadia Yosef comments the other day wishing death to Israel’s enemies have caused a furor and a minor international incident. His comments have been blown out of proportion certainly but interestingly enough have made news headlines the world over.
Rabbis are completely ignored by most on theological issues that seem to have relevance only to their parishioners. When an influential one seems to leave theology and enter the political fray everyone perks up and listens. It’s important to understand where this has come from. Rabbi Yosef the spiritual leader of a very influential political party in Israel . He wields considerable political clout and is often quoted for things he says. He previously openly supported territorial compromise in the event of a real peace treaty . He based this support on his interpretation of Jewish Law and was attacked for this stance by many in the Rabbinic world. It would be accurate to say that he went out on a limb to be as pragmatic and compromising as possible and is hoping mad at what cession of land has caused. His sermon was based on the upcoming Rosh Hashanah or Jewish New year where traditional blessing include the cursing Of Israel’s enemies.
Most Israeli’s see the Palestinian authority as Israel’s enemies. That’s a big shock.

My Kaddish Experience

Saying Kaddish for a parent is never an easy thing for anyone. When you need to travel overseas the difficulty just becomes that much greater. That difficulty becomes greater when you travel. It was easy enough on my flight to the United States from Israel. I left after midnight and arrived early in the morning in time for morning prayers in New Jersey. While there the internet helped me find a minyan in most places and I managed to say Kaddish if not actually getting to lead services which are my preference during the morning period. I booked a flight back to Israel that allowed the best chance to say kaddish for all prayers. The flight took off at 2:15 and the earliest mincha was at 1:31 officially, we started a few minutes early as many were stressed about getting on the plane on time. This mincha happened and I boarded the flight. One down and two to go. When it started getting dark I asked some religious looking passengers to go to the back of the plane for evening prayers which worked out quite well. My last challenge was Shacris or morning prayers which I was unsure where and how I would do. As it turned out I managed to find a minyan at the airport Shul that I arrived a bit late but said kaddish .
It’s good to be back in the Land of Israel where all things Jewish just have more meaning.

Things may be getting better

Incredibly enough despite the bleak outlook of many some companies have been doing incredible business. The chip giant Intel has reported its best quarter in history. That’s right in the midst of a global crisis a chip maker which should be experiencing a slowdown is making lots of money. What makes this extraordinary is that much of the sales have come from overseas that seem to be in the throngs of even a worse crisis. Microprocessors that intel produces and sells fuels new businesses worldwide and is a great indicator that things aren’t as bad as they seem. The lurking military showdown with Iran and continued military tensions with North Korea is not keeping companies away from buying hardware for its businesses. Things should be getting worse and they seem to be getting slightly better. What is going on?
Things are getting better because people sense that Obama is going to be a one term president and that the Republicans will win the next elections. This will send the markets up and give companies more money. When this happens jobs will be created and money made will be spent on goods and services. This will further fuel growth. If something bizarre happens and the Democrats fare well expect financial catastrophe. The markets will likely plunge and long expected inflation will ensue. Unemployment will rise and growth will slow. This will happen despite that latest signs of recovery.
Even more people will default on their credit card bills and debt settlement companies will abound.
If we are all lucky that won’t happen.

What is going to happen?

As the markets go up and go down and go up again nobody really knows where this is all headed.The Democrats are likely to lose the elections coming up and many think that will push the market forward. There may be a surge in the short term but long term things are looking bleak indeed. Inflation and devaluation of the greenback is what is being predicted. Obama seems to be spending and printing to much money. Some types of companies may stand to gain from all this like debt Negotiation Services company that seem to have sprung up in the thousands. They will extricate everyone from all the debt they will pile up as a result of the real crisis that seems to be looming and is just around the corner.Wise will be those that will try to take there money out of the market as cash will really be king soon.

Financial woes

Debt reduction

 

Everyone is trying to do it. Most European countries are desperately trying to reduce their debt by taking extreme measures. Greece for example has pushed up its VAT to 23 % trying to tax people who otherwise cheat on their taxes. Taxes on cigarettes have also gone sky high in so many places that it is common practice to smuggle cigarettes. Some countries have taxed cigarettes close to 300%. Israel a country where the economy has fared well in comparison to others has just recently raised its taxes on cigarettes. This may discourage the sale and usage somewhat but probably not very much. Some smokers will deny themselves food but continue to smoke so the regular microeconomic rules go mostly by the wayside. Many countries justify these measures on cigarettes at least on the massive money spent to deal with cigarette related illnesses. Medical costs for cigarette related problems are extreme and the taxes are supposed to mitigate those costs.  That is the debt of countries and governments. But it all really starts with the individual his fiscal planning and attempts to keep his head above water. The world crisis did start with unscrupulous financial institutions but there were irresponsible people who went way over their heads when trying to secure loans for homes. They should not have taken such huge mortgages and put themselves in a vulnerable position of credit despair. They did of course and the repercussions of their irresponsible actions are reverberating around the world.

The world is in debt crisis and doesn't seem to be pulling out of that crisis anytime soon. The emerging powerhouse of the world China is having some trouble in pulling itself out this mess. The Chinese stock market is at a 4 year low as deep concerns over the world economy continue. Europe is the grips of a crisis unprecedented since the end of the Second World War. In the backdrop of this is the looming showdown with a possible nuclear Iran and the repercussions that might have on the world economy.

In essence the Economies of the world work around the concept of going into debt and having borrowed money circulate freely. This allows for businesses to have access to funds they need for expansion. All this spurs growth. But sound economic principles have evolved into irresponsible fiscal planning. The little guy can shield himself from all this with proper spending practices.

Its people and not governments that have the solution.

What goes down should come up, maybe

Markets make a comeback

The seesaw on Wall street is continuing with the markets bouncing back big time yesterday. We all need to remember that borrowing money is still very cheap as interest rates are still very low. The fact that they are so low tells us the crisis is still very much with us. When getting money and saving money from the banks will go back to normal and the market will still go up then the crisis will be over. 

Many people are actually borrowing money trying to make a killing in the market. History has shown that short term quick fixes of this kind do not work. Instead of extricating themselves from debt they are borrowing 
more money to go deeper into debt. At some later point in time they will need debt settlement experts. They are high class gamblers. Gamblers usually lose.

What is the federal government doing about this?

Unemployment does not seem to be going away in the near future. The public sector is nervous to invest in new workers even if they are necessary. Investing in new workers necessitates confidence that new business is on the horizon. When that seems unclear no one gets hired. There is a lot of people who are working less hours as there companies take a attitude to reduce monthly payments for salaries. What that means is that many millions of people are underemployed and underpaid while their basic expenses have not changed. What is the federal government doing about this? They have tried almost everything imaginable under the Sun. Stimulus packages, tax rebates, millions of temp census jobs and much more.
Ronald Reagan once said that the worse thing the government could do was to try to help you. That was a kiss of death, big government. The small and midsize businesses are the heart of the economy. These mom and pop enterprises fuel the economy and growth. If Obama or anyone else wants to fuel things let him cut taxes to these businesses. Let him have less control over the money flow from different places. Let him and the Democrats spend less money that they have and somehow trim the almost unbelievable deficit that there is. Lowering taxes will increase the money available for the government in a complete paradox way. Raise taxes on cigarettes and gambling, clamp down online gambling sites and tax them. Let real businesses flourish so they will hire new people. When this happens people will have money in their pocket that they will spend on goods which will create even more jobs. Just leave it alone and it will come right.

Things don’t look that great.

Things don’t look that great.

For all of Obamas promises his empty slogans and other rhetoric he doesn’t seem to know or is not capable of getting America out of its quagmire. For all the programs and all the incentives and all the bailouts things are still bad, pretty bad. Unemployment is up the housing situation is still grim and the stock market is languishing. What was or is Obama thinking as he continues to pour trillions of seemingly endless money into the economy. Hundreds of thousands of people are about to lose their unemployment benefits and will now be in dire straits. If these people have still managed to somehow keep up their payments up till now then surely the worst is yet to come. They will default on their mortgage and their credit card bills and a mini cycle of crisis in the banks will happen again. Many of these people did not have any type of debt reduction plan and have lived on borrowed money in an irresponsible way.
In a paradox the fact that things are so bad in Europe has mitigated somewhat the troubles in the US. The Euro has been shown to be less stable than the greenback making the dollar and the US economy not look so bad. But this is fleeting and not encouraging news in the long run.
The recent economic news hinting of a double-dip recession has been sobering news but a upcoming election in the US may change things a bit. In almost all the midterm elections people have hoped for better times and put money into the markets. The Republicans are sure to gain from the mire of the American economy and will probably gain many seats in these upcoming elections. Obama looks like a one term disaster that will shuffle off the national scene much as Jimmy Carter did 30 years ago. This changing of presidents and power will encourage investors somewhat. It always has and will continue to do so. The best thing Obama can do is to not do any more damage just to say he will not seek a second term. That would be the best for the US.

Castro predicts nuclear war

Fidal says nuclear war imminent

He might be right. He just might be right. After all he was intimately involved in the last real nuclear standoff. The Cuban missile crisis brought the world to the brink of nuclear war. President Kennedy after much deliberation put a full Military blockade on the Island after satellites discovered Ballistic missiles on the island aimed at the US mainland. The Soviets and Castro himself backed down back in 63 understanding that their destruction was at stake as a direct attack on the US would mean the certain death for Castro himself. Castro is the right man to correctly analyze the present situation and he may be right. Castro also understands that the Iranian regime is more fanatical than he was and mutual deterrence will have less effect on future conflict.
It won’t pretty.

World cup instead of World War

The World Cup

If only real problems could be solved like this by kicking a ball around and deciding the winner by the final score. The level of international incidents seems to have gone down while the games are being played. No one has time to be violent or aggressive. The most interesting team in the tournament has to be North Korea who almost pulled off the biggest upset but in the end lost to Brazil. Many would savor to see a game between them and the United States or South Korea. In fact a game between the North and the South would probably draw the biggest watching audience ever. Probably even bigger than the finals game. It won’t happen as the North will not advance from its present round and even if it did would likely not agree to play South Korea. It’s a game we will never see but we can dream can’t we?

Credit Craziness

The modern western man lives on credit, that just the way it is. It is supposed to be for everyone’s benefit it is told. The individual needs power to purchase now and the banks need to make money on the money it lends out. Credit cards move around all this virtual money that really doesn’t exist.
People often have several credit cards from different banks and run them up to the limits of the cards. They hope to be able to cover the costs of these cards from revenue earned thru spending on the cards or in other methods. More often than not these bills cannot be paid for any number of reasons and then the real troubles begin. The credit card companies demand payment and file legal proceeding to get their money. The owner of all this debt is left with few options. Bankruptcy is one which has very severe ramifications. Very little to no assets can be owned by the owner. Getting credit again will be next to impossible. To get out of debt he can try negotiation with the financial institutions involved and try to work out a deal. This is probably very difficult to do in a one on one setting, that’s where lawyers come in and can get things done. They negotiate for a huge number of clients creating a better negotiation environment for their clients and striking deals that will partially reimburse the creditors and still keep the individual solvent. The credit card companies will sometimes take 40 or 30 cents on the dollar just to recoup some of the losses. It makes you wonder why it is so easy to get one of those cards.
Happy spending.

Europe and its debt

World finances seem to be in deep crisis especially in Europe as the debt crunch and fiscal irresponsibility has taken its toll. Greece has been bailed out at the last minute by Germany and others while other countries teeter on the brink of default. Everybody is talking about this and nobody is going to the root of the problem. In many cases productivity in the private sector are very low and the collection of taxes is lax. In Greece there was widespread tax evasion by wealthy Greeks or so the rumor went. The government continued to float bonds as a way of getting money to pay for its services. These bonds had to have high yield to attract investors. The government then floats new bonds to pay for old bonds and the process never seems to end. Spain and Portugal seem to be next on the hit parade as they teeter on the brink. It seems funny that almost every country in Europe that has a very small Jewish population is on the brink of financial disaster. Spain Portugal Italy Hungary have no Jews to speak of as France England and even Germany seem to be faring a bit better. The last three have Jews especially France and England. The others killed or deported the Jews at some point in their history. There is also a huge amount of private debt accrued by irresponsible individuals. They are all seeking debt management solutions. It’s a huge mess.

The new anti-semitism

Why?

Why has the world been so against the state of Israel and its Jewish inhabitants . Why is most of the world against Israel? It seems pathlogical at times. To say it’s a land for peace problem is factually incorrect. The tiny part of mandatory Palestine that the UN allocated to the Jews was rejected outright by the Arabs. Before 1967 when Judea and Samaria were in Jordanain hands did not stop the Arabs from iniating a war of annihilation against the Jewish state.
Israel and the Jews have produced more Nobel prizes percentage wise than anyone else and have invented and produced too many things to mention here. To be honest there does not seem to be any real explanation for all this. It has to be one of the biggest mysteries of modern times. In medieval times Jews were blamed for being usurers as they were not allowed to own land. Studies have been done trying to explain all this and the conclusions point of some kind of bizarre modern socialism mixed in with some freedom fighting angles. This is just a new cooked up version of anti –semitism even has Jews who support it. In fact some of the most prominent spokesman for this new anti-Jewish movement are Jews themselves. Notable among those is possibly Noam Chomsky who was recently denied entry into Israel.

This new Phenomenon is difficult to perceive as anti-Jewish per say by some as so many high profile Jews are involved. Norman Finklestien Richard Goldstone and many others. These fig leaf Jews give a cover to this new virulent form of Jew hatred. Helen Thomas said it very well when asked her opinion on what is transpiring in Israel. She said the Jews should go back where they came from, Poland Germany.
Many think like this old hag, that’s the dangerous part of all this.

Bleak, very bleak indeed

Now what.

It looks like there will be an international investigation into the Israels policies on the high seas near the Gaza strip. Regardless of who makes up the tribunal itself it will be bad for Israel, very bad. Previous tribunals of this kind almost always had only negative conclusions with regard to Israel and this one will be no different.
It seems that Israel is in one of the most difficult positions that it has been since its founding 62 years ago. The international community is against Israel like never before. Israel’s only real ally has a president who is decidedly not pro Israel in any sense. Iran Is building nuclear weapons and says very clearly that Israel is to be destroyed. Israel’s vaunted military has looked very bad of late making her adversaries less wary of engaging her in battle. There has even been a decision in international forums to reveal the extent of Israel’s own nuclear program. Things are looking bleak indeed.
The only thing that seems to be on Israels side is its robust economy that has done fairly well in a world climate of great difficulty.
What is likely to happen is the following.

Israel will become isolated like never before similar to the situation before the Six-day war. It will be faced with the option of living with a nuclear threat from Iran or removing that threat. It will choose to remove that threat. That will trigger a massive war on all fronts,maybe WW3 that everybody is talking about.

It won’t be pretty.

The Lamb and seventy wolves

The more things change the more they stay the same.

Israel is isolated and blasted for its policies. So what else is new? It’s been like that from the onset except for some isolated incidents. When Israel sent commandoes to free hostages in Entebbe, Uganda 38 years ago the world applauded. These applause are very infrequent to say the least.
Someone should tell all Israel haters and Jew haters for that matter. Israel is here to stay, it just isn’t going to disappear , it will prevail. There is nothing in the world that will make the Jewish state go away. Our enemies think they have found a way to undermine our resolve ( it has worked for some ). We will continue to do what’s best in our own national interest, the world be damned.

The Jews have come home its time the world get used to that fact.

The Israeli left

Gideon Levi, you can always count on him

For those who don’t know who Gideon Levi is I will tell you. He is the most virulent and most famous of the leftist journalists in Israel. He in fact writes a column for the Daily HAARETZ where he spews his venomous views about current events. He always sides with one side in the continuing struggle between Arab and Jew over the biblical land of Israel, the Arab side. He is at times rather eloquent in his darts and diatribes by they are often so filled with hate that the reader is left more impressed with hate than anything else. He correctly states that Israel has become a Pariah in the international arena and he puts the blame squarely on the side of the right wing / extreme right wing.
He is passing the buck on this big time. The fact that Israel is in a difficult position in the international arena is clear. The Israeli left is the biggest reason for this.

They have continuously told the local Arabs of Israel that they need self determination and finally Some started to believe this hogwash. They brought the Palestinian authority back from Tunis all those years ago and created the problem we face today. Specifically they trumpeted Israels unilateral withdrawal from the Gaza strip and its ethnic cleansing of its people from there. That exacerbated the problem that we have today.

It’s only going to get worse.

Gideon Levi is right about that.

Jewish Paranoia

Are the Jews paranoid?

Yesiree, they are and rightly so. The Jewish state from its inception and even before has been fighting for its survival. Countless wars and even more terrorist attacks have been waged against the Jewish state. The amount of anti-Israel resolutions in the UN and other international bodies are countless. Clearly it does not really matter what Israel does it still invokes the wrath of most of the world. Many forget that Israel unilaterally disengaged from the Gaza strip hoping to rid itself of any involvement in the strip. That completely backfired as Rockets from the Hamas controlled strip rained down on Israel for the 2 years leading up to a military incursion that killed many residents of the strip and brought world condemnation. In response to all this a naval and sea blockade was erected to insure weapons would not be resupplied. Pro Palestinain groups with strong ties to the most extreme fundamentalist Islamic elements attempted to open the blockade. Israeli commandoes attempting to stop this killed 9 anarchists on one boat. Like old faithful the reaction of the world community was predictable, total condemnation. Even Israel’s staunchest ally the US has demanded an international inquiry into the latest incidents.

The fact that we are paranoid does not mean the world is not against us.

Cold Turkey

What happened to Turkey?

The only Moslem state who is a member of Nato is Turkey. They recognized Israel in 1949 and became a strategic partner of Israel in a very hostile area. Their military mostly secular has thwarted Islam radicalism from taking over , till now that is.
The most disturbing thing about the recent developments in the Middle East is the radical change that turkey has undergone in the last few years. Its army is by far the most formidable of the armies in the area and the thought of Turkey becoming a potential adversary is quite unsettling to Israeli leaders. The escalation of violence in the middle east as Iran is ever so close to developing a nuclear weapon is becoming extremely worrisome to all involved`.
What’s to happen now?
War is to happen now.

It won’t be pretty.

The next Arab Israeli war has started

Wow , worst than what we thought.

The next Arab Israeli war has started. This is what happening in front of our eyes the new war is starting. Israel wanted to stay away from Gaza by simply leaving the strip unilaterally. This irresponsible act has brought Israel 2 small wars so far and now is bringing about the big one.
The snowball has started to roll. Radd Salach a Israeli Arab leader was injured in the military operation and that would lead to a massive uprising of Israeli Arabs. As this is happening the Hamas in the Gaza Strip will start firing Rockets into Israel as the casualties become clearer and clearer. While Israel will not want to react it will be forced into action as before in the last war in Gaza. Hassan Nasrallah of the Hizbullah may be forced to enter this foray earlier than he wanted and will join the party with Rocket attacks into Israel. Israel will call up its reserves and plan for the retakeover of the Gaza strip. Israel reacts to the Rocket attacks in the north and attacks Lebanon by sending the Israeli army swarming into the Hizbulah strongholds in Lebanon. The leader of Iran Achminejad threatens Israel with massive rocket attacks if Israel if its forces do not leave Lebanese soil. Israel counter threats Iran that if Iranian rockets hit Israel massive bombs will be dropped in or around Tehran. All these threats manifest themselves as most of the Arab world goes to war again with Israel in the war called “ Gaza sea war “.
While Israel is attacking Iran Israel is using the opportunity to attack its nuclear facilities as Iran. The Iranian air force suffers heavy losses as its bases are hit with Israeli cruise missiles. There are massive demonstrations in Egypt and other Arab capitals who demand that their armies join this war with Israel. The Israeli civil defense is moving population centers away from the Tel-aviv area and moving them to less populated centers in Samaria.
Nobody knows how long this will last. One thing is clear Israel will win this war as it has all others.

Peace is not at hand and will not be for a long time if ever.

The Armada of anti-semites.

They will arrive at some point waving their flags and beating their drums. They have come to save the people of the Gaza Strip. Really?
Someone once said that the more you say a lie the more people start to believe it. The lie that blames Israel for all the trouble and poverty in Gaza. To be perfectly honest former Israeli governments are responsible for the situation of the strip now and the public relations nightmare Israel is suffering. The exit from Gaza with the expulsion of its Jewish residents was meant to disconnect Israel from Gaza completely, or so they said. Not only is Israel not disconnected but now the Gazan problem and its connection to Israel is what the world is talking about. Even at the worst times from a PR standpoint Israel was never vilified the way it is now. The extreme elements were kept at bay while Israel was in the strip and much needed labor was provided to many Arab residents of Gaza. This is not to say that Israel is responsible for the poverty and misery of many Gazan residents, it is not. The entire situation could have been avoided had the exit from Gaza not occurred or if it had occurred differently.

But who remembers Israel’s exit from Gaza now? It is such old news . There were many who warned that a public relations nightmare would occur. That the Hamas would take over the strip Israel would be forced to retake or wage war against the Hamas. When that happened the PR nightmare would begin. So who is responsible for all this ?
He is in a coma and can’t see with his own eyes how much harm he caused so many. Jew and Arab alike. His name is Ariel Sharon a former war hero turned statesman who decided he had a solution when no real solution was at hand he would create separation between Israel and Gaza. It did not work, it was a disaster. Israel and the world are still suffering from that fiasco.

It’s only going to get worse before it gets better.

Nuclear Nightmare

Korea on the brink of war

Douglas MacArthur was relieved of his command because among other things he wanted to end North Korean rule by nuclear weapons. He may have been right. The Koreas are on the brink of war once again and this time North Korea has a few nuclear warheads at its disposal. This is a new type of war between nuclear powers that nobody wants. That is an understatement. These nuclear weapons if used could make Hiroshima and Nagasaki look like a bad military bombing. If a bomb or two are dropped on Seoul millions could die. It does not seem possible that the DPRK will ever give up or retreat. The ultimate weapon they have looms as the scariest part of the present tension making normal battle tactics somewhat insignificant. This all means that even if allied forces managed to advance into North Korea and win tactical battles on the field this may bring closer the use of nuclear weapons. Very Scary indeed.

For those who need any more convincing please imagine the following scenario.
Israel attacks Lebanon after being attacked by hundreds of Rockets from Lebanon and Syria. The Hamas and Jihad Islami also join the fight and rain down rockets on southern Israel. The Israel defense forces go deep into Lebanon and decimate the Hizbullah army and actively engage the Syrian army. The Syrian army suffers heavy losses as the IDF in the south retakes the Gaza strip from the Hamas. Iran announces that if Israel does not retreat from all occupied Arab lands in 48 hours it will send 15 surface to air missiles with nuclear warheads. Israel says that any launched nuclear weapon by Iran will trigger the complete annihilation of the Iranian republic with millions of lives lost.
The president of Iran whose whereabouts are not known proclaims the end of the Zionist entity is at hand and that the Arab nation must sacrifice to rid itself of the Zionist scourge. Iran launches its weapons of mass destruction on Israel. All weapons are destroyed in flight except for one that reaches the Galilee killing 35,000 civilians many of them Arabs and creating nuclear fallout all over Northern Israel.
Israel counter attacks dropping 20 tactical nuclear weapons on 20 military bases in Iran and obliterating them completely. Israel discovers the bunker where the Iranian President is holed up and drops yet another nuclear weapon vaporizing anything in the 10 kilometer vicinity.
The United Nations security council meet in emergency session as a nuclear tragedy occurs like none before.

Seems so crazy?

It is not so crazy at all. North Korea will drop the bomb on the south or US forces if it has no choice unless someone can assassinate Kim Jong-il. That seems unlikely unfortunately . Iran will not hesitate to do the same in the right scenario.
Weapons of mass destruction in the hands of despotic extreme elements are the new challenges of our time. It does not take much imagination to consider what would have happened had Hitler usage of an atomic weapon. To give modern Hitler’s this option is madness.

Plain madness.

What a waste of time!

Proximity Talks

So many have waited so long for so little. The proximity talks between the Israelis and Palestinians have started in earnest, well sort of. In the meantime the Arab side has initiated economic sanctions on all goods produced in Judea and Samaria as well as started the process of trying to kick Israel out of the UN. Israel has agreed to lift many blockades and give access to roads where previous terror attacks occurred. It wants to better the life of the average Palestinian in the hopes that this will bring about reconciliation. The Palestinians seem to want no part of this. In the words of the prime Minister they would like to perpetuate the conflict forever. The Israelis are demanding direct talks for anything of real substance to be discussed. There does not seem to be any reaction from the Palestinian side.

The talks are going nowhere fast. No real surprises here.

Security issues don’t seem to bother some things in Israel especially women’s Yeshivot or Seminaries that focus on teaching ancient Jewish texts to women. Teaching Jewish women Jewish subjects is generally a new idea that is roughly 120 years old. Some Jewish groups today still stand in opposition to this idea but mainstream Orthodox circles warmly support this relatively new trend. There is still within this group a continuous discussion with regard to Talmud study as the more traditional group staunchly opposes this study by women whereas others see it as an advantage. In any case one of the more established yeshivot of this kind is Yeshivat DARCHEI BINAH. It is one of the oldest established Yeshivot around and very popular with young women seeking a place to study in Israel.

Chomsky, Finkelstien and all the rest

Professor Noam Chomsky was just recently denied entry to Israel on his way to speak to Bir-Ziet University. He was told at the Allenby crossing on the Jordanian Israeli border of the decision of the interior ministry that he cannot enter Israel. Professor Norman Finklestein another great lover of Zion who himself was not allowed entry into Israel was appalled by Israel’s decision. You have to wonder why.
Why would a sovereign government allow individuals who consistently deny Israel s right to exist. Who meet and openly support those who would destroy the country. Is democracy allowing someone who espouses destruction for that particular democracy the right to preach? These good professors should be surprised if entry was allowed not denied.
The crazy part of all this is that the countries and organizations that these individuals support do not have any problems of this kind. They are totalitarian in nature and few people want to visit lecture or do anything else there. These professors chose to live in an democratic environment where they can say whatever they want. This is while they support regimes that give no such privilege.
The United States would never allow an active advocate of its destruction to enter its territory nor would any other normal country. These professors should at least understand that. So you would think.
Go figure.

A Greek Tragedy

Greece the stock market and everything in between.

The Greeks don’t like it and the markets don’t like it. Who is to blame?
The world economy is in serious upheaval once again as Greece teeters on the verge of bankruptcy. The crazy part about all this is that a package has been offered by Germany to Greece and it will solve the immediate needs of the country. The aid comes conditionally that Greece cut spending and become fiscally responsible. This all means that there will be fewer handouts to pension plans and retirement funds and all other government services. The Greeks do not want to work past 50 ( retirement in some circles) they do not want to sacrifice promised stipends for the good of the world economy. They could care less about the world economy.
Who is to blame for the great mess?

The Greeks themselves of course and the political system of the country.
The Greeks in the last 25 years have elected officials that tell them what they want to hear. That is generous benefits to all, even without revenue that is coming in. Missing money is borrowed at continuing greater cost and then pay up time arrives and there is no money to pay back debts. As the banking systems in Europe are intertwined Greeks own loans will default effecting everyone even the Stock markets on the other side of the world. The investors in these markets fear that the Greek people will not agree to austerity. If they cripple the economy then the little the government makes from Taxes will be negated making paying back anything impossible. If Greece should default then countries like Portugal and Spain will not be far behind.

Somebody fearless in these countries needs to get up and say that every country should live within its means as should every individual. Government spending needs to be curbed to the bare minimum, handouts are wrong. The entire free world should look at this Greek tragedy as it is likely to come any country acting like Greece. This may happen in the United States if the continued incredible spending of the Obama administration continues.

Hold on to your precious metals that’s what you may have left in the end.

Hirsch is gone.

The colorful almost clown like head of the Extreme wing of anti-Israel Orthodox Jews has died. Moshe Hirsch also known to some as Rabbi Moshe Hirsch passed away. This organization called Neturie Karta believed that any manifestation of Jewish nationalism before the coming of the Messiah was wrong and contradictory to Judaism. Where this man and his followers received this info and direction is not completely clear. The very outspoken leader of The Satmar movement Rabbi Yoel Titlebaum though virulently against the state of Israel was also against the Neturie Karta because of their political connections to Arab terror groups.
Hirsch was unswayed by other rabbis in every section of Jewish tradition who said that his actions were completely off the mark. Many viewed him as a sad comical figure who was being used for propaganda by Israel enemies as a show piece.
He will be remembered as a small piece of the complicated process of the ingathering of the exiles.
There were those that were happy at his demise though they should have been instead sad at a life dedicated to acts of perfidity against his own people.

Europe in Trouble

Greece Spain and Europes financial woes

It had to happen. Liberal social services without properly taxing income. Little or non existent private sector enterprise have led to the apparent meltdown of the Euro. Greece and Spain are in trouble as they will not be able to pay out loans received on time. This will devalue the Euro sharply and cause defaults of banks and other financial institutions. As there is a close connection to all in financial markets a recession or depression or eurocession will happen.
Everyone is in agreement that all this bodes bad things for Europe not all agree how contained the trouble will be. Some economists insist that by the nature of financial global structure the United States Economy will suffer. Others say that because Europe will become an unstable place for investment European money will start flowing in the United States stock market. The devaluing of the Euro may help the crisis as cheap goods will be bought in Europe by the influx of dollars. These goods will be bought cheaply in the US and help the local United States Economy.
Greece and Spain will suffer greatly from this crisis as they have been irresponsible in their fiscal planning and have used money they do not have.
Many of these teeter toter countries are having troubles in many areas including immigration and political turmoil.
Europe is in trouble.
Big time

Building freeze in Jerusalem

Has he or hasn’t he

Has the prime minister of Israel frozen defacto building in east Jerusalem? That my friends is the 64 thousand dollar question. The prime minister says of course not , the major news sites are sure that it is so. What does the mayor of Jerusalem say? That there is a slow down but not a complete stoppage of building.
Go figure it out. The prime minister came to power on a very clear platform of continuing to build in all parts of Jerusalem. Even labor governments always refused to budge on any building freeze in Jerusalem. How then could a right wing Conservative prime minister put on a freeze. Great question.

Difficult answer.
The plain truth is that the mechanism to approve new building has been stopped. There has not been an official freeze just a defacto freeze that President Obama and Netanyahu have agreed upon. To prove this point no new approved building plans will be put forth in the coming months. A defacto freeze.
Apparently Mitchell has whispered in Avbu Mazens ears that there an a unofficial freeze and hopes that will bring him back to the negotiating table. It hasn’t yet. But who knows?
It is unlikely or rather impossible that all this will get anyone anywhere.
It will in all likelihood get us another war

Obamas Nuclear conference

Obamas Nuclear conference

Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu will not participate in the upcoming nuclear conference that is being held in the US next week. He has some good reasons.

Israel has never officially admitted its nuclear capabilities and has never even tested a nuclear device. Its clear nuclear abilities are the world’s worst kept secret that convicted traitor Mordechai Vanunu ostensibly showed the world. It is also well known that Golda Meir threatened to use some of those weapons when things looked grim in the first parts of the Yom Kippur war. That allegedly pushed then secretary of state Henry Kissinger to start the massive airlifting of military supplies to Israel.
The Arabs understand that a nuclear Israel is virtually indestructible and seek any way to undermine this indestructibility. Netanyahu understands what everyone else does. That is a country surrounded by 150 million Arabs needs a nuclear deterrence to survive. President Obama is determined to change the world order and Israels national interest seems less important. Netanyahu will be forced into a corner he wishes not to be in and has made a wise decision not to attend.

Obama Islam and the Middle East

As Iran gets closer and closer to a nuclear weapon Barrack Hussien Obama is busy getting himself entangled in another dead end attempt at peace in the Middle East.
What is he thinking? He has decided as many others before him that defusing middle east tensions will defuse radical Islam and weaken Iran somehow. In theory that might be possible in practical terms unattainable. So many presidents have attempted to broker peace in the Middle East and have failed. Obama has no chance.
The latest fray Is over building in Jerusalem in land captured after the six-day war almost 42 years ago. Those areas in Jerusalem will never ever be ceded to anyone. Everyone really knows that making this latest row a symptom of the chronic problem here. Israel is not and may never be accepted as a country in the Middle East.
The big question remains whether President Obama is capable of ordering the US military to strike Iran if all other attempts to convince Iran to give up its nuclear ambitions fail. Many fear the answer is no for the following reasons.
1. His name is Hussien and his father was Muslim, it will be very hard for him to attack a Moslem country even Iran
2. He promised the American people in his campaign that he would engage Iran and unlike his predecessor find a peaceful solution to the Iranian crisis. He would look very dumb attacking Iran after that.
3. As the world economy still teeters from the worst financial crisis since the great depression Obama will not want to paralyze the world economy by attacking or even blockading Irans oil shipments.
4. He has won a peace prize which was based on his attempt to reduce tensions with the Muslim world. Killing many Iranians would not reduce tensions in the Muslim world.
5. He really doesn’t like Israel and is not really concerned that Israel is the prime target of Iranian nuclear aggression.

Israel will need to face the Iranians alone, it won’t be pretty.

Paranoid

Here we go again

Why is it that some people always seem to feel that everyone is against them . Jews for instance feel that way. You can’t blame them after all as these words are written Israel seems to have very few friends at all. Even its so called biggest friend the United States has come out with the harshest rhetoric anyone can ever remember. What was the catalyst for all this? Israel continuing to build in its legal capital Jerusalem. In addition to the rebuilding of an ancient synagogue in the Jewish quarter of the old city.
Israel continues to establish its jurisdiction on its own land and the US and others try to tell her what to do.
If anything all this will backfire on Obama and company and will push back any type of settlement another 20 years. Is everyone sure Obama went to Harvard?

Bibis headache

For lack of anything else to do apparently Joe Biden the Vice president of the United States has come and gone from Israel. He made a very emotional speech in Tel-aviv about how much he personally and the United states are committed to the security of Israel. It was a good speech. But that’s all. Nothing fundamental has really changed because of the speech, there have been many more before and will be many after. The fact that an announcement concerning a new building contract was revealed just as the vice president showed up is really trivial in the big picture of things. It has made Bibis life a bit more complicated for the while but the real issues stay the same. That is no real foreseeable agreement can be expected for the next 50 years or so. It is even highly doubtful after that.
Hillary apparently called Bibi to yell at him. Her memory is short. When her husband was president of the United States Yassar Arafat turned down an offer from then prime minister Ehud Barack for virtually the entire West Bank. A rather incredible concession that Barack may have used to test if the other side could agree to anything. They of course did not. The incredible effort by then President Clinton to reach some type of deal was wasted. The fault by almost everyone’s estimation was that of Arafat.
Hilary is barking up the wrong tree.

What do you want from a bitch.

The Middle East merry go round

Barrack and Joey are angry

I hate saying I told you so but I told you so.
Another wasted trip to Israel and another pointless round of talks. Some fights some disagreements. It doesn’t make any real difference. The Middle East stalemate is just that a stalemate that is here to stay. Johnson could not change it Nixon could not change Clinton could not change it and neither could all the rest. Obama will not and cannot change the reality on the ground.
The facts are that the sides are in disagreement in the extreme for the last 100 years. The core of the disagreement is that Israel is not wanted in the middle east. Period.
The Arabs ( even the moderate ones ) do not except the presence of Israel here. That fundamental issue has not changed.

The rest is hogwash.

Peace talks put off

Well that’s a surprise

The Arab league has announced that preliminary talks between the Israelis and Palestinans will not start as planned. Well that’s a surprise! We had thought that peace was at hand it was imminent and just around the corner.
The peace process is very similar to a soap opera, wherever you cut in it is always the same. The Israelis are ready for major compromises while the other side is balking and threatening. The latest reason for the balking has been a granting of building permits in a east Jerusalem suburb . The Palestinians think that at some point Israel will withdraw from all of east Jerusalem in addition to 99% of Judea and Samaria. The plain truth is that this will not happen, ever.
All these talks are doomed to go nowhere and doomed to lead to a new round of violence.
Sad but true.

Its getting boring

Ho hum here we go again

Some sort of peace negotiations are due to start next week on peace between the Israelis and Palestinians. Whop de do.
What are not going to talk about?
The real issues, that are
1. Jerusalem
2. Refugees
3. Removal of settlements
4. A country/ autonomy without an army
They cannot discuss these issues as there is a complete stalemate on these issues and if talks start there they will end.

They will try to talk about issues like water infrastructure and commerce. Maybe even a transportation system or airport of some sort.

They likely will not even agree on these less divisive issues.

It’s a waste of time and will likely lead to a new round of violence when these fail.

The Middle East mess

The main character in the formulation of the practical steps in creating a Jewish state has to be Benjamin Theodor Herzl. He was appalled by the anti-semitism in Europe and thought a Jewish homeland would solve this problem. He was very wrong.
Anti-semitism mutates and takes on different manifestations, it is now the rallying call for leftist liberal organizations and of course many Arab countries. In fact one country Iran is threatening to wipe Israel off the map and create a new middle east without Zionists. He is marching the region to another very big war. And the following could be a likely scenario.

Even after continued and extensive sanctions Iran continues to develop nuclear weapons. Barack Obama is hesitant about militarily engaging Iran on its nuclear program and has adopted James Baker s principle of keeping a nuclear Iran in check through mutual deterrence. Israel cannot live in the shadow of a nuclear threat and decides to act decisively to destroy Irans nuclear capability. It strikes multiple sites simultaneously in a lighting strike similar to the strike that started the six day war . Iran retaliates by firing multiple missiles all over Israel that strike all of Israel major cities. The hizbullah in the North join the fight and start to bombard Israel from Lebanon. The Hamas in the south joins the fight as well and attacks Israels southern flank . While all this is happening Syria tries to retake the Golan heights by force moving its armor and airforce towards Israeli positions on the heights. Many of the Arab residents of Judea and Samaria feel exhilarated by the impending demise of the Jewish state and riot starting a third Intifada.

This scenario is not dissimilar to what happened just before and after the six-day war. Israel was threatened then by Nasser to be thrown into the sea and the same threat can be heard from Achmennegad of Iran. Many other Arab countries wanted to take part in this planned annihilation of Israel and the same is true now.

Israel obviously hopes that the outcome will be similar to the six day way scenario while the Arabs have not forsaken their dream of annihilating Israel.

The fact that Israel has started distributing gas masks may give an indication where all this is leading.

It won’t be pretty.

Crazy Middle East

Who are they trying to kid?

A new mini crisis has broken out in the never ending cycle of failed talks between Israel and the Palestinians. This time The Palestinians say they refuse to go back to the negotiating table after the Israeli government announced it would include two Jewish holy sites in a national heritage upkeep program. Both these sites are where the Palestinians think they will establish their state.

Wake up guys, this aint going to happen.
In the first spot Hebron live about 10,000 Jews some in the city of Hebron itself and the rest in the immediate vicinity. Very few think it remotely possible to remove Jews from this area it would lead to civil war and simply is unthinkable. The present government is opposed to the Jewish removal from Hebron. It just won’t happen.

The other area is northern Bethlehem that is adjacent to Jerusalem . No sane government would agree to a foreign power to launch a state within meters of its capital city. That won’t happen either.
There will not be a Palestinian state as there are no real Palestinian people. This is the great lie. No one really believes it anyway.

Israeli Arab merry goround

Has anybody noticed?

Has anybody noticed that everyone has been saying for the past month that negotiations are to start between Israel and the Palestinians are to start very soon. Well that has not been happening has anyone noticed?
All the ridiculous statements that want to make people believe that some form of negotiations will start that will lead to some sort of peace agreement are ludicrous. Complete whimsical imagination is playing out in these statements, the truth needs to be told .
There are no real negotiations as there is no real negotiators. There is literally nothing to talk about and the only thing that is really happening is the attempt to create an atmosphere that some dialogue is taking place. It is negotiations on how to look best while discussing when negotiations will start. If anything things seem to be getting worse and not better as Israel has been accused of assassinating a top terrorist in the Hamas movement . In addition the Israeli government decision to designate areas in Hebron and Bethlehem as Israel historical sites has made many angry on the Palestinian side.
War looms from every side of Israel . The Hamas is Calling for a new intifada as the Hizbullah is rearming and preparing itself for war. Syria is threatening war as well. Have I mentioned Iran?

Many have said that Israel is paranoid of being thrown into the sea. There is good reason for this.
Its not going to be pretty.

Here we go all over again

War looms while Israel prepares

Frankly it does not look to good as far as war is concerned. The question has become not if there will be a war but rather when there will be one. The likely scenario is that sanctions as crippling as they may become will not stop Irans Nuclear intentions. That is probably wishful thinking. Israel will be forced to act as her very existence will hang in the balance. This may be predicated by a full naval blockade which is an act of war. Iran is likely to strike at Israel and American forces in the gulf area. When this ensues the Hizbullah and Syria are likely to join in the fray. Israels southern flank will be attacked by the Hamas as the Palestinian authority may cause trouble along the Green line and inside Judea and Samaria. That would make a war between Israel and 5 adversaries.

This is not dissimilar to what was happening before 1967 as Arab armies threatened to wipe Israel of the map. Nasser assured everyone that Israels end was near that is the same the Iranian leadership is saying. There were tense moments as the UN hemmed and hayed , the same is happening now.
Then Israel struck and changed the fats on the ground in a few hours and formally after 6 days.
It will be the same now as Israel will strike on a few different places but mainly against Iran. It may not take 6 days but it will be over relatively quickly. Then the Arabs can regroup and try to do it all over again in a few years or decades .

The storyline is the same the characters are different.

Super Sunday

The Super Bowl.

The national holiday of the United States is not New years or the 4th of July or any other day it is Super Sunday. The day the champion of professional football is decided, Super Sunday. It is said that more beer is drunk and more food is eaten on this day than on any other day in the year. It is also a statistic that more wifes are beaten on this day than any other. The great American holiday.
When I was nine years old I watched Joe Namath and the New York Jets pull off the biggest upset in Super bowl history. Broadway Joe predicted victory and the Baltimore Colts predicted Namaths destruction. The Jets won despite the late entry of Johnny Unitas who almost saved the game for the Colts. A very funny thing happens when the “game" starts. The streets are abandoned and most places look like ghost towns as people are glued to their TVs for the game and even more for the commercials.

In essence this game plays a very important role in America defense. Its enemies underestimate the US when seeing how frivolous an entire country seems to become. How can a society like that be determined to fight determined to win.

For all your football fans out there, Happy holiday!

The Arab-Israeli merry goround

Benjamin Netanyu speaks at Herzilya conference

Though most of his conference ending speech dealt with education the prime minister did address upcoming possible negotiations with the Palestinians. The Palestinian prime minister also spoke at this conference a few days before. Judging from what he said it is difficult to understand what will the point of the negotiations. That is if there will be negotiations. Right now there are negotiations on how to start indirect negotiations. If that works then there will be indirect negotiations on how to start direct negotiations. If that works then there will be negotiations.

If after all that negotiations do start they will likely stall almost immediately as the sides are so far from each other that negotiations may lead to war and not peace.

The Arab side demands a complete withdrawal to pre 1967 borders including East Jerusalem and Israel will never agree to that condition. Israel demands to keep hold of certain strategic areas in Judea and Samaria and the Palestinian side will not accept hat under any circumstance.

It’s a lot of work to get to negotiations that will go nowhere at best or lead to war at worst

Benjamin Netanyu speaks at Herzilya conference

The Israeli prime minister spoke at the most important political conference of the year. His main topic was surprisingly education. His claim was that a strong army and strong economy will not be enough to keep Israel strong going forward. If the Jews who live here do not really believe we belong here Israel will not survive. The promised land as written in the old testament needs to be studied intensively and used as the real roadmap for Israel’s survival.

It was a speech that many of Bebe’s opponents will abhor . Why ? It was too Jewish and had too much nationalistic undertones. He even told a famous story of Napoleon and Tisha bav. That after discovering that Jews essentially mourn something that happened close to 2,000 years ago proclaimed that some day you will return to Israel and rebuild your destroyed temple. Netanyahu did not mention theemple part but relayed the general message.

As his own son was pictured winning a bible contest with a KIPA on his head and the latest news out about the dramatic rise in religious soldiers in secret commando units Bibi semi-religious speech wil make many leftists here very uncomfortable.

The Good Guys

Around the world in 2 weeks

The evil Israelis have come home from Haiti. The most sought after medical team that was on the ground in the disaster zone of Haiti has come home. They were the talk of the disaster with modern equipment that even the Americans lacked initially. The terrible injuries that were sustained and the modern wound care that was provided by the Israelis was second to none.
Sadly it is unlikely that that there will be a real change in the eyes of those third world countries that consistently vote against Israel in every international forum. In all likelihood even Haiti itself will probably vote against Israel in the next UN vote involving the Jewish state. As a country and people the Israelis need to do the right thing and help people wherever they are. Slowly those who are not extreme will start understanding who the good guys and real bad guys are.
Even if that doesn’t happen doing what is right is good for the soul.

Head of supreme court is attacked

In a place where the unexpected is expected something strange has happened. The head of the the supreme court in Israel has been attacked by a flying shoe. The famous attack on President George Bush in Iraq has spawned many copycat attacks around the world. This one actually hit its target breaking the Judges glasses and even knocking her off her chair.

This story seems like it is taken out of a wierd website somewhere. Sadly there are many people in Israel who dislike Dorit Bieniesh and many of her decisions. They feel little sympathy for MS Bienish as some of her decisons have destroyed peoples lives. Nonetheless there are much better ways to show displeasure at Bieniesh and throwing shoes will just make her look a warrior and martyr.
It is wrong and counter productive